It is festival time again and Yorkshire have some of the best festivals around in the spring and summer. Celebrating 10 years of breaking the latest and greatest new acts, Live At Leeds 2016 have announced over 73 acts joining the already stellar line-up of current trendsetters and future stars. Building on December’s announcement that featured 2015’s biggest pop sensation, Brit Award-nominee Jess Glynne, fast rising Liverpool four piece Circa Waves & indie legends We Are Scientists, we have London’s Mystery Jets, whose latest album ‘Curve of The Earth’ has been met with massive critical and commercial acclaim. Joining them this month will be Mercury Award nominee Ghostpoet, fresh from supporting Alt-J on their recent huge UK tour as well Stockport’s Psych-y sons, Blossoms who finished fourth in the BBC Sound of 2016 list as well as DIY stalwarts Los Campesinos! (who also celebrate their 10th Anniversary in 2016).
Blood Red Shoes return to the festival having headlined a warm up party in 2014. It is also essential as Leeds own Corrine Bailey Rae makes her first live appearance since 2013 and Slow Club return for the first time since playing the very first Live At Leeds!
Slam Dunk Festival have revealed the details of a very special edition of the music festival. 2016 will also mark the 10th Anniversary of Slam Dunk Festival and is set to be its biggest since it started in 2006. Taking place over the Spring Bank Holiday 2016, the festival will welcome an increased capacity to a huge 40,000 music fans from across the country. Headlining in 2016 will be Panic! At The Disco with an exclusive UK festival performance.
Over 40 bands will play across 7 stages including other festival exclusives from Of Mice and Men (the first UK appearance of 2016) and Slam Dunk Festival will be the only place to see New Found Glory in the UK in 2016.
Tramlines is the other urban music festival taking place in Sheffield in June and they have announced their first headliner will be Dizzie Rascal “We are thrilled to announce Dizzee Rascal as Friday night’s Main Stage headliner. A ground-breaking and critically-acclaimed UK talent whose music spans grime, UK garage, bassline, hip-hop and R&B, Dizzee’s live sets are legendary”. The organiser told us. Elsewhere, fellow Mercury Prize winners Young Fathers will deliver their unique brand of UK hip-hop, while cult art-pop heroes Field Music – a.k.a. brothers David and Peter Brewis – will show off the best indie rock Wearside has to offer. Legendary Jamaican singer Dawn Penn will be touching down in Sheffield with her classic hit ‘You Don’t Love Me’ and more, while former Pipettes vocalist Gwenno will showcase her stylish, Welsh Music Prize-winning brand of indie-pop.
Download is slightly further afield but worthy of mention as it is becoming the best rock festival on the planet. Shinedown have told us “we are gonna ‘make it rain’ as they bring their relentless melodic rock to the fest. The band played an unforgettable set at the festival in 2012 and will be returning this year with songs from their latest album ‘Threat To Survival’. Killswitch Engage, will make the floor move under your feet with a jaw-droppingly outstanding set; Down, will deliver some booming dark riffs and all out metal; Don Broco, will bring charisma by the bucket load, and Brighton metallers Architects are confirmed for a ferocious, boundlessly energetic set ensuing some gigantic circle pits.
Joining them will be Neck Deep who are making waves as the heroes of UK pop-punk; Tremonti, fronted by former Creed and Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti, are known for their fast and heavy headbang-worthy riffs.
French band Gojira will provide some full on heavy metal and Swedish six-piece Ghost are confirmed for some sticky-sweet hooks and melodies, and lots of satanic musings.
One band not playing the festival circuit this year is Wolf Alice who sold out the O2 Academy in Leeds. A perfect example though of how playing in any of the festivals above can jettison a band to greater things. They played a solid set which delighted the crowd with lead singer Ellie Roswell as effervescent as ever. The stage presence of the band clearly honed by the hours they spent on various stages at Live at Leeds.
