no tomorrow festival

No Tomorrow Festival Review 2015

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Following a successful first year, No Tomorrow festival returned to Nottingham for a two-day spectacle, showcasing some of the biggest names in EDM and other chart-topping artists such as John Newman and Jessie Ware.

Not your typical large-scale music festival with tens of thousands of party-goers, No Tomorrow was comparatively much smaller; but this made the experience thoroughly more enjoyable.

With the usually unreliable British weather holding up throughout the course of the weekend, punters were able to lie on the grass and soak up the rays whilst listening to their favourite artists. Three well-staffed bars also ensured revellers did not wait long for drinks in the summer heat.

Dominating the park was the main stage which featured a brightly coloured ‘No Tomorrow’ banner with the Stealth stage occupying a gigantic tent in a sub-section of the park.

Stealth was not to be out done by its larger counterpart. A set list consisting of Garage and House well-known names such as DJ EZ, Hannah Wants and Gorgon City arguably made it the highlight of the festival.

Saturday's bill did not disappoint, Hannah Wants well and truly got the proceedings of the weekend underway and set the tone for what was to come with her one and a half hour set.

Fans packed the Stealth stage for DJ EZ and despite technical sound issues he still managed to get the crowd buzzing with a trademark mix of old school Garage anthems, rounding off what was a hugely successful first day.

Sunday built on the success of the previous day, with performances from Justin Martin on Stealth stage and Milky Chance on the main stage meaning that wherever you were there was music worth listening to.

Milky Chance’s hit ‘Stolen Dance’ was met with a great reception as fans joined in singing along with the feel good music. Whilst over on Stealth stage, Gorgon City followed Justin Martin and carried on the upbeat vibe with some well-known House tunes as the sun slowly slipped behind the clouds.

Perhaps the most notable performance of the entire weekend was My Nu Leng who closed the Stealth stage with a combination of Deep House, Grime and Rap beats working to get the crowd hyped, and ending the festival in style.

Leaving the festival to John Newman’s popular anthem ‘Love Me Again’ echoing from the main stage, party-goers were able to travel back to the city centre from the gates of Woollaton Park for £2 thanks to festival organisers.

Overall a perfect way to start the summer, a well-balanced mixture of intense and laid-back music combining to create a memorable weekend, definitely a festival SFG would recommend for the future.

 

Photos by Mike Ruane

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. 

Milky Chance, Gorgon City and more added to No Tomorrow Festival

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Added to the already captivating line-up are electronic-infused pop duo Milky Chance, Mercury Music Prize-nominee Nick Mulvey and Black Butter Records’ dancefloor heroes Gorgon City, plus many more. For further information and to buy tickets visit the No Tomorrow website.

Milky Chance’s unique style of electronic-infused pop tracks such as ‘Stolen Dance’ and ‘Down By The River’ have clocked up over 170 million views on YouTube. The duo consisting of Clemens Rehbein and Philipp Dausch have previously sold out two successive nights at Shepherd’s Bush Empire and scored number one singles in several European countries, an impressive feat for relative newcomers. They are being championed by the likes of Radio 1 and this summer is primed for their appearance at Nottingham’s No Tomorrow.
 
North London producers Gorgon City have racked up a top 10 album and two top 10 singles in the UK charts including ‘Ready For Your Love’, a track featuring fellow No Tomorrow performer MNEK. Their sound channels British warehouse vibes however, with SXSW showcases on the horizon, Gorgon City are headed for the global stage via their infectious club tunes and chart infiltrating hits.

Schooled in Havana, Cuba, Nick Mulvey brings a worldly mindset to his music. With two Mercury Music Prize nominations under his belt, one for his part in Portico Quartet and another as a solo artist in his own right, Mulvey is steadily ascending the scale of critically acclaimed singer-songwriters on home-ground here in the UK. His set at No Tomorrow in June will be an especially blissed-out moment of the weekend featuring tracks from his top 10 album, ‘First Mind’.
 
Continuing the thread of up and coming talent is SOAK, the 18-year-old singer-songwriter from Ireland who has been on multiple ‘ones-to-watch’ lists over the past couple of years including the BBC Sound of 2015. Now fully breaking through into the charts with melancholic hits such as ‘B a noBody’ and the Radio 1 A-listed track ‘Sea Creatures’, SOAK will surely be a highlight for No Tomorrow.
 
Another act to have collaborated with the prolific MNEK and confirmed to appear at No Tomorrow is Karen Harding. Her track ‘Say Something’ has been certified as Silver by the BPI, selling over 200,000 copies since its release in January, making the tune one of 2015’s biggest singles so far. 
 
Further breaking talent showcasing at the festival comes in the form of Manchester soul man JP Cooper. Cooper is a recent signing to the legendary Island Records, he has toured with Angie Stone and collaborated with George The Poet. Dubbed ‘Hot for 2015’ by BBC Radio 1Xtra the next addition, Zak Abel, has been building quite a reputation for his strong, distinctive vocals as featured on ‘Unmissable’, the Top 20 track by fellow No Tomorrow act Gorgon City. The festival keeps things in the family with label mates to Gorgon City, My Nu Leng. The Bristol-based My Nu Leng come highly recommended by taste-makers at Rinse, Radio 1, 1Xtra and more.
 
Finally in keeping with the electronic theme, Dirtybird co-founder Justin Martin will no doubt get the crowds dancing with his signature jacking beats.  Meanwhile chief remixer, Kiss FM stalwart and Bastille-collaborator Grades will bring his hits such as ‘Crocodile Tears’ to the No Tomorrow airwaves.

John Newman & Jessie Ware to headline No Tomorrow Festival

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No Tomorrow Festival will be crowned by a set from John Newman, a Yorkshireman channeling Northern soul into modern pop. Newman’s hits include the number one single ‘Love Me Again’ and guest spots on Rudimental’s ‘Feel The Love’ and Calvin Harris’ ‘Blame’, both of which also topped the UK Singles Chart. This performance will be the first time Newman has headlined a UK festival’s main stage.  Also confirmed to headline is Jessie Ware, queen of an updated take on R&B teetering on the edge of the electronic. As well as her own Mercury Prize nominated material, Ware has appeared as a guest vocalist on tracks by the likes of Disclosure and SBKTRT. This announcement follows two sold out shows for Jessie Ware at Brixton Academy.

Elsewhere the festival’s attention turns to some of the most current and in-demand names attracting critical acclaim. Singer-songwriter James Bay features in the highest profile up-and-coming lists of the year including BBC Sound Of 2015 poll. Bay went on to win the BRITS Critics’ Choice award following in the footsteps of Adele and last year’s No Tomorrow headliner Sam Smith. DJ and house music producer Philip George brings homegrown talent to the festival. The Nottingham-based 21 year old recently made a big first impression by reaching number two in the UK Singles chart with his debut ‘Wish You Were Mine’.
 
Across No Tomorrow’s several stages the festival also boasts many more performances and a number of the finest international DJ talents. Bondax, DJ EZ, and Eton Messy will be delivering epic DJ set across the dance music spectrum. Also expect strong live performances from the enigmatic Bristol duo Blonde with full band, Grammy-nominated MNEK and Bondax guest vocalist KStewart, appearing in her own right with solo material.