Kwabs

Sigma, The Wombats and more lead the LIMF lineup for 2016

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The sensational Liverpool International Music Festival (LIMF) returns for its fourth outing celebrating the city's musical pedigree, diversity and heritage on a global scale. Taking place from Thursday 21st – Sunday 24th July 2016, LIMF explores the theme of 'ReDefinition' with five commissioned projects and performances that are and have redefined music and popular culture. These include a curated live show by BBC 6 Music's Gilles Peterson called 'From The Soul'; a celebration of Liverpool's counter-culture over the last 40 years with '76-16: From Eric's To Evol'; and 'House Nation' where renowned Liverpool-based DJ and Producer Yousef will explore what defines house music in four international cities. 

LIMF Summer Jam returns with a three-day FREE outdoor music celebration featuring its best line-up to date including Sigma, The Wombats, Lianne La Havas, Kwabs, Netsky, Ms Dynamite, Maverick Sabre, a very special Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Friday evening performance and much more. The recent national award winning LIMF Academy stage will return to showcase tomorrow's stars, which alongside the 'its Liverpool' stage which showcases past, present and future homegrown talents, provides another reason why Liverpool has received the prestigious UNESCO City Of Music status in 2016. For the latest LIMF programme and to buy tickets for the LIMF Presents series please visit the LIMF website with more to be announced soon.

Liverpool is recognised as a UNESCO City of Music in 2016, shining a spotlight on the city's pioneering approach to its ever-evolving music culture. Combining this with the city's rich music heritage, Liverpool International Music Festival has become the current voice of this global music city with an experimental but accessible programme for all.

LIMF 2016 is made up of LIMF Presents, LIMF Academy and Europe's largest free music event, LIMF Summer Jam. Last year it attracted around 160,000 music lovers, cementing Liverpool's reputation as a must-visit destination, with this year’s earlier July date ensuring it will be the perfect start to the summer celebrations.

LIMF SUMMER JAM: Friday 22nd, Saturday 23rd, Sunday 24th July – Sefton Park – FREE
LIMF Summer Jam has fast become the leading family festival of its kind, completely free to enjoy and welcoming to all. Taking place at Sefton Park it will mark the start of the summer and the culmination of a spectacular series of events as part of Liverpool International Music Festival. Friday's opening night will be see the spectacular Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra perform a set which includes 'Music City: Reimagined', which will showcase many of the defining songs that came from the city of Liverpool and impacted the world. 

Chart topping dance duo Sigma, responsible for hits such as 'Nobody To Love' and 'Changing' are confirmed to headline on Saturday evening, with Liverpool's very own quirk-pop legends The Wombatsheadlining the following day. Singer-songwriter Lianne La Havas will bring her own inimitable mellow groove to the proceedings whilst Belgian drum 'n' bass pioneer Netsky will have the Sefton Park revellers dancing to his contagious beats. Bringing an urban vibe to the LIMF Summer Jam bill will be trailblazersKwabs, Ms Dynamite and Maverick Sabre, with RnB up and comer Shakka and BBC 1Xtra's 'Hot For 2016' nominee Samm Henshaw also lined up to play. Local heroes John Power and Dave McCabe and the Ramifications will be performing, as well as Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band and China Crisis. 

LIMF Summer Jam’s monumental music offering will be available for all to see for free, making it one of Europe’s biggest free outdoor events and an unmissable date in the diary for all.

LIMF Presents…'ReDefintion' 
The LIMF Presents series is a showcase of artists, music and projects that have and are redefining music and culture. The commissions projects and performances will taking place during LIMF 2016 and include:

From the Soul (LIVE) – Thursday 21st July – 1900 – 22.00 – Music Room – Royal Philharmonic Hall – £26.40 (incl. booking fee)
Curated by 6 Music’s Gilles Peterson, LIMF explores the redefining sounds of British soul music over the past 30 years. The event will feature a special house band collaborating with some of the most important names in British Soul. The live event will be followed by an exclusive DJ led after party hosted and featuring sets by Gilles Peterson and Thris Tian (Boiler Room / NTS), which will bring 3 decades of Soul to the dance floor. Line up to be announced soon.

From the Soul (After Party) – Thursday 21st July – 2200 – 0100 – Buyers Club – Early Bird £13.20 (incl. booking fee), £19.80 thereafter.
Line up to be announced soon.
 
