Latitude 2024

[ianlash]

2 hours ago, Summertime said:

I’m having the same problem. Deleted the app and reinstalled but still can’t see them 

They aren’t there for anyone. They appeared for a short while but then were removed again. I, or someone, will post here when they go live. One year they only appeared in the app on the Thursday, but they seem to have got their act together since then. 

[Chapple12345]

Yeah they appeared for about an hour and then suddenly went off again, sorry I didn't update it sooner 

However, someone's posted these from another forum  and this matches exactly what I saw so they're probably right - it's only Obelisk, tent and comedy but the rest will probably come later 

 

[Chapple12345]

The apps fully live now with all the times and the full schedule planning part too

Happy planning everyone 😁

[sjc10000]

I will start with the bad - having been last year and this, the number of blankets seemed massively up (from already fairly high levels, although admittedly we went from bringing a child last year to a rare child-free weekend this year which might have highlighted it more). 

 

I get it, its how a big chunk of the festival demographic want to experience live music.  But as a late 30's man thats too old for the rail now (both back and bladder reasons) it seemed have chairs and blankets from about 15 rows out for almost every set this weekend.  I'm not going to tell people how they can or cant enjoy music, but surely just an exclusion zone would work?  Last year when we brought our 8 year old we somehow mangaged to muddle through when she was tired by either parking up at the back, grabbing a seat in the chairs or (heaven forbid) letting her go back to the tent for a bit whether there was something on we wanted to see or not.

 

Other than that, it was hard to pick fault with the lineup for me personally in the end.  If you hate that kind of music you probably wouldnt have bought a ticket, but I think it is pretty hard to argue that the bulk of the lineup are very good at what they do.

 

I loved The Vaccines, Kasabian, NY Brass Band, The Darkness and Nile Rogers (as I thought I would).  Surprises were Caty Baser, Blusher, Boy Blue and how many good songs Keane have in the holster.  Some really good comedy sets too, especially Jake Lambert and Mark Simmons on the Sat morning.

 

Disappointment was, unfortunately, Duran Duran.  A very wonky setlist with a lull in the middle (for someone less familiar with their work) and no "View to a Kill"?  Come on now.

 

Special shout out to Masseoke, which post Kasabian was up there with the most post main event fun that I have had at a festival. 

 

Special, special shout out to The Lottery Winners, which might be the most main event fun that I have had at a festival.  My word they could be onto something special there.

 

[Peetle]

I agree with a lot of that. It's especially annoying for headliners when everyone stands up but there are still thickets of chairs all over the place.

 

This year we had some great food and saw some great comedy - also happened across John Cooper Clark in the Lavish Lounge on the Saturday morning, which was a lot less packed than in the Listening Post later on. They should make the Listening Post a lot bigger if they're going to put such big names on in there.

 

I was a big Duran Duran fan back in the day (I've just turned 60 so I was there first time around) and I knew most of the set which I thought was great. Other highlights were Orbital (took my 17 year old daughter who thought they were fantastic) and my favourite act of the weekend was Future Islands who were magnificent. I hate Kasabian. CMAT was great too. While waiting for Ash we saw David Duchovny who may be the worst live act I've ever seen, the man simply can't sing and can't even clap in time with the band. University in the Sunrise were also a discovery, and nice to have someone making a bit of a racket rather than the mainstream pop everyone else produces - though this is Latitude and not Download.

 

Two big downsides for me: toilets and beer. There are not enough toilets. The big one by the Obelisk is only accessible to about a third of the crowd when it gets busy and the one by the second stage was queueing back to the Obelisk on Sunday. There needs to be another big one, possible behind the Obelisk grandstands.

 

The beer choice was worse than usual. Both Brooklyn and Sommersby are awful and guaranteed to make me feel I've been hit by a truck. I'm not drinking wine all day when it's hot and I'm deeply suspicious of that "hard seltzer". So I only had 2 or 3 pints every day and saved a few quid as well as feeling great every morning, so there is a plus.

[ilovelanegan]

1 hour ago, Peetle said:

I agree with a lot of that. It's especially annoying for headliners when everyone stands up but there are still thickets of chairs all over the place.

 

This year we had some great food and saw some great comedy - also happened across John Cooper Clark in the Lavish Lounge on the Saturday morning, which was a lot less packed than in the Listening Post later on. They should make the Listening Post a lot bigger if they're going to put such big names on in there.

 

I was a big Duran Duran fan back in the day (I've just turned 60 so I was there first time around) and I knew most of the set which I thought was great. Other highlights were Orbital (took my 17 year old daughter who thought they were fantastic) and my favourite act of the weekend was Future Islands who were magnificent. I hate Kasabian. CMAT was great too. While waiting for Ash we saw David Duchovny who may be the worst live act I've ever seen, the man simply can't sing and can't even clap in time with the band. University in the Sunrise were also a discovery, and nice to have someone making a bit of a racket rather than the mainstream pop everyone else produces - though this is Latitude and not Download.

 

Two big downsides for me: toilets and beer. There are not enough toilets. The big one by the Obelisk is only accessible to about a third of the crowd when it gets busy and the one by the second stage was queueing back to the Obelisk on Sunday. There needs to be another big one, possible behind the Obelisk grandstands.

 

The beer choice was worse than usual. Both Brooklyn and Sommersby are awful and guaranteed to make me feel I've been hit by a truck. I'm not drinking wine all day when it's hot and I'm deeply suspicious of that "hard seltzer". So I only had 2 or 3 pints every day and saved a few quid as well as feeling great every morning, so there is a plus.

