News: 2000 Trees festival announces more line-up additions

Yesterday 2000 Trees festival announced thirteen new additions to their already jam-packed line-up.  The festival is due to take place from July 6-8 at Upcote Farm, near Cheltenham.

The festival line-up was already pretty strong, boasting punk duo Slaves as their main headliners accompanied by Nothing But Thieves.  Pulled Apart By Horses, Feed The Rhino, Strange Bones, Fizzy Blood and Petrol Girls are highlights amongst the rest of the line-up.

There are 11 new additions to the festival, including The Front Bottoms and The Wonder Years.  These pop punk giants are joined by Beach Slang, Black Peaks, Gnarwolves, Sløtface, De Staat, The Hyena Kill, Get Inuit, Acres, Peaness, MOSES and Wallflower.   You can see the full line-up here:

This is a pretty strong line-up, and it makes 2000 Trees Festival a really solid contender for bigger festivals such as Reading & Leeds for this year. If you’ve been tempted by the newest additions to the festival’s line-up, you can still buy Friday and Saturday day tickets, as well as tickets from Thursday to Saturday with camping, at the 2000 Trees website.

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Are you attending 2000 Trees this year?  Which bands are you looking forward to seeing the most? Let me know on my Facebook or Twitter page, or in the comment section below this post.

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News: Reading & Leeds Festivals make first line-up announcement

Last night, Reading and Leeds Festivals announced the first few acts confirmed for next year’s line-up, including one of the three headliners: the mighty Muse.  The festivals will be held over the August bank holiday weekend next year, from the 25th to the 27th.

Alongside Muse, some of the other heavier acts announced include Architects, Against The Current, While She Sleeps and At The Drive In, plus who could ignore the pop/electronic giants Bastille.

Overall I’m fairly impressed with this announcement, but it’s quite difficult to guess how good the festivals’ line-up is going to be overall judging from these eleven acts.  The announcement spans a number of genres, so as someone who would only be interested in seeing heavier bands, I can’t judge how much I’d enjoy next year’s festival.

Compared to the last Download Festival line-up announcement, I’m definitely much more enthusiastic about the Donington Park festival.  Download have announced all three headliners, and it must be said knowing all of the headliners makes a festival a much more exciting prospect.

Hopefully we’ll be hearing more from Reading & Leeds soon, but until then this latest news is enough to tide us over.

What do you think about the announcement? Let me know your thoughts on my Facebook or Twitter page, or in the comment section below this post.

Music: My Reading & Leeds festival line-up highlights

As everyone who likes festivals and live music will know, Reading & Leeds festivals take place this weekend.  This year’s Reading festival sold out, which I haven’t seen since I started following the festivals in 2013.  Whilst I don’t think this year’s line-up is their strongest (which I think is proven by the fact that the organisers felt they needed to have dual headliners on two out of three days), there are some fantastic bands on the bill.  Here’s my list of the best bands playing the festival this weekend.

Foals

Since I picked up their latest record What Went Down, I’ve grown more and more interested in this Oxford indie band, and I wish I could see them live this weekend.

Die Antwoord

One of my electronic/alternative favourites, I missed out on seeing Die Antwoord at Leeds festival in 2014 due to them clashing with another band.  I’d still love to see them live, so I’m jealous of everyone at R&L this year!

Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes 

Of course I want to see The Rattlesnakes live.  If you know anything about this blog, dear reader, it should be that I’m obsessed with The Rattlesnakes and everything they do.  Maybe someday I’ll get to see them live, but for now it’s obviously not meant to be.  Sad face.

Slaves

I still have yet to see Slaves perform live, but from the videos and stories I’ve seen about their shows, the punk duo look like they know how to throw a party.  I’d love the opportunity to hear some tracks off their upcoming album too.

Coheed And Cambria

Now, I haven’t heard much of this band’s music, but I think the vocalist has a very interesting voice and I really enjoy listening to their tracks.  I’d be very interested to see these guys live.

Fatherson

I watched these guys support Enter Shikari in 2015, and I thought they put on a really good performance. It would be cool to see how they perform on a bigger stage in front of a festival crowd.

So, these are my Reading and Leeds recommendations.  If you take the time to see these bands, I reckon you’ll have a fantastic weekend.

Are you looking forward to attending Reading and Leeds this year?  Can you think of any awesome bands I missed? Let me know your thoughts on my Facebook or Twitter page, or in the comment section below this post.

altrocklife’s Top 10 festival dos and don’ts

So, if you haven’t already worked it out from my Twitter, I’m going to be attending Leeds festival this year.  This will be the first time I’ve ever attended a festival for the entire weekend, so I’m really looking forward to it!

