Best UK Indie and Rock Festivals
A Rundown of the UK's Major Music Festivals from Glastonbury to V
Apr 7, 2008
With festival season nearly upon us once more, this UK festival guide details the UK's biggest indie and rock music festivals.
Glastonbury Festival: Line-up and Details
What: The daddy of them all, the Glastonbury Festival Of Contemporary Performing Arts (or Glasto for short) has become a British institution since its free-festival hippy roots in the early 1970s. Now a modern marvel of planning, logistics and sophisticated security arrangements, it has far more to offer than just bands, with a full complement of cinemas, performance artists, new age areas, dance-tents and, often, impromptu mud-slides on display.
When: 27th-29th June
Where: Worthy Farm, near Glastonbury, Somerset
Headliners: Kings Of Leon, Jay-Z, The Verve
Best of the rest: British Sea Power, Leonard Cohen, Hot Chip, Massive Attack, The Futureheads, with many more still to be announced.
Reading and Leeds Festivals: Line-up and Details
What: Known as The Carling Weekend between 1998 and 2007, this dual-site festival has parted company with its former sponsor and has now officially reverted to its time-honoured title for the legendary Reading Festival and the Leeds Festival for its decade-old younger sibling. The full line-ups play both sites on different days.
When: 22-24 August
Where: Richfield Avenue, Reading and Bramham Park, Leeds.
Headliners: Rage Against The Machine, The Killers, Metallica
Best of the rest: Queens Of The Stone Age, Tenacious D, Slipknot, Babyshambles, Manic Street Preachers, Anti-Flag, Feeder, The Raconteurs.
O2 Wireless Festival: Line-up and Details
What: Now in its fourth year, the O2 Wireless Festival is a non-camping event in central London, essentially making it a series of four massive gigs with a festival vibe and a chance for some decent kip at the end of each night.
When: 3rd-6th July
Where: Hyde Park, London
Headliners: Jay-Z, Morrissey, Fatboy Slim, Counting Crows
Best of the rest: Mark Ronson, Hot Chip, Beck, Siouxsie, Dirty Pretty Things, The New York Dolls, Underworld, Bootsy Collins, Ben Harper, Powderfinger, Goo Goo Dolls, Eddy Grant, Bowling For Soup
V Festival / V2008: Line-up and Details
What: Often seen as the most mainstream of the UK's major festivals, the Virgin Group-sponsored V Festival is a compact two-day only event with a twin-site format similar to that of the Reading and Leeds festivals.
When: 16th - 17th August
Where: Hylands Park, Chelmsford and Weston Park, Staffordshire
Headliners: Muse, The Verve
Best of the rest: Stereophonics, The Prodigy, Kaiser Chiefs, The Chemical Brothers, Scouting For Girls, Kings Of Leon, The Zutons, Alanis MorissettE.
T In The Park: Line-up and Details
What: Scotland's largest festival, T In The Park takes its name from brewery and main sponsors Tennents and for the past few years has shared its line-up with the concurrent Oxegen Festival in Ireland, although the two events are not officially twinned.
When: 11th-13th July
Where: Balado, Kinross-shire
Headliners: The Verve, Rage Against The Machine, REM
Best of the rest: The Fratellis, Amy Winehouse, Primal Scream, The Pogues, The Fratellis, Counting Crows, Panic At The Disco, The Zutons
Click here for updated 2009 festival line-ups and details.
Or here for the essential festival survival guide.
