Following a sensational sold-out launch year, By The Sea is back, announcing first acts for the 2016 line-up, with two other special guest headliners and more acts to be announced over the coming weeks. Taking place over Friday 30th September – Saturday 1st October, By the Sea is the only UK festival that combines big name artists, the hottest rising bands amidst a unique and quintessentially British setting; the iconic Dreamland Margate amusement park.
Headlining this year’s festival on the Friday will be Welsh rock royalty, the Super Furry Animals, whose nine albums have consistently charted in the UK top 25 over the past 20 years. Also headlining are Mercury-nominated indie band Wild Beasts, who will bring their dreamlike art-rock and synth-pop sounds to Dreamland.
On the Saturday Camden alt-rock quartet Wolf Alice will play their first ever festival headline after selling out four consecutive nights at London’s Forum. Stay tuned for one more special guest headliner to be announced over the coming weeks.
A crowning UK indie-pop act, Mystery Jets are also confirmed for 2016. They have been consistently releasing quality records over their 20-year career, and returned this year with their highest-charting record to date Curve ofthe Earth. Joining them will be Australian psychedelic-rock group Jagwar Ma; acclaimed musician and producer of Hot Chip and The 2 Bears-fame Joe Goddard and Ibibio Sound Machine, who will be bringing their African-influenced sound to By the Sea, led by charismatic British/Nigerian singer Eno Williams.
Composer / acoustic performer Anna Meredith will also be playing, as well as Let’s Eat Grandma, aka Rosa and Jenny, who, at just 16 years old, are one of the most-hyped acts of this year. Fellow all-girl sensation The BigMoon and singer-songwriter and co-founder of The Coral Bill Ryder-Jones are also on the billing alongside former Race Horses frontman turned chamber-pop stunner Meilyr Jones, with more acts to be announced shortly.
Dreamland Margate provides a distinctive setting for live music, with last year’s headliners Foals and Hot Chip playing in historic rooms such as the Roller Room and The Ballroom. This time around, the event adds the spacious Hall By The Sea. Initially the home of a dance hall and a variety entertainment show in the late 19th century, the venue has seen performances from such legendary artists as The Who, Rolling Stones, T-Rex and Hawkwind.
Weekend tickets are available from Thursday May 5th at £67.50. Once again these include access to the restored, recreated and retro-fitted Dreamland amusement park, with new rides added all the time. With such a winning combination of location and line up, tickets for this year’s event are set to sell out as fast as last year (tickets for the Foals day sold out in mere minutes).
Originally formed in Cork, Ireland in 1966 by Rory Gallagher, Taste had a brief but influential career, releasing two studio albums in 1969 and 1970 and disbanding shortly after their legendary appearance at the 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival, which is the centerpiece of this film. The core of What s Going On is the band s performance at the festival on August 28th but it is encapsulated by a documentary on the history and importance of Taste and setting the scene for their Isle Of Wight Festival appearance.
Academy Award winning Director, Murray Lerner explores Irelands seminal rock band ‘Taste’ with unseen footage from the trio’s now legendary performance at the Isle Of Wight Festival 1970. The festival at the Isle ofWight was to Europe what Woodstock was to the USA. Many problems came about as more rock fans than tickets available came to this usually peaceful island just off the coast of Portsmouth, England. The festival was held at EastAfton farm in Freshwater, on the 13- by 23-mile island off the coast of Southern England. This was considered the last monster tribal gathering — the five-day 1970 Isle of Wight Festival — where 600,000 mostly stoned flower children turned ugly in obnoxious displays of hippie self-righteousness.”
Many of the biggest rock stars of the time appeared at this festival including The Who, Free, Donovan, Ten YearsAfter, The Moody Blues, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen and Jethro Tull, and ELP. Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison of the Doors made their last live stage appearance here.
Taste played through the madness of this giant concert where those who did not have tickets rushed and crashed the gates. ‘Taste Live at the Isle of Wight’ has some wonderful songs by Rory Gallagher and a cover for blues star Broonzy in “I Feel So Good.” Originally formed in Cork, Ireland in 1966 by Rory Gallagher, Taste had a brief but influential career, releasing two studio albums in 1969 and 1970 and disbanding shortly after their legendary appearance at the 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival. This expanded CD is released to coincide with the newly restored 16mm film footage appearing on DVD & Blu-ray. It includes four additional tracks which were not included on the original 1971 album. Rory Gallagher would go on to enjoy an acclaimed and highly successful solo career and this electrifying show by Taste is an early example of Rory s justified reputation as the ultimate live performer.
