The post Festival Guide 2016: August/September appeared first on Wonderland.

EASTERN ELECTRICS

When: 1st August. Where: Hatfield House. What: Taking place at Hatfield House for a second year running, the underground house and techno festival is boasting a stellar line up that includes the likes of Jamie Jones, Miguell Campbell, TEED, Richy Ahmed, Guti and a whole host of others. Only a short train ride from London, with an array of after parties on offer in the capital, Eastern Electrics is our go to for guaranteed hedonistic fun.

WILDERNESS

When: 6th – 9th August. Where: Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire. What: One for the grown-ups amongst you, Wilderness places musical acts on an equal pedestal to wellbeing, theatre, food and debates. So let’s take a look at the best from each. Björk will be on the main stage, no doubt doing weird and wonderful things and you can see a full performance of Alice in Wonderland or if that’s a bit too conventional for you, there’s all manner of circus acts dangling from trees all weekend. Grab a ticket in advance for a long table banquet for five course dinner with wine with a different chef taking to the kitchen each night and try and squeeze into the tent for Sunday Papers Live, where the newspapers will be performed section by section by poets, politicians and writers. There won’t be enough hours in the day.

BOOMTOWN

When: 13th – 16th August. Where: Matterley Estate, Hampshire. What: For one weekend a year, this corner of the world turns into a man made town, with pop up stages, stalls and shops. Split into districts, the “city” is separated into areas each with their own line up. We like the look of Whistler’s Green for some down time and Dstrkt 5 for late night partying. There’s usually something behind every door at Boomtown, we’ve heard urban legends from friends about falling into rooms and finding one man, raving alone, behind. With a line up so long it’s intimidating, we suggest you play the game where you close your eyes, wiggle your finger and go see whatever you land on, you’ll get an eclectic mix however you approach it.

WAY OUT WEST & STAY OUT WEST

When: 13th – 15th August. Where: Gothenburg, Sweden. What: Way Out West is the festival Stay Out West is the series of late night parties that follow once the gates are closed, do you see what they did there? Having only been a fully fledged fest since 2012, Way Out is a newbie in the grand scheme of things but they’ve still managed to bag Pet Shop Boys and Patti Smith as well as filling up the bill with Tyler, The Creator and Flying Lotus amongst others.

GREEN MAN

When: 20th – 23rd August. Where: Brecon Beacons, Wales. What: The pioneers of shoegaze, Slowdive are our favourite pick of the headliners at Green Man. As well as our friends Sylvan Esso, we’ll be seeing countless new bands, Hookworms, Trust Fund and Corey Bowen can’t be missed and go laugh at Sara Pascoe. Fun for all the family, find streams and rivers you’re welcome to explore onsite as well as dedicated kiddies areas for the little folks with arty activities and play parks. Venture into the walled garden whenever you can to grab drinks and find an unexpected stage within.

V FEST

When: 22nd – 23rd August. Where: Hylands Park and Weston Park, Shifnal. What: Go get emosh at V Fest and belt out all the words to Sam Smith and Hozier’s deep ballads. When you’ve dried off your tears, listen to all the hits of the year at Annie Mac’s DJ set. Tom Jones is what we’re really looking forward too, who doesn’t know all the words to Sir Tom’s classics? Get down the front and make your Nana proud.

DIMENSIONS

When: 26th – 30th August. Where: Fort Punta Christo, Croatia. What: Outlook’s sister event, Dimensions, takes place a week or so prior and things travel in a clearer direction towards house, with man of the moment, Four Tet and beatmaking magician Little Dragon playing the opening concert. Offering the same format as Outlook, there will be the Amphitheatre parties as well opportunities to go island hopping (WTF!!) to the nearby Brijuni Islands.

READING & LEEDS

When: 28th – 30th August. Where: Richfield Avenue, Reading and Bramham Park, Leeds. What: The UK’s oldest festival, Reading and Leeds have long been the traditional place for 16 year olds to lose their minds after their first experience of adulthood responsibility – exams. If you’re no longer in your teens and considering going to one of these arenas of hormones, warm cider and mud, you’re braver than us but don’t let that put you off. Reading and Leeds are always sure to be reckless, bring out your inner teenager perhaps, go see some of the world’s biggest guitar bands, as you have always been able to at the festivals and now, moving with the times, they’re branching out into dance tents and introducing stages. We suggest you go for The Libertines, Peace and Boy Better Know. Don’t plan for any more, chances are you’ll spend the rest of the time wandering round trying to remember your own name.

ROCK EN SEINE

When: 28th – 30th August.  Where: Domaine national de Saint-Cloud, France. What: On the west side of Paris, housed in the gardens designed by André Le Nôtre, Rock En Seine brings guitars to over 100,000 Parisian spectators for three days. Five minutes away from the nearest metro station, you can have a week’s getaway in sunny Paree, either beginning with the fest and winding down in the backstreets and avenues of Montmartre or vice versa. Catch classics, Interpol and intriguing (almost) newbie, Benjamin Clementine, a Londoner discovered on the metro.

