Bestival

Common People Southampton 2016 – FULL REVIEW!

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SATURDAY

As one of Bestival's satellite babies, Common People Southampton was always going to be hit and in it's inaugural year 2015 proved you can have all the feel of the festival in the middle of a city, but now round 2 has started on the common and there's a new sense of ownership, like Southampton has taken CP to heart.

Over in Oxford a new dawn rises on a sister festival, but we're getting the kinks-ironed-out experience of a trialled triumph and the site looks incredible. Towering high right inside the main gates is The World’s Biggest Bouncy Castle, a Bestival x Something Creative collaboration that looks like it should have been made by Willy Wonka or be home to a herd of unicorns. Apparently it can comfortably hold one hundred people at a time, but we bet the somersault-police couldn’t catch us in that many…

A decent queue is forming already but it’s off to the main stage we go for first band of the day, Wild Front who to be honest look a little scared to be there. After a sort of quiet start, the Hampshire lads get their rhythm and there are some full on dancing fans down the front.

Next on are West End Kids, an energetic musical troupe who buzz through hits from all the biggest stage shows, followed by the legendary kids comedy duo The Chuckle Brothers. Who can resist a bit of to-me-to-you with Paul and Baz (…and Tinchy Stryder)? The massive and rowdy crowd singing along with them is decidedly younger than they should be for long-time fans, I can only assume they’ve been hitting up youtube in preparation for the festival…

Rapper Lady Leshurr gives us a short but energetic set, after being over an hour late due to ‘traffic’ but dressed head to toe in camo and waxing lyrical about her weave and being from Birmingham, hit ‘Brush Your Teeth’ goes down a storm. Though she clearly doesn’t trust us – yelling “Has every single one of you brushed your teeth today?” “I feel like some of you are lying”. The Sugarhill Gang crowd-please with ‘Apache (Jump on It)’ and ‘Rapper’s Delight’ with Hen Dogg sporting epic double-denim and a rather fetching gold tipped cane.

Over on the Uncommon Stage Southampton crew Our Hollow, Our Home have drawn a big crowd, and Chris is jamming on the guitar in The People’s Front Room. Elsewhere the Jam Jar bar is packed with people sipping fancy martinis and the kids area is awash with laughter from the wonky bicycle trials.

Hometown band Signals pack out the Uncommon stage, as mermaid-haired frontwoman Ellie bounces about, we get a taste of the curiously named genre ‘math pop’. Ghostpoet is getting soulful on the main stage to a big crowd, and Gaz Coombes is rocking less of the Supergrass era sideburns and more of his second solo album ‘Matador’.

Public Enemy get the crowd moving with the likes of ‘Don’t Believe The Hype’ but it’s just not the same without clock-toting weirdo Flavor Flav who apparently wasn’t allowed to come for some reason – “F–kin governments. Flava flav can’t be here because of F–kin governments”. The kid in the front row wearing a PE tshirt and a bedside alarm clock around his neck is obviously devastated.

After a tasty dinner at one of CP’s many amazing food outlets (Soft-shell crab burger? Brie and Pear toastie? Truffled mushroom quesadilla?) we are ready to take on the night, and so are Primal Scream. Rocking an eye-offendingly bright pink blazer, frontman Bobby Gillespie lopes about the stage looking every bit the archetypal boho rockstar. It’s a great, powerful set from the band with new album Chaosmosis material hitting the mark. Over on the Uncontained Stage (read: rave station) Kurupt FM are winding up the absolutely rammed arena into a frenzy, there are bodies everywhere – it’s a mostly teenage rampage.

On the main stage, the much anticipated return of Southampton son Craig David has drawn practically everyone from around the site and it’s not without a touch of nostalgia that we’re singing along to hits ‘Fill Me In’ and ‘Re-Wind’. Though the TS5 moniker is largely being ignored, it is fun to hear him mixing in tracks from other artists and sampling some proper legendary stuff, but to be honest – we all just love a bit of him singing his own name over and over again. Ahh memories.

Check out our full Craig David review here!