Live at the Isle of Wight is the fourth album and second live album by Irish rock bandTaste, released in 1971.[1] It was recorded live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 and released after the band broke up.
Taste could have been on top of the world musically, this performance proves they were a force to take notice of, Rory Gallagher’s playing is inspired, there was a sound made I could not identify until I saw it on the film, Rory actually hitting the strings with the palm of his hand makes this sound. John Wilson on drums leaning in so as not to miss any notes he counters to Rory’s, the same with Richie McCracken on bass, Rory leading and they match him note for note on their instruments, Rory pulls them along with unspoken “you can do this”. They played on Friday afternoon, a lot of the crowd hadn’t arrived by then, after What’s Going On (the opening number) the appreciation starts to grow, by the time they leave the stage (for the first time) after I Feel So Good, the crowd are roaring, its like an avalanche or tidal wave, the crowd know they are witnessing something they will never see again, I reckon they could literally have played all night, the crowd would have demanded they stay on stage.
On the way to the festival, due to appallingly bad management, Rory had decided to break up the band, so they played on stage like they were possessed. It is the most amazing, mind blowing, awesome, tremendous set ever, inventive, as Rory introduces Gamblin’ Blues he says “we would like to do a bit of bottleneck, hope you like it” – the crowd didn’t like it THEY LOVED IT. I know of one of my friends who was actually at this festival and he waited 45 years to hear it again
In 1970 the festival had grown significantly to the point where it actually outgrew itself; for 32 years after this the Isle of Wight did not see another large scale music gathering. It’s estimated that the crowds were well in excess of half a million. Fans were drawn to what was one of the most ambitious line-ups ever put together for a festival on British soil, with artists from both sides of the Atlantic.
Even before the festival officially opened there were some bands that played for free on Wednesday and Thursday, including, Mighty Baby, Kris Kristofferson, Supertramp, The Groundhogs, Terry Reid and Gilberto Gil.
At the festival proper on the Friday it was the band Chicago topping the bill with support from Family, Taste, Procol Harum and James Taylor as well as bands that have largely been forgotten, including Arrival, Fairfield Parlour, Cactus and Lighthouse.
Also on the bill on Saturday was Miles Davis who had reinvented himself as a jazz rock artist in the wake of his Bitches Brew album that was released in April of 1960; Davis’s band included Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett. Other acts included, Tiny Tim, ELP (set included ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’), and John Sebastian. The tye-dyed one was the first of the Woodstock alumni to play the festival.
Sebastian’s appearance, along with the others who starred in the film, which had recently been premiered in the UK, as well as having Matthews Southern Comfort’s version of ‘Woodstock’ topping the charts a few weeks earlier, all significantly added to the draw of the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. It was as though people could not risk missing the next Woodstock.
Sandwiched between these acts and the notional bill-toppers was supposed to be Cat Mother, but they didn’t show, Sly and the Family Stone and Joni Mitchell. Third top was Ten Years After; their Woodstock appearance had turned them and in particular, Alvin Lee, into box office gold. Joint top were the Who and the Doors – it was not by all accounts the latter’s finest hour and less than a year later Jim Morrison would be dead.
If Saturday was impressive, Sunday was stellar. With Melanie, Free, The Moody Blues, Donovan, Leonard Cohen,Richie Havens Joan Baez and Jethro Tull among the big names with Jimi Hendrix topping the bill. It really was an extraordinary coming together of talent. Less than three weeks after he walked off stage at the Isle of Wight, James Marshall Hendrix was dead.
With The Green Man Festival a little more than two weeks away it’s time to brush up on those box-fresh bands and singers you know are going to be the next big thing! . With mountains of music and festivities aplenty at this year’s Green Man, we’ve pulled out the top 10 bands to brush up on and get ahead of the crowds.
