Bestival 2012 Headliners

[dacbo]

so no Florence + The Machine at V. I'd assume unless R+L are going a lot more pop/mainstream this year then she's unlikely there as well.

Bestival headliner looking more and more likely then..?

[zahidf]

I think Bestival generally does it right with their headliners in terms of newer acts getting a step up.

And to be fair to Reading, they also generally let newer bands take a step up, moreso than V.

Anyway, i think Rob Da Bank cares less for headliners than a balanced line up. He had roxy music under flaming lips a few years ago for example!

Edited February 27, 2012 by zahidf

[eFestivals]

I think Bestival generally does it right with their headliners in terms of newer acts getting a step up.

And to be fair to Reading, they also generally let newer bands take a step up, moreso than V.

Anyway, i think Rob Da Bank cares less for headliners than a balanced line up. He had roxy music under flaming lips a few years ago for example!

Flo headlining Bestival wouldn't be a step up for her - she headlined Latitude two years ago, and that's about the same size as Bestival.

And on the basis that Flo would have been near the top of the wants for headliners for the bigger fests when fests started looking for headliners for 2012 at the end of summer 2011, I find it difficult to believe that Flo might have plumped for no-step-up with Bestival rather than a step-up by headlining another fest.

The more I think about it the more I think the greatest likelihood is that she's headlining R/L - but I don't exclude the possibility of Bestival.

[Joe-]

There's tons of bands that are creative and exciting, it's just most music, in my opinion, is just getting pretty dumbed down. Kind of like the TV, easy to watch cheesy TV, kind of similar to whatever is in the top 50 or on the radio. We've heard David Guetta, Ed Sheeran, Adele, and co, not remotely exciting at all, just being drilled into our eyes and ears by every media possible.

All the good stuff is being over-shadowed by the crap stuff.

Maybe Rob will get someone like Aphex Twin headlining.

[zahidf]

Flo headlining Bestival wouldn't be a step up for her - she headlined Latitude two years ago, and that's about the same size as Bestival.

And on the basis that Flo would have been near the top of the wants for headliners for the bigger fests when fests started looking for headliners for 2012 at the end of summer 2011, I find it difficult to believe that Flo might have plumped for no-step-up with Bestival rather than a step-up by headlining another fest.

The more I think about it the more I think the greatest likelihood is that she's headlining R/L - but I don't exclude the possibility of Bestival.

[dacbo]

Flo headlining Bestival wouldn't be a step up for her - she headlined Latitude two years ago, and that's about the same size as Bestival.

And on the basis that Flo would have been near the top of the wants for headliners for the bigger fests when fests started looking for headliners for 2012 at the end of summer 2011, I find it difficult to believe that Flo might have plumped for no-step-up with Bestival rather than a step-up by headlining another fest.

The more I think about it the more I think the greatest likelihood is that she's headlining R/L - but I don't exclude the possibility of Bestival.

[smogo]

Florence + The Machine are already somewhere high up the T in the Park bill, so Bestival wouldn't be an exclusive.

(Good shout re Wireless, you could well be right there. Given that they think that Drake is a suitable headliner for the Saturday, FFS.....)

Edited February 27, 2012 by smogo

[eFestivals]

If Flo did Bestival as an exclusive, that would be a massive draw for Bestival. Horrors and The XX are both playing the Friday ( ex and current tour mates) so that would make it more likely. She could sub Kasabian and headline bestival easily.

If Flo did Bestival as an exclusive it would definitely be a massive coup for Bestival.

But I just don't think they've got that sort of clout for their bookings, especially for an act that will have been towards the top of the want-lists for the very biggest fests at the time they started to think about bookings. Even if Flo personally wanted to do Bestival in place of other fests I'd expect her manager would have pushed her towards the others.

And if she's not on the V bill - which it looks like she isn't - then I find it hard to see anything but a big-money exclusive which might have stopped that .... which would surely mean R/L.

The more I think about it, the more likely I think it is that she's the 3rd R/L headliner.

[Dave The Hedgehog]

Add "that has made it huge" to that, and I'd agree. There's plenty of creative, original music out there, but it's the bland shit that gets noticed. Just look at the rapid rise of Adele and Ed Sheeran.

