Glastonbury 2009...that time already?

I got my Glastonbury 2009 email reminder in the inbox today...weird? Yeah I think it bloody is when its only two months since the last one! They must be quite worried about numbers I guess. Do like the fact you can secure a tickets for a £50 deposit though which kinda helps you spread the cost. It's a lot to swallow in one go.

So you can now buy your tickets for Glsto in October....a whole 8 months before the festival...

So who do you think is gonna headline? Did Jay Z succeed in making rap/hip hop a permanent fixture on the main stage?

My money is on Oasis and Kasabian and Franz Ferdinand and in my dreams Led Zeppelin!!!

Cider plus music = Happy Jukebox

If there are two things in life I love most they are most definitely music and cider. So good on yummy cider brand Kopparberg who is bringing both tasty beverages and super cool music to one of the last festivals of the Summer this weekend (29th-31st August) in Scotland.

Kopparberg’s “One Big Tree” will host a mix of Scottish DJs and acoustic sets over the weekend sitting neatly beneath the canopy of the “Kopparberg Tree”.

On Friday there will be a mix from Chris Blair, The Fortunate Sons, and an uber mellow set from Haight Ashby and to top off the acoustic sets, Edinburgh’s very own Action Group will be playing on Friday. Raising the tempo Juno! will take their rightful place behind the decks to turn up the heat on a chilly Scottish night. Andrew Horne will bring you some of his funky up-tempo beats, hip-hop and breaks followed by a bit of Northern Soul and eclectic sounds from Loose Joints. The Kopparberg Session Musicians will play alongside, enhancing the live experience by adding sax and trumpet or percussion to the music supplied by the DJs. They’ll continue into the very early hours with the Kopparberg residents.

The Lucy Kerr Trio kick off Saturday’s festivities at the One Big Tree arena, who, with their smooth harmonies, will create the prefect soundtrack to ease you into the second day at Hydro Connect. Acoustic sets come courtesy of Ross Clark, Pearl and the Puppets – whose eccentric sets, are definitely worth checking out plus The Ads and Injuns, who have recently just come off tour as part of the Kopparberg Collective. When the sun starts to set over Loch Fyne, Andy Taylor will be getting behind the decks and pumping up the atmosphere with his eclectic style that ranges from funk, soul, hip-hop and Latin to breaks and house. Headlining One Big Tree will be electro new comers Killer Kitsch creating the prefect back drop to the end of night party.

Easing you in gently on Sunday afternoon, One Big Tree will be keeping the mellow vibe going with more acoustic and eclectic DJ sets. Tipped as one of the most exciting musical prospects of 2008, Muddy Face will be getting the crowd warmed up on Sunday. Their music consists of a barrage of melodic upbeat tunes performed to the ceaseless rhythm of a lyrical steam train. This will be followed by acoustic sets from gypsy inspired dance fiends Punch and the Apostles, Scotland’s finest dBass and Little Kicks. Stepping it up a level, Kobai will take to the decks – expect mayhem! Followed by Tokyoblu’s DJ set, who are connoisseurs of blending cool, funky sounds with percussion to enhance your live experience. The Kopparberg Residents will be pumping out the best dance and classic indie tracks with Mash sprinkling a juicy dusting of electro into proceedings to keep the party going until the wee hours.

Keeping the music simple and the cider uncomplicated, the One Big Tree arena will be the ultimate place for festival’s goers to chill out at Hydro Connect festival this summer. Mmmm sounds good just watch out for the killer cider hangover.

Why I LOVE Benicassim!

Hola I am so excited as festival season is here. Glasto in two weeks, secret garden party, exit, end of the road, Reading!!!, latitude but there is one that I am especially excited about. With Sigur Ros, Morrisey and My Bloody Valentine plus sun, sea and lots of cool people its the FIB Festival in Benicassim.

It was so amazing last year and I cannot wait to go again.

Me at Beni last year in the Vodafone bit...