SUNDAY

Sunday stacks up a bit cooler but everyone still seems to be rocking up in bright festival-attire, and the telltale signs of yesterday’s sunburn are found in every bald head or exposed shoulder today. Shrieks of mayhem are emanating from the behemoth bouncy castle and a quick peek inside is like looking at a candy-coloured warzone. Kids are tombstoning each other, toddlers are being skimmed within millimetres by their falling parents and the flip-police have no hope of stopping the teenagers intent on putting the maximum effort into possible neck-injury. It’s awesome.

Next door on the Uncommon Stage, Arid Wave are rocking everyone’s socks off, but it looks like Hercules Morse on the main stage have fallen foul of the Sunday hangover absentees – there just aren’t that many people here yet. M.E.R.C.Y. – Southampton Urban Collective take over the main stage in the absence of Xylaroo, with two of the most adorable… sorry, SICK, hiphop dancers Jamie and Jamal giving us proper attitude and a heap of up and coming artists alongside.

Later on, Mr. Motivator draws a massive but spacious crowd as young, old and anyone in-between are getting their groove on with the positively ageless Mr. M and his lovely wife. Sporting a dazzlingly terrible-yet-amazing lycra onesie he plugs in his jams and off he goes doing squat technique mixed with curious life coaching “If the grass is greener on the other side, you probably aren’t watering yours. No man's gonna water my grass”. Telling us we’re “Much better than Oxford” only serves to endear this living legend to us more, and with classic moves such as ‘drive the car’ and the possibly slightly inappropriate for a younger audience ‘whip the horse’ – what’s not to love?

Brighton scenesters The Magic Gang look like they’ve stepped right out of Empire Records and give us a good dose of proper melodic indie pop before Chas & Dave take to the stage (flat-cap mandatory) to tell us about those ‘London Girls’.

Now we brace ourselves for the powerhouse of unmentionably bad behaviour that is The Cuban Brothers. The CB’s are of course rocking a new set of crazy patterned suits for the occasion, throwing down headspins, flares and insane flips all over the shop, as Miguel assures parents that all of the rude things he says will go right over the kids’ heads. This would be fine, but there’s no way you can make those kids un-see him pretending to slam his willy into a microphone whilst wearing only a thong, now is there? That right there is seared into some young memories. Newest member One Erection almost smashes his teeth out doing a massive front tuck off the stage into the pit and gets thoroughly told off by security for hopping into the crowd. M.E.R.C.Y lads Jamie and Jamal are invited on stage to dance with the CB’s and their faces are absolutely priceless when the guys hit the stage in their holographic fringed jumpsuits. However they are visibly horrified when Miguel dons a pair of extremely skimpy Bjork-esque swan pants. ‘Mike For President’ is the only song I remember because there was so much happening. He gets my vote though.

Jamie Lawson’s ‘Wasn’t Expecting That’ has everyone up and singing in the sunshine – he even managed to get us to do a decent job of harmonizing, but it’s Katy B’s set that really lights the place up. Bathed in the setting sun her sequined dinosaur dress shimmers all over as she dances around the stage with her troupe, and the likes of  ‘Lights On’ and ‘Katy On A Mission’ has the arena jumping – especially when she doubles up the tempo. Chalk up another win for Southampton as Katy yells “Southampton, you are abosolutely smashing oxford right now I have to say”.

As the last of the daylight goes and the Helter Skelter and Big Wheel go neon, there’s just one more act to finish off what has been another amazing Common People festival, and it’s no small fry. Eighties synth-pop legends Duran Duran blow through a hit parade of absolute classics such as ‘Wild Boys’, ‘Hungry Like the Wolf’ and ‘Girls on Film’. With tributes to both David Bowie and Prince, it’s a special one and ending with anthem ‘Rio’ couldn’t be more fitting on the costa del Southampton. As the arena clears and the crowd spills out into the streets to head home, it’s obvious that once again CP has been a massive success, and it sounds like Oxford is loving the CP vibe too.

Read our full Duran Duran review here!

Bestival unveils even more acts for The Future!

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As Bestival’s luminous dream world draws ever nearer, we have news of a host of amazing new live acts and DJs who will be dropping future sounds among the cosmic campfires, mindful escapism, intergalactic raves and Mexican wrestling when Bestival heads into The Future this coming 8-11 September at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight.  

