Dork Festival Guide 2018

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2018 Festival Guide

Ed’s note.

Wait. Wasn’t it just Christmas five minutes ago? And now we’re talking about summers spent in fields, a spring time of inner city pleasure with the buzziest of bands, and absolutely no hangovers what-so-ever?

Yep, Dear Reader, it’s time for this year’s Dork Festival Guide, This time round we’ve made one bumper edition to keep you going all through festival season, packed with your fave bands, tips, and everything you need to know. Don’t leave home without it. You’ll also be able to stay updated with all the latest line-up news at readdork.com, obviously. See you not exactly at the front. We want to be able to get to the bar, right?

Editor / @stephenackroyd

DORK

Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Contributing Editors Jamie Muir, Martyn Young Events Liam James Ward Scribblers Ali Shutler, Ben Jolley, Jessica Goodman, Josh Williams, Sam Taylor Snappers Corinne Cumming, Sarah Louise Bennett, Phil Smithies, Poppy Marriott P U B L I S H E D F RO M

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All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of The Bunker Publishing Ltd. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which The Bunker Publishing Ltd holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Dork or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally.

Index.

6. 10 BANDS YOU NEED TO SEE 10. THE GREAT ESCAPE 14. PEACE 21. LIVE AT LEEDS 24. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE, ‘THE BANDS’ 26. WOLF ALICE 28. FESTIVAL EXCLUSIVES 30. SLAM DUNK FESTIVAL 36. CHVRCHES 40. ASK ‘THE FESTIVALS’ 52. DRAHLA’S GUIDE TO WAKEFIELD 54. RAE MORRIS 56. FESTIVAL STORIES 58. ...AND ALL OF THIS 62. FICKLE FRIENDS

Buzz-tastic!

Here are 10 new bands you need to see this festival season Yes you read that right - ten new bands. Ten. Getting our list down to a non-ridic number was crazy hard, but, you know, there aren’t enough trees for all of ‘em.

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#1

Sorry

WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? Impossibly exciting, Sorry sound both familiar and like nothing else - just like all the best bands.

CHECK OUT: ‘2 Down 2 Dance’ CATCH THEM AT: Latitude (12th-15th July), Truck (20th22nd July), Green Man (16th19th August).

Hey Louis, are you guys looking forward to festival season? Have you got lots planned?

Yeah, festival season should be a gas. We are playing Green Man, Latitude, Truck and some

other city festivals around Europe!

Can you remember the first festival you ever played?

How’d it go?

Our first festival was Truck two years ago after we won the competition. We played on Friday at 12pm to about three people, met Big Narstie though and told him our name was ‘FISH’ to which he replied, ‘Mans a fish cuz’. It was quite weird; he looked very unhappy.

Sexy Sean [Coyle Smith] from Shame also walked in on him doing a poo. I don’t think it was the best festival experience for Big Narstie.

Were you festival goers before you started appearing on bills?

Yeah for sure, we used to hit up a couple.

Was there a learning curve when you began playing them, or is the whole thing pretty straightforward?

It’s just like any other show, really. I guess you do need to win people over more, so gotta keep that in mind.

What’s the biggest festival disaster you’ve experienced so far?

None yet, but will keep you updated. I’m sure there’ll be some this summer.

What’s the most exotic place you’ve had the opportunity to play?

We played Oslo [in Norway] a couple of months ago which I guess is exotic. Made some pretty Scandinavian friends.

Shout out, Lars.

Do you hang around events to chill out while you’re there, or do you head home asap?

We always like to hang out, or try to. It is a free festival after all.

You’re at Green Man this year, is there anyone you’re especially looking forward to seeing there?

Brian Jonestown Massacre will be fun, also Mount Kimbe and Solange. Been a fan of her since the music video with the weird dance moves.

What else are you working on at the mo? Your new single ‘2 Down 2 Dance’ is ace btw.

Thanks, our second mixtape [‘Home Demo(ns) vol. ii’] is out, and then another single in early summer we thinks. P

DOWN WITH BORING

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#2

Easy Life

WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? At the time of press, you’ll only find one song from Easy Life on your ‘streaming service’, and it’s a blinder.

CHECK OUT: ‘Pockets’ CATCH THEM AT: Live At Leeds (5th May), The Great Escape (17th-19th May), Barn on the Farm (5th-8th July), Reading & Leeds (24th-26th August) Hey Murray, how’s it going?

Everything’s good thanks.

Do you guys have a busy summer coming up?

Yeah, summer is real busy, we are all over the place. It’s good to keep ourselves busy and have a reason to rehearse. We can’t wait to sweat it out in the back of the van; it’s going to be hot.

Which festival are you most looking forward to playing?

Barn on the Farm is going to great. I love farms, can’t wait to see the animals and talk to the resident farmer about crop rotation and other such modern farm management tactics, riveting stuff for real.

Have you spent much time at festivals before, did you go

to them before you were in a band?

Yes, we have always been festival goers. Forever in the deepest, darkest corner of the drum and bass tent.

What’s the best festival set you’ve ever witnessed?

Roots Manuva, Y Not 2012. Mad vibes.

Is there anyone you’re especially keen to see this year?

Post Malone. That shit’s going to be euphoric. I think he’s the man.

Are you going to try out any new tracks live this summer?

So many new tunes will be played. We are always pushing to play out new material, it’s a challenge and keeps us on our toes. We are planning on playing the mixtape out in full and all connected in a 20 min music extravaganza. It will be a spectacle.

#3 Our Girl WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? Indie brilliance, basically.

CHECK OUT: ‘Our Girl’ CATCH THEM AT: Live At Leeds (5th May), Dot To Dot (25th-27th May) Most people would be content to be in one brilliant band. Not Soph Nathan though. Already ripping up the planet in The Big Moon, Our Girl is far from “the other band”. Packed with promise and legitimate indie bangers, everything Soph touches seems to turn to solid, glistening gold. Lucky bugger.

What do you think is key to enjoying a full-on three-daysin-a-field festival?

Surrounding yourself with people you love and respect is the answer to any hardship. P

#4 Bloxx WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? Guitar driven indie-rock from the top drawer.

CHECK OUT: ‘Curtains’ CATCH THEM AT: Truck (19th22nd July), 110 Above (3rd-5th August) Bloxx’s allure is easy to understand. A series of Really Great singles make them one of the most intriguing prospects on the circuit. Check out ‘Curtains’ and you’ll get it off the mark - a brooding, unhinged intro, tense, pulsing verses - it’s Psycho down the indie club.

#5 Superorganism

#7 Goat Girl

#9 Boy Azooga

WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? A salty sweet, smart-as-fuck meme in musical form.

CHECK OUT: ‘Everybody Wants To Be Famous’ CATCH THEM AT: Live At Leeds (5th May), Latitude (12th-15th July)

WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? Part of the much lauded South London scene, Goat Girl are ace.

CHECK OUT: ‘Cracker Drool’ CATCH THEM AT: The Great Escape (17th-19th May), Citadel (15th July)

WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? All the fun, right here, right now.

CHECK OUT: ‘Loner Boogie’ CATCH THEM AT: Live At Leeds (5th May), Deer Shed (20th22nd July)

Superorganism shouldn’t work. Not really. On paper it’s a collective of individuals making music that sounds like nothing else. On record, it’s one of the most exciting things you’ll hear in 2018. Live? Well.

You’ll have to find out, eh?

Scenes are odd constructs.

Living near a bunch of other bands doesn’t strictly make an act better, but if some of Goat Girl’s brilliance rubs off on others, then we’re in for a great time. With their debut out now, they’re the perfect mix of direct fun and interesting artistry.

One track can knock down a lot of doors, and on those terms, ‘Loner Boogie’ is a military grade battering ram.

Driving, route one basement rock, it sounds like a runaway train in the best possible way.

Remember the first time you heard Spring King? Yep. That good. One not to miss.

#6 Sea Girls

#8 Sports Team

#10 The Orielles

WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? Wall to wall bangers, mate.

CHECK OUT: ‘Heavenly War’ CATCH THEM AT: Sound City (5th-6th May), Truck (19th-22nd May)

WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? Acerbic, smart, funny as hell - Sports team are on the rise.

CHECK OUT: ‘Stanton’ CATCH THEM AT: Handmade (5th-6th May), Visions (4th August)

WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? Halifax indie heroes in the classic sense.

CHECK OUT: ‘Let Your Dogtooth Grow’ CATCH THEM AT: Handmade (5th-6th May), Truck (19th-22nd July)

When a band has ‘it’, it’s usually pretty obvious from the word go. Over the five tracks of Sports Team’s debut EP, ‘Winter Nets’, there’s little doubt about their potential. There’s cutting wit, brooding contempt, infectious energy and a sparkle of something indefinable.

The lost art of ‘proper’ indie - all cardigans and fey glances - may have had its name adopted by more brash, beered up sounds, but The Orielles understand the tradition. They match melody with joyous jangle in a way that would make Belle & Sebastian jealous. P

The indie banger is a true art.

Demeaned by many snooty bores, when pulled off to perfection, it’s capable of near magical euphoria. Sea Girls have the skill down, fitting perfectly into a lineage of youthful vigour and rebellion.

The perfect soundtrack to a summer of escapist fun.

DOWN WITH BORING

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.Marsicans. S. There’s so many new bands to check out at The Great Escape each year, we figured it was best to get in some help.

Marsicans play Dork’s stage this year (Sticky Mike’s, Thursday night - Ed), so as part of the deal, guitarist Oli has stuck together five TGE tips.

Mikaela Davis - So Called Friend

I saw Mikaela when she opened up for Bon Iver in Blackpool. I was at that show with Rob, and we were both pretty mesmerised by her harp playing, and that was before she’d even stepped on a delay pedal.

The Howl & The Hum - I Wish I Was A Shark

A band from York that I’ve not had the chance to see live yet but many of my trusted muso friends have said very good things. They sound kind of like Alex Trimble stood in vocals for Alt-J once, and it worked so well they recorded properly together.

The production on their tunes is sublime too.

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Superorganism Everybody Wants To Be Famous

No doubt they’ll be playing some of the busiest shows of the weekend. Personally, I’m quite intrigued to see what the live set up is like and how they all fit on one stage. Body count aside, they don’t scrimp on hooks, and there is a lazy-day, youthful vibe which is quite hard not to get immersed in.

The Orielles - Blue Suitcase

Very cool guitar band from Halifax with a hankering for effects pedals and enough twists and turns to give you whiplash (the desirable kind). If you want an honest and exciting live show, add them to your timetable. If you wanna listen to a backing track then maybe sit this one out.

Jerry Williams - Grab Life

If you’re having that mid-festival lull where you’ve already been pissed twice in the same day and the sun is still up, then what you need is ya girl Jerry Williams.

Festival Fact File

Location: Brighton, UK Date: 17th-19th May 2018 Tickets: greatescapefestival.com Cost: £70 Line-up: ALMA, Goat Girl, The Rhythm Method, Bad Sounds, Bloxx, Jack River, King Nun, Drahla, Superorganism, Easy Life, Stella Donnelly, Phoebe Bridgers, Sorry, Pale Waves, Phobophobes, Ecca Vandal, Freak, Ten Tonnes, The Night Cafe, whenyoung, The Magic Gang, Japanese Breakfast, Marsicans, Milk Teeth, Nervus, The Faim, IDLES, Demob Happy, The Orielles, Suzi Wu, The Regrettes, The Spook School, Swimming Girls + more

Undeniable pop bangers delivered in bags of sincere fun.

Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5 - International Sex Hero

From what I’ve read online, this musical ensemble seem to be the real deal: “Our live show has included crowd sailing in a rubber dinghy, crowdsurfing on inflatable alligators, laughter yoga, hug-offs, dance-offs in a giant hay bird nest, singalongs about dancing in gay discos and being heartbroken by ginger people, line dancing and high 5ing to the beats.” So, ask yourself one question: can you really afford not to be at one of their shows? P Answers: 1: Real; 2. Real; 3.

Real; 4. Fake; 5. Real; 6. Real; 7.

Fake; 8. Fake; 9. Fake; 10. Real

The Great Escape

PALM CITY DJ SET

DOWN WITH BORING

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.Mystery Jets. S.

Win!

Barn on the Farm

TICKETS

You’ll never guess where Barn on the Farm takes place. Yes okay, it’s a real life actual working farm. The clue’s in the name, huh? While you probably won’t find some pigs down the front raving to headliner Tom Grennan, the setting offers the festival a charming, intimate vibe that’s hard to replicate.

Joining Tom at this year’s event, you’ll find recent Dork cover stars Pale Waves, along with Mystery Jets, Gengahr, Bad Sounds, Island, Marsicans, Easy Life, Anteros, Sea Girls, Ten Tonnes and loads more bands you’ll regularly see across our pages.

Oh, and we’ve a pair of weekend tickets to give away to one lucky winner, too.

2000trees

. Enter Shikari. S.

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Without a doubt one of the UK’s most fondly thought of festivals, 2000trees has a regular batch of fans and bands who rave about it every summer. “It’s always been a favourite of ours,” reveal Frightened Rabbit; “[It’s] our favourite independent festival,” confirm Blood Red Shoes; “[It’s] always been very special to our band,” say Black Peaks; “We hold the festival very dear to our hearts,” add The Xcerts.

See, told you. It’s easy to see why they’re heaping on the praise, too. 2000trees cherry-pick the very tippity-top in alternative, rock-leaning groups who all feel like they’re probs the best of mates even when they aren’t doing this music lark. With a capacity of just 10,000, it’s also one of the more intimate summer events.

READDORK.COM

Festival Fact File

Location: Gloucester, UK Date: 5th-8th July 2018 Tickets: barnonthefarm.co.uk Cost: £115 + booking fee Line-up: Tom Grennan, Mystery Jets, Pale Waves, Lewis Capaldi, Jade Bird, Nina Nesbitt, Aquilo, Gengahr, Bad Sounds, Islands, The Night Café, Anteros, Ten Tonnes The Pale White, Marsicans + more

Go to readdork.com to win tickets!

