Isle of Wight festival – 2022 review

With the 2021 festival delayed and taking place late in September, less than nine months have passed since the crowds last cruised onboard the Isle of Wight for the legendary festival. It is understandable why the huge crowds flock back to the island each year and the event is often nominated for the best International Music Festival.

Festivals are no longer three day events, and those lucky enough to arrive on Thursday saw Rick Parfitt Jnr, son of the late Quo guitarist open this year’s festivities with a crowd-pleasing mix of classic covers from Kings of Leon, Prince, to his late dad’s classic singalong Rocking All Over The World.

Later and with considerably less energy, Shaun Ryder and his Happy Mondays headlined the opening night. While Shaun was no longer the energetic Madchester frontman, Bez made up for it, looking in unbelievable health with his freaky dancing and his trademark classic maracas.  Happy Thursday indeed.

FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS

Allowing everyone a nice lie-in and a great opportunity to check out the mix of cabaret, circus, dance and theatre at the Cirque de la Quirk, The Vaccines began the main-stage on Friday at a lofty 4pm with their 3-minute indie-rock singalongs.

Later, Sigrid travelled from her native Norway to warmer climates, getting the crowd dancing with some fantastic new pop tunes, with great messages emphasising in her lyrics that “when the world is on your shoulders…it’s just a bad day, not a bad life…”

Sigrid – © Graham Tarrant

Shortly afterwards, the Red Arrows flew in, before Nile Rodgers & Chic took over the party. Nile was asked how his music should be described – a heady mix of soul, funk, disco, pop and rock good tunes was the broad answer. Who needs to define musicians by genres and pigeon hole when it is this enjoyable?

Both Nile Rodgers and the next band, Madness, could easily have been headliners, as they have taken the top-slot at many other festivals in recent years.

But this year, Lewis Capaldi took the final billing of the day. He stated his own surprise to be booked in his first ever festival headlining slot after a two year absence of new material and his previously cancelling TRNSMT summer festival to write new material – but it surely won’t be his last with his breathtaking voice. Despite the often melancholy nature of his songs, his charming warm chat in between each song showed his sense of self-defacing humour, despite his top-selling songs of loss, including “Someone You Loved” and “Hold Me While You Wait”…

SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS

The main stage on Saturday included a mix of classic bands from The Fratellis with their Chelsea Dagger singalong reverberating throughout Newport, to The Proclaimers through to Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott, better known as the voices from the Beautiful South.

However, the Big Top hosted an assortment of exciting new discoveries. 

Mark Owen © Graham Tarrant

Mark Owen, of Take That fame, ensured that getting anywhere near the tent was an impossible task for many in the early afternoon. As well as his new single ‘You Only Want Me’, he played what everyone wanted to hear – those old TT songs including ‘Rule The World’ and ‘Shine’ – in the front row, devoted fans had travelled all the way from Glasgow just for the day to see their pop idol up front and close in his orange suit, and he certainly showed why he’s had such incredible success with singalong tunes, smooth dance moves and one too many thrusting hips.

Later in the Big Top, Griff proved to be a highlight of the weekend. Having collaborated with the previously mentioned Sigrid, it’s clear why she won the Brit Award for Rising Star in 2021. Watch this space, as she is going to be huge – she deserves to be anyway…

Headlining the main stage on Saturday evening were Kasabian, led now by former guitarist Serge, who took over when the band fired Tom Meighan following his domestic abuse conviction two years ago. After a false start due to faulty microphone, the band launched into Club Foot – the skies opened for their set and there were frequent technical issues, but they blew the rain away, finishing with anthem “Fire”. Legendary footballer and friend of the band, Peter Crouch, joined the band onstage to pogo around, sadly no robot celebrations were demonstrated.

Over in the Big Top, Shaggy brought the night to a close. Describing himself as a reggae superstar, it was surprising just how many songs he had. As well as his “Boombastic”, “Angel” and “It Wasn’t Me“, for some reason known only to himself, he’s decided to release an album of Frank Sinatra covers in his own in inimitable style, playing “Come Fly With Me” and “Fly Me To The Moon” – entertaining, tongue in cheeky but very odd!

Shaggy © Graham Tarrant

SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS

Sunday also started with some classics from the likes of Del Amitri and Toyah, who defied her years by looking fantastic in a gold sequine dress.

