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The Maccabees, The National & New Order to headline Latitude Festival 2016

November 25, 2018March 3, 2016 by Summer Festival Guide

Today Latitude Festival announces the line up for their 11^th edition which takes place onThursday 14^th to Sunday 17^th July 2016 in the stunning grounds of Henham Park, Suffolk.

The Maccabees return to Latitude to perform their first ever major festival headline show on Friday night in the Obelisk Arena. The south London five piece climb to the top of the bill to cap a remarkable twelve months that has seen them score their first number one album with the acclaimed ‘Marks To Prove It’ last July, and crowned as Best British Band at last month’s NME Awards.

Saturday welcomes one of Latitude’s most loved bands, The National, back to Henham Park as the first ever act to headline the festival for a second time. Their return to the Obelisk stage will be a UK festival exclusive this year; promising a stellar set drawn from their unparalleled six albums.

British all-time greats, New Order took the world by surprise with the release of ‘Music Complete’last year; 10 years on from their previous studio offering. With 35 years of genre and era-defining classics to draw upon, New Order are set to provide a spectacular closing performance for Latitude 2016.

Melvin Benn, founder and creator of Latitude Festival commented:

“I’m thrilled to announce the first acts for Latitude 2016. The Maccabees, The National, and New Order headlining the music, coupled with the theatre and poetry bill looking stronger than ever, ensures Latitude 2016 is already simply unmissable. Following the incredible success of our tenth edition last year, we had set the bar high for this year’s festival; we have a debut headline performance from The Maccabees to look forward to, which I’m really excited about and as always, the arts offering is set to be incomparable.”

Quotes from 2016 headliners:

“Latitude is the first major headline slot in our fourteen year existence and the culmination of the year spent touring ‘Marks To Prove It’. We're intending on it being a celebration of it all. See you there.” – The Maccabees

"Latitude has been one of our favorite festivals ever since we barely made it to play in 2006 (Cold War Kids lent us their instruments as we arrived mid set having been stuck at the border). We love the genuine multi-disciplinary format of the festival and the grounds are enchanting to wander through. We feel incredibly honored to be the first previous headliner to be asked back a second time." – The National

“We are thrilled to be headlining Latitude. It’s our first time at the festival so we’re looking forward to exploring, especially the diverse range of acts, bring on July!” – New Order
The Obelisk Arena will see performances by some of today’s most exciting and respected artists. French electro act M83 will be making their acclaimed return and Courtney Barnett will perform back to back with fellow BRIT nominee Father John Misty, in his only UK festival performance this year. Also taking to the Obelisk Arena Stage will be Denver folk rock trio The Lumineers, Glaswegian synth pop trio Chvrches, incomparable singer-songwriter John Grantand musical nomad Zach Condon’s Beirut.

Performances will come from national treasures British Sea Power, pioneering Arabic collectiveAlif, rock-soul revivalist Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, atmospheric London trioDaughter, and 70s idols Squeeze. Returning favourites genre-defying multiple award winnerLaura Mvula, Australian maverick Chet Faker, Grammy nominated country singer-songwriterSturgill Simpson and soulful BBC Sound Of winner Michael Kiwanuka also join the Obelisk Arena line up.

Latitude Festival 2016 lineup below

LATE NIGHT AT SUNRISE
JUNGLE (DJ SET) | DAVID RODIGAN (A JOURNEY THROUGH REGGAE)
MARLON WILLIAMS | MIKE SKINNER and MURKAGE present TONGA

LAVISH BIG SCREEN
GLEN MATLOCK | STEPHEN MALLINDER | DON LETTS
NATIONAL STUDENTS SELECTION | DJ HARRY K | JET LETTS

PLUS MANY MORE NAMES TO BE ANNOUNCED…

The BBC Radio 6 Music Stage will continue to deliver an exemplary mix of current and future stars, including the first major headline performance by one of the undoubted stars of 2015; Canadian renaissance woman Grimes, whose ‘Art Angels’ was NME’s album of the year. Sunday’s final BBC 6 Music stage performance will come from Icelandic indie folk-pop group Of Monsters And Men.

Elsewhere on the BBC 6 Music Stage will see shows from Swedish mega group Miike Snow, Philadelphia fuzz-rockers Kurt Vile and the Violators, France’s breakout star Christine and the Queens, critically acclaimed synth pop talent Perfume Genius, British soul from Jamie Woonand minimal electronic pop songstress Låpsley. Joining them will be Frightened Rabbit with their brand new Aaron Dessner produced album, BBC sound poll 2016 finalist Mura Masa, the voice of the most streamed track of all time – Denmark’s MØ, Minneapolis synth poppersPoliça, anthemic Canadians Half Moon Run, UK rap legend Roots Manuva, acclaimed alt-pop duo Oh Wonder, the explosive Rat Boy, infectious Brooklyn quintet Lucius and ethereal Norwegian breakthrough artist Aurora.

The intimate Sunrise Arena returns with an eclectic line up that boasts some of the most exciting barrier-breaking electronic musicians around. Hidden away in the woods sees headline performances from Vancouver’s psychedelic export Black Mountain and the lauded Pantha Du Prince with his new AV show The Triad. Support comes from half of Fuck Buttons’ Blanck Mass project and Canadian experimental electro duo Bob Moses, alongside Australia’s Hayden James who brings his R&B-influenced electronic pop to the Sunrise Arena. Making their Latitude debuts are Norway’s number 1 indie pop group Highasakite and New Zealand’s singer songwriterMarlon Williams who will be bringing his emotional narratives to the stage.

America’s post-punk Protomartyr and Canada’s art-punk, krautrock inspired Suuns will also take to the Sunrise Arena stage, alongside Henham Park’s next door neighbours Drones Clubwhile Anna Meredith; the composer turned electronic producer, and Germany’s idiosyncratic pianist Lambert share their unique takes on a classical sound. Female singer songwriters command the Sunrise Arena, with Londoner Kelly Lee Owens making her Latitude debut, with Australia’s Cloves and Bella Union’s Holly Macve also performing. Toronto’s Weaves will be bending pop stereotypes alongside Ireland’s indie-rock group Little Green Cars, with Manchester’s highly loved Money returning with epically cathartic new material.

Bringing the evenings to a close on the Sunrise Arena, and rounding off the day’s proceedings are recent favourites Jungle with a one off DJ show built especially for the Latitude stage that can’t be seen anywhere else; original reggae selector and soundclash champion David Rodigan MBE, and big Tonga vibes from The Streets’ Mike Skinner and Murkage.

THEATRE AT LATITUDE
Celebrating the biggest names in comedy, theatre, dance, film, cabaret, literature and performance; the UK’s finest multi-arts festival returns for its 11^th Edition promising an unrivalled breadth, depth and quality of arts programming, offering a spectacular choice of major shows, star acts and ground-breaking commissioned works.

Latitude’s Curator of the Arts, Tania Harrison says:

“Latitude celebrates all the art forms and never more so than in this year’s theatre and spoken word performances. We have a multitude of voices, collaborations, and cross art performances – from opera to spoken word to comedy to music to circus to straight plays, puppetry, physical theatre and acrobatics to one on one conversations and encounters – there is so much incredible and exciting work to see at Latitude this year. There’s theatre in the Poetry Arena, Literary Arena, Pandora’s Playground, the Little House, the Theatre Arena and on the banks of the Waterfront. Get a seat in the Theatre, a space on the grass, a cushion in the Poetry, or even climb in bed with a stranger; we’ve got it all going on in a field in Suffolk this summer.”

This year’s theatre programme will reflect on the 2016 theme: ‘Love Thy Neighbour’. Tania Harrison commented;

“The theme for Latitude this year is 'Love Thy Neighbour' and I will be looking to explore what it really means to have an understanding and relate to others; those people next to us, on social media, in the present, across the table, across genders, across streets, across countries, across class and religion, politics and physicality. It's about breaking boundaries for the greater good.”

Theatre Arena
Circa, the stunning contemporary circus company from Australia will open the Theatre Arena on Thursday evening with their genre-defying show Il Ritorno, dazzling the crowds with riveting acrobatic performance set to Monteverdi’s operatic music. Exploring themes of displacement and refugeeism, Il Ritorno is a breath-taking physical performance that resonates with Latitude’s theme, ‘Love Thy Neighbour’.

Led by Artistic Director Lee Simpson and in collaboration with Blind Summit, Improbable will present an improvised puppetry performance like no other – Animo – where the characters will literally be constructed before your very eyes. With no script, no set, just a range of everyday materials and five improvisers, Animo will invent itself as it goes along.

Further thrills will be found in Berlin-based arts collective Gob Squad’s Super Night Shot, the second of our international theatre shows to explore the Latitude theme, ‘Love Thy Neighbour’. InSuper Night Shot, the public will become co-stars in a movie that celebrates unplanned meetings with strangers and delights in the randomness of urban existence.

In what is sure to be one of this year’s highlights, the Lyric Hammersmith return to the theatre tent for the first time in five years with this irreverent, iconoclastic and deeply disrespectful celebration of the genius of Oscar Wilde; a work-in-progress performance of their forthcoming production, The Importance of Being Earnest. Director Sean Holmes wrangles The Great British Bake Off’s Mel Giedroyc and a dishevelled comedian, Ed Gaughan, to take on the extreme acting challenge of playing every character in Wilde’s masterpiece.

In another musical spectacular, the Theatre Arena audience will be on their feet, singing along with the Graeae and their heart-warming performance of Paul Sirett’s acclaimed coming of age tale Reasons to be Cheerful, featuring Ian Dury and the Blockheads’ greatest hits. Experience Ian Dury’s lyrics in all their glory as British sign language, captioning and audio descriptive banter are seamlessly woven into the show. Graeae Theatre Company is a pioneer in terms of access, inclusion and activism, and as an integrated disabled and non-disabled company the 2016 theme of ‘Love Thy Neighbour’ couldn't be more clearly demonstrated in their brilliantly diverse performers and working methods.

Award-winning comedian and playwright Mark Thomas will be performing Red Shed, the final part in a trilogy that began with Bravo Figaro and Cuckooed. Part theatre, stand up, journalism and activism, Red Shed sees Mark back at the place where he first started to perform in public, a red wooden shed in Wakefield – the labour club – to celebrate the club’s 50^th birthday. Touching upon this year’s theme ‘Love Thy Neighbour’, it is the story of the battle for hope and the survival of a community in a small wooden shed.