Rob da Bank says: “As ever we aim to please at Bestival and cover all bases at our insane island party. So let’s head into The Future with one of my favourite electronic acts ever Leftfield, a-song-a-month sensation Oh Wonder and newbies Honne and Anne-Marie, plus jungle and house legend DJ Zinc and hardcore heroes Slipmatt, Billy Daniel Bunter and Altern-8!”

They’re one of the biggest and best live dance music acts ever, so we’re over the moon to announce that Leftfield will be tearing up the Big Top on Saturday night. Famed for their speaker smashing bass, and a truckload of anthems from Phat Planet and Release the Pressure to Swords and Universal Everything, they never fail to give the dancefloor a proper spanking. You don’t want to miss this one.

But that’s not all as we’ll have breathy synth duo Oh Wonder, electronic soul from Honne, Rudimental collaborator and winner of MTV’s Brand New list Anne-Marie, hotly tipped rapper Tiggs da Author. acoustic trance from The ShowHawk Duo, and post punk three-piece and Robert Smith faves The Twilight Sad.

There will be even more live music from London Music Awards’ Rising Star Espa, widescreen indie types New Desert Blues, Sunday Best’s own Alice Jemima and Xylaroo, high octane rhymesters Too Many T’s, and the incredible winner of our Isle of Wight bands competition Lauran Hibberd. 

Joining our future perfect fun on the ones and twos we have a host of forward-thinking crate diggers who’ll keep you dancing all night long including super sharp shooter DJ Zinc, the World of Rave & Music Mondays crew with History of Rave action from DJ Slipmatt going b2b with Billy Daniel Bunter and a DJ set from Altern-8, plus grime selector Sir Spyro, Radio 1’s Clara Amfo, freestyle femme fatale Amy Becker and woozy, psychedelic wunderkind Roosevelt.

We’ll also have pleasingly repetitive beats from Junk: Not Your Thing featuring Luca Pilato & Jordan Mckinlay, Bestival FM co-host and all round party phenomenon Goldierocks hosting the main stage, and dancefloor devastation from Ghettospheric, K2rah, Dr DJ, Joe Roberts Presents Ecstasy Garage Disco, Suspiciously Delicious, Bitr8 and Isle of Wight DJ competition winner Just Eden. 

Plus, there will be energetic pursuits from the amazing Reggaerobics who will be helping us blow away the cobwebs with some stirring morning manoeuvres.

There are still plenty of treats to be revealed for our Future paradise, including our Sunday night main stage headliners and much more, so head to www.Bestival.net, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram / Tumblr

Craig David’s TS5 headlines Common People Southampton

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You know him from banging 90’s/noughties garage and R&B hits with Artful Dodger, cool club classics for the shell-toed, bucket-hatted nation, but how the melee of under 18’s in the front know his entire back catalogue is a mystery. There are hundreds of screaming girls causing themselves airflow restriction as the legendary CD takes to the Common People stage as the Saturday headliner in his hometown of Southampton. It’s clear he’s happy to be home as he drops straight in with original mega-hit ‘Re-wind’ and he’s lost none of his showmanship or vocal range in his haitus from the mainstream.

I’m sure more than a few of us are still baffled as to what Bo Selecta actually means, or why we should be saying it in a crowd, and it doesn’t help that the entire show predicated on Leigh Francis’ lampooning of the song and Craig David himself is being acted out all over the arena.

From behind his stacked mixing desk, the tell tale sounds of ‘Fill Me In’ elicit a huge roar from the crowd and it seems everyone still knows the words, for a mass rendition. Mixing in his own stuff with samples from other hits seems to be the raison d’être of TS5 (glad to find out, had no clue what that meant) as Whitney Houston’s ‘It’s not right but it’s ok’ is woven into the story and his energetic bouncing has everyone throwing shapes alongside him.

Yelling “You can take the boy outta Southampton, but you can’t take Southampton outta the boy!” CD scores big with a site-wide roar of appreciation – Common People is smack in the middle of the city, so this really is a home crowd reception.