Local Isle of Wight band Wet Leg played to possibly an even bigger audience than Mark Owen. Clearly incredibly nervous at possibly their biggest gig to date, the band defy the claim that music on the island is 20 years behind the rest of the UK mainland. At the end of Ur Mum they finish with the ear splitting

OK, I’ve been practicing my longest and loudest scream, OK, here we go, 1, 2, 3,blood-curdling shriek

Later, fresh from his goal-scoring and man-of-the-match appearance at Soccer Aid, Tom Grennan hobbled on stage on crutches and kicked it out of the park with his set. Stating himself he looked like a cheesy-puff in his orange shirt, the crowd loved his pop tunes, even though they all sounded as forgettable as the last. 

Throughout the day, it was impossible to avoid who everyone had come to see close the festival – the mighty Muse. T-shirts were seen on the young and old throughout the day and they didn’t disappoint. 

Coming on dressed in matching masks, Devon’s finest blew away the crowd with anthem after anthem. If you’ve never had chance to see Muse play live, they are without doubt one of the top live acts in the world. Beginning with glam rock swagger and playing crowd favourites “Hysteria”, “Plug-In Baby” and “Time Is Running Out”, the stage show was incredible, complete with the usual stereotypical pyrotechnics and streamers. Going one further, Muse transformed the stage with a huge ‘Will of the People’ mask coming to life from the new album – very 1984! Finishing with Knights of Cydonia, they brought the festival to a dramatic close singing:

Don’t waste your time
Or time will waste you…

This festival certainly wasn’t a waste of time, judging by the shattered faces on the ferry home the following day…book your ferries early next year as the island is sure to host an incredible line up again as it does each year. 

Words and photos: Graham Tarrant

New acts for V Festival 2013 – Steve Angello, 5ive, The Saturdays

V Festival 2013, sponsored by Virgin Media, has announced a host of amazing new acts set to join the weekend line-up. Former Swedish House Mafia star Steve Angello is confirmed to headline the Arena stage whilst The Saturdays, Katy B, Mark Owen, Lissie, Conor Maynard, The Pigeon Detectives, Jaguar Skills, McFly, Everything Everything, 5ive, The Eels, The Heavy, Netsky Live!, The Original Rudeboys, Nina Nesbit and K-Koke have also been confirmed to play across the weekend.  V Festival have also announced The Futures stage, headlined by Jamie Cullum and Benjamin Francis Leftwich, V Festival takes place across the weekend of August 17 & 18 at Hylands Park, Chelmsford and Weston Park, Staffordshire.

 
The Futures stage will showcase the very best in upcoming talent alongside a very special performance by Jamie Cullum, other acts confirmed to play the stage across the weekend are as follows:
Benjamin Francis Leftwich – The singer songwriter from York released his critically acclaimed debut album in 2011, he is currently working on his eagerly awaited follow up.
Monsta – Described as having the melodic synth of Flux Pavilion, the tech-soul vocal drops of Moby and the reverberant snares of trip hop act U.N.K.L.E, Monsta have become a popular regular on the club and festival circuit.
James Skelly & The Intenders – Having just finished writing with Paul Weller, James Skelly, former front man for The Coral, is back with his debut album ‘Love Undercover’.
Lewis Watson – Oxford’s twenty-year-old singer songwriter, will be bringing his guitar folk rock to the festival after successfully topping the iTunes singer songwriter chart with his EP ‘It’s Got Four Sad Songs On It BTW’.
 
Misha B – Her debut album will be out in July and features the recent hit singles ‘Home Run’ and ‘Do You Think of Me’.
Hoffmaestro – The Swedish electronic act have built up a fantastic reputation for their sensational live shows.
Sam Smith – The British singer-songwriter recently featured on Naughty Boy’s massive UK number one single ‘La La La’.
A*M*E – Nominated for the BBC Sound of 2013 poll in January A*M*E has already had an amazing year, she featured on the recent number one single ‘Need U (100%)’ by DJ Duke Dumont and will release her debut album later this year.
Goldie Lookin Chain – The Welsh rappers have been creating sensational comedic rap since 2004.
The Skints – Fresh off their UK tour, The Skints will be showcasing their unique mix of reggae, ska, dub, punk & hip-hop to the stage, along with a little of their self dubbed ‘East London Reggae’ sounds.
Lucy Spraggan – Her debut album which mixes acoustic, folk and hip hop will be out later this year, she recently confirmed that her first single will be ‘Lighthouse’.
Nell Bryden – US singer-songwriter Nell Bryden has received high praise in the UK for her latest album ‘Shake The Tree’, lead single ‘Buildings and Treetops’ was A –listed at Radio 2.
Ed Drewett – Best known for his collaboration with Professor Green on ‘I Need You Tonight’ Ed is currently preparing to unleash his debut album.
Diana Vickers – Her debut album ‘Songs From the Tainted Cherry Tree’ was out in 2010 and reached the number one spot on the UK album charts.  Follow up album ‘Music to Make Boys Cry’ will be out in July.
Moya – The London based singer songwriter has recently toured with Rod Stewart, Andy Burrows and Mick Hucknall.
John Newman – The British soul singer is best known as being a featured artist for Rudimental's number one single "Feel the Love" and top 20 single "Not Giving In", his debut single ‘Not Giving In’ will be out in June.
Exit Calm – The south Yorkshire four piece are renowned for their epic indie-rock.
Silouette – They will be bringing their high energy alternative pop laced with flavours of darkness, hope and desire to the stage.
 
