Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Latest Reading headline rumours

Current rumours suggest Rage Against The Machine (Friday), The Killers (Saturday) and Metallica (Sunday). Possible further rumours (or a confirmation of these) in this week's NME.
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More Download acts announced

Incubus, Coheed & Cambria, Alter Bridge, Disturbed, In Flames and Children of Bloom have all been added to the Download bill (13-15 June).
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BBC 6 Music listeners compile Festival manifesto

BBC 6 Music got listeners to compile a "Festival Manifesto", which the station then took to festival organisers, including Reading's Melvin Benn. Here's the manifesto:

SIZE
Make festivals smaller and more personal
PRICE CAPPING
Lower ticket prices into line with the rest of Europe
BAN THE VIP
Get rid of VIP areas
BE LESS CORPORATE
Don't sell every inch of space to the highest bidder
FAN REPRESENTATION
Arrange focus groups with festival-goers to find out how events can be improved
BE MORE ENVRIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE
Use more recyclable materials or charge a deposit for reusable pint cups like Latitude
IMPROVE TRANSPORT
Offer more, cheaper public transport to reduce traffic
BAN FOOD & DRINK RACKETS
Allow people to bring their own food & drink
REDUCE QUEUES
Sort out better queuing systems and widen bottlenecks
GO ON LATER
More music going later into the night

I'll take a listen to Benn's podcast response later (a written response on the official site is conspicuous by it's absence) - but I don't hold much hope of any of these ideas happening at Reading...
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Glastonbury headliners

Jay-z, The Verve and The Kings Of Leon look like being the headline acts at Glastonbury this summer. Confirmed artists so far are Neil Diamond, Leonard Cohen, Hot Chip and Elbow. Sounds like a laugh a minute...
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T In The Park main acts announced

This summer’s T In The Park festival (11-13 July) will be headlined by The Verve (Friday), Rage Against The Machine (Saturday) and REM (Sunday).

Kings of Leon are also on the Main Stage on the Sunday, Kaiser Chiefs headline the NME/Radio 1 Stage on the Saturday, with The Prodigy headlining on the Sunday. The Pigeon Detectives and The Raconteurs will also play on the stage over the weekend.

Other bands announced are The Enemy, Interpol, Ian Brown, Primal Scream and The Fratellis
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Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Download headliners announced

The headliners and main acts for this summer's Download Festival (13-15 June) have been announced. Kiss, The Offspring and Lostprophets will top the bill over the three days, while among the supporting line-up are Judas Priest, Motorhead, HIM and Rise Against. The campsite will be open two days before the music starts, from midday on Wednesday 11 June. Tickets go on sale on Thursday 7th February. See www.downloadfestival.co.uk for more details.
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Metal tent pegs banned at Glastonbury

Festival goers at Glastonbury this summer will be forced to use bio-degradable tent pegs made from potato starch in a bid to keep the site free from abandoned metal pegs which harm the cows that graze in the fields after the revellers have gone. Apparently, organiser Michael Eavis has a "skipful" of left-over metal pegs from previous festivals. Quite how potato starch pegs cope in rock-hard ground is uncertain, but given Glastonbury's reputation for rain-sodden ground, that probably won't be an issue...
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Neil Diamond to headline Glastonbury

Legendary crooner Neil Diamond has been confirmed as Sunday night headliner for this summer's Glastonbury Festival (27-29 June). Organiser Michael Eavis also said that an American hip-hop artist will headline the Saturday night. Jay-Z or Kanye West are tipped for this slot.