In the first of two Theatre Arena productions marking the 400^th year since Shakespeare’s death,Fight in the Dog will present some of Latitude’s favourite comedians putting their own spin on one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies; Love’s Labour’s Lost, with Liam Williams infusing the words of William with a unique freshness and fun. Following their incredible performance ofDracula at last year’s festival, Action to the Word return to the Theatre Arena with an electrifying adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, bringing their dynamic, exciting and shocking theatre style to one of the playwright’s most famous plays.

The Theatre Arena audience will need to have their hairbrushes at the ready to sing along with French company Airnadette – the world's greatest air-band – who are bringing their hit lip synching showcase to Latitude this year. Described by GQ as ‘part postmodern happening, part totally berserk’ and jam packed with references to cult classics from Star Wars to Monty Python,it’s sure to blow everyone away!

Sam Halmarack, Dan Canham & Olivia Winteringham will be presenting an early exploration of the devised musical Always and Totally Forever – a lament for what’s gone and a chaotic celebration of what’s to come. Through a riotous mosaic of song, dance and video art, the company will have the audience feeling the lust, confusion and excitement of being a teenager first-hand.

The Little House
The Little House studio space will host an eclectic variety of extraordinary performances. Opera North will be bringing a real bandstand full of musicians playing the sound of long summer nights in The Little House, with a performance of Parklife. Ferocious Transylvanian fiddling meets smoky Hungarian café songs; this whirl of European music from Bartók to Brahms will bring to life lost worlds and leave the audience spellbound.

The Young Vic & Royal Court will present Cuttin’ It – the incredibly emotive play from award-winning playwright Charlene James, tackling the urgent issue of FGM in Britain and the price some girls pay to become a woman. It’s a piece that encourages the audience to look more closely at the lives of those around them and to raise awareness of a deeply affecting procedure.

Latitude is thrilled to welcome another brand new play by Charlene James, brought to the festival by the UK’s foremost British-African theatre company tiata fahodzi, working in collaboration with world-leading Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) who have commissioned her to write with – and for – an exceptional cast of black RADA students. Their brief: to write better for black Britons, and bring the British public an enthralling new piece about humans, not stereotypes.

The phenomenally talented producer, director, performer and writer Shon Dale-Jones, best known for his comic creation Hugh Hughes, will be bringing a brand new show, The Duke, to The Little House. The show, about rearranging your priorities in a world full of crisis, gives us pause for thought.

Liam Williams, two-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee and “the Fringe's most articulate and original chronicler of twenty-something angst” (Telegraph) will present his debut play,Travesty, a show with a simple and striking conceit at its centre, about a couple of young, slightly lost, middle-class people who meet, start having sex and then don’t so much fall in love as cautiously negotiate their way into it.

Louise Mothersole and Rebecca Biscuit of Sh!t Theatre will present another of this year’s work in progress productions, Letters to Windsor House – a simultaneously personal and political piece of detective work and a look at how the housing crisis has affected the two performers’ friendship, a personal look at the Latitude theme, ‘Love Thy Neighbour’. Ursula Martinez will present Free Admission, a show that celebrates the inconsistencies and contradictions that make us human, whilst having a dig at some of the mess that is of our own making.

More new work being showcased in The Little House this year includes an extraordinary new drone soundscape piece from Christopher Brett Bailey – composer, theatre-maker and author of the award-winning punk-opera The Inconsiderate Aberrations of Billy the Kid. Nabokov Theatre Company, led by their new Artistic Director, Stef O’Driscoll, will take over The Little House for an evening of live music, theatre and RAVE. As well as nabokov’s brand new show SLUG written by Sabrina Mahfouz, you can expect nabokov’s incredible associates’ artists, world champion beatboxer Bellatrix, TeaFilms and Real Media’s Kam Sandhu to present an explosive multimedia experience. Licensed to Ill will have The Little House audience on their feet with their outrageously energetic account of the Beastie Boys rise to fame.

In Jim Cartwright’s highly acclaimed play Raz, the Latitude audience is invited out on the town with Shane, one of the low-paid generation living with his parents, and living it up at the weekend, blowing his wage packet on a perfectly orchestrated evening of drinks, drugs, and girls. Directed by Anthony Banks and starring James Cartwright, Raz has won much critical praise, described by the Evening Standard as “a rhythmic, rhyming vivid treat. Beautifully written and an enthralling performance.” The hilarious comedy trio Sleeping Trees take on sci-fi movies accompanied by a rip-roaring live score in a brand new show, and internationally acclaimed comedian George Eggwill bring his sell out surreal and absurd mix of stand-up comedy and striking innovation to The Little House. The i paper have said of Anarchist Cook: One Man, One Hour, Three Courses, that “someone should give Egg his own anarchist cookery television show as soon as possible”, and Latitude agrees – this is an experience not to be missed!

Actress and set designer Stefanie Mueller will present Prelude to a Coat; an investigation into the choices we make and why we make them, from the things we own to the things we do, andRachael Clerke will be performing the highly political and very funny Cuncrete (described by one audience goer as “Eric Pickles meets Pussy Riot”). Site specific, collaborative theatre companyFlipping the Bird are set to perform a new feminist piece written by Phoebe Éclair-Powell, Fox, and in a performance exploring this year’s theme, ‘Love Thy Neighbour’ Annie Siddons will bringHow (not) to Live in Suburbia, a piece based upon Annie’s gauche and wrong-footed attempts to fit in after she accidently found herself living in suburbia.

Old Trunk Theatre were responsible for last year’s smash-hit success Pramkicker, and in 2016 the hugely talented Sadie Masler and Sarah Mayhew are back with a brand new production, Fran & Leni; part of a series of performances celebrating the 40^th anniversary of punk. There will be a new show, Triple Threat from the experimental performer Lucy McCormick; a trash-step-dub-punk morality play for the modern age. And finally for The Little House audience, Pentabus Theatre will present a piece by their 16-25 year old young writers, with Last Journey; a performance comprised of interwoven vignettes, many of which explore this year’s theme, ‘Love Thy Neighbour’. Silent Uproar will perform A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) – a fun, silly and sad new show written by Jon Brittain which explores the serious issues of depression and mental health, told with a mixture of storytelling, live music, and sketch comedy.

Faraway Forest
The magical setting of Latitude’s legendary Faraway Forest will see the return of Glen Neath & David Rosenberg with a Latitude commission called Séance, a piece that takes place in a shipping container, in total darkness as the audience tries to connect with the other side. Everything By My Side, by celebrated Argentinian artist Fernando Rubio and presented by LIFT, invites members of the audience to climb into bed with a stranger; one of seven actresses in seven beds, who will whisper intimate stories from their childhood. This brief encounter will take place in the middle of the Faraway Forest in the heart of Latitude Festival. Forest Fringe are also back, presenting a diverse bill of new and specially commissioned work exploring this year’s theme, along with Dash Arts who will present Ukrainian Dacha – the latest instalment in The Soviet Series – an artistic journey through the lands, people, stories and cultures of the Post-Soviet States.

There will be new work aplenty in the Faraway Forest, with Mobile by The Paper Birds, exploring themes of home, belonging, social mobility, that also tie into the theme of ‘Love Thy Neighbour’.Deanna Rodger & Gemma Rogers will present a new show, Earth: Life on Earth is baffling, and not quite what Gem & D had wished for come the year 2016, so they are on a mission to find an alternative habitat, and in the pursuit of space away from Earth they come face to face with the view of home truths.

Further new work in the Faraway Forest will include Poleroid Theatre presenting three short ballads about being alive and not, The Ballad Of The Pirate, The Talking Horse and The Monkeywritten by the award winning Luke Barnes, Brad Birch and Kenneth Emson. ARWC will treat the audience to Hang the Teasmaid, A Penguin Classic – short comedy play in the style of an Alan Bennett ‘Talking Heads’, imagining the first meeting between Bennett and Morrissey, with Alan Cox taking on the role of Alan Bennett.

Leeds Beckett will be performing the specially commissioned Borrowed Shoes: exploring this year’s theme, ‘Love Thy Neighbour’, this performance is based upon ‘borrowing’ and learning from the lived experiences of real people from different generations within our society.

Pandora’s Playground
Pandora’s Playground will once again embody the spirit of experiment and carnival with performances from the likes of the award-winning Les Enfants Terribles and their The Fantastical Flying Exploratory Laboratory; a theatrical spectacular featuring a ‘hot air balloon flying machine’ that is sure to mesmerise the Latitude audience.

Pandora’s Playground will also host new productions exploring this year’s theme, includingLatitude, GDIF, Lyric & Imagine Watford presenting Home by Hikapee: Home is a new, daring outdoor circus piece, weaving together slapstick comedy with breath-taking aerial, acrobatic and physical performances to explore what it is to create a ‘home’. Latitude, GDIF, Lyric & Imagine Watford will also present The Little Gardener by How it Ended, a theatrical adaption of Emily Hughes’ popular children’s book The Little Gardener.

Poetry Arena
Theatre and poetry will collide in an eclectic programme of events in the Poetry Arena, including award-winning writer and performer Katie Bonna and her first full-length show – all new for 2016 –All The Things I Lied About. Part documentary and part personal experience, the show is a comic exploration of what happened to estrange Katie from her father, what she is going to do about it in the face of apparently being a grown-up, and why none of us really like honesty as much as we say we do. The charming, eccentric and uplifting Rob Auton, described as ‘the Brian Cox of comedy’ by the Guardian, will also be delighting the audience with brand new work: The Sleep Show.

Jemima Foxtrot is another theatre addition to the Poetry Arena – a performance poet and singer who blends powerful, sonic heavy poetry about modern life with snippets of her favourite artists’ songs. In Memory, Foxtrot will explore how music attached itself to memories, people and places – all told through a journey home from work.

POETRY AT LATITUDE
At the very heart of the festival’s mission to bring arts and music together, the Poetry Arena has always showcased the very best stand up, beat and performance poets, alongside literary legends. This year is no different, with a stellar line up set to captivate and enthral the Latitude audience.