Festival Fact File

Location: Upcote Farm, UK Date: 12th-14th July 2018 Tickets: twothousand treesfestival.co.uk Cost: £115 Line-Up: Enter Shikari, At The Drive In, Creeper, Arcane Roots, The Xcerts, Black Foxxes, Black Peaks, Sløtface, Blood Red Shoes, Black Honey, Brutus + more

BILLY BRAGG / KING CREOSOTE / CHARLOTTE HATHERLEY CUD / THE LOVELY EGGS / MARNIE / THE SURFING MAGAZINES THE MEMBRANES / EVIL BLIZZARD / THE MAGIC OF THE BEATLES MUSH / CATTLE & CANE / FIZZY BLOOD / GALAXIANS WIYAALA / DRAHLA / DYLAN CARTLIDGE / SHATNER’S BASSOON GLASS MOUNTAIN / MI MYE / ZOZO / TEAM PICTURE ADORE //REPEL / CAPE CUB / THOMAS RAGSDALE I SET THE SEA ON FIRE / PEANESS / THE FIRE HARVEST TORIA GARBUTT / LAMINATE PET ANIMAL / SIMON WIDDOP COLOUR OF SPRING / ENGINE / THE BOXING / LOUX GENEVIEVE WALSH / MUGEN / BEARFOOT BEWARE / RADIDAS THE GOLDEN AGE OF TV / PRINCE OMARI / THE HARRIETS HOT SOLES / NAPOLEON IIIRD / ONE DAY, AFTER SCHOOL DARK DARK HORSE / KERMES / CRAKE / BROADS / YOI SILVER WILSON / SARENA LEE SATTI / BETH HOLLAND JAMIE THRASIVOULOU / FLOODHOUNDS / KIEREN KING THOMAS & THE EMPTY ORCHESTRA / LAURA TAYLOR THE BLEEDING OBVIOUS / SUX BLOOD / ROSE CONDO MAMILAH / FIG BY FOUR / EMILY JANE / LOZ CAMPBELL LOUIE JAMES / NO FIXED IDENTITY / GEMMA BAKER BEDFORD FALLS / MAYA KALLY / MIGGIE ANGEL RICHARD DANIELS / CHARLIE PADFIELD / THE TIDY WIVES

02/06/2018

ACROSS WAKEFIELD CITY CENTRE FULL ACCESS £25 / FREE LIMITED ACCESS TICKETS AVAILABLE AT LONGDIVISIONFESTIVAL.CO.UK Presented by:

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Give Peace a. chance...

Cover story With notoriously one of the best coat collections in music, and more props than you can shake a sword at, Peace are a must-see festival band.

Words: Jessica Goodman.

Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

DOWN WITH BORING

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“S

ome people have observed that I appear to have a lack of ambition,” Harry Koisser laughs. Releasing

their third album and readying themselves to headline festivals across the country this summer, for Peace, ambition is something that always came naturally, part and parcel of the exhilarating music they create.

“I’ve always wanted to make great music,” the frontman expresses, “which I think then accommodates the idea of playing later on and headlining festivals.”

Which is how the band find themselves where they are today: with their most addictively excessive album yet just around the corner, and topping the bill at festivals like Live At Leeds, Meet The North, Liverpool Sound City, and 110 Above.

There’s no doubt that headline status is something the Birmingham outfit have always been capable of. Watching them perform live is a spectacle into and of itself.

“Seeing a couple of thousand people in Peace t-shirts, or wearing the symbol...” Harry marvels. “It feels like it’s not just for myself. It’s like, ‘Look what you’re all sharing!’”

From festival stages to basement venues, headline performances to support slots, and everything in between, every Peace show is a celebration of the moment it’s in.

“I might have tricked some people into it using songs,” Harry laughs, “but everyone’s there.”

Discussing the feeling of playing live, of seeing audiences go wild for the music they play, losing themselves in the moment just as much as the band do, the frontman quickly abandons coherence for sheer enthusiasm.

“It’s almost cosmic!” he

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proclaims, stuttering and grasping for the right words.

“Like, atoms and shit!” he exclaims, before laughing. “I’m no scientist, and I’m definitely not a, er, word person, sort of thing,” he chuckles. “Point proven.”

They might not be able to put it into words, but the sense of adulation the group revel in on stage is a huge part of what’s seen them become the festival headliners they are today.

“The first festival that we played might’ve been Glastonbury 2013,” Harry states.

“I’ve got a hoodie which I bought the moment that I walked on site,” he fondly recalls. “It’s a grey and slightly darker grey acid wash hoodie, so it always looks dirty no matter how clean it is, and on the front, in a light purple flower power font it says ‘Festival Junkie’.”

Cliche though that title might be, wearing their dedication to their craft on their sleeve (or chest) is a motion that feels entirely in character for Peace. Stepping out onto the John Peel stage in 2013 with a sword in hand, announcing to the gathered masses that it’s a “dream achieved,” it’s moments like that one that have made the band who they are.

“There’s a sword on the table, not much has changed” “There’s a sword on the table, not much has changed,” Harry laughs, pointing to the prop he brought with him. “We were just street kids hanging around in Birmingham,” he reflects of where they came from, “sitting on street corners, kicking bricks around, setting fire to deodorant cans and stuff, bored out of our minds.”

Turning to music as an outlet away from the humdrum of the day to day, it was only natural for the band to make their own creativity as spirited as possible.

“There’s no vibrancy there,

DOWN WITH BORING

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“Music’s not a competition.

Music is war!” really,” Harry comments of their hometown. “So it probably started with that.

I’m colourblind, so I have to overcompensate. Crank it up.”

More than just a Spinal Tap reference, turning things up to eleven is an ethos Peace’s live shows have always embodied.

“People before have been like, ‘How come your sound live is so much more powerful than your sound on record? What’s going on there?’” Harry states. “Only took us three albums,” he laughs, “but hey, we got there.”

True to his word, ‘Kindness Is The New Rock And Roll’ is an album that presents Peace at their most energised and excessive yet.

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“We were so lost in it by that point, honestly, I thought it sounded like everything else we’d done,” the frontman summarises of the finished record. “All we’d heard for the last few years was us making these tunes. I thought it sounded like classic Peace, but apparently, it doesn’t.”

Incorporating choirs, stadium-sized choruses, all manner of larger than life guitar sounds, and even some theremin-esque backing vocals, ‘Kindness Is The New Rock And Roll’ is the most Peace that Peace have ever sounded.

“You don’t really notice yourself growing up, do you?”

Harry questions. “The moment that you do you’re like ‘I’ve got to get back to square one!’”

Rather than going back to the start, Peace’s new album is the sound of a band soaring straight to the top.

“I think there must’ve been some flair of ambition within me to get here,” Harry offers. “I never really had any of those big, cocky conversations with people, being like, ‘We’re gonna headline one day,’ or ‘You know what? We’re going to be the biggest band ever, and

we’re going to take all the other bands, and we’re going to win, because we’re competitive,’” he taunts. “Music’s not a competition. Music is war!” he laughs. “There was always a vision. There must’ve been.”

With festival season edging ever closer, the group are raring to get back out on the road and back under the stage lights. With their first new record in three years in tow, there’s everything to play for.

“The only preparation I’ve done so far was, I wrote down a note on my laptop of all of our songs,” Harry admits. “I was thinking about it, and I was talking to Red Hot Chili Peppers’ manager, Peter Mensch, over sushi in 2015,” he states. “He said to me that they used to play for three hours, and they used to do sets full of covers. He said, ‘If you’ve got any balls, you’ll do that’.”

There’s no doubt that Peace could pull it off. The band have

a seemingly unparalleled ability to make any cover their own.

Who else would even think to mash up Disclosure with Pink Floyd or Mariah Carey with Radiohead?

As for whether there’s more where those inspired renditions came from, “I remember saying, ‘We’ve got to do this, guys. We’ve got to do this’.” Harry enthuses.

“We never did it. Maybe we’ll do it now,” he pauses. “What would a Peace covers band be called?”

Talk of a covers set soon has Harry reminiscing about a memorable day at Dot To Dot festival in Nottingham in 2014, where the band followed a performance from Velvet Underground tribute band The Pizza Underground that saw the comedy act being booed off the stage.

“The thing that I found bizarre was after they came off stage,” Harry recalls, “and no one really publicised this, but the band were next to us, and they were

like, ‘Really great show guys!’ to each other. They were like, ‘That fucking rocked! That was really good!’” he exclaims.

“I was like, ‘You know what?

You guys have just gone out there, singing about pizza, disrespecting one of the greatest bands of all time, and you’re just happy with that show. Fucking fair play to you’.”

As for what tricks the band themselves have up their sleeves, we’ll have to wait and see.

“To be honest, I completely forgot what little stagecraft I have. It’s all gone. It’s all disappeared,” Harry proclaims.

“I’m not naturally a great frontman, I’ll admit that,” he shrugs. “I’m actually still learning. I’m still contemplating how to perform properly.”

Mimicking potential stage moves in an East London cafe, it’s something the frontman has put a surprising amount of thought into.

“I watched a video of Jim

Morrison the other day, shirtless, with his arms out like a crucifix,” he states. “I was like ‘...I’m not gonna do that,” he laughs, “but I am going to have to think of something to do’,” he concludes.

“So if you have any suggestions, let me know.”

With a rhyming declaration of “I’m not quite there yet, but I will be – that’s a Koisser guarantee,” the band are on the quest to cook up something truly special.

“I’m going to road test some ideas I’ve got,” Harry states, pausing for thought.

“Handstands!” he exclaims. “Just to go back to Red Hot Chili Peppers, I feel like Flea does handstands on stage. Perhaps I will do a handstand.”

Having worked with ‘Stadium Arcadium’ engineer Ryan Hewitt alongside producer Simone Felice on ‘Kindness Is The New Rock And Roll’, Red Hot Chili Peppers are a band with an enduring influence for the Birmingham outfit.

DOWN WITH BORING

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“[Ryan] would be like, ‘This is the microphone that Anthony Kiedis used’,” Harry enthuses, “and I’d be like ‘gettin’ down in the state of Mississippi, poppa was a momma, and her momma was a hippie’,” (close enough).

“You know what?” the frontman declares. “Maybe Red Hot Chili Peppers aren’t quite realised for their services to music. They write a really, a really fucking good...” he pauses.

“Wait, we can swear. We’re not in Whole Foods,” he laughs. “They write a very good hit.”

Interestingly enough, this isn’t the first time the band have tried to show their appreciation for the stadium rock giants.

“You know what, actually, in Spring 2013 we had four shows at Birthdays in London, and I tried to convince the band to be our own support act as a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band,” Harry recalls. “Doug had really long hair at the time, and I said ‘Doug, you could be Anthony Kiedis, I could be John Frusciante...’”

Disappointingly, the idea never left the ground.

“It was vetoed!” Harry exclaims. “No one wanted to do it. No one thought it was a good idea. In fact, not only did it not happen, but that thought hasn’t entered my mind for five years.”

With a headline tour and festival headline sets ahead 20

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“We played a lot of weddings in our time off, not kidding” of them, who knows what the future holds for Peace’s live shows.

“We know a lot of covers. We know a lot, a lot, a lot of covers,” Harry laughs. “We actually played a lot of weddings in our time off, not kidding.”

The frontman fondly recalls a covers set the group performed at the wedding of their tour manager.

“Foals were at the wedding and we soundchecked with ‘My Number’, which was great,” he

grins.

Tributes aside, with a discography of already wellloved material and a new album of songs to boot, Peace’s performances this summer will undoubtedly be ones you don’t want to miss.

“I’m not a very promotional person,” Harry portrays. “That’s the whole thing with being called Peace,” he explains. “I definitely want to be a musician.

It’s the only thing I can do. But I’m not a very self-promoting person. Using music for good was always sort of the intention.”

Rooting their music in sentiment they firmly believe in, it’s this forefront of positivity that makes Peace such a sensation to behold on stage.

Releasing an album titled ‘Kindness Is The New Rock And Roll’, that duality has never been more evident.

“By going with the things that I believe in, like peace, equality, love, kindness, and pushing those with the music, it definitely makes me feel more comfortable about what I’m doing on the earth,” Harry conveys.

“I guess that’s the exchange,” he adds. “I’m giving the sort of goriness of my personal experiences to let people use that as a vessel to feel better about theirs. This is what I get in return.”

Whatever you choose to take from it, there’s no doubt that this summer, Peace are ready to give the world their all.

“If a song is saying something that you want to say, that’s the essence,” Harry distils. “That’s what I would get from music. It resonates and can make people feel good even - I hope.” P

Peace’s new album ‘Kindness Is The New Rock And Roll’ is out 4th May. They play Live At Leeds (5th May), Hit The North (5th May), Sound City (6th May), Truck (19th-22nd July), Y Not (26th-29th July), 110 Above (3rd-5th August).

Festival Fact File

Location: Leeds, UK Date: 5th May 2018 Tickets: liveatleeds.com Cost: £36

Here’s 5 more bands to see at Live at Leeds #1 The Horrors Sometimes, we’re allowed to play favourites. Your mates at Dork are heading to Live at Leeds this year, where we’ll be hosting a stage at Church.

Yes, that’s an actual church.

In which we’re putting The Horrors. In a church. The Horrors. Yep. We know. Fucking amazing.

#2 Ten Tonnes And if that wasn’t enough, we’ve got Ten Tonnes too. Indie brilliance that’s already a near holy experience, our Ethan won’t have to look jealously at big brother Geoff’s chart

success much longer. With a debut album on the way, he’s set to smash it all on his own.

#3 Spring King Indie’s best and brightest party starters, Spring King have been away working on a second album. Given the slew of legit indie bangers that dominated their debut, you’d be mad to miss the chance of a sneak preview, should they decide to be generous.

#4 King Nun We’re a big fan of a din, and King Nun do that better than most. With their next big move

Line-Up: Peace, The Vaccines, Circa Waves, The Horrors, British Sea Power, IDLES, The Magic Gang, Superorganism, Blaenavon, Pale Waves, Ten Tonnes, Spring King, Yak, Rae Morris, Bad Sounds, King Nun, The Night Cafe, Demob Happy, Easy Life, Sorry, whenyoung, Sports Team, Boy Azooga, Stella Donnelly, The Ninth Wave, Bloxx, Pip Blom, Suzi Wu, Our Girl, Boniface, The Xcerts, Sea Girls, Nadine Shah, Fenne Lily + more

expected shortly, Dirty Hit’s latest superstars in waiting are built for the festival circuit.

Last year, they set down a marker. This year, they’re coming to claim their throne.

#5 Stella

Donnelly

Australia seems to be better at brilliant indie solo artists than the rest of us. First Courtney Barnett, then Alex Lahey, the next to arrive looks likely to be Stella Donnelly. With a smart as all hell EP already out now, her road to domination starts this summer. Get onboard before it’s too late. P DOWN WITH BORING

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.London Grammar. S.

