It’s March, spring has sprung and summer is on the way, so it’s time to start planning which of this summer’s festivals you should go to: here are SCAN’s pick of the best festivals you should be thinking about.
Latitude – 13th – 15th July
Few British festivals have more variety to offer than Latitude: comedians James Acaster, David O’Doherty and Harry Hill join the country’s best dance and circus acts and the famous pink sheep at what was voted the UK’s ‘Best Major Festival’ in 2017. And that’s before you take into account the amazing bands!
SCAN favourites Fickle Friends are playing in the daytime on the Obelisk Arena main stage before a star-studded evening of performances from Brit-nominated Jessie Ware, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man and Wolf Alice, and big-name headliners Solange, The Killers and alt-J.
Put all of this in one of the most Instagram-friendly festival environments around and you can see why it’s such a popular festival!
Y Not – 26th – 29th July
After bad weather forced off last year’s edition, the organisers will be pulling out all the stops to make this summer the best Y Not yet; and with the line-up that’s been released so far, they’re clearly not messing around! Headlining are The Libertines and Jamiroquai, but the real ones to look forward to are Catfish and the Bottlemen on the Saturday. Having had a year off working on their third album, this summer is pretty busy for the band – which likely means that they’ll be debuting some new music! This should be memorable as Catfish are well known for their anthemic sound
Kendal Calling – 26th – 29th July
One for the locals; this yearly gathering of indie and alternative appreciation takes place just an hour north of Lancaster, in the rolling countryside of the Lake District. Again, Catfish and the Bottlemen and The Libertines are headlining but there is a lot of strength in the rest of this line-up, with experienced campaigners such as White Lies, The Wailers and Run DMC alongside rising stars Pale Waves, Tom Grennan, The Sherlocks and Declan McKenna. If you make the short journey to Lowther Deer Park you’ll certainly get value for money because brilliant artists like The Amazons, Black Honey and Anteros all find themselves playing throughout the day on a packed line-up – with more to be announced!
Boardmasters – 8th – 12th August
If you mix Hawaiian tiki-bars and Australian beach barbecues with a British festival, Boardmasters is what you’d get. Not only is it a big music festival, the beachside location also allows international surfing and wakeboarding competitions to work alongside the music, with opportunities to learn for yourself as well! However, this wide range of activities doesn’t mean that you’ll miss the music, there are 5 stages spread across the Newquay area with a range of acts playing.
Away from your standard bands headlining the main stage (Catfish and the Bottlemen and The Chemical Brothers), Boardmasters 2018 looks really good for DJs – Annie Mac, Craig David, Danny Howard and MK lead the line-up, alongside an exclusive performance from Kano. This should harmonise particularly well with the more relaxed vibes of daytime performers such as Rae Morris, The Amazons and Declan McKenna.
Reading & Leeds – 24th – 26th August
Normally, this is your standard UK festival – think bands, beer and mud. Because of this, a lot of people expected Arctic Monkeys to make their long-awaited return to the stage to headline Reading & Leeds. But a lot of people were disappointed. Instead, the organisers seem to have chosen a different direction – perhaps taking notes from Stormzy’s success at Glastonbury last year – placing Kendrick Lamar, J Hus, Post Malone and Skepta high up on their line-up. This recognises the growth of grime and hip-hop in youth culture, and could be an innovative step for the UK festival scene to keep young people interested in going to festivals. If Kendrick’s recent performance at The BRIT Awards is anything to go by, it should be an artistic spectacle worthy of the headline spot!