Taking to the stage will be self-taught poet Don Paterson, whose astonishing work has garnered much critical acclaim and multiple awards, including the T.S Eliot Prize. Reading from his collection 40 Sonnets, he will tackle the form head-on, as described by the Guardian: ‘Paterson’s poetry has always been distinguished by its marriage of craft and lyricism, and the sonnet is, simply, the perfect vehicle to showcase this.’ Another highlight, the multi-talented Henry Normal– comedian, poet and writer and television producer responsible for hugely popular programmes such as Gavin and Stacey, The Mighty Boosh and Human Remains.

The famously eccentric and very funny John Hegley will also be delighting the crowds, along with prize-winning poet, novelist, playwright, biographer and translator, Elaine Feinstein. With over 4m views on her YouTube clips, UK Slam Poetry Champion Hollie McNish is not be missed, especially with such endorsement from high-profile fans like Tim Minchin and Benjamin Zephaniah, who has said he ‘can’t take his ears off her’.

Michael Pedersen, co-founder of the exciting cultural collective Neu! Reekie! will be taking to the stage as one half of ‘Scotland’s favourite avante-garde noisemakers’, as will the phenomenally successful Buddy Wakefield, who is set to deliver a characteristically raw, rounded, disarming performance of humour and heart. This year’s outstanding line up will also include co-curator Luke Wright, who will present his new work alongside a wip character Frankie Vah.

Punk poet John Baine brings his radical-force-of-nature poet alter-ego Attila The Stockbroker, who has recently celebrated the 35^th anniversary of his first gig with publication of his autobiography Arguments Yard. A former punk-folk musician, his themes are topical, words hard-hitting, politics unashamedly radical, but make festival crowds roar with laughter as well as seethe with anger. The multi-talented Joshua Idehen will delight the Poetry Arena audience not once, but twice, in a solo spoken word performance and then again as the frontman of bandBenin City. Latitude favourite John Osborne, well known for his Radio 4 comedy shows including John Peel's Shed and The Newsagent's Window will also perform at the Poetry Arena.

The Poetry Arena audience will be treated to performances by Tim Wells, founding editor ofRising poetry magazine and praised by the Guardian for his ‘wit and brilliance’. Former English teacher turned rap battle champ Mark Grist will be joined by award-winning spoken word artistTim Clare for a captivating performance. In a collaboration between The Hosepipe Band and North Essex poet Martin Newell, the band will be performing original music to accompany readings of Martin’s epics, The Song of the Waterlily and Black Shuck – about the sinister ghostly dog said to have haunted East Anglia since Viking times.

Outstanding young talent Helen Mort will be dazzling the Poetry Arena as, according to none other than Carol Ann Duffy, one of the ‘brightest stars in the sparkling new constellation of young British poets’. Talia Randall will bring the extraordinarily original Bloodlines production to the Poetry Arena, remixing garage MCing, communist manifestos and Hulk Hogan’s speeches in an inventive and heartfelt show about how we make sense of ourselves in the 21st century. Rosy Carrick's eccentric style, dense rhyme structures and forceful imagery have won her international acclaim, as well as firmly cementing her place as one of the UK's most unusual and exciting contemporary performance poets.

Harry Baker – ‘a champion’, according to Ed Sheeran, is sure to win the hearts and minds of the Latitude audience with his trademark raw honesty, tongue-in-cheek humour and blistering wordplay. And finally, Derek McLuckie will be taking the Latitude audience on a rollercoaster ride of stories and poems with his signature theatrical showcase.

Lavish Big Screen
The Lavish Big Screen will celebrate the 40 year anniversary of the birth of punk with evenings curated by three iconic legends of the punk era, Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols, Cabaret Voltaire’s Stephen Mallinder and the ‘Rebel Dread’ himself, Don Letts. Each day will feature film, video and music programmes handpicked by the three, followed by live DJ sets by themselves and others long into the night.

Biffy Clyro & Fall Out Boy complete Reading and Leeds 2016 headliners

November 18, 2018March 1, 2016 by Summer Festival Guide

Joining a packed weekend of international heavyweights, Reading & Leeds are delighted to announce their final UK Festival Exclusive co-headliners of 2016; Biffy Clyro and Fall Out Boy. Unstoppable forces in alternative rock on both sides of the Atlantic, both will take to the stage to co-headline an emphatic evening of heavy riffs and melodies.

The phenomenal Biffy Clyro stand as true Reading & Leeds originals, rising through the ranks, their full-throttle rock has propelled them to the top of festival bills around the world. With a new album in the works, and a nation of fans eagerly awaiting their next step, Biffy Clyro are destined to bring their explosive headline credentials for a truly monumental performance at the top of the bill.

Biffy Clyro commented:

"We're baaaaack!! We are honoured to be asked to close Reading and Leeds this summer. We had one of the best nights of our lives last time and we're going to do all we can to make it even bigger and better in 2016. You ain't seen nothing yet motherfuckers!!"

Catalysts for an entire generation, alt rock kingpins Fall Out Boy have sound tracked the teenage dreams of fans around the globe. Their catalogue of unmistakable anthems laid the blueprint for a genre of their own, standing the band as one of the most influential acts of the 21st century. Their 2013 return to Reading & Leeds triggered one of the biggest crowds in festival history, so expect euphoria, nostalgia and pandemonium as Fall Out Boy headline Reading & Leeds 2016.

Speaking about their massive co-headlining spot, Fall Out Boy said:

"It’s pretty surreal to hear we are going to be co-headlining Reading and Leeds. R&L was our first real festival experience outside of the U.S. and since the start we have buckled in and had an insane and memorable experience every time we have played. This is it, the big one for us and we are excited to be a part of it."

Biffy Clyro and Fall Out Boy join an unparalleled line up of headliners for Reading & Leeds 2016, boasting headline performances destined to last long in the history books from Foals, Disclosure and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. With 5 Headliners over 3 Days, Reading & Leeds is the go-to destination for countless, mammoth festival moments.

On top of these sensational headliners, a raft of new names have been confirmed to appear across the bank holiday weekend. Synth-pop revelations Chvrches have taken the world by storm over the past 3 years, with two critically-acclaimed studio albums and a captivating live presence. Fresh from the worldwide success of last year’s “Every Open Eye”, their appearance at Reading & Leeds will leave a lasting effect on a legion of devoted fans.

The Vaccines graduation to the major leagues of British indie has been staggering, releasing three mammoth LPs in 5 years, and securing their reputation as one of the most vital names of recent times. With eclectic cuts from “English Graffiti” and old favourites abound, their set is one destined to elicit jubilant summertime scenes in a UK Festival Exclusive performance at Reading & Leeds 2016.

Uncompromising and consistently pushing boundaries, A$AP Rocky is a global force to be reckoned with, across two acclaimed collection of intoxicating records that both landed at number 1 on the US charts and drew universal acclaim from critics around the globe. A style icon and a generational influencer, his UK Festival Exclusive appearance at Reading & Leeds 2016 sees the crowning of the next king of hip-hop.

After a massive year that culminated in a sold out appearance at London’s Roundhouse, Lower Than Atlantis will be bringing their radio-ready hit parade to Reading & Leeds in a UK Festival Exclusive for yet another momentous milestone for Watford’s finest. They’ll be joined by the latest and greatest in the rock world with the primal tones of Sleeping With Sirens, Welsh reggae-rock titans Skindred, punk legend Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, heavy American icons Five Finger Death Punch and State Champs.

Lower Than Atlantis leader Mike Duce said:

"I'm pretty sure I've said this before but it's because I mean it! It's such an honour to be asked to play R&L, let alone the main stage! And so high up the bill! This means business. It's really time to step up our game!"

Speaking about their Main Stage appearance this year, Skindred frontman Benji Webbe said:

"You will see a lot of bands at Reading & Leeds Festival but there's nothing that will come close to the energy that Skindred will deliver and the vibes that will be rocking through the festival when we hit the stage! A performance not to be missed, we come in peace but we will leave you in pieces."

Sleeping With Sirens said about their UK Festival Exclusive performance:

"Sleeping With Sirens couldn't be more excited for our return to Reading and Leeds Festival! 'If you can't hang then'..

Californian sisters HAIM have grown into mesmeric darlings of the indie-pop world since the global success of debut album “Days Are Gone”. As anticipation grows for their unannounced second studio effort, Este, Danielle and Alana will be transforming Reading & Leeds into their own sun-drenched paradise in another UK Festival Exclusive.

The name on everyone’s lips Jack Garratt will hit Reading & Leeds 2016 with his untouchable electro-rock grooves, fresh from claiming the BBC Sound Of 2016 and BRITS Critics Choice Award that has marked him out as the one to watch this year.

The Wombats unmistakable electro-pop hooks have sound tracked the nation for nearly 10 years and fresh from their biggest live shows of their career in 2015, the Liverpudlian trio will be returning for an unmissable performance.

Speaking of their performance, The Wombats said:

''We are beyond excited to get back to Reading & Leeds Festivals! If I'm correct this will be our fourth time around but without a doubt last year was our favourite. It doesn't get much better than an R&L crowd!"

Exclusively returning to the Reading & Leeds fields are South African rave phenomenon Die Antwoord lighting the stage across the weekend with their unpredictable and chaotic live show.

Kentucky psych-mixers Cage The Elephant will be touching down with a full-barraged assault on the senses, whilst Reading’s own indie dreamers Sundara Karma take to the biggest stages of their career.

Tectonic beats and bass-heavy vibrations are abound, with performances across the weekend from chart-hitters Sigma, dance don Netsky, “White Noise” gliders AlunaGeorge and highly tipped electronic svengali Mura Masa. Grime pillars Krept & Konan will cement their ascent with a high-energy turn at this year’s festivals, with underground king Giggs also due to appear.

Duo Sigma commented:

“We can’t wait to bring the new live show to Reading and Leeds for the first time – see you down the front!”

Netsky said:

“So excited to be coming back to the UK for Reading & Leeds this summer, the crowds always blow me away at these ones, and I can’t wait to bring the live band back again this year once my new album is out. See you in August!”

The Neighbourhood have also been announced, alongside punk purveyors Savages, ‘BBC Sound Of’ indie-mixers Blossoms, recently reunited Suffolk hardcore outfit Basement, Canadian anthem-sourcers Half Moon Run and the fresh dynamic rock of Highly Suspect, who all make for unmissable performances at this year’s festivals.

