Isle of Wight Music Festivals & Concerts

Bestival have unveiled some amazing exclusives as their line-up for 2012 expands!  

BESTIVAL’S SATURDAY NIGHT HEADLINER REVEALED

New Order

LIVE:
Friendly Fires / Death In Vegas / Django Django / Daughter / Drums of Death /  Zulu Winter

EXCLUSIVES:
The xx / Sigur Ros

NEW LINE UP ADDITIONS:
LIVE: Justice / Two Door Cinema Club / Hot Chip / Soulwax / Nero / Emeli Sande / Orbital / Warpaint / De La Soul / Major Lazer / Sister Sledge / The Horrors / Spiritualized /
Kevin Saunderson feat. Inner City Live Gary Numan / Michael Kiwanuka / Azealia Banks /
Sub Focus / Gallows /  Doom / Earth Wind & Fire Experience Feat Al Mckay / Rizzle Kicks /
The Cuban Brothers / Buraka Som Sistema / Bellowhead / Little Dragon / Gold Panda
Adam Ant & The Good The Mad and The Lovely Posse / Lianne La Havas /
King Khan And The Shrines / Delilah / Friends / Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs / First Aid Kit / King Krule / Ane Brun / Chas & Dave / Dub Pistols / The Japanese Popstars / Charli XCX /
Jaipur Kawa Brass Band / Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard / Slagsmålsklubben / Field Music /
Jaipur Kawa Circus / Jinja Safari / Church of Love & Ruin / Frankie Rose / Milagres /
Three Bonzos and a Piano / Liz Green / Gabrielle Aplin / Prince Fatty / Fiction / 2:54 / Turbowolf / This Is The Kit / Ghost Outfit / Patterns / Young British Artists / Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo / To Kill A King / L.A. Salami / Laurel Collective / ahab / Gecko / Heathward / Model Society /
Sky Sphere / Blackhouse Crow… Plus many more still to be announced

DJ SETS FROM ROB DA BANK AND FRIENDS:
2manydjs / Annie Mac Presents / Four Tet + Caribou (b2b DJ) /
2 Bears / David Rodigan MBE presents RAM JAM /
Dirtybird showcase feat. Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin & Eats Everything / François Kevorkian / DJ Yoda / Maya Jane Coles / Scuba / LTJ Bukem / Plastician / Greg Wilson / Scratch Perverts / Giles Smith & James Priestley (secretsundaze) / Oneman b2b Jackmaster / Camo & Krooked /
Jaguar Skills & His Amazing Friends / Mosca / Ben UFO / PBR Streetgang / DJ Shepdog /
Shellac Collective / DJ Charge… Plus many more still to be announced

PLUS OUR NEW PREMIUM CAMPING AREA:
The Wild Copse

We’ve already announced 12 brand new things that will tickle your fancy, our Wildlife theme, the mighty Orbital as the closing act for the Big Top and Rob da Bank tweeted a few choice tasters but now the time has come to unveil an array of fantastic acts that will be coming to Robin Hill Country Park to rock Bestival 2012. With a pair of electrifying exclusives and a cavalcade of incredible bands and DJs, we really want it to be September already and we still aren’t announcing any of the main stage headliners! You’re going to have to wait at least a week for the first of those!

Rob da Bank says: ‘So, here we are then! Announcing Bestival again - and another bumper selection of acts from across the musical world and styles. The xx at Bestival two years ago is in my top three Besti performances ever so I’m delighted they're hitting the main stage in 2012 and I’ve finally landed Sigur Ros, one of my all-time fave festival acts. From Justice to Azealia Banks, Spiritualized to Gaslamp Killer and Sister Sledge, I hope there’s something for everyone and still three headliners to unveil shortly!'’

In 2010, just after winning the Mercury Prize for their debut album, The xx, played a victory set in our Big Top that has gone down in Bestival lore as one our most beautiful moments ever, so we are exceptionally excited to be welcoming them back for as a UK festival exclusive in 2012.  With new material on the horizon we can’t wait to see what ethereal treats they have in store for us.