Check out the full lineup:

Thursday 17th July

Sigur Ros, Nada Surf, Aldo Linares, Battles, The Futureheads, Black Lips, Facto Delafe y Las Flores Azules, Krakovia, Lightspeed Champion, Single, DJ Supermarkt, These New Puritans,

Friday 18th July

My Bloody Valentine, Mika, Babyshambles, Roisia­n Murphy, Spiritualized, Hot Chip, American Music Club, La Casa Azul, Chromatics, Danton Eeprom, DaPuntoBeat, El Guincho, Erol Alkan, Fujiya & Miyagi, Gentle Music Men, Josh Wink, Robert Babicz, The Glimmers, The New Pornographers, The Rumble Strips, Tobie Newmann, Vincent Vincent & The Villains

Saturday 19th July

Gnarls Barkley, Tricky, The Raconteurs, The Kills, My Morning Jacket, Booka Shade, Ascildisco, Bracken, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Eef Barzelay, Heavy Trash, Ivan Smagghe, John Acquaviva, Jose Gonzalez, Kiki, Manos de Topo, The Marzipan Man, Metope, Metronomy, The Ting Tings, Tiefschwarz

Sunday 20th July

Leonard Cohen, Morrissey, Morente Omega con Lagartija Nick, Siouxsie, Justice (live), Death Cab For Cutie, Calvin Harris, David Duriez, El Hijo, Ewan Pearson, Joakim, Lori Meyers, Marc Marzenit, Micah P. Hinson, Moriarty, The National, Radio Slave, Richard Hawley, Supermayer, Tommie Sunshine, Vive La Fete, Yelle

plus more to be announced...

Its well easy to get to from either Valencia or Barcelona and flights still quite cheap. It is a total bargain.

Get out there and buy its worth it!

BTW whilst your there try and check out the coolest club in the world...Razzmatazz. Its incredible!

4 Weeks till EXIT

Exit 08 is set to be one of the best festivals on mainland Europe this year with acts appearing including: N.E.R.D, Paul Weller, The Sex Pistols, Primal Scream, The Streets, Gossip, Juliette Lewis & the Licks, Gogol Bordelo, Ministry, The Hives, Nightwish, Deep Dish (Dubfire & Sharam), Kruder & Dorfmeister Summer Sessions, Sven Vath, Soulwax, 2ManyDJs, Laurent Garnier, Francois K, Tiga, Booka Shade, Ben Watt, Axwell, Claude Von Stroke and Tom Novy.

It certainy looks unique and I have heard nothing but great things from my friends who went last year. There will be over 600 performances taking place on 25 stages connected by cobbled streets, ramparts and tunnels - and a walk through the mystical fortress is like a trip through a magical wonderland (apparently).

The Dance Arena is regarded by many as the best in Europe and the UK with the demise of Homelands etc seems to be falling behind on this. So if you fancy guaranteed hot weather in an unusal location then get thee to Exit!

Check this vid out of LTJ Bukem playing last year:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LLLduZBf36s

TICKETS:

EXIT has teamed up with eTickets.to to deliver the best value festival ticket this side of the moon, with fast entry through their own entrance at the festival.

4 day festival passes are priced at £72 + a small booking fee and are available direct from the EXIT website and lastminute.com.

Camping is available from 8th - 14th July and camping passes are prices at £14 + a small booking fee.

To secure yours log onto one of the following sites;

http://etickets.to/exit/

www.exitfest.org

www.lastminute.com

WHEN IS IT?

10th – 13th July 208

WHERE IS IT?

Petrovaradin Fortress, Novi Sad, Serbia

WHAT IS IT?

The biggest music and cultural festival in South Esat Europe. Voted Best European Festival at the UK festival Wards 2007.

EVENT HISTORY:

Launched 9 years ago as a student initiated protest against the communist Milosevic regime, EXIT has proved that music is a universal language that can connect and bring people together to make the world a better place. EXIT is truly an amazing experience that has captured the imagination of festival goers worldwide and although it gets bigger each year, the sentiment remains the same.