Basement said:

"We're all really excited to be playing Reading and Leeds festival again this year. It's a huge honour to be asked back and we can't wait to play the NME stage for the first time."

Highly Suspect had this to say on their upcoming appearance at Reading & Leeds 2016:

"Coming to the U.K. was some of the best shit that ever happened to us. Can't believe we get to come back again so soon and play at such an incredible festival. Pumped."

Reading & Leeds rich history in highlighting the sub genres and game-changers of the alternative world will continue in 2016, with calculating metallers The Dillinger Escape Plan returning to the festival 14 years after one of the most talked about appearances in festival history in a UK Festival Exclusive. Another UK Festival Exclusive sits with the unstoppable behemoth that is Asking Alexandria making their Reading & Leeds debut with a headline spectacle for the ages. The returning punks The King Blues will also be bringing their politically-charged sermons on the modern nation to the Reading & Leeds crowds.

Itch from The King Blues says:

"We're so excited to be back amongst the freaks and the troublemakers on the punk stage we've played so many times. This is truly going to be the highlight of my summer"

Bringing an equally fierce live reputation is Creeper, the most talked about new band in the UK, whose sets have become community gatherings with their electric blend of goth and punk rock, making them ones not to be missed. Also announced is the glam-rock stomp of FVK, Rage Against The Machine’s Tim Commerford unleashing his fierce new outfit Wakrat, Philadelphian rockers Modern Baseball, rising punks Dead!, Norweigan six-piece Kvelertak and dark rock glazers Citizen.

FVK co-frontman Kier Kemp commented:

"Well then here's another one for the bucket list! Some of our fondest festival memories are from Reading Festival, and to think we'll be gracing those stages this year is unreal. I guess all I can say is thanks to everyone that's got us here. Yay!"

Creeper said:

"We are incredibly excited to be playing Reading and Leeds festival this year. Members of our band have been attending these festivals since we were kids, it is an incredible honour to have been asked to play and we promise a very special show."

Tim Commerford of Wakrat said:

“I can't believe that WAKRAT will be playing Reading and Leeds this year. It's a blessing to play and introduce my new passion to a part of the world that has been so good to me and has some of the most incredible fans and we hope to win more over.”

Rising punks DEAD! said:

"R&L has become a rite of passage for bands building something and taking it that bit further. We're excited to take that step. See you down the front X"

Reading & Leeds emphatic array of the best in hip-hop continues with the addition of US hit machine Travi$ Scott. The eccentric, genre-blender released his acclaimed debut LP ‘Rodeo” at the end of 2015, only extending his reputation as the most in-demand name in modern hip-hop. He’ll be joined across the weekend with headline sets from G-Eazy whose acclaimed appearance on Grace’s “You Don’t Own Me” sent his stardom to another level. Both of these huge names stand as UK Festival Exclusives, making Reading & Leeds the only place to be for the hottest names in modern hip-hop.

Further additions include Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals who set to deliver an unmissable masterclass in modern jazz and soul whilst reggae wordsmith Protoje, South London’s Section Boyz, gritty actor turned musician Raleigh Ritchie, the undeniable rhymes of Lady Leshurr, label disc-jockey DJ Semtex and Yungen are all set to tear apart the stage at this year’s festivals.

Protoje said about his addition to the lineup:

"The UK is one of my favorite places in the world to play music so it's always a pleasure to come there and play. The crowds there always show up with an energy that is unlike anywhere else in the world. Looking forward to the response at Reading and Leeds Fest."

Indie veterans and Newcastle’s favourite sons Maxïmo Park will be opening their catalogue of art-rock soundscapes that defined a generation of guitar bands. Expect the hits and more from dynamic frontman Paul Smith. In another UK Festival Exclusive, Seratones join the line up, bringing their infectious, swinging rock to Reading & Leeds for an unprecedented evening of Southern charm.

Taking to the stage across the weekend, will be the shining solo moods of Banners, the riotous snarl of rockers INHEAVEN and the fuzzed grunge goodness of Glaswegian dreamers Tuff Love.

Joining co-headliners Disclosure in the dance music world at Reading & Leeds 2016 is a mixture of pioneering legends and the hottest names in underground dance. Duke Dumont will be dropping an undeniable masterclass in modern pop whilst David Rodigan MBE 1Xtra’s Mistajam, BRIT Award nominees Disciples, “Alone No More” hitmaker Philip George, French DJ supremos Birdy Nam Nam, LA spinner Jauz, “Rinse & Repeat” hitmaker Riton and a decadent bass breakdown with My Nu Leng B2B Oneman + Dread MC (Reading) and Oneman B2B My Nu Leng + Dread MC (Leeds) as all take to the decks for unique and bass-shaking performances over the weekend, proving the home of modern dance is Reading & Leeds.

Philip George said:

“When you’re a kid, Reading and Leeds were two festivals you really dream of playing at – and this summer I am buzzing that I get to make that dream come true I remember seeing all the lineups coming out for Reading/Leeds and they are always quality so it's mint that I'm playing it this summer. I’m really looking forward to it”

Including the unprecedented 5 Headliners Over 3 Days in Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foals, Disclosure and today’s announcement of Biffy Clyro and Fall Out Boy, previously announced acts including pop kings The 1975, dance supremos Jack U, Las Vegas chart heroes Imagine Dragons, US hip/hop enigma Fetty Wap, Grime collective Boy Better Know, Courteeners, Twenty One Pilots, Two Door Cinema Club and many, many more!

ANNOUNCED TODAY:

Biffy Clyro (co-headline) (UK Festival Exclusive)

Fall Out Boy (co-headline) (UK Festival Exclusive)

Chvrches

The Vaccines (UK Festival Exclusive)

A$AP Rocky (UK Festival Exclusive)

HAIM (UK Festival Exclusive)

Jack Garratt

The Wombats

Lower Than Atlantis (UK Festival Exclusive)

Asking Alexandria (UK Festival Exclusive)

The Dillinger Escape Plan (UK Festival Exclusive)

Travi$ Scott (UK Festival Exclusive)

G-Eazy (UK Festival Exclusive)

Skindred

Five Finger Death Punch (UK Festival Exclusive)

Sleeping With Sirens (UK Festival Exclusive)

The Neighbourhood (UK Festival Exclusive)

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes

State Champs

Savages

Die Antwoord (UK Festival Exclusive)

Cage The Elephant (UK Festival Exclusive)

Krept & Konan

Sigma

Half Moon Run

Basement

Blossoms

Mura Masa

Giggs

Netsky

Highly Suspect (UK Festival Exclusive)

Sundara Karma

AlunaGeorge

Duke Dumont

David Rodigan MBE

Disciples

My Nu Leng B2B Oneman + Dread MC (Reading) / Oneman B2B My Nu Leng + Dread MC (Leeds)

MistaJam

Philip George

Riton

Birdy Nam Nam

Wakrat

The King Blues

Kvelertak

FVK

Modern Baseball

Dead!

Creeper

Citizen

Maxïmo Park

Raleigh Ritchie

INHEAVEN

Banners

Tuff Love

Seratones

Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals

Section Boyz

Protoje

Lady Leshurr

DJ Semtex

Yungen

Juaz

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED:

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Foals (Co-Headline)

Disclosure (Co-Headline)

Imagine Dragons (European Festival Exclusive)

Jack U

Two Door Cinema Club

The 1975

Courteeners

Boy Better Know (UK Festival Exclusive)

Twenty One Pilots (UK Festival Exclusive)

Crystal Castles (UK Festival Exclusive)

Fetty Wap (UK Festival Exclusive)

Eagles Of Death Metal (UK Festival Exclusive)

Slaves

Parkway Drive (UK Festival Exclusive)

Nothing But Thieves

The Internet (UK Festival Exclusive)

Rat Boy

Hinds

Oliver Heldens

DJ EZ

Hannah Wants

Crossfaith

Kurupt FM Presents: Champagne Steam Rooms

Cassetteboy vs DJ Rubbish

St Jerome’s Laneway Festival in Sydney: LIVE review

November 8, 2018February 22, 2016 by Ellie Swain

As I strolled through the entrance of St Jerome’s Laneway festival in Sydney, I was instantly impressed. Set in Sydney’s college of the arts in Rozelle, the venue was a devastatingly beautiful and unique choice, and certainly different to any music festival venue I’d set foot in before.

It was mid-afternoon, and as we twirled past hordes of impressively fashionable groups of girls (and guys too actually) and aging sandstone buildings, we soon managed to squeeze our way towards the front of the Park Stage to catch our first set of the day; Australian duo Big Scary. I hadn’t heard of the pair before but I soon became drawn in by their chilled out tunes, swaying in time slowly with the masses under the scorching hot summer sun, taking a particular liking to the smooth and slow ‘Thinking about you’ and ‘Twin rivers’.

Next we moved towards the Future Classic Stage to catch talented multi-instrumentalist Japanese Wallpaper, whose name I was very much fond of. Once again, I was captivated. Paired with stunning vocals from singer-songwriter Airling, his enchanting melody ‘Forces’ rippled through the crowd, sounding ever-more delightful teamed with the crowd’s enthusiastic singing.

Soon it was back to the Park stage for something slightly more upbeat in the form of Australian hip-hop duo Hermitude, and upbeat is certainly what we got. The crowds had stretched pretty far back, so perched slightly on a hill we were soon jumping around messily, drenched in sweat, to the likes of the extremely catchy ‘Speak of the devil’ and ‘Searchlight’. Lots of fun was had indeed.

With a two hour gap until Scottish electronic band Chvrches (who I’d been most eager to see) were taking to the Garden stage, we took the opportunity to feed and water ourselves with burgers and plenty of cider. Yum. And with 20 minutes left before the big entrance, somehow we luckily managed to cram our way to the front.

The lovely Lauren Mayberry, Chvrches lead vocalist, soon bounded onto the stage, instantly enthralling the bounds of fans with ‘Never ending circle’, the first track on their latest album, proving to be a fantastic introduction. Mixed in with some witty banter from Lauren, the trio set the stage alight playing tunes from both their albums, Every Open Eye and The Bones of What You Believe. This included the likes of some older picks such as ‘Gun’, ‘We Sink’ and my personal favourite, ‘Recover’, along with fresher stuff such as ‘Leave a trace’ and ‘Clearest blue’. They concluded with a bouncy track everyone would recognise; hit single ‘The Mother We Share’. I was impressed!

