ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES
May 7 – 9, Butlins, Minehead
Simpsons curator Matt Groening curates affairs, with sinewy insurance hawker Iggy Pop joined by his own Stooges, art-pop sisters CocoRosie, no wave legend James Chance, very-wavy-indeed legends Spiritualised, Built to Spill, Konono No.1, Cold Cave, Panda Bear, the xx and more. Oh, and it’s Butlins, so you can always go go-karting if the sheer indie-ness of it all gets too much.
FUTUREEVERYTHING
May 12 – 15, Various Venues, Manchester
Award-winning festival of cutting edge “art, music and ideas”. Head to Sound Control on Friday May 14, which is produced in association with FACT, and features Syrian street music god Omar Souleyman, Rhythm & Sound’s Mark Ernestus and Paul St Hilaire, King Midas Sound (live) and Demdike Stare, the witchy collaboration between Pendle Coven’s MLZ and Sean Canty. Support comes from Andy Votel and Conor Thomas. Elsewhere in Manc this weekend you’ll find Ryoji Ikeda, Mika Vainio, Konono no.1, Bass Clef, Roska, L-Vis 1990, Oneman, Kyle Hall and The Hacker. Oh, and there’s a free Boomkat event with (thus far) secret special guests.
STAG AND DAGGER
May 21 – 22, Various Venues, London / Glasgow
Loads of music in loads of different East London venues courtesy of loads of different promoters. FACT curates Scrutton St Warehouse, with The Bug (with MCs Flow Dan and Daddy Freddy), Mount Kimbie (live) and Deadboy. Hyponik bring Cooly G, Oneman, Brackles and Bok Bok to their stage, while Feeding Time present Comanechi, Sian Alice Group and Active Child. Other stand-outs include Filthy Dukes, Radio Dept and Teenagersintokyo. Then on May 22, the festival goes to Glasgow, with Joker, Esben & The Witch and Wild Beasts among the artists confirmed.
SUNSPLASH
May 23 – 30, Hillside Suon Hotel, Antalya, Turkey
Famed for its plushness, Sunsplash claims to be the solution for those tired of “sleeping in your wellies and queuing for grim showers”, sporting a “world class spa, private beach and sushi bar.” Luxury comes soundtracked by Jamie Lidell, Gilles Peterson, Norman Jay, Phil Asher, Simbad, Ahu live and more.Only 500 capacity, so we suggest you book sharpish.
PRIMAVERA SOUND
May 27 – 29, Parc del Forum, Barcelona
Legends quota filled by Pavement, Pixies and The Fall, modern acts quota filled by Wilco, Panda Bear, Joker, Delorean, Dum Dum Girls, Wild Beasts and more.
MUTEK
June 2 – 6, Various Venues, Montreal, Canada
Canadian electronic music festival, with the emphasis on live, rather than DJ, performance – festival director Alain Mongeau recently telling RA that “people, even today, when you talk about electronic music, the first thing they think about is DJs … We’re actually focusing on the artists producing the music, on the craftsmanship that is behind the production.” Theo Parrish, Matmos, Mortiz Von Oswald Trio, Matias Aguayo, The Caretaker, Tim Hecker, DJ Koze, Dixon, Pepe Braddock, Mouse on Mars and more will be repping. FACT will be collaborating on a stage for Mutek’s Nocturne 3 event, an essential two-venue showcase featuring King Midas Sound, Actress, Ikonika, Shed, Cheap and Deep, Jacek Sienkiewicz and Demdike Stare.
MELTDOWN
June 11 – 20, Southbank Centre, London
Virtuoso guitarist Richard Thompson follows in the footsteps of past curators David Bowie, Morrissey, Massive Attack and Ornette Coleman as creative director of a series of events at London’s Southbank Centre.Joanna Newsom collaborator and general legend Van Dyke Parks plays live, there’s a screening of Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man soundtracked by Thompson himself, Broken Bells play – er, there’s not that much more really.
SONAR
June 17 – 19, Barcelona
The big European dance festival. This year you get the Chemical Bros, Plastikman (Richie Hawtin), Joy Orbison, Roska, Flying Lotus, Sandwell District, Zomby, Air, Dizzee Rascal, 2ManyDJs, Aeroplane, Machine Drum, Hot Chip, King Midas Sound, loads more official festival acts and even more at the plethora of off-Sonar parties, including a massive Hyperdub showcase, with tons of special guests and FACT as a media partner.
GLASTONBURY
June 23 – 27, Worthy Farm, Pilton
The big one. Glastonbury is the place where half your office and at least a third of your friends go, and you’ll probably not see a single one of them because the whole thing is so damn big. This year you’ll have the honour of getting lost to the xx, LCD Soundsystem, Stevie Wonder, Femi Kuti, MGMT, Snoop Dogg, Orbital, Florence and hundreds more. Just don’t get too close to the Pyramid Stage during U2’s headline set or Bono’s ego might swallow you whole.