Meatraffle are a collective from Brixton and have recently been given the title of the greatest band in the country right now by The Fat White Family. A gnarly, free-spirited attack on dub, jazz, psych, reggae and just about any other genre you could care to mention, the band are a unique and thrilling proposition, and they’re showing no sign of slowing down; join us for a boogie on when they play on the Thursday night!
Margaret Glaspy It’s not often that you’ll find an artist likened to both Elliott Smith and Rage Against The Machine, but there’s something in Margaret Glaspy’s undiluted guitar pop that somehow means both of those comparisons make sense. Come and discover more at the Mountain Stage on Sunday.
Goat Girl One of those mysterious bands that are difficult to pin-down, Goat Girl might keep their cards as close to their chest as possible, but their exciting blend of surf, garage, psych pop means they surely won’t be able to stay anonymous for too much longer.
Joan Shelley is constantly playing with and tweaking the blueprint of the folk genre she finds herself classified within. So while there is guitar, strings, banjo and her captivating voice at the heart of it all, the music itself tends to go to unexpected places. Shelley is a wonderful songwriter pushing folk music forwards in the 21 st century and you can catch her in the Walled Garden.
The Oh Hellos ,Sibling duos are a rare commodity but they’re often an intriguing one, and such is the case with The Oh Hellos, the folk-rock project of Tyler and Maggie Heath who discovered their skills when joining forces to pen a song for their mum. Based in San Marcos, Texas, the duo keeps one eye on the tender side of things and one on lovable singalong pop songs.
Baba Naga It’s probably safe to say that you’ve not seen anything like Baba Naga before. Hailing from Sheffield, this psych, doom trio are apparently inspired by shamanic teachings.
Trevor Sensor Being billed as a “Country-pop troubadour” could go either way but there’s more than enough rustic charm in his soothing sounds to make Illinois’ Trevor Sensor an endlessly compelling proposition.
Formation Perhaps best known for their remixes this pair of brothers from South London bring the ultimate party with a sound that’s an invigorating blend of disco and funk and perfect for dancing – we’ll meet you on the Far Out dance floor on Saturday!
Amber Arcades, the moniker of Dutch musician Annelotte de Graaf, unveils her debut album, released on Heavenly Recordings.
With motoric rhythms and ethereal vocals, ‘Fading Lines’ was recorded in New York with producer Ben Greenberg (The Men, Beach Fossils, Destruction Unit).
The Green Man Festival takes place over August 18-21
Arguably the summer’s nicest and prettiest sited festival, its closest rival isEnd of the Road, in Dorset in September. The Green Man offers a stunning location in the Brecon Beacons of Wales, There is plenty to do that isn’t music, including talks, films and activities, and a list of artists who bathe in acclaim: Belle & Sebastian, James Blake, Julia Holter, Jason Isbell, White Denim, Floating Points and many more. Do take waterproofs though: Green Man has a reputation for wetness.
Set in the lovely Brecon Beacons, Green Man returns for its 14th year on Thursday 18th August. Headlining this year’s edition are a plethora of British acts Belle and Sebastian, are celebrating their 20th anniversary, James Blake and Laura Marling, with the Wild Beasts kicking things off on the Thursday night.
If that sounds worryingly light to you, then don’t worry chaotic merchants Fat White Family will be there, as will Aussie psychedelics Jagwar Ma and lo-fi rockers Unknown Mortal Orchestra. And, err, Charlotte Church’s Late Night Pop Dungeon.
But if you’re here then you’ve probably already heard of the above headliners . What you’re here for is some newer music, which is just as well because Green Man features a number of artists who you need to check out and also includes the excellent Rising Stage for new and upcoming artists . Gengahr have been one of my favourites for this last year to see , a hardworking band that has emerged over the last two years with strong songs and a great live presence they have, of course, gone on to vindicate their number 2 spot in the Top of the Tips 2014, with their superb debut album “A Dream Outside” receiving rave reviews last year. The Londoners will be worth catching on the main Mountain Stage on Sunday afternoon if you’re into dreamy guitar driven sounds.
