Nainesh Mehta

BASS Festival returns to Birmingham this November

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BASS festival returns to Birmingham for its 11th year this November, with a theme dedicated to Hip Hop 360. Featuring legendary artists past and present who have shaped the sound of a generation, Hip Hop 360 celebrates every aspect of street level Black Music culture. DJ Jazzy Jeff, Rodney P, Slick Rick, Robert Glasper, Diamond D, Large Professor, DJ Bobbito & Stretch Armstrong DJ Semtex and Ty will perform on stages throughout the city of Birmingham over the two week festival period. BASS Festival runs from the 10th – 28th November with tickets available here, priced from free to £25.

BASS Festival is the brainchild of Punch Records, the UK's leading music development agency, based in Birmingham with an impressive fifteen year history of delivering groundbreaking public programmes, events and special one off shows. Now in its 11th year BASS has established itself as one of the UK's most innovative boutique festivals with an annual theme running throughout the events, this year being Hip Hop 360 – celebrating Black music culture. BASS Festival will run across a two week period at venues throughout the city.

BASS Festival have gone all out for 2016, booking legendary artists to celebrate the Hip Hop 360 theme. Hip Hop pioneer and multi award winning producer and DJ Jazzy Jeff will be showing off his flawless turntable skills and musical versatility, whilst Slick Rick – arguably one of the most successful British-American rappers in history will be bring his inimitable flows to the Birmingham crowds. Riding high off the success of his critically acclaimed book 'Hip Hop Raised Me', DJ Semtex will be hosting a live Q & A with UK Hop Hop stalwarts Rodney P and Ty also flying the flag high for the UK scene. US Hip Hop Radio legends DJ Bobbitoand Stretch Armstrong will be premiering their film biopic 'Stretch And Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives', directed by Bobbito himself, plus many more special events happening over the course of the two weeks.

PUNCH’s CEO AMMO TALWAR said; “HIP HOP is a beautifully complex culture of music and language, art and fashion which is in every way the voice of the youth & accessible to ordinary people. HIP HOP 360 will allow people to explore this culture from every angle.”

BASS Festival is the UK's only Black Arts festival, running from 10th to the 28th November. Tickets for each event available here – www.bass2016.co.uk.

 
LISTINGS
Jazzy Jeff 
Friday 10th November
9:30pm – 2:30am
Lab 11
Tickets here 
Price: £10 Early Bird – £15 Standard

Diamond D Vs Large Professor 
Friday 18th November
11pm – 3am
Spotlight
Tickets here
Price: £5

Robert Glasper Live 
Sunday 20th November
8pm – 11pm
Town Hall Birmingham
Tickets here
Price £25

Bobbito Garcia & Stretch Armstrong Film / Q&A 
Tuesday 22nd November
7pm – 11pm
Birmingham Imax
Tickets here
Price – Earlybird £7 – Standard £10

Rodney P presents Yesterday, Today and Forever Ft Ty, Iman Rootz formerly Durrty Goodz & Children of Zeus
Thursday 24th November
7pm – 11pm
Hare & Hounds
Tickets here
Price: Earlybird £7 – Standard £10

DJ Semtex Q&A 
Monday 28th November
2pm – 4pm
6/8 Kafé
Tickets here
Price: Free

Slick Rick Live
Monday 28th November
7pm – 11pm
Birmingham O2 Institute
Tickets here
Price: £28.25

 

Dance Stage lineup announced for T in the Park 2016

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In what will be the act’s fourth appearance at T in the Park, drum and bass heavyweights Chase & Status return to T in the Park for the first time since 2013. Consisting of dance DJs, multi-platinum artists, and record-label owners Saul Milton and Will Kennard, Chase & Status have collected Brit Award gongs, festival headline slots and top 5 chart positions along the way. The acts’hits are floor fillers and their rocketing set is sure to be a highlight of T in the Park in 2016. 
  
