Posted on: Jun 07, 2016
Festival season is on the horizon, so dig out those wellies as we run down the country’s biggest festivals, who’s playing them, and whether you can still get your hands on tickets!
From the rowdy Scottish crowds of T in the Park to the rock and metal paradise of Download and the pinnacle of them all, Glastonbury Festival, the UK is truly home to some of the best festivals in the world.
Glastonbury
When: June 22nd-26th
Where: Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset
Headliners: Muse, Adele and Coldplay
Kicking things off with the biggest of them all, Glastonbury is famous across the globe for attracting some of the biggest and best acts in the world.
Known as much for its diversity as its big names, there truly is something for everyone at Glastonbury, and this year is no different, with three very different headliners closing the Pyramid Stage.
Kicking things off on Friday will be the larger than life Muse. Known for their crazy live shows, seeing Muse live is a true experience, with drones and holograms featuring on their latest tour and they’re sure to step it up for their third headline slot.
Since returning with her latest album, ‘25’, last year, Adele has pretty much been the biggest thing in the world.
Having scooped the biggest selling album of 2015 as well as an incredible six Grammy awards, anyone who tells you she shouldn’t be headlining needs to have a word with themselves.
Adele has previously commented that she’s worried of suffering from stage fright, although Muse have recently invited her to join them on stage to ease into things, so we could have a huge collaboration on our hands!
And finally, on the back of playing one of the biggest gigs of their lives at the Super Bowl half-time show, Coldplay are no strangers to the big stage and will be sure to smash Worthy Farm (for the fourth time!).
Of course, Glasto is about so much more than the headliners, and just a couple of the other greats acts include LCD Soundsystem, Foals, Beck, PJ Harvey, and Jeff Lynne’s ELO playing the famous legend’s slot.
The list truly does go on and on so check out the full line-up (so far!) here.
As for tickets, they were all snapped up back in October in a process which can only be compared to the Hunger Games.
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Download Festival
When: June 10th-12th
Where: Donington Park, Castle Donington, Leicestershire
Headliners: Rammstein, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden
All about the very best in rock and metal, Download festival takes place at ‘the spiritual home of rock’, Donington Park.
Download is the spiritual successor to the famous ‘Monsters of Rock’ festival that played host to some of the biggest names in heavy metal during the 1980s while the genre was at its peak.
So if you’re the kind who prefers a mosh pit to a ‘lighters in the air’ moment, this is definitely the festival for you.
Taking place early in the season, Download is the perfect way to kick off the summer, and this year’s line-up is no different.
Kicking things off on the Friday on the ‘Lemmy stage’ (renamed in tribute after the Motörhead frontman passed away earlier this year) are German band Rammstein.
Famed for their over the top and controversial live shows, they certainly aren’t for the faint hearted, but fans will be eager to see the band who haven’t performed since August 2013.
As for Saturday and Sunday, it’s all about the classics. Saturday will see Ozzy Osbourne bring Black Sabbath to Donington as part of their final ever tour.
And finally on Sunday, Iron Maiden will close the festival for their only UK show of 2016.
Lead singer Bruce Dickinson is famously a certified pilot, and will be personally flying the bands private plane ‘Ed Force One’ into East Midlands Airport!
Tickets are still available here, at £215 for five days camping or £205 for three days.
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T in the Park
When: July 8th-10th
Where: Strathallan Castle, Kinross, Perth & Kinross
Headliners: The Stone Roses, Calvin Harris, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Scotland’s biggest festival returns this year with one of its biggest line-ups ever as it tries to establish itself as the UK’s premium Glasto alternative.
It has endured its problems over the last couple of years, and had to move to its new home at Strathallan last year as it continues to experience rapid growth, but a new layout should ensure that fans don’t suffer from the congestion that has troubled the event.
Kicking things off on Friday are The Stone Roses in what is currently their only announced gig other than their four huge nights at the Etihad Stadium.
The band have only played sporadically since their 2012 reunion tour, so don’t miss your chance to catch them this summer.
They also recently revealed they’re making “glorious” new music, so we may even hear a couple of new songs!