HOW TO GET THERE:

Nearest airport to Novi Sad is Belgrade Surcin. There are direct flights from London Heathrow with BA and JAT. Belgrade airport is 100km away / 60 miles and takes roughly 1 hour to 1 hr 30 mins to drive. You can take a taxi to Novi Sad which should cost €35 or take one of the 8 seater buses that can be booked in advance with EU Fest www.eufest.com

You can also fly to Budapest with Easyjet and take a coach to Novi Sad with EU Fest. The journey takes 5 hours and prices start at £22.

WHERE TO STAY:

The ever popular EXIT Camp which every year gets bigger and better and is almost as fun and entertaining as the festival itself :) The Exit campsite is open from 8^th – 14^th July and costs £14 (plus booking fee).

You can book online through the Exit website http://etickets.to/exit/

If you’d prefer to stay in a hotel there are many 3 star hotels in Novi Sad which is about 15/20 minutes from the festival site on foot or 5 mins in a taxi. For a full list and further information check out the Novi Sad tourist site: www.novisadtourism.com

You can find out more about where you can stay while in Novi Sad during EXIT right here.

EU Fest also has rooms in a hostel close to the festival campsite. www.eufest.com

NEW YORK DOLLS to Headline Sat Night @ Lounge on the Farm

Lounge on the Farm, 11-13 July, Canterbury,Kent has added the legendary New York Dolls to its already stellar line up. The New York Dolls will be headlining the Cow Shed on Saturday evening. As the band’s only UK Headline festival appearance for 2008 this is a gilt-edged opportunity to catch one of rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest live bands at close quarters.

Formed in the early ‘70’s The New York Dolls are one of the most influential bands of all time, laying the groundwork for the punk revolution of the mid 70s, they provided the template, and bucket-loads of inspiration, for bands across the globe, from The Sex Pistols and The Clash to Kiss and Mötley Crüe. Famed for their extravagant and raucous performances, David Johansen, Sylvain Sylvain and crew are set to plough through the old classics like "Trash" and "Jet Boy", as well as new material from their recent ‘One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This’ album, which is sure to blow the straw from your ears.

The do is just four weeks away and apparently not many tickets left...see you there!


The Line-up so far…
The New York Dolls, The Coral (Acoustic Set) Lightspeed Champion, The Bees, Art Brut, Black Kids, Mystery Jets, Holy Fuck, Jon Carter, Dub Pistols Sound System, Sargasso Trio, Pete Molinari, Kevin Rowland (DJ Set), Terry Hall (DJ set) Aba Shanti Sound System, Sonny J, Kitty Daisy & Lewis, Holly Golightly & The Broke Offs, Underground Heroes, Guy Williams, Bones, Billy Childish, The Shortwave Set, Johnny Flynn and The Sussex Wit, The Bookhouse Boys, Esser, Findlay Brown, Bonobo, Polar Bear, Pest, The Filthy Dukes (DJ Set), Caged Baby (DJ Set) Mike Strutter Group, Midfield General, Toddla T, Los Campesinos, Cadence Weapon, Underground Heroes, Johnny Foreigner, The Loungs, Wave Machines, Those Dancing Days, Onlookers, Post War Years, Magistrates, Glam Chops, Future and the Boy, Subliminal Girls, Underground heroes, Lupen Crook & The Murderbirds, Up C Down C, Brigadier Ambrose, Zombie Met Girl, Eben, Intraverse, What Would Jesus Drive, Hotrods n Dragsters, Seven Storey Down, Letters From London & The Suggestions.

PopJunkieTV #7 Why Madonna Should Retire

Sean and Victoria - the indie Johnny and Denise - pun their way through the latest music news, gigs and reviews. This week Sean argues that all rock stars, and especially Madonna, should retire at 50 while Victoria disects the Glastonbury line up. Videos from The Shortwave Set and unsigned band is Sweden's Hyacinth House.

