Monday 9 July 2012

Latitude Festival 2012 - Preview


With ten days to go, it’s time to get excited about Latitude festival once again, with its fantastic line-up and famous coloured sheep. The headliners are impressive: Friday night sees the beautiful (and in my opinion, un-missable) Bon Iver taking the top slot, while the other headliners are the huge dad-band Elbow and the Modfather himself, Paul Weller. Also playing and worth a mention are Metronomy and Wild Beasts, both worth a watch too. But who else should you see this year?

1. Yeasayer


The fantastically oddball lads from Brooklyn’s new album is out in August, so a mix of old favourites and first listens to new material can be expected.



2. The Antlers


Another Brooklyn band, The Antlers should not be missed, with their fragile yet expensive sound draped in falsetto.


3. Sharon Van Etten


A singer-songwriter with a distinctive voice, which is sometimes fierce and sometimes gentle. Also worth a watch just in case Justin Vernon from Bon Iver comes and duets with her on ‘Love More’ – Bon Iver covered the song. (A long shot, but boy, that would be magic!)

4. Zola Jesus


This is one artist who should never be missed. Nika Danilova aka Zola Jesus makes stunningly beautiful, eerie and industrial operatic music. This set it bound to be breath-taking.


5. Alt-J


Having recently released their debut, ‘An Awesome Wave’, Cambridge’s finest purveyors of geometry-focused angular geek pop are definitely worth a watch, with beautiful harmonies and odd lyrics.



Latitude also prides itself on its fantastic array of comedy and poetry, (its strapline is ‘more than just a music festival’) so these are also worth a mention:


1. Jack Dee



Always worth it. One of the grumpiest men in comedy, and one of the best for that very reason.


2. Tim Minchin



He had to be in this list, and doesn’t really need any introduction. You shouldn’t need any encouragement for this one either! Go and see him!



3. The Infinite Monkey Cage with Robin Ince and Brian Cox


The brilliant combination of Mr. Ince’s offbeat, charming and enthusiastic comedy and Mr. ‘making physics sexy’ Cox’s knowledge and lovely northern accent is not to be missed. (Don’t let the fact that they are joined by the annoying Al Murray put you off!)


4. John Cooper Clarke


Again, you really shouldn’t need any encouragement to go and see the legendary manc in the sunglasses with the hair. Expect hilarity and Northern wit.


5. John Hegley


A charmingly eccentric poet possibly familiar to Radio 4 listeners, who writes poetry and songs about existentialism and, famously, glasses!



Full line-up can be found at http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk/line-up/

Holly Read-Challen

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