V Festival, prides itself on the quality of artists that perform each year, aside from headliners Beyonce and Kings of Leon other incredible acts already on the line-up include Stereophonics, The Script, Emeli Sandé, Calvin Harris, Beady Eye, Jessie J, Two Door Cinema Club, The Vaccines, Basement Jaxx, Olly Murs, Paloma Faith, Jesse Ware, James, Rita Ora, The Courteeners, FUN., Labrinth, Ellie Goulding, Rudimental, James Arthur, Little Mix, and Laura Mvula.  More acts will be announced in the coming weeks across the stages at the two festival sites.

V Festival is now in its 18th year and is renowned for bringing the very best in popular music together for one epic summer weekend. It is now established as the biggest festival in the UK with over 170,000 fans attending across the two sites and was the first festival to establish rotating acts across two sites.
 
V Festival is one of the hottest dates on the UK cultural calendar.  From the moment the gates open each area of the festival comes alive and a truly remarkable weekend of music and enjoyment ensues. V Style camping is set to return this year giving festival fans the chance to get the best of both worlds. They can dance the days away with their favourite artists and then chill out in luxury in ready built Pod Pads, Cloud Yurts, Hearthworks Tipis and pop-up hotel rooms.

2013 once again sees a wide spectrum of acts playing across the stages, guaranteeing yet another year of unforgettable appearances.  The popular Glee Club Comedy Tent will also makes a return this year, with side-splitting performers to be announced in the coming weeks.  With many more great artists to be announced, there is something for everyone at V Festival.

Keep up to date with all the latest news and ticket outlet information at www.vfestival.com
 

Take That’s Mark Owen and more for Camp Bestival

With summer holidays around the corner we can’t wait to get back to Lulworth Castle for a festi-holiday weekend of fun and frolics for all the family from August 1st– 4th. And the Camp Bestival crew are leaving no stone unturned to make sure this year’s Camp Bestival is another absolute corker.

There really is something for everyone in this year’s line-up, so we’re very excited indeed to unveil a host of brilliant new acts that cover all bases, from huge popstars like our very special guest Mark Owen to brilliant local faves and beyond who will all be joining the likes of Labrinth, Richard Hawley, Levellers, Ash, The Proclaimers, Horrible Histories, Mr Tumble, Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo, Alan Davies, Dick n Dom, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures The Brit School and many more!

The Camp Bestival Crew says: "There’s so much great music at Camp Bestival with something for everyone and we know how much fun a ladies night out is, so we’re very pleased to announce Mark Owen is coming to Lulworth Castle this year, especially for the girls!"

With his first solo album in eight years, ‘The Art of Doing Nothing’ due out in June, we very pleased to announce that Take That’s very own Mark Owen will be joining us at Lulworth Castle. With a hit-packed career spanning 20 years, Mark is one of the UKs biggest pop stars and along with his brilliant four-piece band he will be the soundtrack to a mega ladies night out on Saturday at Camp Bestival, playing not only his new and much loved solo material but also a tantalising selection of Take That anthems too!

Mark Owen Says: “Just about everybody I know with a family has told me how wonderful Camp Bestival is and said 'you've got to go!' I've got my Winnebago on order. See you there”.

But that’s not all,  as we have plenty more top live music for your delectation, including Memphis chanteuse Valerie June who has been blowing away crowds with her mixture of folk, blues, gospel, soul, Appalachian and bluegrass music and her utterly magical vocals. If you haven’t caught her live yet, we guarantee this is one not to miss. There will also be live appearances from unique solo acoustic artist Cherishport, Dorset blues behemoth Red River Hogs, scrumpy & western phenomenon Skimmity Hitchers and New Forest duo Phil & Tilley.