With limited time, we snuck off to the Mistletone Stage to catch the end of dream-pop duo Beach House’s set. We were soon spellbound by their mystical-sounding hit ‘Myth’ as their set came to a close. Well, one song was better than nothing, and it was definitely a good ‘un!

It was completely dark by the time we head off to catch our last set of the day, Scottish electronic music producer Hudson Mohawke, back at the Future Classic Stage. By the time we’d arrived, there were tons of groups sitting cross-legged on the ground, most completely drunk from their day out at the festival. Yet soon we were up on our feet again, treated to what was perhaps the most energetic set of the night. As the crowds bopped frantically to the beat along to the likes of hit ‘Chimes’, with the elevated highs and dramatic drops, I couldn’t help but lose myself in the music. It was the perfect way to end a fantastically unique festival.

Photo credits:

Daniel Boud (images 1 & 3)

Jacquie Manning (image 2)

Roskilde Festival announce LCD Soundsystem, MØ, Tame Impala and more

November 18, 2018January 25, 2016 by Summer Festival Guide

The reunited LCD Soundsystem will grace the stage at Roskilde Festival this summer and Danish popstar MØ will play an exclusive show on the iconic Orange Stage. Other announcements today include Tame Impala, Ghost, Chvrches and Destroyer.

With today’s additions, 53 acts of a total of 175 have been announced, revealing more of the already diverse line-up of headliners and the stars of tomorrow from all over the world.

New Order, PJ Harvey, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Wiz Khalifa and Tenacious D are just some of the acts already announced for Roskilde Festival 2016. They will be joined by LCD Soundsystem, MØ, Tame Impala, CHVRCHES, Savages, Destroyer, Ghost, Floating Points and many more.

LCD Soundsystem back after five years

2015 ended with rumours of a possible reunion, and early in 2016 the LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy finally confirmed that the band will be playing shows and recording a new album – their first album since 2010’s “This Is Happening”.

With their three albums from 2005-2015 the band created a unique blend of disco and punk-infused party rock, delivering hits such as Daft Punk Is Playing at My House, All My Friends and Drunk Girls. Following five years of silence, the party is set to restart at Roskilde Festival’s biggest stage, the iconic Orange Stage.

Head of Programme Anders Wahrén says:

“LCD Soundsystem’s reunion almost came out of the blue, and we didn’t dare to believe the initial rumours. We’re happy to be part of this reunion, presenting them for the third time at Roskilde Festival. Unlike many other bands, LCD Soundsystem pulled the plug at the very height of their success, and they won’t just play shows, they’ll also treat us to a new album. We’re fully convinced that they’ll live up to the massive expectations."

LCD Soundsystem played the Danish festival in 2007 and 2010.

Denmark’s biggest popstar

Danish popstar MØ has shown the world that one can rise to the top without compromises. Doing things her own way she’s turned into a bonafide pop star in her own right, smashing another record last year for “most streamed song ever” on Spotify with her single Lean On, co-written with Major Lazer and DJ Snake (more than 630 million streams).

At the beginning of her career, MØ was booked to play Roskilde Festival’s smallest stage, and she will now return to the festival where her pop star status was cemented. MØ is currently working on her second album.

The best of everything

New additions also include Australia’s very own Tame Impala, widely acclaimed electronic acts such as Floating Points and Recondite, post-punk favourites Savages, electro-pop highlight CHVRCHES, beloved sophisto-pop artist Destroyer and many more.

These 21 acts have been announced for Roskilde Festival 2016 today:

LCD Soundsystem (US)

MØ (DK)

Ghost (S)

Kvelertak (N)

S!vas (DK)

Tame Impala (AUS)

Birdy Nam Nam (F)

Chvrches (UK)

Destroyer (CA)

DJ Paypal (DE)

First Hate (DK)

Floating Points UK)

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes (UK)

Gaye Su Akyol (TR)

Klub 27 (DK)

The Minds of 99 (DK

Palace Winter (DK)

Protomartyr (US)

Recondite (DE)

Savages (UK)

Tal National (NE)

Chrvches, Jamie XX and more set for Sweden’s Way Out West

November 18, 2018December 16, 2015 by Summer Festival Guide

In 2016 the festival aims to set the bar even higher handpicking the most exciting names across hip-hop, electronic, rock and pop music highlighted by the first announcement. Jamie xx has had a stand-out year with his debut album 'In Colour' reaching number 3 in the UK charts and cementing his position as one of the most exciting producers around thanks to numerous stand out festival performances. Scottish actChvrches also finish 2015 on a high having released their second studio album second album ''Every Open Eye' to critical acclaim, whilst local songstress Anna Von Hauswolff flies the flag high for Swedish folk. UK Grime pioneer Stormzy will undoubtedly slay the crowd in his own inimitable style and French producer M83 will also be bringing his dreamy synths to the Way Out West main stage for a rare performance, and still many more artist to be announced.

Its the Ship launches first phase lineup

November 18, 2018September 22, 2014 by Summer Festival Guide

With the festival set to attract regional and international music-lovers for its inaugural sail, IT’S THE SHIP embarks from Singapore on 21 November and will return to shores on the 25 of November via the straits of Malacca. International and regional headliners will perform on multiple stages full steam ahead in a first-ever journey of this magnitude in Asia. As a key highlight, the cruise liner will dock in the tropical island of Langkawi for a star-studded day beach party of epic proportions on November 23.

SBCR (The Bloody Beetroots), Chvrches and Lil Jon among the acts set to play at Asia’s largest festival at sea

A registration system, housed at www.itstheship.com, is now in place in order to encourage mixed diasporas on board the cruise. The cabins, for all five days and four nights on board IT’S THE SHIP will range from USD $430 (early bird price) to USD4,000 per person for the wickedly luxurious ‘royal suite’ which boasts a grand piano as part of the amenities. Prices are also inclusive of main meals, selected non-alcoholic beverages and free usage of most of the ship’s facilities.

Response to pre registration, an option that launched just seven days ago, has proved extremely positive with over 10,000 people registering their interest to purchase cabins on board IT’S THE SHIP. The floating music festival is expected to attract over 3,800 fans of which 60% are expected to come from outside of Singapore. Participation is expected from countries including Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, and even from Europe and the USA.

The phase one list of acts announced today include:

International acts (in alphabetical order)

· Aeroplane

· Alex Metric

· Chvrches

· Crookers

· Lil Jon

· Louisahhh!!!

· SBCR (The Bloody Beetroots) – DJ Set

· Tropkillaz

· + many more to be announced soon

Regional acts (in alphabetical order)

· Dangerdisko (Malaysia)

· Eva-T (Malaysia)

· H3 (Malaysia)

· Irama (Malaysia)

· Mr. Nasty + GuruGuru (Malaysia)

· Rave Republic (Singapore)

· Sungus (Singapore)

· Twinkies (Malaysia)

· + more to be announced soon

“In true Livescape fashion, expect positive surprises. There is always an element of surprise with us so trust us when we say there will be many more acts to add to the lineup we have just announced. To those who have yet to register, we urge them to do so as soon as possible as we are expecting a sold out cruise,” added Iqbal.

Summer Series at Somerset House lineup announced

November 18, 2018March 18, 2014 by Summer Festival Guide

London’s intimate live music festival will play host to a typically eclectic and impressive array of headline artists alongside hotly tipped acts.
Opening on the first night will be London-based trio, Daughter. Fronted by Elena Tonra, their haunting melodies will set the tone for a programme of beautifully atmospheric live gigs. Next up will be Dublin-quartet Kodaline who’ll continue proceedings with their powerful blend of emotive rock. Having already gained a strong following after being nominated for the BBC Sound Poll 2013 and winning the EBBA Public Choice Award in 2013, the band have more than qualified the hype that has been lavished upon them.

Taking to the stage on the third evening of Summer Series is angelic Danish singer/songwriter Agnes Obel with her ethereal tones. Having won multiple Danish music awards including Best Album, Best Female Artist and Best Songwriter of the Year, Somerset House will provide a magical backdrop for her exquisitely melancholic vocals.

On 13 July, the incomparably outrageous Australian collective The Cat Empire touch down for their Summer Series debut for an evening guaranteed to make everyone dance. Renowned all around the globe as one of the world’s best festival bands, The Cat Empire have carved themselves a unique place in the musical firmament which will make for a truly unforgettable night.

Summer Series will then welcome the almighty Kelis to the courtyard stage. Known for years of chart-dominating songs including the infamous ‘Milkshake’ and thrilling, boundary-pushing music, Kelis will be bringing her raw and soulful show with her glittering hits to Somerset House.

The following evening will see the biggest-selling new British act of 2013, Bastille, arrive for an intimate show in their home city. With their debut album Bad Blood achieving platinum status in the UK, it’s clear Bastille’s Summer Series show will be welcomed by music lovers far and wide.

On 16 July, London fans will be delighted to see Glaswegian rockers Franz Ferdinand headline the evening’s events with their exuberant and eclectic indie rock. Back with their fourth album, it once again cements their status as a unique and adventurous British band. Scottish synthpop trio Chvrches will continue the Summer Series’ proceedings on 17 July. A band born on the Internet who quickly burst onto the music scene, their wizardry has already won them a top five place in the BBC Sound of 2013 Poll. A magical 80’s inspired, euphoric evening is expected from the band.

Hugely talented singer/songwriter of the moment Sam Smith will join the line-up for an epic evening on 18 July. His melancholic lyrics and unforgettable vocal have led to a Brits Critics Choice win and performances at festivals from Glastonbury to Coachella. Next up, hotly tipped chart-toppers Clean Bandit will headline on 19 July. Having had huge success with their number one hit ‘Rather Be’, the four-piece will bring their addictive dance-pop delights to Somerset House. Beats and soaring strings evoke Massive Attack while their live show calls on Basement Jaxx with a brand new twist.

Headlining the grand finale of the 2014 Summer Series will be insurmountable electro R&B adventurers Little Dragon. Anchored by the otherworldly vocals of front woman Yukimi Nagano, they will close proceedings with their phenomenal live show. Over the course of three albums, Little Dragon have pushed boundaries and shown they’re a dance act like no other.