‘Walking Away’ gets a new backing track from ‘Still Dre’ and a ‘No Scrubs’ excerpt leads way to a massive Bieber singalong for ‘Sorry’. CD might have the better voice of the two actually…

With a bit of Beyonce’s ‘Run The World’ and Robin S’s ‘Show Me Love’ CD really knows how to hook this crowd before busting out a bit of his own smooth classic ‘7 Days’, and calling out “It’s been an incredible journey… from the garage days of the 90’s to now” endears him to the over 30’s in the audience, who remember them fondly, or at least, shamefully. With one last Biebs sample (apparently his momma don’t like you, and that’s bad) and a heartfelt “I’m incredibly proud to be from Southampton” Craig David more than proves he’s worthy of Common People’s headline slot.

All photos © A. Hyams  – Do not use without permission.

Bestival and Common People present: The World’s Biggest Bouncy-Castle!

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The Bestival family has a long and august history of going that extra mile, making the world of festivals bigger, better and brighter. And this year is no exception, pushing the boundaries of bobbing up and down to the very limit, we’ve teamed up with our old muckers, Cardiff-based Something Creatives to make what we think is the world’s biggest bouncy castle! Aiming to add to our accolades for the world’s largest fancy dress party, the biggest busk ever and our colossal disco ball, this could well be the greatest inflatable on Earth, and it’s making its debut at Common People in Southampton this coming bank holiday weekend!

Rob da Bank says: “We do love breaking a record and this is one of our funnest builds so far. Me and my mate Matt from the infamous Inflatable Church had a pipe dream about five years ago of building the world’s biggest bouncy castle, and this summer we’re making that a reality. So polish your socks and step up for what will be one of the most innocent of pleasures – bouncing up and down with gay abandon with your mates, family or friendly strangers. See you on the castle!”

Something Creatives’ Matt the Hat commented: “I’ve always been the first kid in the sandpit and consider play a fundamental part of everyday life. Everyone should find the time to play. The playful spirit of creating joy and fun is shared by Rob da Bank and all of the Bestival family and has made this brilliantly bonkers idea a reality. Whether you’re young or old, what could be more fun than jumping around inside the biggest bouncy castle in the world?  Just watch out for the ‘bouncers’, and remember if you’re wearing shoes then you can’t come in!”

Everyone loves a bouncy castle. That’s a fact. And we’ve got even more facts about our blow up bastion that could see us heading for the record books once again. Smashing an almost 20-year-old record and measuring a frankly epic23.8 metres long and 20.7 metres wide our bouncy castle stands 12.8 metres tall at its highest point; the side turrets are equal in height to the walls of Cardiff Castle, making it taller than the Great Wall of China and roughly three times the size of the Berlin Wall! Filled with 1143 cubic metres of air it can comfortablyaccommodate 100 pleasure-seeking festivalgoers at one time.

Quite simply massive, it’s an inflatable legend in the making, don’t miss the chance to have a jump around on our historic bouncy castle at Common People, Southampton this 28th & 29th May, and then at Camp Bestival 28th-31stJuly and Bestival from 8th – 11th September.

Bouncy Castle Comparison:

                                                            Length          Width           Height         

 

Word’s Biggest Bouncy Castle:          23.8m          20.7m          12.8m                 

 

Previous Record Holder:                    19m             19m             12m            

The clock is ticking and Common People tickets are flying so grab yours now at www.commonpeople.net

Bestival’s Spaceport line-up revealed!

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The legendary Port remains missing, its whereabouts unknown but Bestival’s brand new, revolutionary monolith of sound, The Spaceport, is shaping up to be the greatest dance stage ever! Throbbing to an intergalactic soundscape of epic proportions, our seven storey symbol of the future will transmit Bestival’s unique vision of our dancefloor destiny as we unveil the crack squad of space cadets, who will be joining previously announced Spaceport headliners Diplo, Carl Cox, and Fatboy Slim, to blast us into the unknown this coming September on the Isle of Wight. 

Bestival rave-master Rob da Bank says: “Prepare for lift off my futuristic friends, this is going to be the stage of the summer of UK festivals. A dream team of Josie da Bank, our mate Paul Normandale, who’s Bjork and Coldplay’s lighting designer, super set designers Spatial and a host of madcap inventors are building an incredible imaginary Spaceport for you to rave at and take off into The Future. In that rocket will be no less than rave veterans Fatboy Slim, Carl Cox, Diplo, DJ Yoda and Candi Staton propped up by newbies like DJ Barely Legal and Mele and Monki… The Future is almost here”.