Festival Fact File

Bestival

Location: Dorset, UK Date: 2nd-5th August 2018 Tickets: bestival.net Cost: £160

Probably more famous for its legendary fancy dress than its line-up (because the dress up is amazing, not because the bands are pants), Bestival goes all-out all the time. This year’s theme is Circus, so expect red noses and wigs aplenty, a human cannonball, trapeze school, and probably some twirly batons and stuff too.

They’ve also a craft cabin, a crafty corner, free haircuts, hip hop party Hard Cock Life, the world’s largest disco ball, and a W.I. tea tent. We’ll have some scones, please.

Bands-wise, they’ve a few exclusives up their sleeves this year with London Grammar and Jorja Smith not playing any other UK fests; they’re playing alongside M.I.A., Grace Jones, Plan B and loads more. Nice one.

Line-Up: London Grammar, Silk City, M.I.A, Grace Jones, Plan B, Chaka Khan, First Aid Kit, Mura Masa, Stefflon Don, The Big Moon, IDLES, Sundara Karma, Jorja Smith, Django Django, Thundercat, Songhoy Blues, Kelela, Mabel, IAMDDB, Gentleman’s Dub Club, This Is The Kit + more

.Liam Gallagher. S.

Rize

Festival Fact File

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V Festival has a bad rep these days, but the line-up has featured some of the brightest names in pop - from Beck and Radiohead, to Sugababes and Girls Aloud, to Oasis and The Feeling. (The Feeling were great, go away.)

This year however V has gone kaput, replaced by new event RiZE which aims to bring together “an exciting mix of the very best music from classic indie, pop, urban, dance and new upcoming talent.” We’ll be the judge of that, thank you very much.

Headline sets for the inaugural year come from Liam Gallagher and Stereophonics, with ‘further down the bill’ appearances from the likes of MNEK, Example, Circa Waves, Rita Ora and Dork faves, Years & Years and Bastille.

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Location: Chelmsford, UK Date: 17th-18th August 2018 Tickets: rizefestival.co.uk Cost: £165 Line-Up: Liam Gallagher, Stereophonics, James Bay, Craig David, Plan B, Manic Street Preachers, Dave, Circa Waves, MNEK, Bastille, Years & Years, Rag’n’Bone Man, Rita Ora, Sinead Harnett, Example + more

.Everything Everything. S.

Win!

Festival Fact File

Festival No. 6

TICKETS

The best thing about Festival No.6 might just be its location, in the magical village of Portmeirion, Wales home of the cult TV series The Prisoner. What bands wouldn’t sound fab in that setting? This year heading to the coastal tourist spot you’ll find mid-00s legends Friendly Fires and Franz Ferdinand, alongside the recently reformed The The. It’s not ‘all about the music’ either - you could probably go the whole weekend just wandering around the woodland trail, taking advantage of the swimming, paddle boarding, hot tubs, yoga and massages, and exploring the local produce market and food offerings.

There’s a lot going on, and one lucky so-and-so will win the pair of weekend tickets we’ve got to give away, too.

. George Ezra. S.

Win! Truck

TICKETS

So many good names, right? In addition to former Dork cover stars Geoff, Pale Waves, Blaeners, Fickle Friends, and Marika Hackman, and the cover stars of this very magazine, Peace (hello), there are so many of our fave bands heading to Oxfordshire for Truck this year that we couldn’t fit them all in the box to your right. Black Honey, Dream Wife, whenyoung, Sorry, The Orielles, Bloxx, Jaws, Bad Sounds, Goat Girl, Girli, Anteros - it’s just ridiculous. There’s so much more to come, too: “We still have plenty of talent and stages to announce over the next couple of months,” festival organiser Matt Harrap reveals. Where are you going to fit them all, guys? The line-up’s more jam-packed than your average Victoria Sponge.

Location: Portmeirion, UK Date: 6th-9th September 2018 Tickets: festivalnumber6.com Cost: £180 Line-Up: The The, Friendly Fires, Franz Ferdinand, Everything Everything, Ride, Anna Calvi, The Horrors, Goat Girl + more

Go to readdork.com to win tickets!

Festival Fact File

Location: Oxfordshire, UK Date: 20th-22nd July 2018 Tickets: truckfestival.com Cost: £110 (but £120 “soon”) Line-Up: Peace, Friendly Fires, George Ezra, Courteeners, Everything Everything, Circa Waves, Peace, The Amazons, Drenge, Blaenavon, Fickle Friends, Marika Hackman, The Magic Gang, Rat Boy, Pale Waves + more

Go to readdork.com to win tickets!

DOWN WITH BORING

23

Must sees

Who do you want to see this summer

‘the bands’?

Find out who your fave musicians will be seeing this summer, and some of the places you can find ‘em.

“Phoebe Bridgers: I’m completely in love with her, to the point where it’s almost unhealthy. She’s just perfect.

She’s waking a really thin line between being grossly sad and spooky and unhinged, which I think is a hard balance to get.

Her voice is flawless. I want to be her best friend.” - Fenne Lily

perform.” - Tove Styrke

CATCH KENDRICK LAMAR AT: Reading & Leeds (24th-26th August) “We’ve been waiting all year for a chance to see Superorganism; we rinsed their singles in the van while on tour. Fortunately, we’ve got the chance to see them, Bad Sounds and Sports Team all within one mile of each other thanks to Brighton band magnet The Great Escape.” - Thyla

CATCH PHOEBE BRIDGERS AT: The Great Escape (17th-19th May), Gold Sounds (19th-20th May), Green Man (16th-19th August)

CATCH SUPERORGANISM AT: Live At Leeds (5th May), The Great Escape (17th-19th May), All Points East (25th-27th May), Latitude (12th-15th July)

“I’ve wanted to see Kendrick Lamar for years; I feel like he’s probably the coolest person on the planet. And this is the best time in his career to see him

“We’ve got friends’ bands who are always amazing, and I always look forward to watching them on festival lineups. Bands like Black Peaks, Vukovi, Fizzy Blood, Bad Sign and Arcane Roots. Enter Shikari at 2000trees will be something special too!” - Luke,

Press to MECO

CATCH BLACK PEAKS AT: Handmade (5th-6th May), 2000trees (12th-14th July), ArcTanGent (16th-19th August) “I’m really looking forward to seeing At The Gates at Resurrection Fest in Spain.” -

James, Rolo Tomassi

CATCH AT THE GATES AT: Hellfest, France (22nd-24th June), Resurrection Fest, Spain (11th-14th July), Bloodstock (9th12th August) “I got to see some of my recent

favourites at SXSW last week Shopping and Lucy Dacus and Girl Ray. I missed Natalie Prass and Caroline Rose, both of whom I’d like to see this year.” -

Sadie, Speedy Ortiz

CATCH LUCY DACUS AT: End of the Road (30th August-2nd September) “I’ve been on an absolute Feeder binge lately, and we’ll be playing with them at Teddy Rocks, so that’s currently at the top of my list of bands to see. I’m also a big big fan of the Y-Not Festival line up this year.”

- Sam, Mallory Knox

CATCH FEEDER AT: Teddy Rocks (1st-3rd June), Isle of Wight (21st-24th June)

(probably my favourite band besides Fleetwood Mac), Not on Tour, Doe, Kamikaze Girls, Happy Accidents, Fresh, Honey Joy, Jesus and his Judgemental Father and loads of other mates - I am so excited!” - Ren, Petrol

Girls

CATCH KAMIKAZE GIRLS AT: Handmade (5th-6th May)

“Really looking forward to seeing The Big Moon, the DMAs, Peace, Spector and of course finding some new bands!” - Star, Geowulf

CATCH THE BIG MOON AT: Handmade (5th-6th May), Gold Sounds (19th-20th May), Neighbourhood Weekender (26th-27th May), Truck (19th22nd July)

“There are a lot of my good pals playing at ArcTanGent. I’m looking forward to watching people like Arcane Roots, Black Peaks, and Vennart for starters. Also, Glassjaw have been a huge band for me ever since their first record came out, so I’m going to be stuck to them like glue for their whole set, hanging around backstage trying to bump into them, making a big nuisance of myself.” - Jamie Lenman

CATCH ARCANE ROOTS AT: 2000trees (12th-14th July), ArcTanGent (16th-19th August)

“Desperate to catch Nick Cave at a festival. And if possible, Gwenno, HMLTD and Lemon Twigs too.” - Jake, White

Room

CATCH NICK CAVE AT: All Points East (3rd June) “We’re playing Booze Cruise in Hamburg with RVIVR

“Looking forward to seeing Pale Waves [at Reading & Leeds] for sure and we won’t even have to move stages. Shame will be awesome to see as well. None of us have seen them yet, and we listened to them loads on tour. Sigrid darting around the Main Stage - can’t wait for that!

We’re really looking forward to Kendrick Lamar as well. Also, it’s safe to say Oli our drummer is looking forward to seeing Panic! at the Disco too.” -

Henry, Sea Girls

CATCH PANIC! AT THE DISCO AT: Reading & Leeds (24th-26th August)

goes on.” - Anteros

CATCH THE KILLERS AT: Isle of Wight (21st-24th June), TRNSMT (29th June-8th July), Latitude (12th-15th July) “I’m looking forward to St. Vincent at Coachella and St Paul & The Broken bones at Bonnaroo!” - Genessa, The

Regrettes

CATCH ST. VINCENT AT: End of the Road (30th August-2nd September) “We’re excited to see Solange and the Breeders at Latitude!” -

Trudy and the Romance

CATCH SOLANGE AT: Latitude (12th-15th July)

“We are huge fans of At The Drive In, so that will be awesome to see. I’ve also never seen Glassjaw, so that will be amazing at ArcTanGent.” - Will,

Black Peaks

CATCH AT THE DRIVE IN AT: 2000trees (12th-14th July)

“I’m looking forward to catching Blaenavon this summer at 110 Above. I loved their record last year but never got the chance to see them live. Gengahr, Bad Sounds and The Night Cafe are all on my ’not seen them live yet’ list. There are bands like Mystery Jets who I always try and see when they’re in town, and luckily they’re playing at Barn on the Farm as well as us, so that’ll give me a great opportunity to fangirl.” -

James, Marsicans

CATCH BLAENAVON AT: Live At Leeds (5th May), Truck (19th22nd July), 110 Above (3rd-5th August)

“There are so many artists we are looking forward to seeing this summer. The Killers, Avalanche Party, Sigrid, Jungle, Peace, Blaenavon, Gorillaz, Stereo Honey, Wolf Alice, Arctic Monkeys, Whenyoung, Tom Grennan, Alt-J, Florence, Childish Gambino… the list

DOWN WITH BORING

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Festival Fact File

. Alt-J. S.

Location: Southwold, UK Date: 12th-15th July 2018 Tickets: latitudefestival.com Cost: £197.50

It’s still not getting boring by the sheep. The summer’s most refined festival, Latitude might have a rep for being artsy, family friendly and well to do, but it also knows how to bring the musical buzz.

This year’s headliners go from the legit indie blockbusters (The Killers, Alt-J), to the really bloody exciting (Solange!). Beneath them sit some of our favourite bands - headliners in waiting Wolf Alice, The Vaccines, Idles. Parquet Courts, Black Honey, Superorganism, Bloxx, Boy Azooga, Sorry and loads of others. There’s also great comedy, Adam Buxton’s Bug, and, erm, Ed Miliband. Which begs the question, can you headline from the afternoon with your podcast?

Line-up: The Killers, Alt-J, Solange, Wolf Alice, The Vaccines, Parquet Courts, Fickle Friends, Black Honey, Jessie Ware, Alvvays, Hinds, IDLES, Mogwai, Superorganism, TuneYards, The Breeders, The Orielles, Bloxx, Boy Azooga, Confidence Man, Pop Blom, Sorry, whenyoung + more

Latitude

Formidable

Cool Hey Theo, how’s it going?

Ready to smash some festivals?

We are more than ready for everything the great outdoors has in store for us from Reading to Moscow.

You guys are playing loads this year, how do you keep yourselves entertained on the road?

We have a carefully curated game called Truth or Mare.

You can never choose truth, and the mare option is usually almost unbearable.

What’s the best thing about

How long is it until Wolf Alice top the bill at one of the big summer festivals? One more album under their belts and the odds have to start to look good, right?

This summer they’re riding high in the line-ups for both Latitude and Reading & Leeds. We dropped a line to bassist Theo Ellis to see if the festival gods are smiling. spending your summer in fields?

Hanging out with pals that you miss because of clashing touring schedules, watching people struggle to come to terms with what they did last night while you attempt to hold down some simple bass lines and forgetting what day of the week or year it is.

Do you have a favourite festival?

Reading has always been a special festival to me. It was my first one, and playing the NME Stage was a real pinch yourself moment. I am really

looking forward to that one.

How does it feel to be creeping up bills - it can’t be too long until you’re headlining, right?

Fingers crossed. Ready when you are, festival gods.

What bands are you looking forward to this year?

Amyl and The Sniffers, Liam Gallagher, Post Malone, Shame. P

Wolf Alice play TRNSMT (30th June), Latitude (12th15th July), Reading & Leeds (24th-26th August) DOWN WITH BORING

27

Buzz-tastic!

Festival exclusives!

VAMPIRE WEEKEND, END OF THE ROAD

LONDON GRAMMAR, BESTIVAL

STORMZY, WIRELESS

(2nd-5th August, Lulworth Estate, Dorset) Along with Jorja Smith, London Grammar are putting in a UK exclusive set at Bestival this year, on a bill that also features M.I.A., Grace Jones, First Aid Kit, Mura Masa and loads more still to come. It’s about time London Grammar were headlining major UK festivals, innit?

(6th-8th July, Finsbury Park, London) The Wireless bill is a sausagefest this year; it’s basically Lots Of Blokes plus Mabel, Card B and Lisa Mercedez. Maybe they’ll have fixed that by the time you’re reading this. We can hope, eh? If you want to see Stormzy though, you’re going to have to brave the bratwursts - this is the only UK festival he’s playing.

TAME IMPALA, CITADEL

AT THE DRIVE IN, 2000TREES

DUA LIPA, READING & LEEDS

(30th August - 2nd September, Larmer Tree Gardens) Vampy Weeks are back! Hasn’t it felt a long time? End of the Road will mark their first live show in four years as they work their way towards a new album, and also their only UK festival for 2018. They join fellow festival exclusive Feist at the top of the bill, and St. Vincent, too.

(15th July, Gunnersbury Park, London) This one isn’t just a festival exclusive, oh no - it’s a UK exclusive. You’re not going to see Tame Impala anywhere else without getting on a plane, boat or, er, going under a tunnel. The Aussie psychrockers are currently working on the follow-up to 2015 album, ‘Currents’.