Unknown Croatia add Chvrches, Wild Beasts and more to 2014 lineup

November 18, 2018February 4, 2014 by Summer Festival Guide

Unknown Croatia unleash the first phase lineup for the 2014 installment which includes live performances from Scottish electro pop band Chvrches, the critically acclaimed Wild Beasts, Jungle, Mount Kimbie, James Holden, Ten Walls and many more. DJ showcases come from Resident Advisor’s No 1 DJ of 2013 Dixon, who is returning back from a memorable performance at Unknown’s debut event alongside the likes of TEED, Tale Of Us, Daniel Avery and Ame.

Further musical recruits include John Talabot, Seth Troxler, Bicep, Joy Orbison, Simian Mobile Disco, Michael Mayer, plus many more. Artists play across a diverse range of musical activities including daytime and evening events on boats, by the pool, deep in the forest and new for 2014, on nearby islands.

Art and performance were a highlight of Unknown’s first event and will be returning on an even grander scale in 2014 courtesy of Mad Ferret productions, Unit 44 and more. Also new to 2014, the main stage will be open a whole extra day giving more scope for live performances. With 25-30 flights a day leaving the UK for nearby airports, its easier than ever before to attend.

Returning to the beautiful town of Rovinj, crowned the jewel of the North Adriatic, Unknown is set within an inclusive site with accommodation options ranging from camping to five star luxury apartments, all of which are available from unknowncroatia.com from 11th February. Put together by the Leeds promotersSound Channel, Unknown 2014 still has more surprises in store with further artists yet to be announced.

PROGRAMME

LIVE:
Chvrches / Wild Beasts / Jungle / Mount Kimbie / Forest Swords / Henrik Schwarz / James Holden / Kink / Lapalux / Ten Walls

DJ:
Ame / Bicep / Daniel Avery / Dixon / DJ Harvey / Dusky / Erol Alkan / George Fitzgerald / Gerd Janson / Horse Meat Disco / Jackmaster / John Talabot / Joy Orbison / Kim Ann Foxman / Mano Le Tough / Michael Mayer / Optimo / Rub & Tug / Ryan Elliot / Seth Troxler / Simian Mobile Disco / Tale Of Us / TEED / The 2 Bears / Waze & Odyssey

Aunti Flo / Bad Passion / Capacabana / Cutloose / Eskimo Twins / Force Of Nature / Gatto Fritto / Geddes / Genius Of Time / Harri & Domonic Capello / Hunee / Jennifer Cardini / Last Waltz / Lord Of The Isles / Mike Jones / Mister Saturday Night / Paramida / People Get Real / Red Axes / Scott Fraser / Simon Baker / The Sonic Emporium / Tim Fairplay / Tom Grainger

Bloc Party, Kraftwerk 3-D & Foals to headline Latitude Festival

November 18, 2018March 19, 2013 by Summer Festival Guide

OBELISK ARENA

BLOC PARTY | KRAFTWERK 3-D | FOALS

THE MACCABEES | HOT CHIP

BBC RADIO 6 MUSIC STAGE

MODEST MOUSE | ALT-J |BEACH HOUSE

EXCLUSIVE APPEARANCES FROM:

THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH | WHITE DENIM | YEAH YEAH YEAHS | YO LA TENGO AND MORE

PLUS: AKRON/FAMILY | BASSEKOU KOUYATE & NGONI BA | BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWICH

FIMBER BRAVO | FRIENDS | HOOKWORMS | I AM KLOOT | JAGWAR MA

LOCAL NATIVES | MALCOLM MIDDLETON |MARIKA HACKMAN

MATTHEW E. WHITE | MIKHAEL PASKALEV |MOON DUO | MÚM |PURITY RING

RACHEL ZEFFIRA | SERAFINA STEER| SINKANE | STEALING SHEEP | STEVE MASON

VERONICA FALLS | VILLAGERS | WAVE MACHINES

WIDOWSPEAK | WILLY MASON | YOUNG WONDER

COMEDY AT LATITUDE

DYLAN MORAN | DANIEL KITSON | SEANN WALSH | TIM KEY| LEE NELSON

JOSH WIDDICOMBE | MARCUS BRIGSTOCKE’s POLICY UNIT | MARK WATSON

MARCEL LUCONT | ROMESH RANGANATHAN | ELIS JAMES | THE NOISE NEXT DOOR

TIFFANY STEVENSON | IDIOTS OF ANTS |HENNESSY & FRIENDS | LORETTA MAINE

THE SUNDAY ASSEMBLY | HOLLY WALSH | LUISA OMIELAN | ED ACZEL | SHEEPS

BRYONY KIMMINGS |DANIEL SIMONSEN | VIKKI STONE| MCNEIL AND PAMPHILON | ALFIE BROWN

SAM FLETCHER | PAT CAHILL | MAE MARTIN | LUCY BEAUMONT | RICH & ANDY

BEN TARGET | ANDREW RYAN | NISH KUMAR | CHRIS KENDALL | DAVID TRENT

JENNY FAWCETT | HOLLY BURN | JOHN ROBINS | SUZY BENNETT | AISLING BEA

CHORTLE STUDENT AWARDS | MONSTER COMEDY SHED

MORE ACTS AND VERY SPECIAL GUESTS – TO BE ANNOUNCED

THEATRE AND DANCE

NATIONAL THEATRE WALES AND NEON NEON | SADLER’S WELLS PRESENT ‘ROCÍO MOLINA’

LYRIC HAMMERSMITH, GREENWICH+DOCKLANDS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL, WATFORD PALACE THEATRE AND LATITUDE PRESENTRASH DASH, TANGLED FEET, PIN THE TALE, PINS & NEEDLES

PLUS MANY MORE COMPANIES TO BE ANNOUNCED

ARTISTS

DAVID SHRIGLEY | ALAN MOORE & MITCH JENKINS| TIM WALKER

THE NATIONAL GALLERY PRESENT ‘TITIAN ON TOUR’ | DAVID SHILLINGLAW

FILM AND MUSIC

DANIEL KITSON FILM PLUS Q&A | JEFFREY LEWIS & THE RAIN | ICA PRESENT BOWIEFEST

REVEREND BILLY & THE CHURCH OF STOP SHOPPING | SNARKY PUPPY | CROOK AND FLAIL

ULTIMATE BOWIE |GAVIN OSBORN | TOTAL FILM Q&A

POETRY ARENA

CAROL ANN DUFFY | MURRAY LACHLAN YOUNG | LIZ LOCHHEAD

THURSTON MOORE |DANIEL KITSON & GAVIN OSBORN |DON PATERSON |MICHAEL ROSEN

LITERATURE

GERMAINE GREER| JONATHAN CAINER | JEREMY DYSON| WORDTHEATRE

ROBIN INCE’s ‘DIRTY BOOK CLUB’ | SALON LONDON | THE LAST TUESDAY SOCIETY

BEFORE THEY WERE FAMOUS |FESTIVAL OF THE SPOKEN NERD WITH HELEN ARNEY AND STEVE MOULD

SELFMADE HERO: GRAPHIC NOVEL DISCUSSION WITH GLYN DILLON, JOFF WINTERHART, CORBAN WILKIN

CHAIRED BY TOBY LITT

CABARET/LIVE ART

CARNESKY'S TAROT DROME

BOOM TISH CABARET | BOOGALOO STU | FANCY CHANCE | BORIS & SERGEY | SWING PATROL

ARTWANK | EGGS COLLECTIVE | RICHARD DEDOMENICI | BRIAN LOBEL

LATE NIGHT DJ’S

GUILTY PLEASURES | BUTTONED DOWN DISCO |SINK THE PINK | DISCO SHED

THE LAVISH BIG SCREEN | LATE JUNCTION

THE CHILDREN’S ARENA | THE INBETWEENERS TEEN AREA | TOUR DE LATITUDE

First to headline Latitude’s magnificent Obelisk Arena on the Friday will be Bloc Party, whose recent triumphant return to form has been welcomed by fans and critics alike. On Saturday evening German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk will take to the stage, this performance will be a rare chance for festival goers to witness one of the most influential bands of all time performing their highly celebrated 3-D concert. Oxford quintet Foals have proven themselves to be one of the UK’s most dynamic and accomplished bands of recent times, further supported by their Ivor Novello and Mercury Music Prize nominations and NME Award Best Song gongs. Known for creative precision, Foals are preparing a closing show to be remembered for years to come.

Yannis from Foals comments on their headline appearance: “Latitude is always exciting, because they offer a very tasteful selection of acts. For our band, it’s an honour to headline alongside someone of the calibre of Kraftwerk – they can do whatever they like, they’re unique and you know they’re going to put on an incredible show. Bloc Party will be fantastic headliners too.”

Other special appearances across the music stages include exclusive UK festival performances from the heroes of the Tex-Mex sound Calexico, the sonically adventurous sister act, CocoRosie, and the only 2013 UK live show from dancefloor favourites Hot Chip and Mark Lanegan Band. Joining them with Latitude exclusive performances will be band of the moment, Rhye, whose slinky, sensual R&B pop is currently bewitching tastemakers, the transfixing The Tallest Man on Earth, one of 2013’s most intriguing and sort after electronic acts Sohn, Brooklyn garage-maestros Yeah Yeah Yeahs and ever-evolving indie legends Yo La Tengo. In addition to these exclusives will be unmissable sets from Grammy-nominated Malian musician Bassekou Kouyate, Brighton indie darlings and NME Award Best Album winners The Maccabees, 2013 Brit nominee Jessie Ware, cult-status chanteuse Cat Power and electronic auteur James Blake.

Latitude is thrilled to announce an exciting new partnership with BBC Radio 6 Music, naming the second stage as the BBC Radio 6 Music Stage. This year the stage will host even more exciting musical treats including headline sets from Baltimore dream-pop duo Beach House in a UK festival exclusive; Portland’s greatest musical exports, indie-rock stalwarts Modest Mouse; and Mercury Prize-winning Alt-J, whose performance on The Lake Stage in 2012 was a festival highlight. Other acts set to play on the coveted stage include math-rock maestros Everything Everything, the girl currently on everyone’s lips, soul singer Laura Mvula, plus visually theatrical Swedish synth-pop duo IAMAMIWHOAMI and garage-rock perfection from White Denim both with UK festival exclusive performances; along with adventurous folk artistry from Villagers and much, much more.