House Nation in association with Circus  – Friday 22nd July – 1700 – 0000 – Sefton Park Palm House – £26.40 (inc. booking fee)
House music is truly a global phenomenon. In key cities around the world various dynamic producers are trailblazing a more progressive sound – redefining what you consider House Music to be. LIMF travels to three international music cities with Liverpool-based DJ and Producer Yousef as he immerses himself in those different scenes – returning home to make four records that reflect the sounds of those different cities and his hometown of Liverpool. The process will be documented, with both the music and shorts being released. The project will culminate in a special live show, in association with CIRCUS, at LIMF 2016. Line up to be announced soon.

House Nation (After Party) – Friday 22nd July – 0100 – 0400 – 24 Kitchen Street – Early Bird £13.20 (incl. booking fee), £19.80 thereafter
Line up to be announced soon.

76-16: From Eric's To Evol (a celebration of Liverpool music's counter-culture) – Saturday 23rd July – 1930 – 2300 – Liverpool Guild of Students – Early Bird till 1st March £19.80 (inc. booking fee), £26.40 thereafter
For the last 40 years the punk-indie attitude has been prevalent in Liverpool and has led to the creation of some of the most influential cultural movements the city has ever seen. These are movements that have connected not just with the people of Liverpool but with the world. LIMF showcases those key venues, artists and scenes. This is the inter-generational story of Liverpool’s underground music scene and how it has redefined itself in terms of music, fashion and popular culture over 40 years! Line up to be announced soon.

Music City: Reimagined – Friday 22nd July – 18.30 – 21.30 – Sefton Park – FREE
In 2015 LIMF focused on the influencing sounds that entered this City, this year LIMF showcases the defining songs that came from our city and impacted the world. The evening will see Liverpool’s no1 playlist performed by the spectacular Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Roots, Rock, Reggae – Saturday 23rd August – 15.00 – 15.30 – Sefton Park – FREE
It has been over 50 years since Millie Small reached number 1 in the UK with "My Boy Lollipop", and introduced Reggae to the British mainstream. Subsequently that first generation of settlers and their offspring carved out their own brand of reggae here in the UK and redefined the global image of the genre as a whole. From the birth of Lovers Rock, to the driving sound of roots reggae and the interpretation of vocal reggae, the British reggae sound added a considerable amount to the music scene. This project would see award winning BBC Radio DJ Seani B (himself a Grammy nominated Reggae producer) curate a collaboration between a host of British reggae artists. Line up to be announced soon.

Day tickets released for No Tomorrow Festival

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This weekend, 6th & 7th June in Nottingham’s Wollaton Park, music lovers at No Tomorrow festival will welcome in the summer to a soundtrack provided by headliners John Newman, Jessie Ware and many more including Bondax and Gorgon City. In the buzzing build up to the party, due to high demand, a batch of day tickets priced at £47.50 (including booking fee) have been released via notomorrowfestival.co.uk.
 
As well as the promise of some of the best electronic acts around, reports of a heat wave are adding to the excitement for No Tomorrow festival this weekend. A site map is now online to highlight where festival-goers can grab food, drink, join in workshops, grab a shuttle bus or duck into the festival photo booth for a selfie memento. Furthermore ticket holders will soon be able to plan ahead to catch chart-topping, and award-winning talent such as James Bay, SOAK, DJ Fresh and many more by heading to the No Tomorrow website where the all important set times will soon be published.
 
In addition to the new day tickets, the last few weekend (£65 + booking fee) and VIP tickets (£125 + booking fee) are also still available via notomorrowfestival.co.uk.
 
The clock is ticking, it’ll soon be time to party like there is No Tomorrow. 
 

No Tomorrow Festival add DJ Fresh, Hannah Wants and more

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BRIT Award nominee DJ Fresh has scored multiple number 1s on both the UK singles and UK Dance charts; this summer the drum ‘n’ bass maestro brings his hits to Wollaton Park much to the delight of eager No Tomorrow festival-goers. DJ Fresh has collaborated with artists including Diplo, Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora, Dizzee Rascal, Ella Eyre and more.