Icelandic post-rock behemoth Sigur Ros are also set to make a UK festival exclusive appearance with us on the Isle of Wight. Lead singer Jónsi was behind another of Bestival 2010s undoubted highlights but we’ve been waiting a long time to be able to announce that the full band, in all its majesty, will be joining us and we can’t tell you just how excited we are to have them on board.

As well as those tantalising mouth-watering exclusives we’ve got a colossal first wave of acts to tell you about, including Gallic dance dons Justice, who told us: “To tell you the truth, we wanted to kick off the new tour at Bestival last year but we finally thought we wouldn't be ready (and we weren't) and decided to take more time to get prepared. Now we're ready, it's gonna be a big surprise for us, we played there in 2005 and 2006 which we believe were Bestival early years (and ours too, think it's the first time we ever played a festival, actually) and we heard since that Bestival has become THE festival to play in the UK, so we're definitely excited and have no idea what to expect as everything will probably be a bit different from 2006”.

We’re already fit to burst but still there’s so many more brilliant bands to tell you about like Northern Ireland’s finest Two Door Cinema Club, Bestival veterans and firm crowd favourites Hot Chip, sharp suited electro purveyors Soulwax, dubstp duo Nero, Scottish soul siren Emeli Sandé, rave deities Orbital, LA artrockers Warpaint, daisy-age hip-hop kings De La Soul, first ministers of bass Major Lazer, utter legends Sister Sledge, handsome pop chameleons The Horrors, towering wig-out merchants Spiritualized, Detroit techno overlord Kevin Saunderson feat. Inner City Live, electro-rock pioneer Gary Numan, BBC Sound of 2012 winner Michael Kiwanuka, NME Cool List topper Azealia Banks, drum n basser Sub Focus, the adrenalin charged Gallows, mythological rhyme master Doom, disco groove powerhouse Earth Wind & Fire Experience Feat Al Mckay, the irrepressible Rizzle Kicks, the one and only Cuban Brothers, Kuduro dons Buraka Som Sistema, fine folksters Bellowhead, the sublime Little Dragon, laconic looper Gold Panda, and 80s pop-god Adam Ant  with The Good The Mad and The Lovely Posse,

Other acts getting on the ferry for Bestival 2012 include the hotly tipped Lianne La Havas, wild psychedelic soul sensations King Khan And The Shrines, neo-dubstep songstress Delilah, insouciant Brooklynites Friends, harmonious beatmeister Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, folk troubadours First Aid Kit, darkwaver King Krule acoustic chanteuse Ane Brun, knees-up governors Chas & Dave,  DJ Magazine’s Best of British Best Live Act Dub Pistols, Robert Smith collaborators The Japanese Popstars, pop upstart Charli XCX, the magical Jaipur Kawa Brass Band,  anti-folk dude Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard, the mesmerising Slagsmålsklubben, madcap mackems Field Music and the Jaipur Kawa Circus.

Plus there will be live performances from Jinja Safari, Church of Love & Ruin, Frankie Rose, Milagres,
Three Bonzos and a Piano, Liz Green, Gabrielle Aplin, Prince Fatty, Fiction, 2:54, Turbowolf, This Is The Kit, Ghost Outfit, Patterns, Young British Artists, Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo, To Kill A King, L.A. Salami, Laurel Collective, ahab, Gecko, Heathward, Model Society Sky Sphere, Blackhouse Crow, plus many more still to be announced.