Latitude is the event of the summer to see the very best in new music. If leftfield music is your thing, then the i Arena is the spot. Tucked away in Latitude’s beautiful woodland area, this year the stage will provide a magically intimate setting for the headliners; gloriously chaotic rock ‘n' roll of Japandroids, warped-electro hipsters Purity Ring and psychedelic husband and wife outfit Moon Duo. The Lake Stage, curated by Huw Stephens, has played host to numerous ‘next big things’ and this year is no exception with headline performances coming from the master of beautiful folk balladry Benjamin Francis Leftwich, London indie-pop quartet Veronica Falls and hotly tipped Manchester foursome The 1975. Other must see sets include art-noise masters Bo Ningen and Australian rave revivalists Jagwar Ma.

Melvin Benn, Founder and Creator of Latitude, comments: “As it enters the eighth edition, Latitude is now firmly established as the most artistically ambitious event in the UK summer calendar, with a line-up that goes from strength to strength each year. We’re delighted to welcome the forefathers of electronic music, Kraftwerk, to Latitude with their 3-D show who, along with Bloc Party and Foals, will headline an incredibly strong music programme that already includes some of 2013’s hottest acts. As always, however, music is just part of the experience, and our eleven arts arenas will play host to a selection of comedians, theatre companies, poets, writers and other performers that really do make Latitude much more than a music festival.”

In addition to the music bill, Latitude offers an unrivalled selection of innovative arts programming, with a line-up that reads like a virtual walk through the culture pages of a Sunday newspaper. Eleven dedicated arts arenas, stages and spaces will offer performances from a spectacular mix of artists across comedy, film, dance, theatre, literature, poetry and cabaret.

Daniel Kitson will bring six performances spread over four different shows to Latitude 2013. Kitson (Writer, Performer, Keen Home Cook) will be appearing across Latitude’s arts arenas throughout the weekend like a self-important, pie fingering, genre straddling behemoth. In the Theatre Arena he will present two performances of his current tour show After the Beginning. Before the End. The same venue will also play host to the first previews of a brand new theatrical work. Meanwhile, the Poetry Arena will see Kitson joining forces with big balled mega legend musician Gavin Osborn for a one off performance of Lucinda Ding and the Monstrous Thing, a forty five minute adventure poem ballad thing from the long-time collaborators. Finally, the Film & Music Arena will host the first ever public screening of It's Always Right Now, Until It's Later, a concert film of the show by the same name recorded last summer in Manchester and followed here by a Q&A session with Kitson and the film maker, Ewan Jones Morris.

Latitude’s Comedy line-up will once again play host to all manner of big-name comics. Heading up the stellar comedy line-up will be offbeat Irish stand-up Dylan Moran, best known for co-writing and starring in Black Books, which has twice won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Situation Comedy, Brighton’s finest motor-mouth Seann Walsh, the multi-talented poet, film maker and comic Tim Key and South London tearaway and man of the moment Lee Nelson with his qwaliteeee jokes, games and banter. Also appearing will be one of the best up-and-coming acts on the UK circuit, Josh Widdicombe andcomedian, author, sports pundit and husband Mark Watson and the award-winning Marcus Brigstocke’s new show Policy Unit will be making a stand in Henham Park. Bringing Latitude a preview of his new Edinburgh show will be musically minded comedian Charlie Baker, the jazz ‘n’ jokes fusion of The Horne Section. Also flying in from the US is the comic talk-show host, who turns righteous anger into breathlessly funny jokes, Jamie Kilstein. Fans of TV comedy will be pleased to seeKerry Godliman, who recently took a leading role in Ricky Gervais’ Derek and star of Let’s Dance for Comic Relief, the Canadian comic Katherine Ryan. BBC Radio 1 DJ and hot young comedian Tom Deacon will bring his combination of looks, lines and charm, as will Ed Gamble, the celebrated young comic and one half of hit podcasters and BBC Radio 4 Extra presenters Peacock and Gamble.

Also on hand to tickle festival-goers fancies over the weekend will be Marcel Lucont the laconic Frenchman with dry wit, bawdy chansons and exquisite sex poetry; critically acclaimed comedienne and TV starlet Sara Pascoe and winner of Dave’s Leicester Comedy Award, hotly-tipped comedian extraordinaire, Romesh Ranganathan.

Performance artist Bryony Kimmings will challenge opinions with her eagerly anticipated new show, Catherine Bennett, Latitude favourites Idiots of Ants will bring their madcap sketch show and The Sunday Assembly will hold an all-singing, all-dancing godless congregation. The hits will continue throughout the weekend, giving festival-goers the chance to see sell-out shows like Luisa Omielan’s hilarious meditation on celebrity culture What Would Beyonce Do?. Daran Johnson, Alistair Roberts and Liam Williams bring their infamous sketch show Sheeps and Austentatious come to Latitude with An Improvised Novel, a full-length comedy play. Holly Burn appears with The H Club, Suffolk's least exclusive private members club, as does the 2012 Best Newcomer winner at the Edinburgh Fosters Comedy Awards, Daniel Simonsen and Lucy Beaumont winner of the BBC New Comedy Award in 2012. A selection of the country’s most promising up and coming comics, selected by theChortle Student Comedy Awards will be on hand to tickle festival goers and over in Pandora’s Playground the infamously intimate Monster Comedy Shed will provide festival goers with one of the smallest and hilarious gigs of their lives.

Other comedy performers so far include: James Acaster, Joel Dommett, Brett Goldstein, Elis James, The Noise Next Door, Hennessy & Friends, Tiffany Stevenson, Loretta Maine, Ed Aczel, Holly Walsh, Vikki Stone, McNeil and Pamphilon, Alfie Brown, Sam Fletcher, Pat Cahill, Mae Martin, Rich & Andy, Ben Target, Andrew Ryan, Nish Kumar, Chris Kendall, David Trent, Jenny Fawcett, John Robins, Suzy Bennett, Aisling Bea, Rob Beckett, Joe Lycett and Matt Rees.

The Theatre Arena will serve up a whole host of dramatic performances including the National Theatre Wales’ and Neon Neon Praxis Make Perfect. An exciting and unique collaboration, set to blur the boundaries between pop gig and theatre performance. On the stunning Waterfront Stage Sadler’s Wells present the first full length dance show ever to be taken to a festival from award-winning flamenco dancer, and Sadler’s Wells New Wave Associate Rocío Molina, who has quickly established herself as one of the most important choreographers and performers at the forefront of flamenco. Rocío Molina’s performance marks Sadler’s Wells’ sixth visit to Latitude. Daniel Kitson will present two performances of his current tour show After the Beginning. Before the End. The fields of Henham Park will premiere the Royal Exchange Theatre’s There Has Possibly Been An Incident, Ockham’s Razor will bring the thrill of the circus to Pandora’s Playground and The National Youth Theatre will showcase their new version of Little Red Riding Hood with not one, but two separate endings, exploring the themes and fears of the fairy tale, while BAC will present Made In China’s new play Gym Party. Forest Fringe will deliver immersive theatre to Latitude, with the twist being that the festival goers both create and participate in the show, making dreams come true.

Elsewhere the award-winning theatre group Clean Break will present two new plays by Alice Birch and Sonya Hale, Hours til Midnight and Many Moons, dealing with women’s experience of the criminal justice system and performed by graduates of the company’s theatre in education programme. The Wrong Crowd reinvent one of Slavic folklore’s most extraordinary characters, the child-eating hag-witch Baba Yaga, PEEP will present Sexlife, as well as a premiere of a new play also by Kefi Chadwick, while DryWrite brings together writer and performer Phoebe Waller-Bridger and director Vicky Jones for a new production of five short plays, Good. Clean. Fun. In a special Latitude commission exploring the festival’s theme of What Defines Me? Curious Directive will debut The Yellow Path, a new play that mixes the Chinese Zodiac with stargazing.

The Pleasance will preview some of the best work appearing at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In the fabulous Faraway Forest, theatrical fun will be provided by Fuel Theatre, which will present the surprising, delightful and intriguing While You Wait sound project and a specially written tribute to Doctor Who comes from And Remember…We Care as the hit TV show celebrates its golden anniversary. Dance East will be at Latitude with their hit dance workshops, Wales’ foremost fringe theatre company Dirty Protest will bring their guerrilla approach to performance to Latitude’s Outdoor Theatre with Plays In A Bag, a series of new commissions to Welsh playwrights that must be carried everywhere… in a bag. Daniel Bye will stop by to deliver his whistle-stop tour of bizarre facts and impassioned argument The Price of Everything, and Boo Dwyer will transplant the punk spirit of late 70’s New York to Wolverhampton in Dye Young/Stay Pretty.

Following on from success of their 2012 collaboration Latitude has once again joined forces with Lyric Hammersmith,Greenwich + Docklands International Festival and Watford Palace Theatre to present a visual and physical outdoor theatre extravaganza of exciting new talent. Together four companies have been commissioned to present four new shows. The specially selected companies have been chosen for their innovation and artistic creativity in an outdoor space. For 2013, Latitude, the Lyric, GDIF and Watford Palace Theatre will present work from RashDash, Tangled Feet, Pin The Tale and Pins & Needle. Each company will perform at the commissioning festivals and spaces over the summer.

Latitude is extremely proud to present an amazing programme of renowned artists for 2013. David Shrigley, whose instantly recognisable naive style has elevated him into the world of fine art, will be making a very rare appearance and presenting from his work How Are You Feeling? One of the most influential comic book writers of all time, the man behind Watchmenand V for Vendetta, Alan Moore will be discussing the making of his short film, Jimmy’s End along with director Mitch Jenkins allowing Latitude goers to get into the minds of the creators. One of the world’s leading fashion photographers,Tim Walker, will be taking to the stage for a rare and intimate ‘in conversation’ appearance. The National Gallery invites the audience to immerse themselves in great art by Renaissance master Titian, the mobile cinema offers a National Gallery festival experience celebrating Diana and Callisto, a painting recently acquired for the nation. In The Faraway ForestLondon based artist David Shillinglaw will be painting a mural based on this year’s Neuroscience vs Sex theme where festival goers will be free to submit suggestions for words or phrases to be included in the final painting.