Joining an already legendary line-up of amazing DJs that includes Grandmaster Flash, Sasha and Andrew Weatherall (in his A Love From Outer Space guide with Sean Johnston), we are very pleased to announce that deck-wrecking duo The Nextmanare joining David Rodigan MBE’s Ram Jam line-up alongside Venum Sound and MC Wrec. Plus there will be high octane party flavours from the inimitable Russ Cuban, reggae and hip-hop mash-up madness from Jstar, divine turntable manoeuvres from Dick Kurtaine, eclectic treasures from Rev Milo Speedwagon, tubular sounds from Rowan Chernin (Chairman Of The Board Surf) , rockin roots and psych love from In Light Of Aquarius and certified dancefloor devastation from Camp Bestival favourite Shepdog.

With a whole world of discovery for kids, plus the best in music, arts and culture it’s no wonder that  weekend tickets are flying out of the door, so you’re going to have to get a move on if you want to guarantee a whole weekend enjoying our fest-holiday treats. But, due to popular local demand from the brilliantly supportive people of Dorset, we are once again putting a very limited number of day tickets on sale on Friday May 17th

Adult day tickets will cost £60 per day, Age 15-17 day tickets are £35 per day, Age 11-14 day tickets are £30 per day and Age 10 and under day tickets are free (but you must obtain a ticket) and will be available in person from Lulworth Castle and Lulworth Heritage centre, as well as through the usual Camp Bestival ticket agents.

We’ve still got a few little surprises up our sleeves, so do keep an eye on www.campbestival.net and our Facebook  and Twitter.

LINE UP SO FAR:

LIVE: 
RICHARD HAWLEY / LEVELLERS / LABRINTH / VERY SPECIAL GUEST MARK OWEN / DJ FRESH LIVE / ASH / HEAVEN 17 / TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS / THE POLYPHONIC SPREE / GABRIELLE APLIN / KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS / I AM KLOOT / BILLY BRAGG / NIK KERSHAW / DAN LE SAC VS SCROOBIUS PIP / THE CUBAN BROTHERS / DJ YODA (LIVE AV SHOW ( FEAT THE TOOTSIE ROLLERS) / JOHN COOPER CLARKE / VALERIE JUNE / LISSIE / THE FARM / MUSICAL YOUTH / BEARDYMAN / SAM LEE & FRIENDS / THE CORRESPONDENTS / THE WURZELS / MAD PROFESSOR / SKINNY LISTER / CLEAN BANDIT / LONDON GRAMMAR / MIKILL PANE / THE 1975 / FLEETWOOD BAC / INTRODUCING RECREATE 'DISCOVERY' LIVE – A DAFT UNDERTAKING / HOWARD MARKS / LUCKY ELEPHANT / ADY SULEIMAN / LLOYD YATES / FOLK IDOL / MOLOTOV JUKEBOX / SEXY SUSHI / BEN WATERS / MOULETTES / FILTHY BOY / FAKE BUSH / HUDSON TAYLOR / ISAIAH DREADS / MR B THE GENTLEMAN RHYMER / LEWIS WATSON / JAWS / JAIPUR BRASS BAND / J-CATS / RED RIVER HOGS / CHERISHPORT / THE OHMZ / PUSH PEDAL / SKIMMITY HITCHERS / PHIL & TILLEY / SCOTT ANDERSON (BANDSTAND COMPERE)

DJs – ROB DA BANK AND FRIENDS: GRANDMASTER FLASH / SASHA / DAVID RODIGAN MBE PRESENTS RAM JAM FEAT. THE NEXTMEN, VENUM SOUND, MC WREC / A LOVE FROM OUTER SPACE (ANDREW WEATHERALL AND SEAN JOHNSTON) / FABIO + GROOVERIDER / CRAIG CHARLES (DJ SET) / JON MORE (COLDCUT) / DICK N DOM RIP IT UP (DJ SET) / BARRY ASHWORTH / JOHN KENNEDY / RUSS CUBAN / SUNDAY BEST FORUM ALL STARS / BALEARIC BROTHERS / FEELING GLOOMY / TYTHE / COLEY FROM LUV*JAM / SOMBRERO SOUND SYSTEM / JSTAR / DICK KURTAINE / REV MILO SPEEDWAGON / ROWAN CHERNIN (CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD SURF) / IN LIGHT OF AQUARIUS / SHEPDOG / MIX IT UP KRU / DJ DAPPER DAN