With a jam-packed live line-up taking shape, we also have an exquisite litany of turntable botherers that will be Bestival-bound including Soulwax alter-egos 2manydjs, the incredible Annie Mac Presents, the august Four Tet and the exalted Caribou who will be throwing down the platters back to back for your pleasure. There will also be hirsute pursuits from 2 Bears, reggae guru David Rodigan MBE presenting RAM JAM, the Dirtybird showcase featuring the enviable talents of Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin & Eats Everything, house music forefather François Kevorkian, deck destroyer DJ Yoda, deep and techy up-and-comer Maya Jane Coles, underground techno genius Scuba, DnB original LTJ Bukem, grime superstar Plastician, ertwhile Hacienda resident Greg Wilson, turntable messiahs Scratch Perverts,  and secretsundaze top boys Giles Smith & James Priestley. Plus there will be sets from Oneman b2b Jackmaster, Camo & Krooked, Jaguar Skills & His Amazing Friends, Mosca, Ben UFO, PBR Streetgang, DJ Shepdog, Shellac Collective, DJ Charge and many more still to be announced.

Another brand new thing for this year’s Bestival is our new Premium camping area, nestled between a beautiful wooded forest we’re calling the Wild Copse. We know that sometimes festival camping can get busy and maybe a little rambunctious so we thought many of you would like the opportunity for a little more space, and some top-notch facilities.  

The Wild Copse will have its own car park when you arrive and then it’s just a short walk to where you can pitch your tent in an area that will be limited to a set number of ticket-holders.  

 Included in the area for use by those with tickets only will be high-end toilets and showers.  Boutique camping is next door and you’ll share great food and seating area, a lovely chill-out bar serving until late, a pampering area and it will be close to the new healing area; the Soul Park and the new expanded and amazing Arcadia Field featuring Mechanical Cabaret.

The Wild Copse is around a 20-minute walk to the main stage with plenty to see on the way.  For those who could use a lift to rest and recuperate or get back to their tent to pick up some knitwear for the evening, there’s an option to grab a shuttle service.  This will run 24 hours a day.  We’ve planned for this to run every five minutes but predict that demand will be high at peak times of course so it may be quicker to walk back and enjoy all the festival has to offer.    

With all this 2012 craziness going on it would be easy to forget what an ace time we had in 2011 with The Cure, Bjork, PJ Harvey, Primal Scream and loads more so we’re very pleased indeed that loads of you didn’t forget because we’ve been shortlisted for Best Small Festival at the NME Awards. All we need now is just a bit more support so if you can spare a few minutes to head over to http://www.nme.com/awards and vote for us (it’s number 22 out of 26) we’d be most honoured!

We’ve still got all of our main stage headliners to announce, the first one is coming your way in about a week so keep your eyes on www.bestival.net, our Facebook and Rob da Bank’s Twitter for all the latest action.

---------------------------
1 February 2012

12 NEW THINGS FOR BESTIVAL 2012
Including:
CALL OF THE WILD!
BESTIVAL’S WILDLIFE THEME GOES FOR YOUR ANIMAL INSTINCT
Plus: ORBITAL GET WONKY AT ROBIN HILL

And:
ROB DA BANK TO ANNOUNCE A BAND A DAY - check out our Twitter site for the latest.

With some rather handsome Bestival announcements on the horizon, the mighty Rob da Bank and the Bestival crew are so excited that we just can’t contain themselves! So, with that in mind, they have ‘leaked’ a few choice nuggets of loveliness for your delectation with 12 new things for Bestival 2012 including the untamed fancy dress theme and a tantalising touch of live news.

Rob da Bank says: "I’ve never been pestered so much on Twitter and even in clubs and on the street about who’s playing Bestival this year so we thought we'd better start the proceedings. Legendary brothers of rave Paul and Phil Hartnoll aka Orbital are the first act who have self-announced themselves today… and what a classic to kick off on. As ever the theme of Bestival is a hotly debated topic - this year it’s Wildlife - so maybe you're thinking foxes, badgers or flamingos or go a bit more lateral and think of wild men and women, hedonists and crazy people? It’s an open book as ever. More news very soon!”