EXIT
July 8 – 11, Petrovaradin Fortress, Novi Sad, Serbia
Heavyweight Balkan business down in Serbia, with LCD Soundsystem, Chemical Brothers, Missy Elliott, Bad Brains, Royksopp and Ricardo Villalobos leading the charge. Amongst others confirmed are Suicidal Tendencies, Crystal Castles, Hudson Mohawke, Moderat, Erol Alkan, Brodinski, Gemmy, Black Rose (Henrik Schwarz and Jesse Rose), Pendulum (live) and Mika (WTF?)
GLADE
July 15 – 18, Matterly Bowl, Hampshire
House and techno royalty in the house at one of the UK’s premier dance festivals, with Jeff Mills, Green Velvet, Seth Troxler, Claude VonStroke and Carl Cox on board. Magnetic Man, Holy Ghost!, Autechre, Boy Better Know, Zinc, Orbital, Tricky, Simian Mobile Disco and more are also on board.
DOUR
July 15 – 18, Dour, Belgium
Detroit techno ambassador Carl Craig headlines this year’s Dour Festival, joined by Underground Resistance’s “Mad” Mike Banks. Elsewhere you’ll find Dub Police’s Emalkay, funk jokers Chromeo, Brodinski, The Very Best, a reformed Atari Teenage Riot (line-up is Alec Empire, Nic Endo, Hanin Elias), Chris Cunningham, De La Soul, A-Track, The Sonics and more. ’90s metalheads are even catered for in the form of Faith No More, Gwar and the eternally underrated Chokebore.
MELT
July 16 – 18, Germany
Carl Craig and Mike Banks, Massive Attack, about half the Berghain/Panorama Bar squad (Hoppner, Boris, Fiedel, Prosumer, DJ Pete, Steffi, Nodge and more), Chris Cunningham, Hercules & Love Affair, Crookers, Jamie Lidell, Pantha du Prince, Villalobos, DJ Shadow and more.
LOVEBOX
July 16 – 18, Victoria Park, London
Groove Armada’s annual fest will take place over three days this year, with a long weekender soundtracked by Yeasayer, Mystery Jets, Dizzee Rascal, Grace Jones, Roxy Music, Mark Ronson and the Business, The Maccabees, Booka Shade, Holy Ghost!, Paloma Faith and the Big Motherfucking Dog himself Tim Westwood.
FIELD DAY
July 31, Victoria Park, London
Round four for one of the capital’s most popular festivals, with Pheonix, Moderat, Pantha du Prince, Silver Apples, Mouse on Mars, Joker and Nomad, James Holden, Memory Tapes, No Age, Atlas Sound and more booked. There’s also always a quality set of after parties, so keep eyes peeled for that.
CAMP BESTIVAL
July 31 – August 1, Lulworth Castle, Dorset
George Clinton, The KLF’s Bill Drumond, The Human League, Madness, Chipmunk, Cooly G, Joy Orbison, Annie Mac, L-vis 1990, Billy Bragg, Calvin Harris and more at the family-friendly Bestival sister fest.
THE BIG CHILL
August 5 – 8, Eastnor Castle Deer Park, Herefordshire
The Big Chill famously isn’t as chilled and tasteful as it once was, and as far as we’re concerned that’s a good thing. 2010’s edition will feature an audio-visual headline show by Massive Attack, with support by MIA and Kelis, both we hope in typically fire-starting form. Kruder & Dorfmeister, of classic double-CD set The K&D Sessions was, and remains, one of the handful of credible artistic statements to emerge from the “chill out” explosion of the ’90s, also play, along with Magnetic Man, Greg Wilson, Jamie Jones, Seth Troxler, Candi Staton, Theo Parrish, Roots Manuva, Andrew Weatherall and more.
GREEN MAN
August 20 – 22, Wales
Flaming Lips, Joanna Newsom, Girls, Beirut, Fuck Buttons, Doves, Billy Bragg.
STOP MAKING SENSE
September 3 – 5, Petrçane, Croatia
New festival taking place on Croatia’s Adriatic coast, with Carl Craig, Juan Atkins and Theo Parrish among the biggest names. Patrice Scott, Kyle Hall, Keith Worthy also play, with Friendly Fires (DJ set), Mark E, Matias Aguayo, Wbeeza, Radioclit, Tama Sumo and Optimo flanking. Oh, and FACT will be hosting a boat party. On a boat. What more could you ask for?
BESTIVAL
September 9 – 12, Robin Hill Country Park, Isle of Wight
One of Britain’s premier festivals doesn’t look set to relinquish its crown anytime soon – 2010 sees it play host to LCD Soundsystem, Dizzee Rascal, Roxy Music, the xx, Fever Ray, Richie Hawtin as Plastikman, Tricky, Mumford and Sons, Alex Metric, Sub Focus, Jamie Woon, Crystal Fighters, Dave Clarke, Mylo, Aeroplane, DJ Yoda, Skream, Zinc, Joker, dBridge & Instra:mental, Breakage, Delphic, Gil Scott-Heron, High Llamas, Hot Chip, Simian Mobile Disco, Ewan Pearson, Joy Orbison, Seth Troxler, Ramadanman, Greg Wilson and tons, tons more.
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