An exciting mix of film screenings and special multi-media live music performances will also be on offer. Appearing across the festival over the weekend will be Daniel Kitson in the Film & Music Arena to host the first ever public screening of It's Always Right Now, Until It's Later, a concert film of the show by the same name recorded last summer in Manchester and followed by a Q&A session with Kitson and the film maker, Ewan Jones Morris. Comic booker writer, artist and Rough Trade signed musician Jeffrey Lewis & The Rain will appear and The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) will, in association withBowiefest, present a celebration of David Bowie’s breakthrough year of 1973 in a programme of screenings, talks and live performances from some very special guests. Also appearing will be radical performance community church Reverend Billy & The Church Of Stop Shopping, revered Texan instrumental collective Snarky Puppy, tipped by the likes of The Guardianand The Independent, and experimental music duo Crook and Flail (Fog’s Andrew Broder and Adam Drucker of Subtle/Themselves/cLOUDEAD). The Latitude audience can prepare to be transported across 40 years of Bowie, from Spaceboy to Superstar, by Ed Blaney's Ultimate Bowie and Gavin Osborn will be on hand to entertain festival-goers with his wry musical comedy. Total Film magazine will be hosting a series of premieres, Q&A’s and more over the festival weekend.

The hugely popular Poetry Arena features the very best in poetry and this year is no exception with readings from the British Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy; the spectacular British performance poet Murray Lachlan Young, The Scots Makar, Scottish Poet Laureate Liz Lochhead and Sonic Youth songwriter and poet Thurston Moore. Daniel Kitson with Gavin Osborn will perform My Adventure Poem and The Queen’s Gold Medal winner Don Paterson will also be taking to the stage.Michael Rosen, formerly the UK’s first Children’s Laureate and one of the nation’s best loved children’s poets will be appearing, as will co-curator of the Poetry Arena Luke Wright. This is just the beginning; there will be a whole host of exciting names including Ross Sutherland with an Edinburgh preview, The Islander, a 'lo-fo musical' about memory, first-loves and growing up and Tim Clare, John Osborne, Poejazzi, Apples and Snakes, Dead Poets, Katie Bonna, Mike Garry, Byron Vincent, Intensi-T, Tim Turnbull, Caroline Bird, Hollie McNish, William Letford, Steve Roggenbuck.

The Literary line-up will play host to a unique selection of the nation’s most dynamic names. The legendary Germaine Greerwill be presenting a discussion on The Disappearing Woman and Jonathan Cainer will show exactly why he remains one of the world’s most popular astrologers, expect to be riveted. Joining them will be Jeremy Dyson, best known as the co-creator of the BAFTA award-winning comedy series The League of Gentlemen, creating a ghostly atmosphere and reading from his new collection of stories The Haunted Book. WordTheatre will reveal a star studded line-up of well-known actors reading short stories and bringing his well-loved Book Club, Robin Ince will be giving it a saucy twist for 2013. Salon London,the cultural showcase that brings together some of the finest minds from the worlds of science and the arts will be there to entrance audiences with fresh perspectives and interdisciplinary discussion. There to blend highbrow thought with fun will be the artistic collective and thrower of unforgettably intelligent parties, events and masquerade balls The Last Tuesday Society.

Other authors taking the stage include Tracey Thorn with her sensational autobiography Bedsit Disco Queen, award-winning journalist and novelist Will Storr will explore why today’s heretics just don’t believe the facts and Duran Duran’sJohn Taylor will appear to discuss his candid autobiography In the Pleasure Groove. Also on Latitude’s literary line-up will beMatt Haig, author of five novels including the bestselling The Last Family in England and his latest, The Radleys, voted the winner of Channel 4's TV Book Club in 2011 and broadcaster and journalist Dawn O’Porter, who will be speaking about her gritty comical novel Paper Aeroplanes. For an academic perspective on the What Defines Me? theme, the writer and Chair of Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin Professor Ian Robertson will join the literary bill to talk about his book, The Winner Effect, which explores how worldly power affects the chemistry and structure of our brains.

Lovers of literary comedy can also look forward to a special appearance from BBC Radio 4’s Before They Were Famous, a spoof documentary which delves into the archives to present the early works of literary greats, brought to life at Latitude. The scientifically tinged fun will continue with the show that mixes sparkling wit with fascinating facts Festival of the Spoken Nerd with Helen Arney and Blue Peter’s science expert Steve Mould. Toby Litt will also chair a graphic novel discussion fromSelfMadeHero between Glyn Dillon, Joff Winterhart and Corban Wilkin.

Latitude’s Cabaret and Live Art line-up will offer up a feast of delights for lovers of the alternative arts, with a menu that runs from raucous fun to thought-provoking and daring performance. Carnesky’s Tarot Drome will be specially recreated in new form leading Latitude’s decadent Saturday night extravaganza. Leading London comedy and variety club Boom Tish Cabaret will curate their own programme of small but beautifully formed performance and the irreverent, fabulous and multi-talented Boogaloo Stu asks the audience to record a pop song, make a badge or play a parlour game. Fancy Chance will be hanging around in a red light booth that walks and hanging by her hair and Flabbergast Theatre will bring their sell-out Smash Boris and Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure to the Literary Salon, featuring bunraku puppetry, character comedy and improvisation of the highest calibre.

Swing Patrol will host the Sunday tea dance while live artist and connoisseur of antique pornography, Ophelia Bitz, will bring her celebrated project ArtWank, which contrasts vintage smut with modern toss. Feminist performance group Eggs Collective make their Latitude debut with a razor sharp, show of a girl’s big night out. Absurdist artist, filmmaker and performer Richard Dedomenici will perform his new show Cause and Effect, while Brian Lobel brings a digital slant withPurge, a brutal game of friendship management which explores what being a ‘friend’ means for members of the Facebook generation.

Following the success of last year’s Pagan to Occupy theme, the arts programming this year at Latitude will tackle another idea that defines our times in 2013 as it explores Neuroscience vs. Sex: What Defines Me? in association with The Wellcome Trust. Recent advancements in neuroscience are transforming the study of the brain and nervous system from a branch of biology into a wellspring of stories to explain the people we are and the societies we form. As such, neuroscience now grips contemporary artists, writers, performers and thinkers in a way we have not seen since developments in psychoanalysis shook up creative and intellectual life in the 1950’s. Alongside neuroscience, Latitude will also explore the subject of sex, looking at the central roles that sex, gender and sexual orientation play in creating our individual and collective identities. See the wonder and feel the atmosphere of Amsterdam come to life in The Faraway Forest!

Tania Harrison, Programmer of the Arts Arenas commented: “The most exciting part about creating a programme for Latitude is that it is a playground of possibility. Sometimes it feels like eleven stages packed with artists and performance is too much, too many things and ideas to get your head round and other times I think, hell, that’s not nearly enough! It’s pretty exciting this year with neuroscientists, thinkers and speakers adding to the creative mix at Latitude. There’s something stimulating for everyone from the fascinating to the roll around funny. I hope you like it.”

The first confirmed Late Night DJs are Guilty Pleasures for Friday night, an unashamedly glorious all-singing, all-dancing renouncement of pop music and an antidote to modern day clubbing fatigue created by Sean Rowley; Buttoned Down Disco, the largest indie dance party in the UK, coming to Latitude from Koko to rock the Saturday night, armed with ace music and glitter cannons! Trans-party collective Sink The Pink will be channelling some trendy East London realness at Latitude this year and Pandora’s Playground wouldn’t be the same without the Disco Shed pumping out big tunes until the small hours.

For 2013 The Lavish Big Screen presents the theme Revolution – Musical and visual anarchy, art mayhem and experimentation. This year at the Big Screen Lavish present an exciting selection of contemporary artists’ film and video plus live appearances by Phil Hartnoll (Orbital) and the legendary Don Letts (Big Audio Dynamite) and Harry K (Simply Dredd).

Late Junction, BBC Radio 3’s late night celebration of musical curiosities from across time and space returns to Latitude for a third year running. Filling the woods with captivating sounds, previous line-ups have featured music as diverse as Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier, song collector and Mercury Prize nominee Sam Lee and the tape music of minimalist composer Steve Reich. For 2013, Late Junction presenter Max Reinhardt hosts another hand-picked collection of diverse, wild music in the intimate setting of The Lavish Lounge, with highlights to be broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Including Newcastle’s skewed troubadour,Richard Dawson, and from Brazil, post-tropicalia polyphonic populists, Graveola.

Latitude’s recent Best Family Festival Award is testament to the huge array of family-friendly activities available for children and parents alike. Arranged around the banks of the central Latitude lake is the incredibly enticing Children's Arena, where children are entertained all day and into the night with everything from pond dipping and face painting to helterskelter rides and theatre workshops. A real hive of activity, it’s the place where children never want to leave and parents wish they could stay! The Inbetweeners’ Teen Area is for those kids who may just be a little too old for the Children's Arena, but still want to get involved. Teenagers can enjoy taking part in music, media and technology workshops, wildlife survival skills and assault courses suspended in the trees. Families can also choose to stay in the Family Campsite where like-minded people, early morning activities and easy access to the Children's Arena are guaranteed.

Sharon Reuben, Children’s Arena Booker said: “A riot of creativity, colour and curiosities, the Children’s Arena aims to be the best and doesn’t disappoint! With a backpack full of great ideas, we’re ready to entertain the most energetic kids. We also welcome back The Inbetweeners Teen Area, featuring the wild treetop and bushcraft activities of our friends at Greenpeace, alongside a packed programme of activities and workshops with music and media professionals, hosted by Cultureworks and Access to Music.”

Latitude and Marks & Spencer are excited to once again offer an adventurous way of travelling to the festival in 2013, with the second Tour de Latitude! This initiative will help participants reduce their carbon footprint by cycling their way to the festival in Suffolk, whilst raising vital funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, helping them in their life-saving work supporting seriously ill children and their families from across the UK. Everyone taking part will also have their ticket upgraded at the finish point with access to the Guest campsite and facilities throughout the festival, and Tour de Latitude will transfer bikes back to the start points and provide participants with coach travel back to where their adventure started.