Regularly playing to huge crowds around the globe, DJ and dance producer Alesso is set to bring his well-crafted party vibe to Strathallan Castle this summer joining the T in the Park bill. Alesso’s remixes of the Tiësto and Swedish House Mafia saw the DJ gain mainstream recognition debuting in DJ Mag’s top 100 back in 2012. Working with international stars One Republic, Craig David, David Guetta and Sebastian Ingrosso during his career, Alesso shot to success when he achieved a U.K. chart number one with his collaborative single Under Control alongside Calvin Harris and Hurts. Expect slamming beats and euphoric moments during his performance at T in the Park 2016.
  
Dutch electronic music star Oliver Heldens has perfected deep house beats with mainstream appeal, most notably his 2013 song, "Gecko", which caught the attention of Tiësto, who signed him to his label and released that track with vocals from Becky Hill. Capturing a summer party vibe in his sets, Oliver Heldens is sure to be a big hit at T in the Park this July.
  
Crowned the winner of BBC’s Sound of 2016 and The Brit’s Critics Choice winner, Jack Garratt is riding the huge wave of success after releasing his debut album this month to rave reviews. The London-based singer/producer/multi-instrumentalist combines electric guitar, drum machines, keyboards, and an R&B-friendly falsetto to fashion smooth, club-ready electro-pop. Becoming a viral success with single Breathe Life, Garratt’s experimental style is both innovative and inspirational. Expect a set packed full of sing-a-long moments when he makes his debut at T in the Park this summer.
  
Making her T in the Park debut at Strathallan Castle in 2015, Hannah Wants is known for a tireless determination and down-to-earth attitude making her one of the most world-renowned DJs on the scene. Packing some serious credentials, Hannah Wants has picked up Best Breakthrough DJ title at the DJ Mag awards and became Mixmag’s Best Breakthrough DJ and Star Of The Year in her short career.
  
Making serious waves in the rock ‘n’ roll scene with their punk-infused sound, two-pieceSlaves released their debut record Are You Satisfied in 2015, picking up a Mercury Music Prize nomination along the way. In what will be their third appearance at T in the Park, expect a raw energy and infectious vitality during their epic set.
  
Announced so far for T in the Park 2016 are:
  
FRIDAY 8TH JULY: The Stone Roses, Disclosure, Courteeners, Alesso, Jamie xx, James Morrison, Frightened Rabbit, Oliver Heldens, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Hannah Wants, Bear’s Den, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Krept & Konan, The Coral, The Temperance Movement, Oh Wonder 
  
SATURDAY 9TH JULY: Calvin Harris, Bastille, The 1975, The Last Shadow Puppets, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Jess Glynne, Kaiser Chiefs, Travis, Tinie Tempah, Tom Odell, Jack Garratt, Stiff Little Fingers, Shed Seven, Disciples, Rat Boy, Maxi Jazz & The E-Type Boys
 
SUNDAY 10TH JULY: Red Hot Chili Peppers, LCD Soundsystem, Chase & Status, Faithless, Major Lazer, James Bay, Jake Bugg, Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls, Craig David’s TS5, Slaves, Maximo Park, John Grant, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, FIDLAR, Blossoms

Shinedown, Killswitch Engage and more added to Download 2016

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Download Festival, in one of its biggest announcements yet confirms 33 new additions for 2016 including Shinedown, Killswitch Engage, Down, Don Broco, Architects, Neck Deep, Tremonti and more. Download Festival takes place 10-12 June 2016 in Donington Park and tickets are on sale now.

Download Festival, the world’s premier rock and metal festival, returns for 2016 with one of its biggest lineups to date. Joining headliners Rammstein, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden for a weekend of incredible rock music are Shinedown, who played an unforgettable set at the festival in 2012. The band’s latest album Threat To Survival shot to Number 13 in the UK charts earlier this year.

Killswitch Engage, dubbed “the people’s champions of metal”, will make the floor move under your feet with a jaw-droppingly outstanding set; Down, featuring former Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo, will deliver some booming dark riffs and all out metal; Don Broco, who celebrated a Number 6 album earlier this year forAutomatic, will bring charisma by the bucketload with a chaotic and immensely enjoyable live set, and Brighton metallers Architects are confirmed for a ferocious, boundlessly energetic set ensuing some gigantic circle pits.

