Virtual Festivals' weekly news round up
Glasto sells out, Slipknot, postponements and Hi De Hi
United Kingdom | by
Daniel Fahey | 06 February 2009
The big news this week is that reformed Britpopers Blur revealed their first UK festival dates of 2009 – headlining
both T In The Park and Oxegen - joining Snow Patrol and Kings Of Leon, who will also play both events. Katy Perry has also been confirmed for T, with The
Script, The Killers and Bloc Party expected to join the line-up soon.
After failing to do so last year,
Glastonbury Festival
sold all of its tickets for 2009, which coincided with Franz Ferdinand letting the world know they'd be joining
the 133,000 fans in Pilton this June by the wonders of their MySpace.
Another act that gave the game away was
Slipknot. The
masked metallers confirmed that they'll be at Download in June on their official website. The
group also announced a series of European dates for 2009, but their expected return to Reading and Leeds hasn't hit
cyberspace just yet, after their appearance at the August events were cancelled last year.
Elsewhere organisers
have been going headliner crazy: The Zutons and Super Furry Animals will both hit
the Sussex Downs for Beachdown Festival this August, as one of the most eclectically original festival
line-ups grows and grows. N*E*R*D will top
the bill at NASS Festival, the only name on the line-up so far, while Enter Shikari and Taking Back Sunday will hit London and Manchester legs of Give It A Name, scuppering
forum rumours that the festival wasn't going ahead this year. Click
here for the other names set to appear.
An event that definitely won't be happening in 2009 is Hydro
Connect, with the economic crisis forcing organisers to postpone
the festival until 2010. "The fact that Connect's audience is arguably affected more by the credit crunch
than some other festival markets, means that it would be foolish for us to expect the growth necessary to help Connect thrive
in 2009," organiser Geoff Ellis conceded.
Over
on Virtual Festivals Europe…
Arctic Monkeys and more announced for Lowlands, The Killers join Franz Ferdinand, Oasis, Kings Of Leon and Paul Weller at Beincassim, Slipknot self-confirmed themselves for Roskilde, Hove
Festivalen and a few others, while Iceland Airwaves looks to be in trouble, despite
a defiant organiser.
In American festival news…
As
predicted on VF, Bruce Springsteen and Phish
were confirmed as headliners for Bonnaroo
Festival this week. The Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails and David Byrne will also appear at the Tennessee event. Click
here for the Bonnaroo 2009 line-up.
And finally…
The prize for most innovative band
announcement goes to the Best New Festival of 2008 – Camp Bestival. In keeping with the Hi
Di Hi style holiday camp theme, which the festival models itself on, organisers got Su Pollard from
the original TV show to reveal the first names for July's event (watch the clip at the top of this story). PJ Harvey will make her only UK solo appearance, while Bon Iver, DJ Yoda and many more
live atcs, DJs, poets and comedians will be there too.
Click
here for the latest Camp Bestival line-up.
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