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It’s something you’ll see all over event posters during the summer months.

From the small ‘uns with their won’tfind-anywhere-else headliners, to the big ‘uns with their ‘omg they’re back’ special guests, if you want your festival to stand out from a mass of often similar line-ups you need the word “Exclusive” plastered on somewhere or other. This year’s batch of one-offs is a good ‘un, too. Here are a few of our faves.

READDORK.COM

(12th-14th July, Upcote Farm) For the first time in 2000trees’ history, the Main Stage will be open for Thursday daytime - leading up to a UK festival exclusive set from post-hardcore legends, At The Drive In. They’ll be in town to celebrate the release of their latest album, ‘in•ter a•li•a’, playing alongside Basement, Arcane Roots, Creeper and loads more.

(24th-26th August, Richfield Avenue, Reading; Bramham Park, Leeds) There’s been a mixed reaction to Reading & Leeds’ first announce, but that’s just par for the course, innit? They’ve got some good names signed up - from headliners Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco and Kendrick Lamar (no, not you Kings of Leon), to Dua Lipa, (this here exclusive), Sigrid, Wolf Alice and Pale Waves.

VOTED TOP FESTIVAL

BY BBC6 MUSIC LISTENERS

THE GUARDIAN

THE TIMES

16-19 AUGUST. BRECON BEACANS, WALES

THE WAR B FLEET B KING GIZZARD AN DRUGS FOXES THE LIZARD WIZARD JAHN GRANT B GRIZZLY BEAR B DIRTY PROJECTARS &

THE BRIAN JANESTOWN MASSACRE B THE BLACK ANGELS PUBLIC SERVICE BRAADCASTING B ANNA CALVI B CATE LE BAN MOUNT KIMBIE B FLAATING POINTS (SALO LIVE) B JAHN MAUS JAAN AS POLICE WAMAN B THE LEMON TWIGS B TELEMAN CAURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS B BAXTER DURY B KEVIN MORBY CURTIS HARDING B TAMIKREST B SUSANNE SUNDFOR JAHN TALABOT B SIMIAN MABILE DISCO (LIVE W/ DEEP THROAT CHAIR)) ROLLING BLACKAUTS CAASTAL FEVER B WYE OAK B JANE WEAVER KING TUFF B ALEX CAMERON B PHAEBE BRIDGERS B TUNNG KELLY LEE AWENS B BO NINGEN B BEAK> B CHASTITY BELT HMLTD B GOAT GIRL B SWEET BABG B A HAWK AND A HACKSAW XYLOURIS WHITE B LOST HORIZANS B LUCY DACUS B SHANNON LAY BOY AZGGA B PICTISH TRAIL B MARLAN WILLIAMS B THE KVB B OMNI DUDS B SNAPPED ANKLES B JADE BIRD B SNAIL MAIL B AMBER ARCADE CHARLES WATSAN B IDER B ED DOWIE B HALEY HEYNDERICKX BAS JAN B SEAMUS FOGARTY B JUANITA STEIN B SACRED PAWS JIM GHEDI B SORRY B STELLA DANNELLY B WESTERMAN SPINNING CAIN B GROUP LISTENING B FENNE LILY B HAZE ADWAITH B ACCU B SOCK B BUZZARD B AADAE

10 WILD LANDS AF LAUGHS, LITERATURE, ART, SCIENCE, FAMILY ADVENTURE AND MUSIC TICKETS AN SALE NOW!

GREENMAN.NET

Rock out

Slam Dunk Festival

Sleeping With Sirens

Hey Nick, how’s it going?

It’s going really well over here!

Preparing for more touring overseas and hanging with you guys soon.

What have you guys been up to so far this year, are you having a good 2018?

We’ve been touring in support of our latest album, Gossip.

That’s been on our main focus thus far in 2018. And we’ve actually been writing and recording a bit too. Just staying busy!

Are you ready for festival season? How do you prepare, is it just lots of rehearsing and stocking up on clean pants?

I fucking love festival season!

No need for preparation. Just show up and have a good fucking time with friends. I thoroughly enjoy your festival season as opposed to the states festival season.

We can’t wait to see you at Slam Dunk - what have you got planned for your time 30

READDORK.COM

over here? Are you going sightseeing?

We’ll be touring throughout Europe before we arrive at Slam Dunk and we hope to do some sight-seeing, but that’s always the hardest thing to do on tour with how hectic scheduling gets.

Can you take us sight-seeing?

Is there anyone you’re especially keen to see at Slam Dunk this year?

I’m excited to see Sleeping With Sirens. But also seeing Good Charlotte, PVRIS, State Champs, ETID, and Comeback Kid will be awesome. I love Jimmy Eat World too. How the hell am I going to be able to catch all these bands?!

Do you have anything interesting on your rider for shows and festivals?

We keep it real simple with booze and tortilla chips.

Festivals are a party. We treat our rider as such: if you were having friends over, what would you bring? Booze & tortilla chips.

What else do you guys have coming up?

A fuck ton of touring. We have started writing and recording a bit, but I can’t say much else about it. See you guys soon!

Let’s fucking party! P

Slam Dunk is def one of the highlights on the rawk festival calendar, with three days full of bands that’ll make you want to jump around like it’s 2002 - hi Good Charlotte, Jimmy Eat World - and newer faves like PVRIS and Creeper. There’s also this lot, who’ve answered Dork’s Official 2018 Slam Dunk Q&A about line-up recommendations, riders and, er, pants...

Festival Fact File

Win! TICKETS

Location: Leeds, Hatfield, Birmingham, UK Date: 26th-28th May Tickets: slamdunkmusic.com Cost: £49 Line-Up: Good Charlotte, Jimmy Eat World, PVRIS, Frank Carter, Taking Back Sunday, Sleeping With Sirens, Twin Atlantic, Creeper, Every Time I Die + more

Go to readdork.com to win tickets!

DOWN WITH BORING

31

Greyscale Hey Nick and Andy, what have you guys been up to so far this year?

2018 has been wild so far. We recently finished a UK/Euro tour with our good friends in As It Is, obviously doing Slam Dunk, Warped Tour all summer, and some plans for the Fall as well. It’s been an amazing year so far.

Are you ready for festival season? How do you prepare, is it just lots of rehearsing and stocking up on clean pants?

To be honest, beyond Riot Fest, we haven’t ever really played many festivals. To prep, we really just get sick merch designs ready, rehearse hard, and get everything in our camp ready and polished for the different festivals and tours. Of course, clean pants are always a must, especially since we had to burn ours from the last tour.

Is there anyone you’re especially keen to see at Slam Dunk this year?

Jimmy Eat World is a huge favourite of ours. Every Time I Die always puts on a good show, and of course all of our friends that we’ve made in the past few years.

Do you have anything interesting on your rider?

We haven’t quite made it to “The Rider Level,” but if Slam Dunk is reading this, we do love Coors Light and cheap wine. Also pre-cracked pistachios, blue M&M’s, and Kinder Surprise.

How do you cope with all the travel of touring, it must get a bit boring?

It’s not so much the travel; it’s lugging all of our gear around that is terrible. We will take planes and buses over our busted van any day. P 32

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Milestones Hey Eden, how’s it going?

Yeah, it’s going really well!

We’re currently halfway through our first headliner after releasing our debut album ‘Red Lights’, and the reaction has been incredible. It feels so great to have so much validation of our efforts after spending countless hours in the studio and countless hours worrying if people will actually like it!

Are you ready for festival season? How do you prepare, is it just lots of rehearsing and stocking up on clean pants?

I honestly can’t wait. Festivals are so much fun to play due to the majority of the time it’s incredibly hot, and you get to see the majority of your favourite bands on the same day. In regards to having clean pants…. I’ll let you in on a little secret…. Turn them inside out and voila you have two pairs of pants. We don’t actually do that, don’t worry, we’re quite a hygienic band.

Is there anyone you’re especially keen to see at Slam Dunk this year?

Counterparts have been my favourite band for several years now, so they are the stand out

band for me, but I’d also love to catch up with Broadside (toured the UK with the last year and have a few dates after Slam Dunk) and Knuckle Puck (toured the US with them & Mayday Parade for ten weeks last year). How could I also forget The Devil Wears Prada?

I was huge on that band when I was younger so I’d love the nostalgia.

Do you have anything interesting on your rider?

Food that Matt doesn’t like so he can’t eat it, Drew usually just requests Haribos and those three for £1 packs of sweets from Tesco, Mark’s about two seconds away from starting to ask for cigarettes on it & I usually just ask for Coffee (boring).

How do you cope with all the travel of touring, it must get a bit boring?

To be fair, the majority of the time being on tour runs you down completely, so the time you spend travelling is usually spent sleeping and getting your energy back. Nothing better than having a nice snooze then waking up in the French Alps or outside a McDonalds (same thing really). Oh yeah and if I’m not asleep, I’ve got the first Harry Potter game on Mac so I usually just play Quidditch for hours on end. P

State Champs Hey Ryan, how’s it going?

I’m doing fantastic.

What have you guys been up to so far this year?

This year, as far as touring goes, has been pretty quiet.

We’ve only played one show, and it was Self Help Festival in San Bernardino, California. It felt good to be back, because we’ve taken a few months off while recording our new record.

Are you ready for festival season? How do you prepare, is it just lots of rehearsing and stocking up on clean pants?

Festival season is always a blast because it brings about a completely different vibe than playing club shows. You get to hang with a lot more friends, and your music is exposed to so many people who are potentially hearing you for the first time. Rather than stocking up on clean pants, it’s more clean socks for me. You do not want to see or smell the

state of my socks after a day at a festival.

What have you got planned for your time over here for Slam Dunk? Are you going sightseeing?

I can positively say that we are VERY excited for Slam Dunk. We played back in 2014, and it was our first time over in the UK, so we had no idea what to expect. What we received was a massive warm welcome - so we have been anxiously waiting to come back. We typically try to sightsee as much as we can, but we don’t always get the chance when we’re there on a tight timeline. We’ve still never seen Stonehenge, dammit!

Is there anyone you’re especially keen to see at Slam Dunk this year?

Absolutely - this lineup is nuts!

I am extremely stoked for the big hitters, Good Charlotte, TBS and Jimmy Eat World.

Been loving seeing what Pvris is up to and they’re friends of ours, so that’ll be a good time.

You’ll probably find me toward the back of the crowd during Every Time I Die, Counterparts and Comeback Kid, wanting to mosh but knowing that I’m not

a 21-year-old kid anymore.

Do you have anything interesting on your rider?

I don’t know if alcohol is necessarily “interesting” per se, but yeah, alcohol.

How do you cope with all the travel of touring, it must get a bit boring?

Touring is an amazing experience and a cool lifestyle, but you definitely have to develop another hobby, no matter how big or small, to pass the time. I can’t speak for everybody, but something I picked up recently is photography. Picking up a camera when we travel as much as we do and seeing all these once in a lifetime places made perfect sense. It’s helped me stay creative when things can get stagnant at times on the road. Also reading is a great joy of mine. There has never been a time-sucker like reading, except maybe Netflix.

What else do you guys have coming up?

We have a new record coming soon! That’s pretty much what we’ve been pumping all of our time and energy into lately, so it’s all building to this! P DOWN WITH BORING

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ROAM Hey Miles, how’s it going?

I’m all good thanks.

What have you guys been up to so far this year, are you having a good 2018?

We’ve just got home from a two week UK/Europe tour with Tonight Alive which has been super fun. It was cool for us to have a main support slot on that kind of tour as we had a longer set, meaning we were able to delve a little deeper and could play some more songs from our latest record.

In addition to that, we had an awesome start to the year touring with Knuckle Puck in Australia. I’d say that Australia is probably collectively our favourite country to visit/tour so it was great to be back there.

We also played UNIFY Festival

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while we were there which was an absolute blast.

Are you ready for festival season? How do you prepare, is it just lots of rehearsing and stocking up on clean pants?

Yeah, pretty much just lots of rehearsing; we normally try and add some kind of fun twist for a festival set, so it’s fun trying to figure out whatever that is going to be.

there though as it’s impossible to pack enough clean pairs, especially for a long tour.

How do you cope with all the travel of touring, it must get a bit boring stuck on planes and buses all the time?

Knuckle Puck, Grayscale, Stand Atlantic, Broadside, Set Your Goals, Good Charlotte.

Yeah, it can be a drag for sure. We ended up playing a lot of cards on this last tour which was good because it gets everyone involved and interrupts the mindless brainnumbing phone scrolling.

Also, Netflix have a super cool feature where you can save stuff offline to watch on an iPad / phone on the move which has been a bit of a lifesaver.

Do you have anything interesting on your rider?

What else do you guys have coming up?

Is there anyone you’re especially keen to see at Slam Dunk this year?

Not particularly, just the usual food and beers/waters. I kinda want to start putting socks on

Not much that I can tell you about right now but expect a lot more shows / touring. P

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Citadel 2018

Take it to...

Chvrches

They’re back! With a brilliant third album due this May, Chvrches are ready to hit the festival circuit again.

At Citadel, they’ll appear on a bill that also includes the mighty Tame Impala, quite probably Britain’s most incendiary new band Shame, the always brilliant Horrors and loads, loads more. We caught up with Iain from the band to find out what we should expect.

Festival Fact File

Location: London, UK Date: 15th July 2018 Tickets: citadelfestival.com Cost: £49.50 Line-Up: Tame Impala, CHVRCHES, Leon Bridges, Goat, The Horrors, Honne, Shame, Gang of Youths, Sea Girls, Goat Girl, Hawkwind, La Femme, Sam Fender, Isaac Gracie + more

Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett You’ve got a new album coming out just in time for festival season. Are you looking forward to getting back out there and playing live?

Absolutely, yes. Getting to share the new songs that we have been brewing up is my favourite part of what we do.

Writing in the studio is a lot of fun and very fulfilling too, but the songs really take on a life of their own on stage.

How are you feeling about playing the new songs live? It feels like tracks like ‘Miracle’ and ‘Get Out’ are going to be absolutely massive.

I feel like it’s going to be a pretty different experience.

It’s been just the three of us since the beginning, and I always knew it was inevitable that we would get a drummer at some stage and now that time has come, and I can’t wait for people to hear how much energy the new songs have.

Does having a live drummer

change things? Your power trio is now a square.

We are yet to find out! Having just started rehearsals and played a radio session, it’s too early to comment on that definitively, but early signs are very exciting indeed. On stage, we have always felt like a rock band at heart, and now we are taking steps towards that.