ENTERTAINMENT: HORRIBLE HISTORIES: BARMY BRITAIN (FESTIVAL PREMIERE AND EXCLUSIVE) / ALAN DAVIES / MR TUMBLE / ERTH’S DINOSAUR ZOO / DICK N DOM / LET IT BE / BRIT SCHOOL  / BLACK EAGLES CIRCUS / ROYAL ALBERT HALL GINORMOUS PERCUSSION ORCHESTRA / SHLOMO’S BEAT BOX ADVENTURE FOR KIDS / CANDO2 / GLORIA AND THE EXPLORERS / LITTLE SUNSHINE, LITTLE RAINFALL / ALICE IN WONDERLAND PANTO / LONDON LUCUMI CHOIR / INSECT CIRCUS / MATTHEW BOURNE’S NEW ADVENTURES / TRINITY LABAN / CANDOCO / MECHANICAL MENAGERIE / GIDEON REELING / SHADOW PUPPETRY & STORYTELLING / CRAFT AND NATURE WORKSHOPS / YOUNG BRITISH FOODIES / TATE WORKSHOPS / BFI FILM CLUB / THE FOUR CORNERS TREASURE TRAIL / LOST & FOUND / MORRIS DANCING / JOUSTING / FREESTYLE SPORTS PARK / KIDS BIG ART VILLAGE / MAYPOLE DANCING / BIGTOPMANIA KIDS THEATRE AND CIRCUS

‘HOW TO’ INTERVIEWS: HOW TO FLY WITH EDDIE ‘THE EAGLE’ EDWARDS / HOW TO BE A PRESENTER WITH JO WHILEY / HOW TO HANDLE A RIOT WITH TREVOR PHILLIPS / HOW TO PLAY A BADDIE WITH CHARLIE BROOKS / HOW PHILOSOPHY CAN IMPROVE YOUR LIFE WITH JULES EVANS / HOW TO INTERVIEW WITH SIMON HATTENSTONE / HOW TO COLLECT SONGS WITH SAM LEE / HOW TO STARGAZE WITH MAREK KUKULA / HOW TO BE WILD WITH ROB AND LEO 

SPOKEN WORD: SCROOBIUS PIP / KATE TEMPEST / POLARBEAR / MR GEE / JOSH IDEHEN / RAYMOND ANTROBUS / ADAM KAMMERLING / DEANNA RODGER / SIMON MOLE / PAUL CREE / JAMES MASSIAH / CHIMENE SULEYMAN / BRIDGET MINAMORE / ROUNDHOUSE POETRY COLLECTIVE / EARLY DOORS COLLECTIVE / ELEPHANT COLLECTIVE

WELL-READ: HOWARD MARKS IS: SCHOLOAR, SMUGGLER, PRISONER SCRIBE / BESTSELLING WOMEN’S HOUR WITH ADELE PARKS, LISA JEWELL, EMILY BARR, ANNA MAXTED / GRANTA BEST OF YOUNG BRITISH NOVELISTS WITH JOANNA KAVENNA, BEN MARKOVITS, ROSS RAISEN / KIDS BOOK SURGERY WITH JULIA ECCLESHARE 
DEEP INSIGHTS FROM RSA SPEAKERS: EXPLORATION! WITH KEVIN FONG / REVOLUTION! WITH BIDISHA 

THOUGHT-PROVOKING:
CANCEL THE APOCALYPSE WITH ANDREW SIMMS / WONDERLAND AND JUSTICE WITH AMBER MARKS /
BARELY IMAGINED BEINGS WITH CASPAR HENDERSON 

FOODIES AND FASHION: CAMP BESTIVAL BAKE-OFF JUDGED BY LILY VANILLI / HOW TO OPEN A RESTAURANT WITH MARTIN MORALES / CONFESSIONS OF A FASHIONISTA WITH ANGELA CLARKE

WOODLAND STORY DEN: GIRAFFES CAN’T DANCE – GUY PARKER-REES  / CALM DOWN BORIS! – SAM LLOYD / THE PIRATE CRUNCHER – JONNY DUDDLE / DARCY BURDOCK – LAURA DOCKRILL / GUY BASS / KATE O'HEARN / ERICA JANE WATERS / SIMON BARTRAM / CRAIG GREEN

QUIZZES: SAM WOLLASTON’S FAMOUS TV QUIZ / HAIL! HAIL! ROCK ‘N’ ROLL QUIZ WITH JOHN HARRIS / FILM QUIZ WITH CATHERINE SHOARD  

WAKE UP WITH THE GUARDIAN: JOHN HARRIS, SIMON HATTENSTONE AND CATHERINE SHOARD

BOOKSIGNINGS: HORRIBLE HISTORIES ILLUSTRATOR MARTIN BROWN / ALL ADULT AND KIDS AUTHORS AT THE FESTIVAL