PopJunkieTV # 5

Victoria and Sean the "ebullient hipsters" well, according to The Times newspaper, sift through this week's music news and review albums from tres chic John and Jehn and alt country balladeer, Chris Mills.

PopJunkie TV Episode 4

Sean and Victoria the modsters in waiting hit you with the weeks music and festival news plus album reviews from The Triffids, The Courteeners, Blood Red Shoes and The Last Shadow Puppets.

Lemonheads For Truck Festival

The Lemonheads are to headline this year's Truck Festival - yay!!!

The band are set to perform the entire of their 1992 album 'It's A Shame About Ray' at the event, which takes place between 19th and 20th July in Steventon, Oxfordshire.

Tickets for Truck Festival are on sale now, available here.

Great a brilliant excuse for a lovely picture of Mr Dando.

Interesting fact - I served said Mr Dando when I worked at Virgin Megastore in Reading, swoon*

EASIEST YEAR GETTING GLASTONBURY TICKETS?

Ok so my friends had no joy getting me a Glasto ticket and as I was out all day at the torch relay event in London I thought I had no chance.

So I trundle in at 6pm and think sod it I'll try and just logged on...well knock me down with a feather I got through!

Then I did the normal search to see what the situ is and see that only 100,000 tickets hace been sold despite 137,500 being released. What the hell is going on? Has Glastonbury had its day? Is it the fact Jay Z is headlining? Have people had enough of the mud?

Who knows either way I'm glad I got a ticket - roll on Junetime!!!

Bat for Lashes Supporting Radiohead

Hooray the rather gorgeous and magnificantly talented Natasha Khan and her equally fabulous cohorts will be the support act for Radiohead's summer gigs in Victoria Park.

The group are known to be huge fans of BFL's Natasha Khan, with Thom Yorke choosing her track "Horse And I" in his top ten iTunes list for Pitchfork magazine saying: “I love the harpsichord and the sexual ghost voices and bowed saws.This song seems to come from the world of Grimm's fairytales”.

Bat for Lashes will be the official support for all of their U.K shows, as well as the the two shows scheduled for Malahide Castle in Dublin.

Dublin Malahide (June 6 / 7)
Paris Bercy (9/10)
Barcelona Day Dream festival, Parc del Forum (12)
Nimes Arenes (14/15)
Milan Civica Arena (17 / 18)
London Victoria Park (24 / 25)
Glasgow Green (27)
Manchester LCCC (29)
Amsterdam Wester Park (July 1)

I got it right! Fleet Foxes Biggest Band of SXSW

Sometimes I am good and other times I am just pure genius. You may have remembered that a few weeks back I was ranting about the very cool Fleet Foxes here on my very own special blog. Well it appears the big boys have caught up with me. Everyone from Zane Lowe to NME, MOJO, Pitchfork, Guardian, Independent and Telegraph selecting them as the finest new act of this years SXSW and raving about their celestial 4-part harmonies and awe-inspiring cosmic country-rock…

“If melodic indie rock is very much in vogue, then its new masters are Seattle’s Fleet Foxes… Nothing can quite prepare you for the sheer beauty of the band’s harmonic sound. During their 30-minute set there are moments of sweeping grandeur,

near-medieval melodies and folk narratives, their intensity exemplified by the gargantuan, harmony-soaked White Winter Hymnal. Tonight’s set suggests that the band’s debut should confirm the arrival of America’s next great band.”

(MOJO)

If you haven’t yet heard the music, those lovely people at Bella Union have made a stream where you can check out the EP…

http://www.bellaunion.com/page.php?id=email1

Mozza Headlining Friday at Wireless

O2 has now announced Morrisey will headline the Friday night of its "Wireless" summer festival series. It will be his only UK appearace this year.

Tickets go on sale this Friday.

Bjork to Headline Melt!

Set against a breathtaking backdrop of five huge hulking coal mining diggers that tower into the sky, Melt! is a unique music festival on the Ferropolis peninsula surrounded by Lake Gremmin in Germany.