If you’re going to be attending, whether you’re a first timer or a R&L veteran, here are some dos and don’ts which, if you follow them, will ensure you’re a dream festival attendee.

DO – wear sensible shoes

Make sure your shoes are comfortable and practical in wet or muddy weather.  I recommend Doc Martens that are already broken in, hiking boots, combat boots or sturdy trainers.  Flip-flops, sandals and high heels are a BIG no-no.

DON’T – complain constantly about your aching feet

I get it, you’ve been waiting for the main stage headliner for hours now, and standing in a field to keep your spot secured isn’t the most pleasant way to spend a day.  However, everyone else is in the same boat as you – if you really dislike standing that much, buy a seated ticket at a gig next time.

DO – take more money than you think you’ll need

Budgeting is difficult at the best of times – even worse during festivals due to inflated food prices.  It’s far better to come home with some spare change instead of run out of cash on Sunday morning.

DON’T – spend all of your money on alcohol

Festivals are a great way to kick back, relax, and have a laugh with your mates whilst watching some awesome bands.  However, getting completely bladdered before midday and spending the best part of the evening – when all of the best bands are playing – throwing up or sleeping off a hangover is a serious waste of time and money.  Plus, if you’re drunk, all of the sober people around you in the mosh pit will hate you.

DO – keep an eye on your drinks and belongings

Nothing will put a dampener on a festival more than your phone, iPod, or wallet being stolen.  I even heard of a girl whose brand new £99 Doc Martens were stolen when she left them outside her tent overnight.  Keep your valuables in a rented locker or on your person at all times.  Not only that, but having your drink spiked is always a possibility, especially for girls, so never leave your drink unattended and keep your hand over the top of the cup or bottle to avoid something being slipped in.

DON’T – be a shover

Unfortunately at every festival there will always be those awful people who barge through the crowd to get as close to the front as possible, even if there isn’t a clear pathway though.  Everybody wants to get as close to the stage as they can, but forcing your way through everybody else is a bad choice – getting to the stage early and picking your spot always pays.

DO – stay hydrated

You don’t want to flake out halfway through the day due to dehydration, especially if it’s a hot day.  And no, drinking cider does not count as keeping yourself hydrated.

DON’T – spend all of your time taking photos and videos

If you’re going to watch the entire festival through the screen of your phone or camera as you take photos or record videos, you might as well have stayed at home and watched the festival highlights on the telly.  My advice is to snap your photos during the songs you don’t know or like, or during the opening and closing song, so you can spend the majority of the set enjoying yourself.  Plus, unless you have an extremely high quality camcorder or camera, recording videos is usually pointless as the sound quality will probably end up terrible.

DO – bring plenty of hygiene products

Nobody wants to be shoulder-to-shoulder with someone who stinks of body odour and mud.  Wet wipes, deodorant and fabric freshener for your clothes are must-haves, along with plenty of clean clothes.

DON’T – forget to be prepared for every type of weather

Over the course of a weekend – or even longer if you have early entry tickets – the good ol’ British weather can change dramatically.  Remember to take something for every type of weather: sun cream; wellies; a sun hat; a waterproof; a thick coat or jumper for the cold; and airier clothes for warmer weather.

Can you think of anything I missed off the list?  Let me know in the comments or on Twitter!

Currently listening to – Brothers and Sisters – Twin Atlantic

Sonisphere 2014: The festival I wish I was attending

Oh, man.  When all the usual UK summer festivals started announcing their line-ups last year, Sonisphere wasn’t even a consideration.  As much as I appreciate Iron Maiden and Metallica as institutions of metal, I wasn’t all that bothered about seeing them headline a festival, and the rest of the line-up, whilst good, wasn’t massively inspiring.

But tonight’s announcements are making me regret that decision.

Band Of Skulls are playing on the Friday, which makes me sad ’cause that band is pretty damn awesome and I’m gonna miss them.  I’d also kill to see Gallows, and Chiodos and The Bronx look like they put on a pretty good show.

Those new announcements, added to already announced The Prodigy, Frank Turner, Reel Big Fish and Limp Bizkit make Sonisphere a real competitor in this year’s festival line-up.

Looks like whilst I was deciding whether to go for Leeds or Download (Leeds won, by the way) Sonisphere sneaked up behind me and hit me round the face with a killer line-up.  Damn.