Exams, for many, are over. For some of us they continue, but in a weeks time we’ll all able to sit collectively on the Bishop Langley roof terrace, with our overpriced drinks and a view of Durham Cathedral, and take a deep breath out. Ahhhh.
But wait, there’s a new fresh set of worries around the corner: finding a job, paying back your student loan, moving back in with your parents, planning your summer.
Hold on, that last one sounded quite nice, I think I’ll focus on that.
How to spend your summer? Hmmm. Well, a music festival is always an essential, but which one to go to? Well if you’re a fan of ‘alternative music’ (not that I’m a fan of that phrase…) then Field Day is probably the best value for money you’re going to get.
Field Day will welcome acts from all over the world (but mostly the UK, North America, Australasia and Scandinavia) to East London’s Victoria Park this June (6th and 7th), for what is set to be a perfect way to kick off the summer.
The London location means getting there is cheap (Megabus, or if you’ve got money and a fear of confined spaces, body odour and a sleepless night: train) and it means you can tie it in with visiting other parts of the city, or the south east. Your parents, for example (especially if you go to Hatfield). Unfortunately there isn’t camping available, but stay with your aforementioned parents, a friend at uni in London, Airbnb, or a cheap hostel somewhere.
“That’s enough of the boring stuff Ollie, tell us the juicy bits”
Oh, yeah, the music. Hmmm, where to begin?
Well I suppose the headliners are a good place to start: Caribou on the Saturday and Ride on the Sunday.
Caribou will be touring on the back of 2014’s Our Love, which features on virtually every ‘album of they year’ shortlist going. This is on top of an already strong career, with a decade of tracks to draw from.
Ride are shoegaze legends from the 90s. They are perhaps most acclaimed for their debut release Nowhere, an album which features in the popular ‘1001…’ series, and is home to the song ‘Vapour Trail’. They’ve been out of the game for some twenty years now, but the Sunday at Field Day will mark their return. An occasion not to be missed.
But what if we look elsewhere in the festival? This is Field Day’s real strength: depth. I can’t remember seeing so many acts that I’d like to see performing over just two days before. The only worry is clashes. But that’s not a real worry, is it?
The Saturday will feature tUnE-yArDs, Spector, Run the Jewels, Owen Pallet, Jaguar, FKA Twigs, Django Django, Chet Faker, Stealing Sheep and Shura, as well as electronic music and DJ sets by Madlib, Clark, Hudson Mohawk, Jungle, QT, Sophie and Todd Terje. A list of names that for a strange reason seems daunting when bunched together in such a small space.
As for the Sunday, we’ll see Mac DeMarco, Patti Smith, Eagles, Gaz Coombes, Savages, Vietcong, Hookworms, Matthew E. White and Yak.
And they’re just the ones I’m personally excited about.
If you like A.G. Cook, Antix, Astronomyy, Awesome Tapes From Africa, DJ Barely Legal, Bok Bok, Boxed In, Cashmere Cat, Cheetahs, Cholombian, Clarence Clarity, Daniel Avery and Andrew Weatherall, Danny L Harle, Elijah & Skilliam, Farnborough Concert Band, Floating Points, Frau DJs, Formation, Fryars, Future Brown, Ghost Culture, Hackney Colliery Band, Hailu Mergia, Honne, Hooton Tennis Club…
…deeep breath…
Jack Garrat, John Talabot, Jolta, Kindness, Klaves, LA Priest, Lemmy Ashton, Leon Vynehall, Luke, Marcel Detmann and Ben Klock, Matthew & Me, Max Tundra, Missingno, Mumdance, Nina Kraviz, Murkage, Philip Selway, Rae Morris, Rat Boy, Ratking, Shanti Celeste, Sylvan Esso, Tala, Tei Shi, Ten Walls, Telegram, Toumani and Sidiki Diabate, Tropics, Volte-Face, Wild Echo, Yossarian, Yung Gud or Zibra then the Saturday might be for you.
I stress, that’s just the Saturday. If you want to see the Sunday, I suggest their website might be significantly less error-prone. And it also has pictures: http://fielddayfestivals.com/line-up/line-up-2015/
Prices for Field Day festival are £59.50 for the Saturday, £43.50 for the Sunday and £93 for the weekend.