Following an out of this world opening ceremony, we’ll be heading into orbit as we ramp up the rave action with a cavalcade of advanced selectors including Benji B, Destructo, DJ Barely Legal, DJ Yoda, Dub Pistols Soundsystem, Eats Everything, James Zabiela, Kenton Slash Demon, Klose One and Mella Dee. 

And hitting the decks to take us beyond the solar system of sound will be Mount Kimbie, Mumbai Science, Norman Jay MBE, NRG Flash: Monki & Mele, Oneman going back to back with My Nu Leng, Purple Rave Prince Tribute from Heidi, Rob da Bank & Tayo, Riton, Sink The Pink presents No Limits with Candi Staton & Livin’ Joy, Skream and The Heatwave.  

The epicentre of the inevitable and the future of the dance, The Spaceport is where the party’s at. Don’t miss it.

Bestival announces Invaders of the Future!

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Making Bestival the festival to discover new music is a big part of what keeps us buzzing. Finding an incredible new band that could change your life, or that one amazing unknown track that will blow everyone away is something that our intrepid curator Rob da Bank has made his life’s work. With his monumental musical knowledge helping him to sniff out a cornucopia of mysterious gems, Rob’s track record for discovering the next big thing is unparalleled, and the Invaders of the Future stage is Bestival’s cathedral of cutting edge sounds where you’ll find this year’s selection of bright young things who could just be your new favourite band in The Future. 

Rob da Bank says: “Yup, we all love a stonking big headliner at Bestival, and huge DJs and bands that have sold millions of records smashing it on our stages, but mostly where you’ll find me across the weekend at Bestival is in our Invaders stage checking out the new bands. Once more we’ve gone mentally diverse from Radio 1 and SXSW darling’s Danny L Harle, Pup and Sunflower Bean through the amazing Eska and a takeover from the hottest label out there, PC Music, to local island talent Born Ina Barn and Xockha. See you down the front!”

Out on a mission to capture your heart and keep your feet moving at the UK’s official Best Major Festival, the Invaders of the Future stage will be bouncing all weekend long to sets from west London’s All This Noise, high-octane punks Asylums, atmospheric four-piece Black Honey, Island b-boys Born Ina Barn, and soulful pop types Clean Cut Kid, with appearance from Coco, Creeper and Saturday’s late night headliner Danny L Harle.

We’ll also have singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Eska, beguiling trio Fatherson, pop outfit Fickle Friends, rock n rollers The Greasy Slicks, the darkly inventive HÆLOS, visceral Spanish indie quartet Hinds and the swirling sounds of The Japanese House.

Getting those in the know all hot under the collar there will be more Invaders of the Future action from the golden voiced JP Cooper, Illinois’s K.Flay, the folk musings of L.A. Salami, hotly-tipped Merseysider Louis Berry, emo four-piece Moose Blood, punk rockers Milk Teeth, hyperreal ultrapop label PC Music All Stars and Pinegrove.

Don’t miss the chance to check out Merthyr Tydfil’s Pretty Vicious, Toronto’s Pup, the hypnotic and pulsing Rationale, off-kilter R&B producer Royce Wood Junior, epic indie upstarts The Sherlocks, Mancunian powerhouse Spring King, mesmerising 12-piece Stompy's Playground and incorrigible ravers Subgiant.

And make sure you catch amazing new music from Brooklyn trio Sunflower Bean, Smugglers co-founder Will Varley, purveyors of surf-doom The Wytches, alt rockers Vant, the Island’s own Xockha and indie three-piece Zibra.

Collecting all our top tips for the future in one mind-blowing stage, head to the Invaders of the Future and discover what fires up Bestival’s soul.

Bestival unveils new music for the future…

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Predicting something very special as we charge inexorably towards The Future, the Bestival crew are set to whet your appetite with a hearty helping of amazing bands and DJs that will be joining The Cure Major Lazer, Diplo, Carl Cox, Fatboy Slim, Bastille, Skepta, Wolf Alice and many more at Robin Hill this coming September.

