Orbital, Pixies & Alt-J for bluedot at Jodrell Bank 2017

Bluedot 2017

Friday 7th to Sunday 9th July 2017
Jodrell Bank Visitor Centre and Arboretum, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK119DL, England MAP
£159 for the weekend or £59 for any day

Daily capacity: 5,000

The first acts have been announced for the second bluedot which takes place from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th July 2017 at Jodrell Bank, the Cheshire observatory at the cutting edge of humanity’s quest for knowledge. After the inaugural year last year Bluedot promises another three-day festival of discovery that promises to fuse a complex mix of artists, speakers, scientists and performers into an event unlike any on earth, all in the shadow of the towering Lovell telescope.

Confirmed to headline are Orbital who are back after a 5 year break and who play their "only northern show of the summer", and there's a "northern festival exclusive" performance from Pixies, while Alt-J are the final main stage headliner.

Also confirmed are Soulwax with a full live show, there's a UK festival exclusive from Ezra Furman and The Boyfriends, Warpaint, experimental Squarepusher project Shobaleader One, Shura, Andrew Weatherall, Factory Floor, The Moonlandingz, Boxed In, Max Cooper with a performance of Emergence, The Radiophonic Workshop, Whyte Horses Experience (with special guest TBA), Jane Weaver, Meilyr Jones, Anna Meredith, Rival Consoles, The Comet Is Coming, Marc Riley with a DJ set, Space Cassette Takeover starring Henge, Age of Glass and Anchorsong, Flamingods, The Early Years, Plastic Mermaids, Goat Girl, Makeness, Ider, TVAM, Wovoka Gentle, Ethan & The Reformation, Girl Sweat Pleasure Temple Ritual Band, Horsebeach, Team Picture, and Algorave.

Said festival director Ben Robinson: "We are incredibly proud to be able to present such an innovative and legendary collection of artists to perform at this years bluedot festival. Orbital's return to the festival stage at bluedot will be an incredibly fitting spectacle and one not to be missed, along with Pixies, Alt-J and Soulwax the headline acts are all hugely talented musicians, who have helped to shape and form music culture over the years."

"The reaction to the first event has been incredible and we are only just beginning to realise the potential of curating a festival in such a unique location. We have a full programme of science, arts and culture still to come, it's going to be an exciting summer ahead."

The full arts, culture and science line-up will be announced in the coming months but highlights include the brilliant best selling author Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Tubular Brass, a newly formed brass band featuring some of the UK’s finest players, performing a full brass band score of Mike Oldfield’s multimillion-selling classic Tubular Bells, developed by the highly regarded arranger and conductor, Sandy Smith.

A once in a lifetime opportunity for any Star Wars Fan. bluedot is very proud to bring The Men Behind The Mask to this years festival. Expect an intriguing insight into the creation of one of the world’s most infamous villains, Darth Vader as Brian Muir, Ralph McQuire and the man inside the mask himself, David Prowse present their story and experience of Vader’s helmet. With screen presentations, panels and an interactive Q&A session, it’s one not to be missed!

There will be a full weekend of fascinating talks from best-selling authors and award-winning academics, covering everything from how to eat in the future to how the brain make us laugh and the science of magic and mindfulness. Highlights include an afternoon of discussions on the rise of Fake News, with leading journalists and politicians discussing whether the increasing trend in our post-truth, post-Trump world threatens democracy itself; and The Dark Web - a magical mystery tour around the darker side of the internet, where anyone can operate under a cloak of anonymity, and why we should care what happens there, hosted by Geoff White, head of Tech for Channel 4.

Tickets go on sale at 10AM tomorrow, Friday the 3rd of January, priced at £149.

Full access to the magnificent Discovery centre is included with each ticket, and offers a chance to find out more about the mind-blowing research happening at Jodrell Bank. Explore the wonders of the universe and find out for yourself why stargazing has enjoyed a massive resurgence in the past few years.