It takes place from the 18th – 20th July with headlining performances from Björk, Franz Ferdinand and the Editors. The Victoria's Jukebox favourites, Hot Chip even included live performances of ‘Shake a Fist’ and ‘Boy from School’ performed at Melt! on their new album ‘Made in the Dark’.

Melt! seeks to mix guitars, beatboxes and vinyl grooves so perfectly that indie boys will dance with raver girls while hip hop heads wave their glowsticks.

This will be the 11th year of the festival and due to great demand a third day has been added to the program. More than 80 live acts and DJs will perform on 6 stages, firing the crowd up from late afternoon until well into the wee small hours…. and the last beats don’t fade until long after the sun has risen over the lake again.

If you fancy a European festival this year you could do a lot worse than this. Shame its on at the same time as Benicassim:(

CONFIRMED ACTS SO FAR:

Björk* // Franz Ferdinand* // Editors // Ben Folds** // The Gossip* // Turbostaat // Booka Shade* // Alter Ego // Miss Kittin & The Hacker (live)* // Boys Noize // Moonbootica // Efdemin // Len Faki // The Teenagers // Die Türen // Kompakt label special: Supermayer (live) // Burger/Voigt (live) // Gui Boratto // Tobias Thomas** // Bpitch label special: Modeselektor (live) // Ellen Allien // Sascha Funke // Tomas Andersson Man Recordings: Crookers // Daniel Haaksman u.v.a. tba**

TICKETS:

Tickets start at €45 (plus booking fee) and are on sale now:
1-day ticket Björk + 4 more acts tba (Sun 20th July 2008): €45 (plus booking fee)
2-day ticket (Fri 18th & Sat 19th July 2008 + free Sleepless Floor on Sunday 20th July 2008): €65 (plus booking fee)
3-day ticket (Fri 18th & Sat 19th & Sun 20th July 2008): €85 euros (plus booking fee)

www.mirkomarken.de (via paypal) Please note that there will be a PER-TICKET-charge for orders via paypal. www.TixForGigs.co.uk/melt (via paypal) Please note that there will be a PER-TICKET-charge for orders via paypal.

Prodigy to Headline Gatecrasher

Just got the Gatecrasher Weekender press release from my friends at Get Involved and nearly passed out at the line up!

Storming back into the festival market after a 6 year hiatus and two decades since acid house, the back drop is set for a true celebration of electronic music past, present and future. No one can doubt that Gatecrasher was a defining moment in the history of club culture and The Summer Sound System 2008 will see them back on centre stage with a spell binding line up including:

THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS / THE PRODIGY/ DIZZEE RASCAL / CSS / SOULWAX NITE VERSIONS SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO / DIGITALISM LIVE / PAUL VAN DYK, PETE TONG/ TIGA/AUDIO BULLYS/NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB, THE WHIP / AXWELL & INGROSSO (SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA)/BLOC PARTY DJ SET/RONI SIZE REPRESENT/DJ YODA/DJ MARKY/ZANE LOWE

Returning to the site of summer’s past, the event will take place over 2 days in Northampton, on Saturday 24^th and Sunday 25^th May. The team are promising surprises and a diverse selection of the world’s finest artists and talent all with the highest production values the UK has to offer. Sounds good hey?

Music aside, Summer Sound System will be upping the ante with the entire event spectacle. Introducing boutique camping, a 24-hour market place with gourmet food stalls and out of town shopping plus an onsite diary room, supersonic fairground and a veritable feast of additional adventures. Facilities will include secure onsite lockers, plentiful cash machines, Ibiza angels to massage away your aching limbs and even karaoke for the wannabe starlets.

Tickets On Sale: Friday 25^th January 2008

Limited Early Bird Tickets – Weekend Tickets - £105

Ticket Hotline

08704 282726

Reading and Leeds Festival Drop Carling Sponsorship

Hooray for the greatest news of the day. After my major moaning last Summer about the tackiness of festival sponsorship it appears there is a god!