Do you feel like there’s more pressure on you at a festival, playing to people who might not know much about you?

It can sometimes feel like that yes, but it’s best to see it as more of a challenge than a pressure. I would say that it makes us come out swinging, but when I think about it, that’s how we tend to approach every show. But there’s no question that the energy and nerves are a bit different to playing one of our own shows.

What do you want people to take from seeing CHVRCHES live?

I think the best live music can be a very cathartic experience.

It can make us think, laugh, cry, or just jump around and feel part of something communal, bigger than ourselves. All of those things feel powerful and specific to a live music experience. I hope that people who come to see us live will take from it what they need.

The best thing about festivals is discovering something new and unexpected, either seeing a different side of a band you love or falling in love with something you’ve never heard before. Did you have any moments like that when you were younger?

I remember the first time I saw The Flaming Lips live. On record, they are exuberant, psychedelic and reflective.

But their live show explodes all of those things and seems larger than life. It was quite a shock the first time I saw them and didn’t lose its power after having seen them a few more times. P

CHVRCHES play Citadel (15th July).

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Reading + Leeds

.Fall Out Boy. S.

Festival Fact File

Location: Reading, Leeds, UK Date: 24th-26th August 2018 Tickets: readingandleedsfestival. com Cost: £205 It’s a good job we didn’t put money on Arctic Monkeys headlining Reading & Leeds this year, because guess what?

They’re not. Nope. Contrary to all the rumours, it’s an Arctic Monkeys free zone. If anyone had suggested topping the bill would be a five-way split between Fall Out Boy, Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, Panic! At The Disco and Kings of Leon, we’d likely have fallen off our chair, dropped our cup of tea, and told them that was just plain weird. But hey-ho, here we are. Who’d have thought R&L could still pull a surprise like this out of the bag? Elsewhere on the bill there are loads of Dork faves too, including Wolf Alice, Fickle Friends, SWMRS, King Nun, Ten Tonnes, Dream Wife, The Magic Gang, Spring King, Pale Waves, Sunflower Bean and more.

Line-Up: Fall Out Boy, Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, Panic! At The Disco, Kings of Leon, Wolf Alice, Dua Lipa, Fickle Friends, SWMRS, Creeper, Waterparks, Mike Shinoda, The Wombats, Rae Morris, Dream Wife + more

.Milk Teeth. S. Festival Fact File

Download

Location: Donington Park, UK Date: 8th-10th June 2018 Tickets: downloadfestival.co.uk Cost: £200

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Ozzy Osbourne was the first Download headliner to be announced for 2018, with his debut solo bill-topping set at the festival. “Osbourne is no stranger to Download, and after Black Sabbath closed the festival in 2016, how could I not ask The Prince of Darkness to come back all on his own?” said promoter Andy Copping upon revealing the booking.

He’s joined by some of the biggest names in rock, including fellow headliners Avenged Sevenfold and Guns n’ Roses, and titans Marilyn Manson and Bullet For My Valentine. There’s also a good showing for newer bands, with sets from Culture Abuse, Milk Teeth, Employed To Serve, The Faim, Puppy, Dream State and more.

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Line-up: Avenged Sevenfold, Guns n’ Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson, Boston Manor, Cradle of Filth, Marmozets, You Me At Six, Parkway Drive, Rise Against, BabyMetal, Milk Teeth, Black Foxxes, Employed To Serve, Dream State + more

All Points East

.Lorde. S.

Where to start with All Points East? It’s a new festival launching in Victoria Park, London this year, having turfed out usual residents Field Day and Lovebox for a whopping ten days of activities, including three main festival days, several one-off shows, free outdoor cinema, street food, theatre, activities and loads more.

The band line-up is ridiculous, too: LCD Soundsystem, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phoenix, The xx, Lorde, Justice, Bjork, Beck, Father John Misty, Lykke Li, Friendly Fires, Young Fathers, Superorganism, Glass Animals, Sample, Django Django - and that’s before even looking at the one-offs, which include headline sets from The National and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Can’t wait, mate.

. Goat Girl. S.

Win! TICKETS

Green Man

Green Man is another festival that doesn’t ‘just’ concern itself with booking musical talent - though they’ve done a smashing job this year, with The War on Drugs, Fleet Foxes, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s first ever bill-topping set, and further-down-the-poster spots for Grizzly Bear, The Lemon Twigs and more.

In addition to the opportunity to camp onsite all week if you like (with the fancy “Settler’s Pass”), there’s also comedy, literature, film, performing arts, visual arts, workshops and loads more. The line-up’s largely still ‘underway’ for that stuff, but there’s sure to be enough going on to keep even the most eager music obsessives busy.

Festival Fact File

Location: London, UK Date: 25th May-3rd June 2018 Tickets: allpointseastfestival. com Cost: £169.95 Line-up: LCD Soundsystem, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phoenix, The xx, Lorde, Justice, Bjork, Beck, Father John Misty, Lykke Li, Friendly Fires, Young Fathers, Superorganism, Hookworms + more

Festival Fact File

Location: Brecon Beacons, UK Date: 16th-19th August 2018 Tickets: greenman.net Cost: £180 Line-up: The War on Drugs, Fleet Foxes, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizzard, John Grant, Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, Goat Girl, The Lemon Twigs, Phoebe Bridgers, Snail Mail, Sorry + more

Go to readdork.com to win tickets!

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In the know

Ask ‘the festivals’

“They should have booked INSERT MASSIVE BAND here!”, we all cry.

“Why don’t they just put on more loos?”, we ask. Seriously, when it comes down to it, we don’t know much about running a festival. But that’s okay, because we’ve tracked down the people behind your favourite events, and asked them all the questions you’ll ever need to know.

Bestival

Rob Da Bank

Hey Rob, how’s it going? All ready for this year’s Bestival?

Well, we’re never ready until about five minutes before the gates open. I always think that’s the mark of a good festival. Seriously though, it’s such an ongoing project that we’re often booking acts the week before and changing the site plan the day before we open! We are really pleased with our line up though, and tickets are up from last year, so we’re kinda ready yes.

Tell us about the event’s beginning - what made you want to start a festival, and what were those early days like?

Well, a ragtag bunch of us thought it would be fun to gang up and put on a little festival.

We never anticipated we’d still be running it 15 years later. It started as a 4000 capacity knees up with a strong fancy dress angle and Basement Jaxx and Fatboy Slim headlining. We doubled capacity every year and never looked back. It was a lot of fun in the early days as we were a bit more carefree and irresponsible, but it’s still a buzz now

What are your main points of consideration when 40

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curating the line-up, and has that changed over the years?

I try not to tread the same path as everyone else. It’s kinda easy to book those big radio-friendly acts and imagine it will put bums on seats but actually if you look at the reactions to many festival line-ups, they don’t all want the same acts.

Aside from headliners, it’s crucial we have a fat middle line up and loads and loads of new bands which is our forte.

Bestival has always been about everything from Balkan beats to trance, funk to folk, pop and rock.

Are there any acts still on your wish list that you hope to hit up for future events?

Absolutely - Kate Bush if you’re reading this please answer the doorbell, I just

want five minutes of your time to persuade you to come to Bestival.

You guys have won loads of awards, are there any that are particularly important to you? It must be nice to know people love what you’re doing.

Awards are good for propping up wobbly tables and nice for the staff, but we really don’t rest on our laurels on past glories.

Festival land is moving so fast we just focus on the future.

Do you have any surprises in store for 2018’s event?

Always! Some great new spaces planned as well as some mystery guests. P

Bestival takes place from 2nd-5th August at the Lulworth Estate, Dorset.

.M.I.A. is set to headline Bestival 2018 S. DOWN WITH BORING

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Long Division

Dean Freeman

What prompted you to start your own festival, then?

There was this strong music scene in Wakefield, and I tried my best to shout about it through the fanzine Rhubarb Bomb. It was a good zine, but I guess I felt it wasn’t a loud enough shout. So we found that gap in the market of a music festival in the city that supported those bands.

How has the event evolved since those early days?

It’s a mix of evolution, of slow learning and also making more radical changes.

Crowdfunding in 2016 was a huge but one-off success in terms of funding it and spreading the word. This year it is a mix of creating free access elements and becoming a festival that commissions brand new work and funds artists to curate their own stages, with us acting as mentors / supporters.

How do you go about curating your line-up, and what are some of your fave bookings from previous years?

We’re much more interested in the ethos of a band than a style. We’ve made a distinct effort this year to expand beyond our tastes (I seem to just book Scottish bands myself) by having other people and groups curate stages.

Memorable shows for me were Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells in our beautiful theatre, and Jeffrey Lewis who also hung about until the Sunday to give a talk on comic books. I also have to say that seeing Ash play their hits was pretty damn awesome. P

Long Division takes place from 1st-3rd June in various venues in Wakefield.

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Isle of Wight John Giddings How did you come to work on Isle of Wight?

In 2001 the Isle of Wight Council decided to restart the festival after it had been banned for 32 years, and they asked everyone in the music business to make a tender for it. Nobody was interested because they thought, ‘Who wants to go to a festival on an island you can only get to by boat?’ I went down there for a laugh because I was there in 1970, and when I was sitting on the ferry on the Solent with the sun shining I thought, well, I’ve been going to everybody else’s festivals for the last 40 years why can’t I have my own? That started the ball rolling.

Congratulations on the festival’s 50th anniversary - what do you think is key to the festival’s success?

I think part of the key to the festival’s success is the tradition and heritage. Having had Jimi Hendrix, The Who and The Doors play. I think also the island itself is a holiday destination and because you can only get there by boat it puts everybody in a great

.Sigrid is bringing the pop party to Isle of Wight this year. S.

frame of mind, and it feels like they’re going on holiday. It’s got the best climate in the UK, out of 72 days of running the festival we’ve only ever had four days of rain - which is incredible.

What are your main points of consideration when it comes to booking bands?

My main consideration is booking an artist that can project to an audience in a field and appeal to 50,000 people.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that they are in the charts, but they have to have some form of catalogue and have an ability to be able to perform.

Just because someone is in the charts doesn’t mean they can command an audience of this size. I choose artists from past, present and future and you get an incredible demographic, I’m very pleased with the way we go about it.

What’s going to be the best thing about 2018?

The weather, the audience, the groups - everything that goes with it. The surprises because it’s going to be the 50th anniversary. Just come on down and find out for yourself. P

Isle of Wight takes place from 21st-24th June on the Isle of Wight.

.The mighty Black Honey at Live at Leeds 2017 S.

Live At Leeds Aaron Snowdon Tell us about your involvement with Live At Leeds - how did you come to work on the festival?

Hi! I started working on Live at Leeds in 2015. After pretty much attending the festival every year (either playing it with my band or reviewing it for Leeds music magazines / University) I was really pleased to join the team. LAL was the best day of the year for me; it’s great to see 10,000 people in the city on one day, all coming together to enjoy live music.

What’s been the highlight of your time working on the event?

I think working with such a dedicated team who thrive to make the event a success is the best part. Everyone from ticketing, to marketing, to the booking team and then to the volunteers. It’s so rewarding watching the event take place after all the hard work that goes into it behind the scenes.

I mean, watching 2000+ people going bonkers to White Lies at 4pm in the afternoon is definitely a highlight.

How do you put together your line-up?

There are three of us that work on Live at Leeds in terms of booking the line-up. I think a lot of it is designed to play to our audience. We try to make it the best possible mix of artists, so that there is something for everyone.

The beauty of LAL is that you never know what new artist is going to become your new favourite band.

What’s the most challenging aspect of putting on a festival?

I guess trying to make your festival line up stand out from the crowd is the tricky part.

There are lots of green field and metropolitan festivals popping up all over the county (which is, of course, great for the industry) and it’s encouraging that people are buying tickets to festivals again. Our aim is to bring something a little more exclusive to Leeds, and I think we managed to achieve it this year.

What does the future hold for Live At Leeds?

I’d love to see the festival grow from a 10,000 capacity in the near future. We’re always pushing ourselves to do more exciting secret sets, add more venues to the programme.

We’re currently booking over 200 artists across 20+ stages, so I guess adding some more can’t hurt!

What advice would you give others who’d like to work on live events and festivals?

I’d say if you’re wanting to start getting involved in live music events/festivals then start small, and gradually work up. I got into booking shows at the age of 15 and learnt the hard way trying to do something I wasn’t ready to do. I’ve been working in live music in some form or other for nearly ten years this year, so yeah, keep it simple then move up when you’re ready.

Also, never be afraid to ask for help I guess, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am without help from peers. P

Live At Leeds takes place on 5th May at various venues in Leeds.

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.Bastille are headlining Neverworld, with a third album on the way. S.

Want to put on a festival?

We asked Lee Denny for the six most important steps in taking LeeFest from his back garden to today’s Neverworld.

1. Just saying yes and building a festival in seven days in the first year!

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2. Learning how to do it legally in year four.

3. Learning how to book professional bands for the first time in years four and five.

4. Honing our organisational and business skills in years five to ten (when we realised that we might be able to make this our full-time job if we worked really hard)!

5. Taking a massive risk by throwing out the old LeeFest model and committing to the Neverworld concept (It’s really scary and difficult trying to change everything ten years in!)

6. Meeting loads of amazing people on the way that have contributed so much energy and so many awesome ideas to help it grow and improve!

remembering that there’s always more.

Always more to do, always more to create, always more to discover.

Neverworld is our attempt to build a space to encourage that.

How do you see the festival evolving over the next few years?

.You’ll be able to catch up with Declan McKenna at Neverworld too. S.

Neverworld Lee Denny

you.

Hey Lee, how’s it going? It must be a crazy busy time of year for

Yep! It’s full 15hr days already, but it’s an exciting time as it’s starting to really pick up momentum. It feels like three years of very hard work developing the Neverworld concept is starting to make sense; that’s keeping us going!

How’s Neverworld shaping up so far? Do you still have lots to sort, bands to book?

We’ve kept a few slots open for developing artists that we discover in the next few months, but most of the lineup is signed back in Autumn.

How do you go about curating your line-up?

Bastille are going to be great this year.

It’s much harder work than you’d expect (at least much harder than I thought when I was 16!). There are over 150

performances now, so it takes a whole team; each person is very knowledgeable about their specialist area. We start immediately after the festival; going to meet with agents to see what established artists are going to be up to next year; then we all pick up new music from blogs, from industry networks and going to see shows in London and Brighton.

What prompted the shift from LeeFest to Neverworld?