Rob da Bank says: “I love booking Bestival. It’s proper ‘kid in a sweetshop’ time when I look at all the acts out there and try to curate a line-up that makes sense across many genres… which is how I think Bestivalites like it. It’s not just booked for you, it’s for me too, so I cannot wait for a weekend encompassing Kano, Goldie, Mura Masa, Evian Christ and Reggie and Bollie. If you fancy it too, I’ll see you on the ferry!”

Upping the grime ante, renaissance man Kano will be joining us to showcase his skills with some super-sick bars. His recent Fire in the Booth for Charlie Sloth was a total masterclass that set the standard for the young pretenders, making his appearance at Bestival truly unmissable.

We’ll also have future perfect live performances from much vaunted Seattle duo Odesza, the lush and sultry Snakehips, wunderkind producer Mura Masa, London collective WSTRN, superfly freestyler Lady Leshurr, BBC Sound of 2016 nominee Billie Marten, Brits Critics' Choice nominee Frances, soul-funk-jazz-pop fusionist Izzy Bizu. and X Factor’s real superstars Reggie & Bollie.   

Also taking to the stage will be the inimitable Los Hermanos Cubanos, The Cuban Brothers, the sublimely intimate This Is The Kit, South African folkster Jeremy Loops and our old mates the Rajasthan Heritage Brass Band. 

Stepping up to the platters that matter to keep you dancing all night long expect DJ sets from beat juggling behemoth DJ Yoda, Metalheadz legend Goldie, Southampton’s finest deck destroyer James Zabiela, sonic adventurers Mount Kimbie, and Ellesmere Port’s boldest export Evian Christ. 

There will also be sets from Radio 1’s Heidi, bass marauders Oneman b2b My Nu Leng, on the fly edit merchants Melé & Monki’s NRG Flash, architect of grime and recent Bestival FM guest Artwork, and Honey Soundsystem, Applescal, Poté and Venum Sound.

And, adding a soupçon of off the wall behaviour, we will have Bestival antics from spandex-clad force of nature Mr Motivator, crack of dawn ravers Morning Gloryville, and Circus Raj.

Bestival – New stage and headliners announced: The Spaceport

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The Port is dead. Long live The Spaceport!

HMS Bestival has vanished in mysterious circumstances. Investigations are underway, but as the enigma deepens and the conspiracy theories grow, the ship’s fate remains unclear. As the future unfolds, and human horizons expand beyond the planet, The Port, devoid of its antiquated maritime attraction, will evolve into a new kind of universal berth. A colossal cosmodrome. The Spaceport.

Rob da Bank says: “Be under no illusions my futuristic friends… This stage is going to blow your mind and take you interstellar like no other stage before… This is The Future of the dance. HMS Bestival, our trusty old ship, has sunk or otherwise been sucked down a Bermuda Triangle shaped whirlpool, and thus we are reinventing Robin Hill’s sacred rave space once more with a spaceship the likes Planet Earth has never witnessed.

“A veritable space oddity standing seven storeys high The Spaceport will beam out music day and night, lit by lasers with giant astronauts floating across the sky. Prepare for take-off, take your protein pills and put your helmet on. See you at The Spaceport in t-minus 196 days and counting…”

Featuring a vast rocket standing more than 20 metres high at its centre, The Spaceport is a laser-loaded mega-structure featuring a truly state of the art db audio array processing sound system, guaranteed to smash out epic low-end, with lighting design from Lite Alt Design’s world renowned Paul Normandale, whose previous credits include the Chemical Brothers, Coldplay and the Tate Modern Turbine Hall. The Spaceport is a unique step in the advancement of sound and vision, where next-level partying isn’t just an ambition, it’s a promise.

As well as a main stage date with Major Lazer, the mighty Diplo will also be making a separate appearance headlining our brand new stage.  A true innovator and originator, when Diplo first brought his Mad Decent Soundsystem to rip up Bestival 2009 the night was truly legendary, so expect more of the same and a lot more besides.

Rave pioneer, three-deck wizard, label don and über producer, Carl Cox is lined up for some very special headline excursions at The Spaceport. A mainstay of contemporary dance culture over the last three decades, we’re super-excited that he’ll be joining our futurescape playing an unmissable, career-spanning House Classics set.

