Lovebox London Weekender
“You can’t beat London as the hippest place on the planet, the Lovebox Weekender is proof of that,” says DJ, Gilles Peterson.
In July this year, the newly expanded site hosted more than 50,000 people in mid July to view some of the best music on the scene from genres including indie, disco-punk, folk, world, rock, hip hop and electronic. Delivered from dramatic sets and stages, the performances were delivered by bands like festival founders, Groove Armada, Duran Duran, hip hop band N.E.R.D., Florence and the Machine, Friendly Fires and Ladyhawke.
Despite being set in the heart of the city the overall space adds to the whole experience of the festival with gourmet food and drink stalls, specially designed venues and buildings with hidden corners and leafy vantage points from which to view the stage.
And as winner of the Best Medium Sized Festival in the UK Festival Awards 2008 it isn’t surprising that Lovebox London Weekender is becoming one of the essential events on the London cultural calendar.
Set in Victoria Park bordering Bethnal Green, Hackney and Bow, the event has become synonymous with cool urban happenings and super-charged rock and roll and dance.
The Levellers
To the uninitiated, The Levellers are more influential than most people realise. It would come as a surprise to many to discover that they have had more gold and platinum selling albums than any other UK band in the 1990s. This is in some part due to the tendency of the musical press to ignore them, stemming from acrimonious exchanges in the early days of the band’s history.
With a six man, multi-instrumental line-up The Levellers excel in genres of alternative rock and folk-punk with fiercely outspoken lyrics. Beloved by students and travellers of the 90s, the band’s inspiration comes from politics, cultural and social issues. They even founded their own festival, Beautiful Days, in Escot Park, Devon after becoming disillusioned with the commercial character of many UK festivals.
They are nevertheless, veteran festival performers, especially at Glastonbury, where their appearance on the Pyramid Stage in 1994 attracted one of the biggest audiences ever and was featured on a video of Glastonbury’s finest moments. In later years the band repeated this success setting stage records for Glastonbury again and again.
Their album successes include Levelling The Land in 1991, described as an underground classic, featuring the anthemic single One Way. An eponymous album Levellers was another huge hit reaching 2 in the album charts spawning the single This Garden. Other iconic tracks include 100 Years of Solitude which lists everything the Levellers hate, including the NME. The 2008 album Letters from the Underground was The Leveller’s 8th studio album and represents a return to top form, harking back to the “golden days” of the 90s. You may hear singles like 100 Years, 15 Years and Last Man Alive – grab those tickets now!
Where to get it >>
Cambridge Folk Festival 2010 release date
Tickets for the Cambridge Folk Festival 2010 will be available from 17th May, 2010.
Based on principles of the folk club movement with a wide band of music and friendly family atmosphere, the event has become one of the major music happenings in Europe. It’s also the longest running folk festival in the world with many devotees returning year after year.
The festival is held at the end of July and beginning of August and is famous for its mix of music and blend of traditional acts with the contemporary, including genres of American country, Bluegrass, gospel, jazz, klezmer and ceilidh.
Highlights this year included Sunday Driver, The Shee, The Saw Doctors, Martin Simpson, Blazin’Fiddles and Megan and Joe Henwood, plus Adrian Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds and Pete Molinari.
The brainchild of political activist and firefighter, the late Ken Woollard, who was a local folk aficionado, Cambridge’s first festival, held in 1964 sold 1,400 tickets and just managed to break even. Nowadays, around 10,000 people descend on Cherry Hinton Hall every year, enticed by the intimate and family orientated atmosphere with crèches and children’s activities, craft stalls, workshops and the added attraction of shelter from the rain in the giant marquees and tents.
In addition to enjoying the eclectic mix of some of the world’s finest folk and roots music, one of the most popular features of the festival is that the audience can take part in the proceedings themselves by creating their own entertainment in instrumental sessions in the bars and campsite adding to the general atmosphere of revelry and bonhomie.
This year’s event was a sell-out so tickets need to be booked as close to the release date as possible.