LeeFest was an amazing story and an incredible start to our community, but we felt it was kind of limiting in the experience that we could deliver to attendees. As we progressed, we started looking for a way to take the atmosphere LeeFest created to the next level.

Festivals are just tiny utopian societies that you build for one weekend; it’s such a crazy idea.

There’s not a single remnant from them once they’re gone, apart from the effects they’ve had on the people.

Our guiding mantra is Never Grow Old. To us, that means

I always thought this was kind of out of my hands.

Neverworld is a significant, worldwide community now and as much as I can guide it, I can’t really dictate the exact direction.

The structure of the three realms was intended to support contributions from lots of different people with unique ideas; hopefully, that leads to lots of cool new developments on the ground in the years to come!

If our previous growth is anything to go by then, it’s going to be a hectic few years for me trying to keep up with it!

What advice would you give someone who wanted to get into putting on events like Neverworld?

I have to admit that a) I still don’t really know what I’m doing and b) The things I’ve learnt really aren’t that glamorous or interesting. My main advice for building anything is to just try something out, cock it up, learn from it and then repeat that process!

Neverworld takes place from 2nd - 5th August at John Darlings Farm, Kent.

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my favourite artists on the bill, as well as many I promote at Goldenvoice, so it’s very hard to say!

I would probably have to say LCD Soundsystem though, as they have been the soundtrack to many a night since first hearing them in a club in Brighton.

.Champs of festival season 2017, Glass Animals are back this summer at All Points East. S.

All Points East Laura Davidson

get into?

Hi Laura, how did you get involved in live events, was it a difficult line to

I blagged it! I went to music college in Brighton and started putting on some mates’ bands.

I continued when I left, and started branching out, booking other Brighton bands, and then would try my luck to book new bands I’d heard. Back then, there was no MySpace even, so I would pretend I was a club DJ and get sent all the new releases in the post. If I liked a band, I’d try to track down a contact, and start calling agents. I somehow managed to book Kasabian, The Killers, Arctic Monkeys when they first came to Brighton. I was risking my own money so learned very quickly. I think it’s actually quite an easy line to get into, but it takes a bit of guts/ stupidity, and to meet the right people who are willing to help you early on. I still work with people now who supported me 46

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back then.

What prompted the launch of All Points East, and when did you start putting the event together?

Since moving to AEG Presents/ Goldenvoice three years ago, we have always wanted to launch a London festival for our artists to play, and have been looking for a suitable location and opportunity. When Victoria Park came up, and we found out we won the tender, we were over the moon as it is the perfect site for what we had in mind! We found out in July, and got to work straight away!

What are the main challenges to putting on a festival like this?

It is very competitive, with many festivals wanting to book a lot of the same acts, and having wide exclusivities.

There are enough great artists around though!

The line-up for 2018 is pretty insane, who are you personally most looking forward to seeing?

Thank you. There are some of

Can you tell us a bit more about the community-focused element?

On the weekdays between the festival and the presents shows, the park will be open for the local community to come and enjoy their park, and what we have on offer. It is half term, and there will be an amazing programme of educational events, music and cinema along with some great local food vendors, so something for the whole family to come and enjoy.

The bars will also be open, serving local craft beer, so it could just be a place to go for a drink after work on a sunny eve.

It is the People’s Park, after all!

What advice would you give others who’d like to work on festivals?

Although I have been to (too) many festivals, this is the first one I have worked on so am still learning myself! Ask me next year once we have done the first one and I’m sure I’ll have some more advice for anyone wanted to work on a festival. P

All Points East takes place from 25th May - 3rd June at Victoria Park, London.

Bushstock

Communion

Hi you lot, tell us about the origins of Bushstock.

The festival was set up around eight years ago. We noticed that North and South London had multi-venue music festivals, but nothing was happening out West. A lot of the bands we worked with, and most of the Communion team lived in West London so we thought we’d give it a go! We also run our monthly club night in West London’s Notting Hill Arts Club, so it was familiar ground.

Do you have a favourite booking from over the years?

Catfish and The Bottlemen headlined Ginglik, a 250 capacity venue, back in 2013.

Sadly, the venue doesn’t exist anymore, but it’s a great example of how people can watch future festival headliners in small, weird and wonderful venues. We’ve also had Bastille, Hozier, and Michael Kiwanuka in previous years playing in front of very small crowds.

What advice would you give others who’d like to work on live events like Bushstock?

Stewarding and working on accreditation is a great way to get into live events. Try and make friends with people who are also working on the festival as no doubt, they’ll be able to introduce you to more contacts within live music.

There’s a great community of stewards and volunteers looking to get into the festival scene and everyone tries to help each other out. P

Kendal Calling Emma Zillman Hey Emma, how did you get into working on festivals?

I spent eight years in various unfulfilling media jobs, before a good friend helping me through a quarterlife crisis hooked me up with working on a tiny festival in the New Forest.

It completely took over my life – I loved it! A few months later I introduced myself to Kendal Calling director Andy Smith in a bar in Brighton, and the rest is history. Without any prior experience, I pretty much relied on passion and determination.

It’s incredible how quickly Kendal Calling seems to sell out every year, what do you think is key to its success?

There is just something for everyone at KC. From secret sets from headliners in a 200 cap cabin (Tim Peaks) to hidden disco ball bars in the woods and performances spanning everything from Brian Wilson to Snoop Dogg, I just don’t think people ever get bored there. It’s not unusual for people to come alone and leave with a gang of new lifelong friends.

Tell us about how you choose bands to book, what do you look for?

We sell so many tickets before we release the line-up, that I ultimately want to please the audience that have shown so much faith in us. So I generally go for a mix of bands with singalong back catalogues and new artists making a splash, while covering as many genres as possible. It’s fun to throw in a few curveballs too, like the African Gospel Choir last year singing Paul Simon’s Graceland.

And I go to a lot of gigs! It’s all about the live performance.

People just want to be entertained at the end of the day.

You must have to deal with lots of difficult musicians and agents, have you had your share of outrageous demands?

I couldn’t possibly name names, but one of my favourite ever requests from a certain DJ was that the security working the tent prepared a poem and dance routine for them.

Outrageous rider requests are the best though – I wish someone would make a book of them! P

Kendal Calling takes place from 26th-29th July at Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District.

.Kendal is calling to Yonaka this year. S.

Bushstock takes place on 23rd June in various venues around Shepherd’s Bush, London.

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2000trees & ArcTanGent James Scarlett

organised! Honestly, we didn’t have a clue what we were doing at the start – enthusiasm and hard work were all we relied on.

Hey James, how’s it going?

You must be super, super busy at the moment, right?

Do you have big plans for the future of 2000trees and ArcTanGent, too?

All is great thanks. I’m really buzzing about our festivals this year. Shellac at ArcTanGent and At The Drive In at 2000trees are definitely career highlights for me, and unless I manage to book Deftones and the Mars Volta in the future then I really don’t think things could be better!

But yeah, everything is very busy at 2000trees Towers right now.

What prompted you to start 2000trees and ArcTanGent, and how did you go about it?

I used to have a “normal” business job in London which I absolutely hated, and I’d never worked in the music industry.

However, I was pretty obsessed with music and festivals, so me and my five best mates just thought “we could do this better than Reading” and 2000trees was then born. We just went for it, and the crazy thing is that 2000trees was the first gig or event that I ever

We have big plans for sure, but not in the sense of making the festivals bigger and bigger until we ruin them. That’s inevitably what happens with music festivals that are successful, and that is 100% not what we will be doing. I’m already talking to headliners for next year, and it’s looking very exciting so watch this space.

What advice would you give others who’d like to work on live events?

It’s all about getting stuck in and working hard. Don’t stand there watching – just go for it and get your hands dirty.

Being DIY is the most fulfilling thing for me, and I think my favourite day of every year is putting up the fencing at 2000trees. So don’t sit around watching others doing the hard work! P

2000trees takes place from 12th-14th July at Upcote Farm near Cheltenham, and ArcTanGent from 17th-19th August at Fernhill Farm near Bristol.

Standon Calling

Alex Trenchard

How did you start working on Standon Calling then?

Standon Calling started out as a small event for 500 people who were friends or friends of friends. That first year we had such a great time, and I loved the addictive buzz of being able to organise something that gave people so much joy. I well and truly caught the festival bug and haven’t got over it since!

What’s a typical day like for you in the lead up to the event?

As you might expect, it’s busy and pretty varied. Working with my team to book big acts, find new talent we’re excited by and generally curate a festival programme we’re proud of. I visit our festival site regularly, constantly looking at changes and improvements to the layout and operation of the festival itself to make sure our audience have the best time.

What’s the biggest challenge the festival has had to contend with during its time?

In the first year of the festival, our Main Stage blew away!

Thankfully, we’ve come a long way since then.

You’ve loads of great bands playing this year, what or who do you think will be the highlight for 2018?

I’m really excited to have a local act, George Ezra, headlining the festival on Saturday night, and Goldfrapp will be a stand-out moment. P

.Pale Waves are set to storm Standon Calling. S.

Standon Calling takes place from 26th-29th July in Hertfordshire.

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.Idles. S.

Are You Listening?

Festival Fact File

We don’t have a strict ‘problem’ with festivals being run for profit - hey, we’re not a charity, kids - but when an event is doing Actual Good for Actual People in the local community, then it’s worth celebrating in our book. So, with that in mind, well-bloody-done to Are You Listening? Festival, which has consistently raised cash for Reading Mencap by hosting some of the best live acts on the planet on a lovely spring afternoon.

This year, there’s loads to get excited about - especially Idles, one of the most inflammatory live acts on the planet right now. On the road to their second album later this year, they’re taking one of the headline slots. They’re ones not to miss this festival season.

. Lily Allen. S.

Win! Mighty Hoopla

TICKETS

All these festivals have the same line-ups, they cry. The same bands, in the same slots, playing the same stuff to the same people. Yeah - not at Mighty Hoopla. Packed with some of the most ridiculously fun pop on the planet, you’re not gonna catch the Vengabus to Reading & Leeds, now are you?

A “celebration of London’s alternative club culture”, pop doyens Sink The Pink and Guilty Pleasures host the main stages with the third stage programmed by The Grand, the South London home to so many experiential club nights.

The bill includes TLC (yes, TLC!), Lily Allen, B*Witched, Five, Louise, Melanie C and loads more gloriously joyous names. No Kings of Leon, either. Everyone’s a winner.

Location: Reading, UK Date: 28th April 2018 Tickets: areyoulistening.org.uk Cost: £22.50 Line-up: Idles, Field Music, The Lovely Eggs, The Surfing Magazines, Her’s, Slug + more

Festival Fact File

Location: London, UK Date: 3rd June 2018 Tickets: mightyhoopla.com Cost: £40 Line-up: TLC, Lily Allen, Belinda Carlisle, Betty Who, Boyzlife, B*Witched, Five, Louise, Louisa Johnson, Mel Blatt, Melanie C, MNEK, Vengaboys + more

Go to readdork.com to win tickets!

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Local knowledge

Drahla’s

Wakey extravaganza Long Division returns this year with a jam-packed schedule of top bands, and a spiffy new arts and culture programme. Heading over? Here’s local troupe Drahla’s guide to Wakefield.

guide to Wakefield

Eyewood

Eyewood is a vintage shop owned by our good friends Nat and Robin; they have a darkroom upstairs which is where we printed all our rayograms for the ‘Third Article’ EP pre-orders. They always have great things in stock, but above all, they’re amazing people to be around.

Silver Spice

Silver Spice is a cafe in town serving Pakistani food. The food is amazing here, really good prices and the people who run it are super friendly.

Red Shed

Red Shed is a red shed. A little pub we did our first gig in for our friend Cowie. Worth a visit if you want a super cheap beer in an unassuming location.

Wah Wah Records

Wah Wah is an independent record shop on Brook Street just off The Springs. It boasts a great selection of new and second-hand vinyl / CDs / tapes of all genres. Run by Alan, he’ll happily order in if they don’t have what you want and he has a wealth of musical knowledge

if you want to pick his brains about anything. He also supports local indie labels by stocking the releases alongside the usual stock. Great guy, great shop!

Inns of Court

We’ve all been going here since we were pretty young (too young...). It’s a no-frills pub with a hard rock jukebox and a pool table. Run by legends Trish and Dave you’ll always see a friendly face in there at pretty much all times of the day.

They put on gigs now and again and have always supported the local music scene. It’s just behind the town hall on King Street. Find the time at Long Division and nip in for a swift, it’s essential.

Wakefield Beer Exchange

.The Hepworth Gallery S. 50

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Another pub, Beer Ex is a pretty cool laid back bar with loads of real ales on tap, a good spot for later on in the evening. Wide selection of nuts and pork pies.

Festival Fact File

.Wakefield Beer Exchange S.

Location: Wakefield, UK Date: 1st-3rd June 2018 Tickets: longdivisionfestival.co.uk Cost: £25 Line-up: Billy Bragg, Charlotte Hatherley, Drahla, King Creosote, Napoleon IIIrd, Peaness, The Surfing Magazines, Team Picture, Cape Club, The Lovely Eggs, Colour of Spring, Mush + more

They also have a rotating art exhibition and DJs select nights of the month. Our friends Nat (Eyewood) have a residency here, and Stringer (Piskie Sits).

The Hepworth Gallery

Hepworth is a really amazing gallery that recently won Museum of the Year. The building’s great and they have some incredible exhibitions.

They recently had a JW Anderson exhibition which was great. A 10-minute walk from town, free in, well worth a visit.

Rob Dee Stokes. Rob runs indie label Philophobia Music when he’s not hosting quizzes! Check out the Jolly and check out Philophobia Music.

Warehouse 23

Warehouse 23 is a fantastic venue on Smyth street. We’re

playing there at LD! It’s got the best sound engineer this side of anywhere in Neil ‘Harry’ Harrison. You’ll struggle to not visit this 800+ venue on 2nd June. P

Drahla play Long Division (1st-3rd June).

Viva Pizza

Pizza takeout, the chicken wings are great. An end of the night sensation.

Jolly Tap

The Jolly is a relatively new pub on the corner of North Gate / Cross Street. It’s a cool little bar that has a fortnightly quiz hosted by local super legend

.Jolly Tap S. DOWN WITH BORING

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.Drenge. S. Festival Fact File

Handmade

Location: Leicester, UK Date: 5th-6th May 2018 Tickets: handmadefestival.co.uk Cost: £45 Handmade Festival will return to Leicester’s O2 Academy for two days of music, comedy, art, film, performance and photography. It’s all going on, with some of Dork’s fave bands too - from ‘where on earth have you been’ Drenge, to ‘one of the best debuts of last year’ The Big Moon, plus Circa Waves, Spector, Phobophobes, and - well - all the lovely bands you can read about in the list to your right. As well as all the top-notch acts, for the first time Handmade will also be introducing The Handmade Conference. Taking place on the Friday before the festival itself, Handmade will present a programme of talks and discussions about the music industry and more. Exciting stuff.