He’s headlined the main stage (twice), he’s played Bollywood, the Big Top, and even a sneaky set or two in the hidden disco, so when we asked our great friend and serial rave god Fatboy Slim back this year, there was only ever one place we wanted him to play; on our epic new stage, The Spaceport!

Common People Announce Big Top Line-ups

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Revealing a gargantuan cavalcade of delicious music for your dancing feet coming to Common People, we’re extremely excited to announce our Big Top line-up and lots more dance-based beatniks, who will be joining Duran Duran, Primal Scream, Craig David, Gaz Coombes, Public Enemy and many more at Oxford’s South Park and Southampton Common on Saturday 28th May and Sunday 29th May.

Common People curator Rob da Bank says: “Well, what can I say? Some of my favourite DJs, new and old, are coming to our joint Common People shebangs in Southampton and Oxford. Rodigan is a legendary party starter and reggae god, Kurupt FM are the funniest, funkiest garage crew ever and Hospitality promise to bring the jungliest ruckus… See you down the front”.

Hitting the Big Top in Southampton on Saturday and heading on to Oxford on Sunday we will have pure murkage and bare reloads from Brentford’s finest pirate radio crew Kurupt FM, plus there will be a sublime Hospitality Takeover featuring Camo & Krooked, London Elektricity, Fred V & Grafix, Etherwood and Dynamite MC, Wrec, with 130bpm bomb selection by Amy Becker.

Making good in South Park’s Big Top on Saturday and bound for Southampton Common on Sunday is reggae big gun David Rodigan MBE who will present his legendary Ram Jam with My Nu Leng, David Rodigan MBE, DJ Zinc, Prince Fatty and Venum Sound, plus there will be bassline business from recent chart stars 99 Souls, plus soulful and classy club business from local boys made good Housewurk in Oxford.

In Southampton our iconic Bollywood Cocktail Bus will play host to Junk: “Not Your Thing” on Saturday with rising Glaswegian star Denis Sulta ramping up the energy, and speaker smashers from Jordan McKinlay, Luca Pilato, Ronnie Spiteri, Caruana & Daniel O’Rourke, while Sunday’s sounds come courtesy of Deaf By Disco, Pete Callard, Foor and Little Chief.

There will be plenty of beats and bass in Oxford at the kaleidoscopic Sugar Skulls Cocktail Bar with Ben Gomori, Cornerstone Soundsystem, Ghettospheric, Mims & Thirsty, DJ Giles, Joel Kane and DJ Hecktick providing the flavour on Saturday, while on Sunday Simple Presents club wunderkind and Glaswegian house maverick Jasper James, with soundsystem fire from Em Williams, James Weston, Xavier, Time Gore, Tom Baker, Stav, Dan Gascoyne and Burt Cope.

Oxford’s South Park will also have the exalted Disco Shed on hand to keep you dancing long into the evening with Count Skylarkin (Trojan Records), Kerry & Casio, DJ FU (Freerange), Harvey K-Tel, Greg’s Greats (The Shellac Collective), Alex 19 from Wigan and Jason ‘The Cat’ King on Saturday and Peepshow Paddy, Del Gazeebo, Em Williams (Simple), Dapper Dan, Trol23, JJMaurage’s Reggae Bingo and Miss Splinters on Sunday.

Future themed Bestival announce headliners for 2016

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The omens are good, The Future is happening. WithBestival 2016’s Future theme unveiled, we can hurtle headlong into the good times, revealing three massive headliners and an incredible cast of musical pioneers, forward thinking funksters and precognitive pop stars, who will be journeying with us into Bestival’s glamourous machine age, where everlasting gobstoppers signal eternal bliss, this September 8-11, disembarking fromRobin Hill on the Isle of Wight.

Future swashbuckler Rob da Bank says: “So, here we go again, but this time we’re going far… far away… into the future. Prepare yourselves for a Bestival unlike any other with futuristic new stages, and as ever it’s a broad church of music from every decade and every genre. Saturday night headliners and one of my favourite bands ever, The Cure, played Bestival five years ago and almost had to be dragged off stage after a three-hour mammoth greatest hits set. Robert Smith popped down last year and we shook hands on it all happening again… bring it on!

