festivals

Photo of Field Day 2008 by Martin Deutsch

Preview: Field Day 2009

Photo of Field Day 2008 by Martin Deutsch You could sum up last year’s Field Day in a few words: Long queues. Damp. Stellar line up. And that’s the thing. It’s always been easy to knock the hit and miss organisation of this Victoria Park …

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Exhibition Road: Riled Residents, Squabbling Explorers, Free Music

Image by DICKSDAILY Exhibition Road is behaving like a restless toddler this week, waaah-waaahing for attention with THREE stories. First, there’s the ongoing saga of its part-pedestrianisation. You may recall that Kensington and Chelsea Council want to remove kerbs and street furniture, transforming this most …

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Petition To Revive Rise Festival

Image / cakehole Europe’s largest anti-racism festival, which the Mayor crippled by stripping its founding message last year and then cancelled for good in April, is the subject of a 1,600-name petition that supporters will today present to the London Assembly. The UpRise campaign is …

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Preview: Rock The Bells @ The O2

Jay Z may have moved the crowd at Glasto this year, but for true hip hop fans, Rock The Bells is the only festival worth steppin’ to. Formed in 2004, when the promoters hit upon the seemingly impossible idea of reuniting the Wu-Tang Clan, the …

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Preview: Oxjam @ Old Queens Head

The perfect marriage between altruism and alt-rock, Oxjam is one of those community-led festivals that Brits excel at. Oxjam brings thousands of volunteers across the country, united only by a love of music and a desire to raise money for Oxfam. Last year’s events raised …

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Preview: Colombiage Festival

Britain’s premier celebration of Colombian culture, Colombiage, begins tonight. Into its second year now, the festival ropes in film, music, performance and art from the South American nation for a frenetic four days of enjoyment. Colombia has gradually transcended the predictable stereotypes its name attracts, …

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Londonomics: The Big Money Chill

If you missed the 02 Wireless Festival or Lovebox, there’s always the Ben and Jerry’s thing on Clapham Common this weekend, or Forever Heavenly in September. The festival explosion is obvious, but there’s been less attention given to the big businesses that have sprung up …

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The Book Grocer

Mwhahaha. The Book Grocer rubs her hands together greedily as she contemplates the week ahead. Festival season kicks off this week, and its offerings may be summarised with one word: excellent. Tuesday: VS Naipaul fans will want to head to Daunt Books tonight to hear …

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Londonist Live: Stiff Little Fingers and Mark Stewart at Meltdown 2008

Stiff Little Fingers’ Inflammable Material provided a soundtrack for our teenage years, every single one of its three chords forever fused with our memories of youth. As we grew a bit older, it remained a favourite and was soon joined by Mark Stewart and the …

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Londonist Live: Yellow Magic Orchestra and Pivot at Meltdown 2008

“What is house? Technotronic, KLF or something you live in To me house is Phuture, Pierre, Fingers, Adonis The Pioneers of the Hypnotic Groove Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode and The Yellow Magic Orchestra” – LFO, “What Is House?” (Warp Records, 1991) Given …

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July Is For Book Lovers

Diaries out, bibliophiles. Festival season is almost upon us. No, not the festival season that will have you rolling around in mud or throwing your pants at the stage (well, you could throw your pants at the stage, and we’d certainly provide moral support for …