 

Future Islands were incredible! My friends were keen on London Grammar so we started with them and they were a pleasant surprise ('baby Portishead', anyone?), but about halfway through we fancied a dance so nipped over to Orbital who were absolutely brilliant. CMAT is a star, loved her. Fat Dog were LOADS of fun - both times! Loads of great stuff for kids including Taskmaster challenge - my ten year old was SO chuffed when Alex Horne turned up unexpectedly to kick the first task off and obligingly took a photo with him. Our group also very much enjoyed Rick Astley's big cheesy, self-aware revival.

 

Comedy-wise I loved Joanne McNally, Lucy Beaumont, Grace Campbell and Stewart Lee (happily the kids were elsewhere...) and the horror chat on Thursday night with Robin Ince, Rhys Shearsmith and others. Agree you have to get there early if there's a big act on in the listening post.

 

Re: chairs - I get the annoyance 100% but I also think a bit of mutual consideration is required. A couple of our group can't stand for long periods but also want to be near the action, so once or twice we did have 2 chairs up near the front that were only intermittently sat in. We made friends with the people around us though and always made sure people could get past easily. However, leaving up whole walls of chairs and blankets so people get stuck behind them (when there is actually loads of available space) is pretty selfish I think - especially when you get tutted at for trying to make your way through. Don't be those people!

 

Overall really enjoyed our weekend - was very dubious about the lineup but actually there was more than enough fun stuff for everyone from the 7-12 yr olds up to the middle aged parents. Probably back next year!

 

[Semprini]

Fourth time at Latitude (all have been just for one day as we live in Norwich and it's less than an hours drive) and had another really good experience there on Saturday. Main reason for going this time was that our 18 year old son played a set on the Inbetweeners Stage. He goes to Access Creative College Norwich and they host the stage, inviting acts from colleges across the country. It's mostly bands and singers but he's a DJ and was the only one to play over the weekend (and possibly ever?). I know I'm biased but he was great and definitely the best act all I saw all day!! Had quite a few people who were just walking past come in to watch which was nice, plus he got a noise complaint from one of the other areas so that's a bonus!!

Took our 11 year old daughter for the second time and a day or so before she realised that one of her favourite new singers, Alessi Rose, was going to be there on the Sunrise Arena. We got there a bit early and she managed to get on the rail, along with a lot of other young girls who were all very excited at the prospect of seeing her. I'd not heard anything beforehand but she played a good set, which included a Chappell Roan cover which went down well. Was very much in the mould of Olivia Rodrigo but she then stayed behind afterwards and talked to and had pictures with every single person who wanted one. My daughter was beside herself when it was finally her turn and I loved seeing how much she enjoyed the whole experience!

We mostly went between the Obelisk and second stage for the rest of the day/evening. Really enjoyed The Mary Wallopers and Jockstrap and it had been a good few years since I'd seen Keane so was nice to hear a few songs I'd forgotten about. Went backwards and forwards between London Grammar and Orbital (plus a quick wander to the Sunrise for Beak) but my daughter had pretty much hit the wall by then so we sat on the seats for the last 20 mins of London Grammar. Nice idea to get someone up to sing along the set closer 'Strong' but I think I'd have preferred it if they'd just done it themselves.

[Semprini]

Sent the previous post too early!

Didn't really bother with much of the other stuff going on, aside from seeing a bit of Daft Funk in the Trailer Park and a quick look in the comedy for Guilty Pleasures as we left but didn't find it too busy or hard to get around (apart from the dodgy ground and random slopes of course!).

Agree with some of the comments about the camps people had set up around the Obelisk. Gave me 'towels on the sun loungers around the pool' vibes the way many had claimed their space but we tended to go round the side to the front and then work our way in from there. Saw a lot of stressed parents dealing with tired and grumpy young children. I was knackered at the end of just one day so not sure how they coped with four days of camping, all the walking, lack of sleep etc?!? Not going to open the can of worms debate on taking young children to a festival but the cost on its own for tickets, food, drinks etc is a massive undertaking for most families.

Daughter has said she'd like to go for the whole weekend next time and camp but will see what the line up is like. There wasn't enough this year to tempt me to shell out the money for a ticket for the whole thing (although there were people selling them for £200 a few days before which is an option as we live so close) but I think I'd be more inclined to check out the comedy and theatre if I was there for longer.

[Chapple12345]

For a lineup I wasn't hugely enamoured by initially, I had an amazing weekend

Managed to cram in the following:

 

Friday - Eliott Steele, Seann Walsh, Frank Turner, Waxahatchee, Desiree Burch, Fat Dog, The Vaccines, Corinne Bailey Rae, Alison Goldfrapp and Kasabian

 

Saturday - Myles Smith, Sam Campbell, Comedy Store Players, Flo and Joan, CMAT, Blanco White, Good Neighbours, The Mary Wallopers, Keane and London Grammar

 

Sunday - Big Special, Stewart Lee, The Lottery Winners, Baby Queen, The Darkness, Picture Parlour, Rag'n'Bone Man, Ash, Nile Rodgers and Chic, Duran Duran and English Teacher

 

Highlights were The Mary Wallopers, CMAT, Kasabian, Ash and Chic (even if Nile spent more time chatting than singing)

The weather was perfect throughout and it felt like the crowds were all really up for it too

 

Roll on 2025!