. Arctic Monkeys. S.

Win! Trnsmt

TICKETS

One of the highlights of Scotland’s music calendar, TRNSMT Festival returns this summer to bring a showstopping line-up to Glasgow city centre, with headliners Stereophonics, Liam Gallagher, Arctic Monkeys (who’ll have a new album to show off by then, too), Queen + Adam Lambert, and The Killers at Glasgow Green from 29th June–1st July, 6th July and 8th July.

Taking place over two weekends for the first time, TRNSMT will also host some of Dork’s fave bands lower down the bill, including Sigrid, Declan McKenna, Friendly Fires, CHVRCHES and Wolf Alice - and thanks to festival organisers DF Concerts, we have a pair of Sunday 1st July (yes, Arctic Monkeys) tickets to give away, too. Nice one.

Line-Up: Circa Waves, Drenge, The Big Moon, Idles, Future Of The Left, Spector, Spook School, The Orielles, Anteros, Weirds, Indoor Pets, Easy Life, Phobophones, Gender Roles, Sports Team, The Wytches, Genghar, Her’s + more

Festival Fact File

Location: Glasgow, UK Date: 29th June-1st July, 6th July, 8th July 2018 Tickets: trnsmtfest.com Cost: £260 (five days) Line-up: Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Queen + Adam Lambert, Liam Gallagher, Stereophonics, Wolf Alice, Blossoms, Declan McKenna, CHVRCHES, Friendly Fires, Franz Ferdinand, Jessie Ware, James Bay + more

Go to readdork.com to win tickets!

End Of The Road

.St. Vincent. S.

End of the Road come joint first with Reading & Leeds for the best bill-topping duo of 2018, with Vampire Weekend and St. Vincent (R&L have Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco, swoon). Either one of those two acts would have had us excited, but combined they’re a real force to be reckoned with. Add in that this year’s weekender marks the only place you’ll find Vampy Weeks on the UK festival circuit plus who knows, maybe they’ll have new material by then - and it’s really going to be something special. Full to the brim with the kind of acts that are generally accompanied by the words “critically acclaimed”, “masterpiece” and “profound”, there’s also (Sandy) Alex G, John Cale, Yo La Tengo, Hookworms and third headliner, Feist.

.The Magic Gang. S.

Festival Fact File

Location: Larmar Tree Gardens, UK Date: 30th August - 2nd September 2018 Tickets: endoftheroadfestival. com Cost: £195 Line-Up: Vampire Weekend, St. Vincent, Feist, Ezra Furman, Jeff Tweedy, John Cale, Gruff Rhys, Julia Holter, Josh T. Pearson, Hookworms, (Sandy) Alex G, Shame, Julien Baker + more

Festival Fact File

110 Above

Location: Leicestershire, UK Date: 3rd-5th August 2018 Tickets: 110above.com Cost: £85

If you’re a fan of ‘the kind of bands Dork likes’, then you’ll struggle to do better than the line-up for this summer’s 110 Above festival. Last year’s event was a bobby dazzler, and this year’s looks even more ‘up our street’.

It’s not just the headliners (Fickle Friends, Peace, Blaenavon and The Magic Gang) that look picked from our dark, twisted indie brains. The supporting bill features the likes of Marika Hackman, Ten Tonnes, Freak, Bloxx, Anteros, Sea Girls, Ten Tonnes and loads, loads more. If an atom bomb was to go off in Leicestershire this August, we’d probably have more important things to worry about than the death of the entire UK indie scene, but it’d still be unfortunate.

Line-up: Fickle Friends, Peace, Blaenavon, The Magic Gang, Marika Hackman, High Tyde, Saint Raymond, Jade Bird, Ten Tonnes, Freak, Bloxx, Sea Girls, Eliza And The Bear, the Beach, Flyte, Anteros, Judas, Haus, Marsicans, Deco, Hey Charlie, Rascalaton, Spinn, Youth Club, Keir, Seafret, Airways, Idle Frets, Low Island + more

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Festival Fact File

Neverworld

Someone

out there

If you’re looking for inventive, less super-sized festivals this summer, you’ll struggle to find better than Kent’s Neverworld. Spun out of the long-standing LeeFest, it’s packed with exciting acts like Bastille, Declan McKenna and Rae Morris. We caught up with the latter to find out what we should expect.

Hey Rae, it feels like you haven’t stopped for ages now, are you super busy post-album release?

It’s been a super busy time, yeah, but I love it being like this; everything feels fresh and tingly. You start to exist on a high of adrenaline. I’m still finding pockets of time at home which is important too.

How do you prepare for a summer on the road?

The great thing about festivals is that you do get to come back in between most of them, so it’s less daunting than packing for a huge tour. I try to pack lighter so I can be more spontaneous.

You never know if you can stay on in a place for an extra night or stay over at that festival!

Are you going to any festivals this year that you aren’t playing, just for fun?

I’d love to go to a festival in the sunshine somewhere. I always see pictures of people at hot festivals and can’t imagine what it must be like without the rain and mud. Hopefully, I can squeeze one in last minute.

What’s your favourite

festival memory?

Playing on the Park Stage at Glastonbury in 2015 was a massive life highlight. That whole Glasto experience was amazing. Watching Kanye on the Saturday night and The Who on the Sunday night with my Dad, aka their biggest fan, were special moments.

Where are we most likely to find you at a festival?

Definitely out in the main field lingering near the food trucks, watching people, taking it in.

What’s the best tip for making festivals fun?

I don’t like to be too strict with myself about catching every moment of every band’s set because that can become a bit of a chore, but there’s no better feeling than being perfectly on time to see someone you love.

I think deciding with friends/ family before you go what the priority gigs are is a good idea.

What’s it like being up on stage in the middle of the afternoon, in front of thousands of faces?

It’s a very surreal thing. If they’re happy faces, it’s

Location: Hever, UK Date: 2nd-5th August 2018 Tickets: neverworld.co.uk Cost: £130 Line-up: Bastille, Clean Bandit, Declan McKenna, Tom Grennan, Sub Focus, Rae Morris, We Are Scientists, Girli, whenyoung, Lucia, The Ninth Wave, Honey Lung, Estrons + more

the best thing in the world.

Festivals bring everyone together. You talk to strangers and make friends with your neighbours. It really feels like a chance to put things right for a minute.

What’s a typical day like for you playing a festival?

You’d mostly set off from the previous night’s hotel or from home around 10/11am (not bad) and head there in the van or bus. Because you can’t sound check usually, there’s way more free time for eating lunch and roaming the fields. Often you see mates in other bands and catch up with them. Then the gig time will come around, and drinks will flow!

Who else should we be checking out at festivals this year?

I wouldn’t even know where to begin! There are so many people I don’t even know about. That’s the whole point of festivals in my opinion. Let yourself drift into tents and discover new music. P

Rae Morris plays Neverworld (2nd-5th August).

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Once upon a time...

Festival stories Everyone likes chatting about festivals, right? Amazing bands, packed-out tents, international escapes - they’re the highlights of many a music fan’s summer.

So, Dork’s been collecting stories from years gone by. It started out innocent enough, with cute tales from childhood, balmy nights and lovely holidays, but soon descended into disastrous anecdotes about urinals and musicians crying themselves to sleep.

Sorry, ‘the bands’.

“When my parents took me to festivals as a child I remember having a shoe obsession. I would go outside people’s tents and steal their shoes. I do remember this one guy whose wellies I took. He found me and gave me a penny whistle because I was really attached to them...” - Fenne

Lily

“I had a lot of fun last year; I like when you turn up at festivals you’ve never played before. My favourite one, I didn’t expect much from it because I didn’t know it; it turned out to be like a massive crowd of 10,000 people. It’s kind of a shock sometimes; it’s always nerve-wracking because you don’t know what you’re walking out to. It could be like three people, or 10,000.

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from ‘ the bands’

It’s kind of thrilling, I suppose.” - Kate Nash

“I will never forget Rock in Vienna 2016. We had such an amazing time.

We had done a long summer of festivals all over Europe, and this was one of the festivals where we had all said, ‘Yeah, let’s go and party for the weekend’. We got to see Biffy play the first day and then met them and hung out all evening, which was so cool.” - Will,

Black Peaks

“I did Wireless in London when my first album came out. It was surreal; I played on the same stage as Willow and Jaden Smith. Drake was backstage, and I stood two meters away from him. I was very indie back then, just a weird kid from Sweden, thinking, ‘What am I doing standing next to Drake, why are they rapping about geometry? I don’t know where I am’. That was really fun.”

- Tove Styrke

“The most embarrassing thing to happen to us last year was me having to play to 1500 people in my pyjamas because I lost a game of Odds with Counterparts’ tour manager. I think most people just thought it was a

bizarre fashion statement.”

- Tom, Casey

“We got stuck in the mud at Glastonbury 2016. It was a very wet year, and we’d had enough. We’d been there for ages, and after LCD Soundsystem played (they were incredible, btw), we were all in agreement to get the hell outta there. Then the van just sank into the mud. Some people came past us and got stuck next to us, so we struck up a deal where we would help them and then they’d come back and help us. So after like 15-20 mins of pushing them to safety (I know I’m exaggerating, but you weren’t there so shut up), those muthafuckas just drove they asses away. We all fell in the mud so many times trying to push the van out.” - Callum,

Bad Sounds

“Will never forget when we played Leeds Festival, and we were playing ‘1949’, one of our slowest songs ever. It was coming up to Joe’s guitar solo and all of a sudden the whole left side of the stage cut out. Me and James were left without any power and Joe had to do his solo all on his own. It turns out a photographer had trod on one of the plugs and ended up pulling it out - our tour manager went crazy. It’s

something hard to forget, Savins soloing to a crowd of over 10,000 on his lonesome.

He says it was awkward, but I bet deep down he loved the spotlight.” - Sam, Mallory

Knox

“My most embarrassing festival story was probably when I was feeling out of sorts and then mistook the exit to a festival for a men’s’ urinal and funnily enough met a guy in there who became my boyfriend - we went and watched Patti Smith... tres romantic.” - Star,

Geowulf

“We were playing a packed room of 400 people at a festival in France. I walked on stage to a roaring crowd and realised I had forgotten my bass guitar in the dressing room. I waved, turned around, ran back, grabbed it and jumped down the stairs to the stage. Danio and Pietro laughed for a week.

In my defence, I was a bit tipsy.” - Tommaso, Husky

Loops

“I had a nice wee chat with James Hetfield one year at Download. We were playing a smaller stage (obviously) with my old band, and we worked out that we overlapped by about ten minutes, so I asked him if Metallica wouldn’t mind starting with a few rubbish ones so all our crowd wouldn’t go running off and miss the end of our set. He was very sweet, but sadly they played all bangers, as they do every show, so ultimately he let me down.” - Jamie

Lenman

“I can’t believe I’m telling you this but fuck it, it’s long enough ago! About eight years ago I woke up fully clothed in a puddle of my own pee in the front section of my tent at Glastonbury. Quite impressed I made it back there, to be honest. Then had to pack the tent down with my mate and run to the other side of the site to catch our bus which left an hour after I regained consciousness. Made the bus!

Had a crap shift working my supermarket job later that day.”

- Ren, Petrol Girls

“The last time we were at Glastonbury, we were going to Shangri-La on the Sunday night. We accidentally lost Oli before the barriers. Me and Rob then got completely lost after trying to blag our way in everywhere to ‘see where it might take us’ and ended up with all the outlandishly dressed performers. Oli had a nap on a carpet somewhere in the Healing Fields, and we left Cale dancing to dubstep in a cave. It was a very surreal night.” - James, Marsicans “The year we opened the Other Stage at Glastonbury was quite surreal. We were playing on the Sunday, but decided to go for the weekend. It was the rainiest Glastonbury in 50 years, so you can probably imagine the state of us by 9am on Sunday.

The van got stuck in the mud (which had to be towed by a tractor) making us late for load in time. Laura was a nervous wreck, so decided she’d walk there instead (we were all too dead to realise that her PJs had gone see-through with the

rain). She couldn’t find the backstage access, so rocks up to the stage’s front barrier - a drowned rat, covered in mud.

The stage manager didn’t believe her when she said she was performing in 50 minutes…” - Anteros “There was one festival where the power went out in the middle of our set.

It sucked at first because it was just so awkward, but we made the best of the situation and tried entertaining the crowd by talking with them. We even had Lydia’s little brother come on stage and attempt to play the drums.” - Sage, The

Regrettes

“It was my birthday eve a few years ago, and we were at Groezrock. We walked from our tent into the main bit with our sleeping bags because we were going to get a shuttle to our friends’ hotel and sleep on their floor.

The shuttles had stopped running at that hour and so back off to our tent we went.

When we got back I realised I’d left my sleeping bag behind someone’s merch table because I was mingling like nobody’s business. I walked to the merch tent, but it was closed coz it was like 4am. I walked back to the tent and squeezed myself in between my two pals, but I couldn’t get to sleep because I was an ice cube. I began to cry and contemplate my life. After a few hours, I thought ‘sod it’ and walked around for a bit. I found a strange bloke outside his tent with a sleeping bag strewn across a camping chair.