Also joining the bill is Kwabs, an artist who featured in the BBC Sound of 2015 list and boasts 40 million YouTube views for his track ‘Walk’. Swiftly signed to Atlantic Records, Kwabs is steadily making waves with his soulful take on R&B. The eagle-eyed amongst us may spot that No Tomorrow’s next addition, Raleigh Ritchie, has also graced screens as Grey Worm in Game of Thrones. In his musical guise Ritchie also adds a spin to R&B adding in tinges of rap that sees him touted as a one to watch this year.
 
Synths, beats and breaks come hard and heavy across the latest additions to No Tomorrow. Dubbed ‘the undisputed queen of 2014’ by Mixmag, Hannah Wants shows no signs of slowing down in 2015. Wants is part of BBC Radio 1’s Residency and her bass heavy house is steadily tearing up dance floors across Europe, soon to include No Tomorrow. Local duo Shelter Point are also now confirmed and will offer up a downbeat and brooding take on all things electronic.
 
Black Butter Records have already contributed several acts to the No Tomorrow bill, now the festival welcomes yet more from the label in the form of energetic house whizz, Kidnap Kid and Bristolian rising star of the UK bass scene, Woz. Young DJ, Applebottom, aka Joe Arthur, may only have broken through two years ago but nationwide sell out shows are already a common sign in his touring schedule to which No Tomorrow has been added.
 
TCTS heads to No Tomorrow with glowing references; the DJ otherwise known as Sam O’Neil has seen support from heavyweights such as Annie Mac, MistaJam and more. Eclectic but anonymous duo 99 souls and local boy, dollop and Stealth resident D’lex are also on hand behind the festival’s decks. With a career spanning over 20 years DJ Zinc is a highly qualified addition to proceedings. Zinc’s pirate radio and DJ shows have seen the Londoner tackle drum ‘n’ bass, break, house and much more.
 
UK bass artist Shoot the Ghost, Nottingham’s boy/girl production duo Ursa Major and another Stealth regular, Strike, bolster what is fast becoming the dance and crossover line up of the summer. International flavours are to be brought to No Tomorrow by Toronto’s multi-skilled filmmaker, drum ‘n’ bass DJ and producerRene LaVice. DJs from local club nights Caramello, Afrowax and Bakery are the last but no means least from this current announcement.
 
This third wave of artists sit alongside headliners including John Newman and Jessie Ware, James Bay, Bondax, DJ EZ, Milky Chance, Gorgon City, Nick Mulvey, and SOAK. 

Clean Bandit, Rudimental, Fatboy Slim and more set for Croatia Rocks

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The pioneering Ibiza Rocks brand will travel to Zrce Beach to once again revolutionise the music holiday format with Croatia Rocks on 19th – 23rd July 2015. The festival marks a decade at the forefront of the Ibizan music scene for the group.  Working with the team behind the monumental Hideout Festival and with Ibiza Rocks’ Musical Director Zane Lowe at the helm, Croatia Rocks will welcome a handpicked selection of live and DJ heavy hitters and newcomers from the world-famous Rocks & W.A.R! stages. 

By day, Croatia Rocks teams up with the biggest clubbing brands on the planet as revelers are treated to a myriad of DJ talent against the backdrop on the stunning Adriatic coastline. By night, The Rocks and W.A.R! stages deliver the best of live and electronic music into the early hours as the crowds party with the biggest names and hottest upcoming talent.

Live highlights at the inaugural Croatia Rocks include the standout live act of 2014 Clean Bandit, the funk-inspired Jungle who bring their extensive live show to the beautiful surroundings of Zrce Beach. Kwabsbrings his exceptional vocals and anthemic songwriting to sun-kissed revelers, while lyricist Kate Tempest, the hotly tipped Shura, Brighton-based surf-rockers Black Honey and high-energy London lads The Bulletproof Bomb, all fly the flag for innovative new UK music. 

Croatia Rocks will also host DJ sets on the sandy beaches of Pag from double BRIT winner Fatboy Slim, who returns for the first time in three years to Croatia. After the roaring success of their number one debut album 'Home' Rudimental will fire up the Croatia Rocks crowds with a very special DJ set as well as a plethora of electronic music’s finest including Wilkinson, Hannah Wants, Blonde, B.Traits, Soul Clap,Monki, Shy FX, Friend Within, Karma Kid, Waze & Odyssey, DJ Luck & MC Neat, Doorly, Mak & Pasteman,  Eton Messy DJs, Jaymo & Andy George, Tom Shorterz and Lxury.