“Friday honours go to Major Lazer who have killed it every time they’ve played, on a bigger stage each time – I remember going to see an exhausted, sweating Diplo after his last main stage show for us and he said ‘headline next time?’, so here we are!

“It’s not all about the headliners, as we know, so I’m super-pleased to have acts as diverse as Hot Chip, Years and Years, Animal Collective and Damian ‘Jr Gong’ Marley, through to the hottest DJs Kurupt FM and the Black Madonna. This is just the start of the trip – see you in The Future!”

The Cure’s Robert Smith said: “We are very very happy to be back at our favourite festival; we can’t wait to play a special set to show the future IS what it used to be…”

Major Lazer commented: "We started at Bestival five years ago, and it was one of our favourite shows to date. Feels like home for us… Rugged and real music fans… Since then we finally impacted in England, and we can’t wait to do our new show and play all the records for the fans at one of the best festivals in the world!!”

 

 

 

One of Bestival HQs favourites and, frankly, one of the greatest bands of all time, The Cure will headline Saturday night when Bestival heads to The Future. From Three Imaginary Boys in 1979 to their most recent album 4:13 Dream, they’ve forged their own path, dragging everyone else in their wake. Covering the gamut of emotions that take in the heady pop of Boys Don’t Cry and Inbetween Days, the heartbreak of Pictures of You and Bloodflowers, the ferociousness of Give Me It and Fascination Street and the dreaminess of Underneath the Stars and Lovesong, their live shows are legendary, taking the crowd on a beautiful rollercoaster ride. So, we really can’t wait to welcome them back to the main stage at Robin Hill this September.

Ensuring that Friday night’s main stage behaviour goes off with the requisite bang that will fire us forward into the unknown, we’re ecstatic that Major Lazer are making their return in 2016. Their last appearance driving willing Bestivalites to the edge of abandon has passed into Bestival lore, making them one of the most incredible live spectacles we’ve ever witnessed. Powered by the inimitable ingenuity of Diplo and Jillionaire, Major Lazer’s Peace Is The Mission album ruled sound systems throughout 2015, producing one of the year’s anthems in Lean On, and launching the band into truly big leagues. Guaranteed to be a mindblower, you don’t want to miss our Friday night headliners.

They’re practically Bestival’s house band, having appeared with us at Robin Hill more times than almost anyone else, so we really couldn’t be happier that the incredible Hot Chip are very much a part of Bestival’s Future headlining Thursday night in the Big Top. From some truly impressive fancy dress action to trailblazing virtual reality band members they always pull out all the stops. Last year’s stripped back Why Make Sense? album was their sixth piece de resistance earning them universal acclaim, add to that their arsenal of kinetic electro-pop bangers and you have a nailed-on guarantee of good times, to help kick of our future adventures in stupendous style.

 With one more headliner still to announce, we have a litany of musical treats, all presented in alphabetical order for your delectation, that will keep you reaching for the stars all weekend long, including Animal Collective, Aurora, Bastille, Beaty Heart, Benjamin Damage, Bicep, The Black Madonna, Bodhi presents ROOTS, Caravan Palace, Craig David’s TS5, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley,and David Rodigan MBE presents Ram Jam.

 Plus, we’ll have Eats Everything, Eskimo Dancefeaturing Wiley, Section Boyz, Chip, Big Narstie, Newham Generals, Frisco, P Money, Elf Kid, AJ Tracey, Jammz, Fekky, Logan Sama & Maximum, Ghostpoet, and Hospitality Presents: Camo & Krooked, London Elektricity, S.P.Y B2B Nu:Tone, Danny Byrd B2B Brookes Brothers, Maduk, Dynamite MC and Wrec. 

There will also be performances from The Human League, Jagwar Ma, Katy B, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Krept & Konan, Kurupt FM’s Champagne Steam Rooms, Loyle Carner, MØ, Petite Meller and techno genius, Richie Hawtin.

 Shoegaze pioneers Ride will be travelling with us into the unknown, and there will be high octane action fromShy FX’s Party On The Moon, Skepta, Skream, Slamboree, Tourist, Wolf Alice and Years & Years.