[zahidf]

I think that its likely Florence + The Machine (sorry, I just can't bring myself to call her Flo - she's not my mate!) may have opted for a headlining slot at smaller festival this year. She could well have been offered second headline slots at V (and maybe others) but opted to take a headline slot at a smaller festival so that it might propel her to headliner at a big fest (Glasto, V, etc...) next year.

Just conjecture, but its a likely strategy if she's touring this album for the next year or so. I can't see her having been offered headliner at V this year looking at the lineup they've got nailed already.

I also can't see her headlining at Reading unless they are taking a wildly different direction, that'd be even more controversial with the rockers than a rap artist, no?

If not Bestival then Wireless still have another day to be announced....?

[mrtourette]

She has played Reading before and gone down fine. Having her headline this year wouldn't be a massive jump.

[Dave The Hedgehog]

2 door cinema club, biffy clyro, vampire weekend, mumford and sons.

[thetime]

I think that its likely Florence + The Machine (sorry, I just can't bring myself to call her Flo - she's not my mate!) may have opted for a headlining slot at smaller festival this year. She could well have been offered second headline slots at V (and maybe others) but opted to take a headline slot at a smaller festival so that it might propel her to headliner at a big fest (Glasto, V, etc...) next year.

Just conjecture, but its a likely strategy if she's touring this album for the next year or so. I can't see her having been offered headliner at V this year looking at the lineup they've got nailed already.

I also can't see her headlining at Reading unless they are taking a wildly different direction, that'd be even more controversial with the rockers than a rap artist, no?

If not Bestival then Wireless still have another day to be announced....?

[smogo]

Kanye West, Dizzee Rascal, Eminem, Tinie Tempah, M.I.A., Chase and Status, Pendulum, Skrillex, deadmau5, Swedish House Mafia, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé...... there's only a dearth of post-2000 potential festival headliners (or a glut of repeat bookings) if you think that only guitar bands should ever headline.

And Reading/Leeds do seem to think that: Eminem is the only non-guitar act to have headlined in the last 13 years.

Edited February 27, 2012 by smogo

[eFestivals]

everything points to Flo being at R/L, as an exclusive. Which means headliner.

[smogo]

everything points to Flo being at R/L, as an exclusive.

[mrtourette]

Yeah, I think when the term exlusive is used nowadays it means England.

[eFestivals]

Except that she's doing T in the Park. So an England & Wales exclusive?

Yeah. R/L always has a combination of UK & English exclusives.

[Justiceforcedave]

Wow,potentially Kasabian, Foos and FATM... I'm glad I can't afford to do Reading this year. Not they they are bad acts to have but there is nothing truely inspiring there.

[Joe-]

We're fucked, really.

Edited February 27, 2012 by Joe-

[mrtourette]

That's why they have multiple stages.

[kaosmark2]

It's because it's easier to sell that sort of music to the public than it is to have a thousand XTRMNTR's seeping their way into the mainstream - we wouldn't want people to start riots now, would we? Can't have monsters roaming the quiet countryside.

I'll echo what somebody else said and say that Arcade Fire are probably the best band on planet earth at the minute, and that's mainly by default because there's nobody else in their league doing what they do and being as successful at it as they are. Whilst I'd love to see them again, I don't think I'd like to see them at another festival purely because they've already done that. I want to see somebody up there with them do it, but as I say, there really isn't anybody new who can do it, and if there is then major festivals won't give them a chance anyway.

As for Kasabian...

Who else is there from 2000 onwards? Biffy Clyro? Glasvegas? Mumford and Sons? Arctic Monkeys? Muse? Coldplay? Snow Patrol? The Killers? Kaiser Chiefs? Kings of Leon? Chase and Status? Plan B? Jessie J? The Kooks? I'm seeing these bunch of names so many times now at festivals I'm just becoming sick of them - utterly bored.

[kaosmark2]

Hah, yeah, pretty much.

Who knows.. I think bands like Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, Animal Collective, M83, The XX, etc will be the bands that go on to headline in the future.

Can't imagine going to a major festival in 10 years time and seeing a 30yr old Ed Sheeran playing a headline set.

[pryce]

get Porcupine Tree headlining

about time we gave Prog another chance

[Joe-]

Sadly, I doubt it. While I like these bands, I don't think many will break into the machine and make it huge. They just seem too different to be accepted by the big media. Biffy and Muse are made out to be hugely alternative when they're really not....