If you head over to the Far Out Stage early on the Saturday you’ll be able to catch Belfast band Sea Pinks, who we described as ‘merging indie stars. Stick around a bit longer and on the same stage you can also see groovers Formation, They are London twins tipped back in January 2015. Also on on the Saturday worth checking in the Walled Garden is Ardyn, who we labelled ‘dark indie pop’ and likened to Austra and Charlotte OC. The Green Man Rising competition was this year won by Tony Njoku, who opens the Mountain Stage on Friday and is described by the festival as making ‘strikingly evocative soundscapes’. One of the competition runners-up who’ll be playing the Rising Stage on the Saturday is self-described ‘jangle pop’ duo Her’s; we loved their dreamy debut ‘Dorothy’ back in April. You can also hear the exciting new project from Sarah Howells from Paper Aeroplanes, Bryde at the Rising Stage on Saturday, and on Sunday you might want to catch Matt Maltese who we bracketed in with Tom Odell last year.
So to everyone that’s off to Green Man Festival this weekend ,eat well, take your water proofs and enjoy yourselves. Here’s our big list of recommendations: Flamingods, Trevor Sensor, Floating Points, Ryley Walker, White Denim , Dungen , Beak, Oh Sister, SUUNS, Mothers, Happy Meal Ltd., FEWS. and of course you should not miss King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard. and try if you can to check out Baba Naga and Lush’s return.
Songhoy Blues The quartet are set to play the Mountain Stage on Sunday 21st August, and hopefully their fusion of traditional West African guitar riffs and deep rooted bluesy yet totally danceable beats will match the weather. Hailing from Mali, Songhoy Blues have seen success here of late, having played at The Great Escape Festival in May and several other European festivals this summer after the release of their latest album ‘Music In Exhile’.
Whitney The band from Chicago have been growing in notoriety as of late, with their brooding brand of indie-rock making waves this side of the pond. They’re ones to watch, and will be fantastically unique to see them perform in such an idyllic setting.
Margaret Glaspy could be a suprise highlight,The Californian’s debut record is raw at times, always honest and chock full of wry observations and personal disclosures. Production values of Emotions and Math are intentionally subtle, always placing Margaret Glaspy’s bluesy voice and her coarse guitar front and centre. This should make for a thrilling Sunday afternoon on the Mountain Stage.
Julia Holter is definitely appreciated in this country. A tour in the spring saw her successfully support the release of Have You in My Wilderness and she’ll be returning for another extended stay in November. What’s the appeal? Well, we can be an eccentric bunch over here in the UK and this record is full of gloriously idiosyncratic musical moments along with her incredible vocals that just click in the most agreeable way. The Mountain Stage will be the perfect place to meet up with this warm-hearted Californian.
Bryde is a new project from Sarah Howells’ who is known to many as one half of Welsh duo Paper Aeroplanes but she arrives in the Black Mountains of the Brecon Beacons as Bryde this year. She began the solo project in 2015 and the Rising tent should be an amazing way to experience Howell’s compellingly fragile compositions which hint at something much darker, lurking in the shadows.
Tindersticks Formed twenty-five years ago in Nottingham, the alt-rockers are set to play the Mountain Stage on the Saturday, just before the rollicking rhythms of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and headliner Laura Marling. Their elegant and heart-warming brand of alt-rock will certainly have us a) contemplating life and everything in between, and b) dancing in a field to our hearts content.
Check out The Cinedrome
We will most likely be paying more attention to the bands playing across the weekend, but the festival organisers have drummed up some must-see films for this years ‘At The Cinedrome’, including movies Purple Rain and Labyrinth (clearly in homage to the late David Bowie and Prince), as well as The Jungle Book, Inside Out, High Rise and sci-fi masterpiece Metropolis with a live piano player.
we’ve add nine new fantastic flicks to the already bumper packed Cinedrome.
We’re very pleased to be showing the UK premier of one of the funniest and most delightful films of the year – Hunt for the Wilderpeople, The New Zealand adventure comedy-drama film, written and directed by Taika Waititi.
We also welcome a very special BAFTA Cymru screening of Gary Numan: Android In La La Land, the brand new Gary Numan documentary which explores life for Gary and his Numanoid family as they set up home in California and as Gary records his 2013 album ‘Splinter’.