Melvin Benn, director of festivals for promoter Mean Fiddler has confirmed that Reading and Leeds's 10-year contract with Carling has come to an end and that a replacement sponsor will not be sought.

"I wanted to reclaim the name Reading festival and the name Leeds festival," Benn told BBC 6 Music. "I wanted them to return to their roots, so to speak. I didn't want the events to be called after a sponsor. I'm not asking another sponsor to come in."

Its been known as the Carling Weekend for some years now - with most people still referring it by the respective town names instead. I remember when I worked at the Virgin Megastore in Reading and Virgin sponsored the festival we got free tickets. A much less corporate affair than the Carling sponsorship. But then look at the corporate fest which is V Festival. Absolutely hideous!

So whats next for all the other venues that Mean Fiddler has renamed? The Brixton and Islington Academies for starters. Bring back the original names we all still call them by those anyway!

Exit Festival - dates announced

I have heard some amazing stuff about this festival which is held within the walls of the 17th Century Petrovaradin Fortress in Serbia. Launched 9 years ago as a student initiated protest against the communist Milosevic regime over 10,000 Brits made it their festival of choice in 2007 and it went onto win ‘Best European Festival’ at the UK Festival Awards.

Dates for 2008 are 10th – 13th July and tickets are now on general sale priced at £72 + a small booking fee.

Over 600 performances will take place on 25 stages connected by cobbled streets, ramparts and tunnels - a walk through the mystical fortress is like a trip through a magical wonderland apparently.

EXIT has welcomed a pretty eclectic mix of acts through the years and encompasses all genres of music from rock to rap, classical to chill, dance to drum & bass and electronic to experimental. Artists who have already performed at EXIT include; Basement Jaxx, Billy Idol, Franz Ferdinand, Fatboy Slim, Morrissey, Massive Attack, The Prodigy, Robert Plant, Snoop Dogg, Scissor Sisters, Underworld, White Stripes. Expect more of the same this year with the program formally announced in April.

EXIT Festival

PETROVARADIN FORTRESS

NOVI SAD, SERBIA

10th - 13th JULY 2008

www.exitfest.org

Festival excitement :)

I'll let you into a little secret...I am bored. I have put on about 4 stone, I officially hate December post the 25th and the summer seems so far away. So what did I do? I teased myself by checking out the latest festival news at my fav little place www.efestivals.co.uk And there is a lot to be excited about. The line up for the IOW is ridiculous...

Friday 13 June
Kaiser Chiefs
N*E*R*D
The Pigeon
KT Tunstall
The Hoosiers

Saturday 14 June
Sex Pistols
Ian Brown
Iggy & the Stooges
The Zutons
The Enemy

Sunday 15 June
The Police
The Kooks
Lily Allen
James
Scouting For Girls
Kate Nash

But sadly it's sold out...

Benicassim - the beautiful people's festival so far has My Bloody Valentine, Babyshambles and the Rumble Strips

Glastonbury...well let me tell you if they secure Led Zeppelin I'll be selling my soul for a ticket:)And The Verve won't be too bad either!

Roll on 2008!

V xxx

Best festival of 2007?

According to another one of my highly scientific polls Reading was the best festival of this year! Exsqueeze me but is that some kind of a joke? I though the people who read this blog liked music??? Mmmm I am very disappointed:(

For me it was Glasto. I love you Mr Eavis only 26 weeks to go :)

UK Festival Awards

Hooray I have secured myself an invite to this years UK Festival Awards which is taking place Tuesday November 6th at KOKO in Camden with the Cuban Brothers hosting the night.

Some of the year’s best breakthrough bands will be performing at the event including The Brighlights, Scouting for Girls plus a mysterious secret third act.

Ex-Beta Band genius Steve Mason, will be DJing at the after party along with Tall Paul, who is performing an exclusive alternative set. It looks set to be a great and besides, I love the UK festival Awards as they reward all those people who work so damn hard to put on wicked festivals for us lucky punters.

As we all know festival season is the jukebox's favourite time of year!