Saturday night is party night at T in the Park, and is headlined by festival favourite Calvin Harris, who makes his eighth appearance, before the legendary Red Hot Chili Peppers close proceedings on Sunday night.
T in the Park have really outdone themselves with the depth of their line-up this year though, with the likes of Disclosure, LCD Soundsystem, The 1975 and The Last Shadow Puppets backing up the headliners.
One of the most famous aspects of the festival is its incredible crowd and atmosphere, and if you fancy being among them, tickets are available here, at £205 for four nights camping.
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Isle of Wight
When: June 9th-12th
Where: Seaclose Park, Newport, Isle of Wight
Headliners: Stereophonics, Faithless, The Who and Queen with Adam Lambert
One of the most historic festivals in the world, the Isle of Wight Festival started back in 1968 and is known as the festival that kicks off the season every year.
It’s such a big deal that it even has its own law! Back in 1970 after a whopping 600,000 people turned up, the government passed the Isle of Wight Act, banning events of more than 5,000 people taking place on the island!
Thankfully the festival was revived in 2002 and has gone from strength to strength.
Things kick off on the Friday night with a pair of co-headliners. Veteran Welsh rockers Stereophonics are returning for their third performance of the festival and are still going strong after releasing their first album 19 years ago.
Joining the band on Friday night will be Faithless, who are also old hands of the festival scene as they enter their 21st year together and are huge favourites on the festival circuit.
Playing a UK festival exclusive will by legendary rockers The Who, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary and will be playing a collection of hits from their huge back catalogue.
And finally the weekend will finish with what is sure to be an incredible performance by Queen, with singer Adam Lambert.
The band were tipped to play Glastonbury this year, but will instead play Isle of Wight for the first time ever.
So if you fancy hopping on the ferry over to this historic festival, head here for ticket info.
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Reading & Leeds
When: August 26th-28th
Where: Richfield Avenue, Reading, Berkshire & Bramham Park, Leeds, West Yorkshire
Headliners: Foals, Disclosure, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Biffy Clyro and Fall Out Boy
Reading and Leeds have been staples of the festival scene for years, with Reading in particular dating back to the 1970s.
The pair continue to be up there with the biggest festivals, and continue to draw in big names, year in, year out.
They’ve also been known for the odd controversial moment, which is always exciting!
With lots of co-headliners this year, the only bona fide headliners are the Red Hot Chili Peppers who have consistently been one of the biggest bands of the last 30 years.
The co-headliners will alternate with one headlining one site, and then swapping at the other.
The first of these is Foals and Disclosure. Foals have become known for their high energy performances, with singer Yannis Phillippakis usually winding up in amongst the crowd at some point or another!
On the other hand, Disclosure have quickly crossed over from their dance/UK garage roots to the mainstream and are one of the most popular dance acts at the moment.
As for the second co-headline pair, Fall Out Boy and Biffy Clyro are no strangers to Reading & Leeds, clocking up 13 appearances at the festivals between them.
With five headliners, there are sure to be acts for everyone, with the likes of Jack Ü, The 1975 and Imagine Dragons rounding up the line-up.
You can still find tickets for Reading here and Leeds here.
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V Festival
When: August 20th-21st
Where: Hylands Park, Chelmsford, Essex and Weston Park, Weston-under-Lizard, Staffordshire
Headliners: Rihanna and Justin Bieber
The country’s favourite pop festival is another which takes place over two sites, one in Essex and one in Staffordshire.
Now in its 21st year, the festival attracts the cream of commercial acts as well as some indie acts, and it has bagged two UK festival exclusives this year.
After being fairly universally hated by anyone who wasn’t a prepubescent girl, Justin Bieber has made a major comeback and established himself as a true pop idol over the last year.
His latest album Purpose had an amazing eight songs in the UK Top 40, breaking a record set by Elvis Presley way back in 1957.
While the festival will be Bieber’s first UK headline slot, Rihanna is no stranger to topping the bill, after headlining in 2011.
The bill is rounded out by the likes of Sia, David Guetta, Faithless and the Kaiser Chiefs.
Tickets are available for the two-day event here, at £189 with camping and £165 without or £89 for a day ticket.
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