Neck Deep are making waves as the heroes of UK pop-punk. The Wrexham five-piece have been on tour with Bring Me The Horizon and All Time Low, and will headline their own tour next year; Tremonti, fronted by former Creed and Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti, are known for their fast and heavy headbang-worthy riffs; French band Gojira will provide some full on heavy metal throwing crowds into an absolute meltdown; bringing Satan back to the masses, Swedish six-piece Ghost are confirmed for some sticky-sweet hooks and melodies, and lots of satanic musings.

Back on British soil, Billy Talent are preparing to deliver a storming set for crowds in Donington Park. The Canadian sensations will also release a new album in 2016; Saxon will bring some classic rock and guitar heavy tunes; Australian metal-core band The Amity Affliction will put on a great live set mesmerising crowds and are bound to create a raucous mosh pit; Halestorm, led by awesome frontwoman Lizzie Hale, return with some hard, riffy rock; one of the hottest bands in the ‘alternative’ world, US band Beartooth are confirmed, and Glasgow rockers Twin Atlantic, whose last two albums scored Top 5 in the UK Rock & Metal chart, will bring their unique pop rock sounds to Download.

Californian metallers Atreyu are renowned for their high-energy and impassioned sets; self-proclaimed “party-metallers” Attila will bring a heavy-hitting set; reggae-metal group Skindred will get the pit bouncing and rocking and are guaranteed to please the crowds at Donington; former Gallows frontman Frank Carter is confirmed with his new band The Rattlesnakes; Milton Keynes five-piece Tesseract, one of progressive metal’s elite, will send the audience into overdrive with a flawless performance; and with some big, belligerent metal, Counting Days are also confirmed.

Controversial electronic punk rap group Ho99o9 will be bringing their raucous live show to Donington; Milk Teeth have rapidly been gaining widespread acclaim for their nineties grunge nostalgia. Dead! went out on tour with Young Guns this year and have established themselves as one of the hottest bands to look out for in 2016, as have Exeter three-piece Black Foxxes, who have sold out every London show they’ve played. Fort Hope have been championed by Radio 1 this year and their album Courage reached Number 8 on the UK Rock & Metal Chart.

Rival Sons have earned a name as “one of the hottest rock bands on the planet” and will bring an awe-inspiring set of raw power and soulful, bluesy rock; hard rockers Breaking Benjamin are back following a five-year hiatus and will be loud and glorious; American thrash metallers Havok will bring exactly that; Dutch synth-metal band Delain are known for their upbeat energetic performances and US rockers Skillet are set to bring one hell of a monster show. Bringing some fun and thrash metal, Lawnmower Deth are also confirmed to play next year. The band are currently battling it out for the Christmas number one spot with their version of ‘Kids in America’.

Headlining the third stage on Friday, Gutterdämmerung – the brand new rock ‘n’ roll film from Belgian-Swedish visual artist Bjorn Tagemose billed as a “loud and dark fairy tale” – will be screened at Download. The film features the combined might of Slash, Iggy Pop, Josh Homme, Henry Rollins, Lemmy, Tom Araya and many more of hard rock’s finest.

Download Festival is the home of rock music and takes place on the sacred grounds of Donington Park, which have been associated with rock since the eighties. The festival attracts icons of rock and metal to its Main Stage, plus the best hot and new acts in the world. AC/DC, KISS, Metallica, Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses, Rage Against The Machine, Slipknot, Linkin Park and many more have all headlined its main stage.

Venom and Behemoth set for Bloodstock 2016

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With Bloodstock 2015 gone by this weekend, we already have some major announcements for 2016!

In a UK festival exclusive, BEHEMOTH are set to play their critically lauded current album, 'The Satanist' in full, as Friday's special guests.  Check out the announcement clip here: http://youtu.be/8NJlsz-wTWE

 

Frontman and band visionary, Nergal proclaims, "Our Bloodstock performance from 2013 was one of the highlights of our long career!  Just thinking about that night gives me shivers and makes me hungry for more.  It is with utmost PLEASURE and HONOUR that we announce our show in 2016!  We'll be performing THE SATANIST in full…!  We literally cannot wait to come back to UK shores!" 
 

Also appearing on Friday's bill are seminal black metal icons, VENOM. 
 

Early bird tickets are on sale now from www.bloodstock.uk.com, priced £120 (plus booking fee).