Red Hot Chili Peppers to headline Reading and Leeds

December 4, 2015 / James Fenney

rhcp

The twin festivals of Reading and Leeds have unveiled their first line-up announcement for 2016. It included Slaves, the Courteeners and the 1975 as well as headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers. RHCP last topped the bill in 2007. Their set may well include new music as the band have been busy recording their 11th album, their first in 4 years, which is supposedly “very different and unique”. It will be the second album without guitarist John Frusciante. The band is a strong booking and it will be interesting to see what other headliners are in store.

Reading and Leeds 2015

September 1, 2015September 1, 2015 / James Fenney

The UK’s biggest twin festivals, held at Little John’s Farm and Bramham Park respectively. have come to a close for another year. The world’s oldest surviving music festival has added another stellar year to it’s long and illustrious history. The weather may have been rubbish but the music certainly wasn’t! Thanks to the magic that is BBC iplayer you can enjoy the highlights from warmth and comfort. Continue reading →

Lollapalooza Washout

August 2, 2015 / James Fenney

Lollapalooza festival has been put on hold due to adverse weather conditions. Following a severe thunderstorm warning for the city of Chicago, attendees were evacuated from the festival grounds. It is currently unclear when the festival will resume and how the scheduling will be affected.

Live Review: Barn on the Farm Festival 2015

July 8, 2015July 8, 2015 / James Fenney

Eager for my first summer festival experience I decided to start small. To be honest I don’t think I could’ve picked a better place to start. This welcoming little gathering has an astonishing record for discovering new talent and it’s hardly surprising that it has won awards for best independent festival. With a line-up that for me was beaten only by Glastonbury, I set out under the glorious summer sun to see some old favourites and discover some new incredible music. Continue reading →

Glastonbury 2015

June 29, 2015July 2, 2015 / James Fenney

It’s been a bumpy ride but the world’s biggest and most important music festival has concluded for another year. Thankfully for those of us who live too far away, those who can’t afford a ticket and those who don’t fancy trying to scale the Great Wall of Glasto; the BBC have provided tireless coverage across the major stages. The next best thing to seeing the greatest show on earth in person is to watch it warm and dry at home with a cup of tea. Here are my highlights of the festival coverage from across the weekend: Continue reading →

Live Review: Handmade Festival 2015

May 13, 2015May 13, 2015 / James Fenney

Right when I was about to burst from stress, with only the prospect of the summer’s music keeping me going, a free pass was dropped in my metaphorical lap. Leicester’s ever growing genre-bending independent music festival was just the weekend I needed. I headed down to the O2 Academy representing LUSH Radio and it was the first time (though hopefully not the last) that I entered a venue with my name legitimately on the press list. It could technically be considered my first festival experience and I was determined to make the most of it.

Continue reading →

Final Glastonbury headliner announced

May 6, 2015May 6, 2015 / James Fenney

All bets are off as The Who have been announced as the third and final headline act, along with Foo Fighters and Kanye West. Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend will bring the festival to a close as part of their 50th anniversary tour. Glastonbury is sure to be the highlight of what may be their last major tour.

Glastonbury line up announced

April 15, 2015April 15, 2015 / James Fenney

The rest of the line up of this year’s Glastonbury festival has been announced, with the exception of the third and final headlining slot.

Kanye West to headline Glastonbury

March 16, 2015 / James Fenney

It has been announced that the American rapper will be the Saturday headliner at the Pyramid Stage this summer, joining fellow headliners Foo Fighters. This adds to Kanye’s recent string of media appearances following his embarrassing outburst at the Grammy awards, his guest lecture at Oxford University and his controversial performance at the BRIT awards. There is still much speculation surrounding the third and final headliner and the rest of the line-up will be announced sometime in April.

Reading/Leeds line-up faces criticism

February 25, 2015February 25, 2015 / James Fenney

The tandem festivals of Reading and Leeds have been widely criticized for having a sexist line-up. Out of the nearly 100 acts thus far announced only nine of them feature at least a single female member. While a male-centric festival line up isn’t anything new, the above image certainly emphasizes just how big the difference is. I certainly don’t see it as a deliberate exclusion of women, more of a matter of genre. Less and less women are getting into rock music and making it big. The line-up just shows how big the gap in the musical market is and how far both the industry and society have to go to even things out.