I sat in the bag in the chair in total silence for hours and thought, ‘Why me?’” - Lande,

Muncie Girls

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...and all of this YOU THOUGHT THAT WAS IT? NAH MATE. THERE’S ALL THIS TOO

Wrong Festival Location: Liverpool, UK Date: 28th April 2018 Tickets: wrongfestival.com Line-up: Future of the Left, Damo Sazuki, Gnod, Conan, Hey Colossus, Kagoule, Sex Swing, Spectres Hit The North Location: Newcastle, UK Date: 4th-6th May 2018 Tickets: hitthenorthfestival.co.uk Line-up: Peace, The Horrors, Jungle, Circa Waves, Drenge, British Sea power, Marmozets, Blaenavon Teddy Rocks Location: Dorset, UK Date: 4th-6th May 2018 Tickets: teddyrocks.co.uk Line-up: MC Lars, Press To MECO, Grumble Bee, Woes, Feeder, Mallory Knox, Turbowolf, INK, Ash, The Magic Numbers, Spector Sound City Location: Liverpool, UK Date: 4th-6th May 2018 Tickets: soundcity.uk.com Line-up: Peace, DMA’s, The Slow Readers Club, IDLES, Black Honey, Superorganism, Jaws, Wye Oak, The Night Cafe Stag And Dagger Location: Glasgow, UK Date: 6th May 2018 Tickets: staganddagger.co.uk Line-up: Glasvegas, Bo Ningen, 58

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Protomartyt, Pulled Apart By Horses, The Slow Readers Club, Wire, Yak Bearded Theory Location: Derbyshire, UK Date: 24th-27th May 2018 Tickets: beardedtheory.co.uk Line-up: Robert Plant, Jimmy Cliff, Blossoms, The Coral, Sleeper, Sleaford Mods, IDLES, Jake Bugg, Dub Pistols Dot To Dot Location: Manchester, Bristol, Nottingham, UK Date: 25th-27th May 2018 Tickets: dottodotfestival.co.uk Line-up: The Horrors, Dermot Kennedy, Pale Waves, Marika Hackman, Turnover, Bad Sounds, Gus Dapperton, The Regrettes Common People Location: Oxford, Southampton, UK Date: 26th-27th May 2018 Tickets: commonpeople.net Line-up: Oxford: The Jacksons, James, Ride, Sparks, Honeyblood; Southampton: Lily Allen, James, Sparks, All Saints, The Jacksons Love Saves The Day Location: Bristol, UK Date: 26th-27th May 2018 Tickets: lovesavestheday.org Line-up: Fat Boy Slim, Sampha, Loyle Carner, Tom Misch, Rate, Mabel, Four Tet, Joy Orbison, Smerz, House Gospel Choir

Neighbourhood Location: Warrington, UK Date: 26th-27th May 2018 Tickets: nbhdweekender.com Line-up: Courteeners, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Jake Bugg, Blossoms, Kodaline, Circa Waves, Editors, The Coral We Are FSTVL Location: Essex, UK Date: 26th-28th May 2018 Tickets: wearefstvl.com Line-up: Andy C, Carl Cox, DJ EZ, Gorgon City, Sigma, Sub Focus, Eric Prydz, Jamie Jones, MK, Big Shaq, Dubfire, Bugzy Malone Field Day Location: London, UK Date: 1st-2nd June 2018 Tickets: fielddayfestivals.com Line-up: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Daphni, Nao, Earl Sweatshirt, Floating Points, Fever Ray, Loyle Carner, Four Tet, Mr Jukes Camden Rocks Location: London, UK Date: 2nd June 2018 Tickets: camdenrocksfestival.com Line-up: Maximo Park, PiL, Twin Atlantic, Sikth, British Sea Power, The Rifles, Mallory Knox, Hacktivist, Dead!, SHVPES Eden Sessions Location: Cornwall, UK Date: 6th June-7th July 2018 Tickets: edensessions.com Line-up: Ben Howard, Gary Barlow,

Massive Attack, Queens of the Stone Age, Jack Johnson, Bjork, A Beautiful Day Out Parklife Location: Manchester, UK Date: 9th-10th June 2018 Tickets: parklife.uk.com Line-up: The xx, Liam Gallagher, Skepta, NERD, Lorde, Bonobo, Jamie XX, Giggs, A$AP Rocky, Justice, CHVRCHES, J Hus Meltdown Location: London, UK Date: 15th-24th June 2018 Tickets: southbankcentre.co.uk Line-up: 65daysofstatic, Placebo, The Libertines, Manic Street Preachers, Mogwai, Nine Inch Nails, My Bloody Valentine Isle Of Wight Location: Isle of Wight, UK Date: 21st-24th June 2018 Tickets: isleofwightfestival.com Line-up: Kasabian, Depeche Mode, The Killers, Liam Gallagher, Manic Street Preachers, The Script, James Bay, Blossoms Bushstock Location: London, UK Date: 23rd June 2018 Tickets: bushstock.co.uk Line-up: Stereo Honey, King No-One, Haus, Grace Carter, Feet, Aquilo, Sam Fender, Billie Marten, Flyte, Aurora Community Location: London, UK Date: 1st July 2018 Tickets: communityfestival.london Line-up: Two Door Cinema Club, The Vaccines, You Me At Six, Circa Waves, Tom Grennan, Pale Waves, Bad Sounds, King Nun, Ten Tonnes

Blisscamp Location: Hampshire, UK Date: 5th-8th July 2018 Tickets: blissfields.co.uk Line-up: Gold Panda, Baxter Dury, Mr Jukes, Beans on Toast, Slamboree, Dub Pistols, Pink Kink, Too Many T’s NASS Location: Somerset, UK Date: 5th-8th July 2018 Tickets: nassfestival.com Line-up: Dizzy Rascal, Run DMC, De La Soul, Stefflon Don, Bugzy Malone, Vic Mensa, Andy C, Sigma, Damian “Jr Gong” Marley Wireless Location: London, UK Date: 6th-8th July 2018 Tickets: wirelessfestival.co.uk Line-up: J. Cole, Post Malone, Mabel, Wiley, Stormzy, Migos, J Hus, DJ Khaled, Giggs, Cardi B, Rae Sremmurd BST Location: London, UK Date: 6th-15th July Tickets: bst-hydepark.com Line-up: Roger Waters, The Cure, Eric Clapton, Michael Buble, Bruno Mars, Interpol, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Goldfrapp Lovebox Location: London, UK Date: 13th-14th July 2018 Tickets: loveboxfestival.com Line-up: Childish Gambino, Skepta, NERD, Diplo, Annie Mac, Vince Staples, Mura Masa, The Internet, Dave, Action Bronson Beat-Herder Location: Oxford, UK Date: 13th-15th July 2018

Tickets: beatherder.co.uk Line-up: Orbital, Soulwax, Django Django, Dave Rodigan, Dreadzone, Hollie Cook, Hookworms, Pins, S Club, Mellah Bluedot Location: Cheshire, UK Date: 19th-22nd July 2018 Tickets: discoverthebluedot.com Line-up: The Chemical Brothers, The Flaming Lips, Future Islands, Public Service Broadcasting, Gary Numan, Little Dragon Larmer Tree Location: Oxford, UK Date: 19th-22nd July 2018 Tickets: larmertreefestival.co.uk Line-up: First Aid Kit, Jake Bugg, Public Service Broadcasting, Tune-Yards, Nick Mulvey, Songhoy Blues, Nadine Shah Deer Shed Location: Yorkshire, UK Date: 20th-22nd July 2018 Tickets: deershedfestival.com Line-up: Goldfrapp, Drenge, Field Music, Public Service Broadcasting, Gaz Coombes, Joan As Police Woman Tramlines Location: Sheffield, UK Date: 20th-22nd July 2018 Tickets: tramlines.org.uk Line-up: Stereophonics, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Craig David, Clean Bandit, Blossoms, De La Soul, Jake Bugg Splendour Location: Nottingham, UK Date: 21stJuly 2018 Tickets: splendourfestival.com Line-up: Paloma Faith, The Charlatans, Marc Almond, Embrace, Peace, The Stranglers, Ady Suleiman DOWN WITH BORING

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Camp Bestival Location: Dorset, UK Date: 26th-29th July 2018 Tickets: campbestival.net Line-up: Simple Minds, Rick Astley, Clean Bandit, Orbital, Basement Jaxx, Rae Morris, Declan McKenna, Shed Seven, Dub Pistols Kendal Calling Location: Kendal, UK Date: 26th-29th July 2018 Tickets: kendalcalling.co.uk Line-up: Catfish & The Bottlemen, The Libertines, Run DMC, James, Shed Seven, Ocean Colour Scene, James, The Sherlocks Standon Calling Location: Hertfordshire, UK Date: 26th-29th July 2018 Tickets: standon-calling.com Line-up: Paloma Faith, George Ezra, Bryan Ferry, Goldfrapp, Django Django, The Horrors, Gaz Coombes, Shame, Gengahr Indie Tracks Location: Derbyshire, UK Date: 27th-29th July 2018 Tickets: indietracks.co.uk Line-up: British Sea Power, Honeyblood, The Lovely Eggs, Dream Wife, Girl Ray, Darren Hayman, Gwenno, Anna Burch Leopallooza Location: Cornwall, UK Date: 27th-29th July 2018 Tickets: leopallooza.com Line-up: Tom Grennan, Rat Boy, The Go! Team, IDLES, Life, Dead!, King No-One, Bryde, Husky Loops, Her’s, Bad Nerves Wilderness Location: Oxfordshire, UK 60

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Date: 2nd-5th August 2018 Tickets: wildernessfestival.com Line-up: Chic, Bastille, Jon Hopkins, Baxter Dury, !!!, IAMDDB, Palace, Confidence Man, Stereo Honey, Groove Armada Visions Location: Oxford, UK Date: 4th August 2018 Tickets: visionsfestival.com Line-up: IDLES, HMLTD, Chastity Belt, Nilufer Tanya, Laura Misch, Girlhood, Sports Team, Duds, Black Midi, Honey Harper Boardmasters Location: Newquay, UK Date: 8th-12th August 2018 Tickets: boardmasters.co.uk Line-up: Catfish & the Bottlemen, The Chemical Brothers, George Ezra, Years & Years, Friendly Fires, Everything Everything ArcTanGent Location: Somerset, UK Date: 16th-18th August 2018 Tickets: arctangent.co.uk Line-up: Glassjaw, Shellac, ASIWYFA, La Dispute, Arcane Roots, Jamie Lenman, Pianos Become The Teeth, Rolo Tomassi Creamfields Location: Cheshire, UK Date: 23rd-26th August 2018 Tickets: creamfields.com Line-up: The Chainsmokers, Fat Boy Slim, Annie Mac, Maya Jane Coles, Mistajam, Sigma, Sub Focus, Pete Tong, Stefflon Don Sea Change Location: Devon, UK Date: 24th-25th August 2018 Tickets: seachangefestival.co.uk Line-up: Hookworms, Gwenno, Josh T. Pearson, James Holden & The Animal Spirits, Lost Horizons,

The Weather Station Victorious Location: Portsmouth, UK Date: 24th-26th August 2018 Tickets: victoriousfestival.co.uk Line-up: The Libertines, Kaiser Chiefs, Shed Seven, Paloma Faith, Paul Weller, Brian Wilson, Lightning Seeds, TICKETS Happy Mondays

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Electric Fields

Location: Dumfries & Galloway, UK Date: 5th May 2018 Tickets: electricfieldsfestival.com Line-up: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Leftfield, James, Teenage Fanclub, Young Fathers, Idlewild, Ezra Furman, Ghostpoet Bingley Music Live Location: Bingley, UK Date: 31st August-2nd September 2018 Tickets: bingleymusiclive.com Line-up: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Marmozets, Peace, Pulled Apart By Horses, Rat Boy, The Cribs, The Sherlocks

By The Sea Location: Margate, UK Date: 28th-30th September 2018 Tickets: bytheseafestival.com Line-up: TBC 2Q Location: Leicester, UK Date: 3rd November 2018 Tickets: 2qfestival.co.uk Line-up: TBC

30 VENUES PLUS A BR AND NEW FESTIVAL SITE ON BRIGHTON BE ACH

BAKAR

TELEMAN

DYL AN CARTLIDGE

KAMA AL WILLIAMS

HIMAL AYA S

BØRNS TEN FÉ

HOCKEY DAD K TR AP

FREAK

RINA SAWAYAMA

GUS DAPPERTON

LET’S EAT GR ANDMA SONS OF KEMET

GAIKA

K YARY PAMY U PAMY U FRE YA RIDINGS IGUANA DE ATH CULT

MAHALIA

POPPY AJUDHA

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NILÜFER YANYA

LO MOON

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O CTAVIAN

MILK TEETH

PALE WAVE S

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GIANT PART Y LOT TO BOYZZ

NA AZ

JACK RIVER

EROL ALKAN

KOJEY R ADICAL

HUSKY LOOPS

DERMOT KENNEDY

EASY LIFE

BAD SOUNDS

S H I N E R S

EVES K ARYDA S

PIP BLOM

DIDIRRI

MIK AEL A DAVIS

HER’S

STELL A D ONNELLY

HUNTER & THE BEAR

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DREAM STATE SAMM HENSHAW

SLOWTHAI

MANU CROOKS

TOM GRENNAN

ALMA

BILLY LO CKET T

NINA NESBIT T ROSS FROM FRIENDS (LIVE)

PEACH PIT

BRUNO MAJOR

SAM FENDER

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BLOXX

AMA LOU

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PROMISEL AND

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BENNY MAILS

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AND MANY MORE

Problem solved

The

Don’t panic! Here’s...

Festival Fixer The festival you’re going to is renowned for rubbish food options, so you need to take some snacks. What do you take to see you through the weekend?

3/5th of us are now vegan, so the majority of festivals are especially bad, we always make sure we bring good hummus, and Nakd bars no matter where we play.

You’ve just arrived at the festival and got all pitched up, only to realise the zip to your tent has welded itself shut and you can’t get inside.

Erm, help?

Rip a hole in the side and deal with the draft. Also solves the issue of waking up in a boiling heat-trap at 6am sweltering...

Oh no, you’ve forgotten your wellies and the mud is squelching through your shoes. It’s pretty gross. What do you do?

Stuff always goes wrong at festivals, from finicky tents to dodgy food, figuring out the best route through bands can be the least of your worries.

Thankfully, our mate Natti from Fickle Friends is an old hat at these things, and is here to offer her advice on a set of very, er, specific problems…

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Embrace the mud and enjoy the festival - if it’s a UK festival, then chances are you’re going to get muddy no matter what so you may as well enjoy it.

One of your mates is being super irritating and trying to make you go see loads of boring old tosh. How do you get out of this one?

Remind them there’s a

reason that V Festival got cancelled and force them to go and see some good music.

It’s the second day of the festival, you’re starting to feel a bit smelly and want a quick fix. How do you keep the stench at bay?

Showering at festivals takes away the fun so embrace being a hippy.

Your dickhead tent mate has had a few too many, and scribbled on your face while you were asleep. It’s not coming off.

Let the one-upmanship begin and get them back double.

It’s the final day, and you’ve have had enough - you want to sneak off home to have a bath and watch Netflix, but don’t want to let your mates know you’re kinda lame.

What’s the plan?

Say you’re going to watch a really obscure band play their debut album in its entirety and they won’t wanna see so you can head home.

Fickle Friends play Latitude (12th-15th July), Truck (20th-22nd July), Tramlines (20th-22nd July), Y Not (26th-29th July), Reading & Leeds (24th-26th August)