So, without further ado, here’s what’s brand new this year!
1) The theme for Bestival 2012 is Wildlife… We want you to unleash the party beast from the hinterlands of your imagination, covering Robin Hill with some properly wild things, from fantastic fauna, kings of the jungle and even organisms aplenty to just the outrageously wild... The sky is far from the limit of what can happen when you get amongst the wildlife…. And we will also be launching our very own Insect Museum and Animal Tug of War.
2) Barter for Bestival – can’t afford a ticket? Then barter yourself to us for a few hours to help with an IOW charity legacy project in exchange for a free Bestival ticket! 50 people from far and wide will get the opportunity to help create a community allotment space working with Natural Enterprise.  Applications will open on 20th February when full details are announced so watch this space.
3) Film is coming to Bestival in 2012 – new for 2012 are the Lost Picture Show – a vintage cinema to take you back to the golden age of movie going, plus Rob da Bank will be rescoring the 1930s original of King Kong at the brand new Amphitheatre performance space in the Woods with more film collaborations to be announced soon.
4) Soul Park – our new and expanded Healing Area will feature unique spaces for yoga, massage, relaxation, hammocks and meditation with the David Lynch Foundation plus wood-burning Scandinavian hot tubs and a sauna area.  Perfectly calm for when you just need to relax a little and refresh to get your positive energy recharged.
5) Arcadia Mechanical Cabaret – not content with having invented the crazy mechanical spider that spits flames and has scared the living pants off us at the last few Bestis, Arcadia have now trawled the world for brand new structures and insane fire art to wow us with, much of it from Burning Man.
6) Young British Foodies – We’ve got the country’s finest young chefs, street food vendors, bakers and mixologists all under one roof! Winners of the nationwide search for the most talented Young British Foodies will be joined by the YBF all-star foodie judges to create a never-been-done-before, spectacular eating experience.
7) The Bollywood Bar is having a complete Josie da Bank makeover – with an old London bus being transformed into a Bollywood chill out bar in full Indian colours and the inside getting a cinematic Bollywood lick of paint.
8) Grand Palace of Entertainment – roll up roll up, we’ve cranked up the fun factor with this new venue! Expect twisted cabaret, raucous games and quizzes, dancing lycra-clad bearded trannies and multicolored, glitter strewn, late night parties.
9) More camping space – yes we may not be expanding on capacity onsite cos we know we’re the right size but we will be creating much more space for you… check out this aerial picture showing you all the new land we’ve taken.
10) Create a bloco for the Bestival Carnival – Your chance to unite with other festi-goers and get creative! We are inviting you to form your own bloco and be part of our carnival parade on Saturday afternoon. From fabulous costumes, to drumming, dancing and giant puppets, we can’t wait to see what delights you come up with! Details of how to enter coming soon.
11) Cycle To Bestival – emulate mighty Mark Cavendish with a truly Olympic effort to ride almost 100miles from Central London to Bestival…and raise cash for charity. More details will be available at the end of the month but you can get in training now if sounds like fun to you…on yer bike Bestivalites.
12) Rob da Bank’s Music Club - Are you a rock star in the making? Head to Rob da Bank’s Music Club to find out! This project, set up in partnership with the Isle of Wight Youth Trust, is coming to Robin Hill to offer up a brilliant selection music and arts workshops.

As well as all the brand spanking fresh stuff there’s going to be a healthy dose of unbridled joy on the dancefloor too, as Bestival are overjoyed to declare that dance music legends Orbital will be crossing the Solent to join us for an epicurean adventure, or as we used to call it a proper rave up, headlining the Big Top on Sunday night! Renowned for their festival annihilating brilliance and a dashing line in torch specs, the brothers Hartnoll are true pioneers of dance music and with a brand new album, ‘Wonky’ currently getting the critics all giddy, you can expect nothing less than a legendary set!

With many more acts to announce for Bestival 2012 and to build just a touch of anticipation for our headline announcements, Rob da Bank will be taking to his trusty Twitter announcing an act a day until mid-February when we’ll be announcing some headliner news. Until then, make sure you check the Twitter feed for news on some of the many acts that will be gracing Bestival 2012 with their presence.