Our day of David Bowie themed activities begins with an anniversary screening of Jim Henson’s ’80s cult hit Labyrinth Movie. On Sunday we remember another tragically fallen idol with a presentation of Prince’s Purple Rain.
On Sunday morning, we’ll be showing Disney’s new version of classic The Jungle Book, which will keep Little Folks (and their parents) mesmerised for a few hours.. Plus we have –Midnight Special Movie,Starman, Everybody Wants Some Movie, Couple In a Hole. Not only will you be able to feast your eyes upon family favourites and cult classics galore, you can also enjoy the sounds of Cate le Bon’s drummer Droor and dance the blues at Green Man’s latest (and very hush hush) venture, the Late Night David Bowie Disco; you’ll have to see it for yourselves
Giggle along with Green Man 2016 as we take a first look at this year’s comedy line-up. Chuckling along to some of the UK’s best up-and-coming comics has become a quintessential part of the Green Man experience, and this year’s laugh-a-minute line-up promises to be pretty special. If you can’t choose between music and comedy, you need The Horne Section in your life. Comedian Alex Horne and his talented troubadours combine spontaneous stand-up with improvised tunes, resulting in a hilarious hybrid. John Shuttleworth is responsible for some ingeniously funny songs; don’t miss the old school entertainer singing about school dinners and Curly Wurly wrappers.
The belly-laugh-inducing brilliance of David Trent promises to have you guffawing into your Growlers. Also the fantastically delusional one-man-band antics of Rob Deering Comedian returns for GM16 (along with Beat This!) and the skilful self-deprecation of Angela Barnes.
Our music line-up has been carefully selected to provide the perfect soundtrack to the festival. As the tempo of the festival waxes and wanes over the weekend, so too does the music, as we run the gamut of genres – from chilled out folk and ambient electronica to foot stompin’ honky tonk and floor filling party starters.
Featuring Andrew Weatherall, Erol Alkan, Beth Orton, NZCA Lines, Sam Lee & Friends, Bo Ningen, Adam Green, Night Beats, Bill Ryder Jones, Gwenno, Sidestepper, Imarhan and many more.
Words have always been at the heart of Port Eliot and this year we scale new heights. We’ll explore the theme of words through an illustrious line-up of writers, thinkers and performers as they pair up to chew the fat.
Noel Fielding will be in conversation with Whithnail & I writer and director Bruce Robinson; Dawn French will be interviewed by Miranda Sawyer; Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon will discuss her work with Jamie Brisick; Gloria Steinem will recall her life on the road with our founder Cathy St Germans; Isy Suttie will interview Sara Pascoe about her book Animal; Michael Morpurgo will reveal the inspiration behind his best selling novels to Chris Cleave, and Jesse Armstrong (creator of Peep Show and The Thick of It) will be in conversation with fellow comedy writer and Emmy Award winner David Quantick.
This year’s comedy line-up is side splittingly good with Sara Pascoe, Isy Suttie, Mitch Benn, James Acaster, Jeremy Hardy, Kernow King, Tony Law, Mik Artistik, Murray Lachlan-Young and Henry Normal adding a little hilarity to the festival.
The charity event Merry Minstrel Musical Circus usually an event in December at the Troubadour. We’ll again be hosting in conjunction with our good friend Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers). 100% of proceeds will go to benefit music programs in the LA Unified Public Schools and Tazzy Animal Rescue Fund. Special guests will be announced over the coming weeks. On behalf of Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), everyone else involved, everyone who came out & supported these 2 great causes for this year’s Merry Minstrel Musical Circus. And a special thanks to theTroubadour & all our special guests – John Fogerty,Jackson Browne, Conor Oberst, Laura Marling,Benmont Tench, Scott Thurston, Steve Ferrone, Jim Keltner, Sara Watkins, Sean Watkins, The Haden Triplets, etc. It was another very special night. Last December Jonathan Wilson hosted the first annual “Merry Minstrel Musical Circus” at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, which featured an all-star cast of special guests that included Mike Campbell, Jackson Browne, Bob Weir and Jeff Lynne. Wilson will reprise the “Merry Minstrel Musical Circus,” which has the subtitle “A Holiday Gathering And Jamathon,” on December 20th at the Troubadour.
The Fat Angel Sings 