SW4

When: 29th – 30th August. Where: Clapham Common, London. What: Only with the best of dance and electronica on the line-up, SW4 is a two day long party in the city. Heavyweight of the genre, Fatboy Slim will no doubt be the highlight of many attendees but we’ll be up against the bars waiting for Hannah Wants, crowned as the queen of 2014 by Mixmag, we’ve seen her up and down the country, taking over the house scene and getting an appearance in for the girls. Save some energy for Sunday so you can scream along at full volume to “Where’s Your Head At” when Basement Jaxx take to the stage.

MYSTERYLAND

When: 29th – 30th August. Where: Floriade Terrain, Haarlemmermeer. What: All about electronica, Mysteryland serves up the best from dubstep, house, techno, hip hop and disco. We’re going to be dancing down the front to Cleo’s DJ set, and pretending to be Kate Moss at Disco Smack’s appearance, who have soundtracked the supermodel’s own parties before. Jump into the party led by DJ Jazzy Jeff, just so you can say you were there and maybe he’ll drop the Fresh Prince theme tune, so you can expertly whip out your full knowledge of the lyrics. It is Mysteryland after all, be prepared for anything.

OUTLOOK

When: 2nd – 6th September. Where: Stinjan, Croatia What: Coming from the creators themselves, Outlook is all about the real deal, “When we talk about bass music we don’t mean the bastardised commercial version currently being sold to children, we mean underground dancefloor music, whether it be house, techno, dubstep, reggae, dub, hiphop, garage, grime, electronica.” So head to Stinjan for sun, sea, sand and serious beats. Shy FX, Dusky and Toddla T? Yes, please. Plus boat parties, book in advance, you’ll regret it when you’re at the port, waving as all your mates disappear into the horizon. The opening night is an Amphitheatre party held in the Pula arena, one of the oldest and largest Roman amphitheatres in existence today.

FESTIVAL NO. 6

When: 3rd – 6th September. Where: Portmeirion, Wales. What: For one weekend a year this strange and quaint seaside town, straight out of a film set (Portmeirion was home to 60s surreal spy drama, The Prisoner), turns into a playground for a festival. Find yourself in the middle of fairytale architecture the colour of dolly mixture, housing stages for the likes of Belle & Sebastian and Grace Jones. It’s going to be as magical as it sounds.

ELECTRIC PICNIC

When: 4th – 6th September. Where: Stradbally Hall. What: Way back when in 2004, Electric Picnic opened as the first Boutique festival in Ireland to 10,000 customers. Fast forward to today, their audience has quadrupled and their line-up has grown and diversified even more. Psych Kings Tame Impala and Queen of the croons and catcalls, Florence and The Machine are top of our list. Also on offer are yet to be announced comedy acts and Body & Soul, an Irish sustainably conscious creative collective bringing you artists, therapists and poets, sounds niche but glorious.

BESTIVAL

When: 10th – 13th September. Where: Robin Hill, Isle of Wight. What: A fancy dress extravaganza, each year Bestival has a theme and partygoers are encouraged to dress up following suit on the Sunday. This year it’s The Summer of Love! So, get your best boho gear and practice your face painting skills in preparation. We’re going to see The Jacksons and FKA Twigs and shake things up a little with Fat White Family but it’s not all about the main stages. Visit the Grand Palace of Entertainment for all sorts of strange happenings. Last year we might have been pulled on stage and maybe gotten married to a complete stranger. We can neither confirm nor deny. What happens on the Isle of Wight, stays on the Isle of Wight.

OASIS

When: 11th – 13th September. Where: Marrakech, Morocco. What: We’ve been hooked to Guy Gerber ever since he made us a playlist last year so of course we’d travel as far as Morocco to see the musician, producer and DJ. With a select line up, you’ve got plenty of time in between your favourite acts to take advantage of the free shuttle bus running between the festival and the towns of Hivernage and Agdal. Oasis is a little different to your typical festival, taking place in the Fellah Hotel around the expansive open rooms and pools for you to dip into between dancing.

THE SOCIAL

When: 12th September Where: Mote Park, Kent What: The Social claim to be, “bringing a taste of Ibiza to the south east of England.” Bless them, let’s hope that optimistic spirit rubs off on the crowd – and the weather. With a small but strong line up, our top choice is Jackmaster but with so few acts selected, each is sure to have been a stellar choice from the organisers, plus you’ll be able to cover most of them in during the day, no FOMO here.

Words: Lily Walker.

Photo Credit: Dan Medhurst.

The post Wonderland Festival Guide: August: September appeared first on Wonderland.

So Coachella, the sparkling, bro-filled diamond of the US festival circuit, kicks off this weekend. But who wants to be surrounded by alcohol funnels and teenage cries of “anyone seen molly?” while trying to spot Lindsay going into yet another shame spiral? We decided to cast our gaze closer to home for our summer of fun. Here are our personal European festival highlights – some more established, some brand spanking new. And unlike Glastonbury, all of them are still on sale right now.

1. OPTIMUS PRIMAVERA SOUND
30th May-1st June | Porto, Spain

Think of this as the Optimus Prime of newbie festivals. The little brother to Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Optimus Primavera has the added advantage of being in the beautiful city of Porto, Portugal, which boasts its own UNESCO World Heritage site and was nominated as Best City in the 2012 Design Awards. Blur, My Bloody Valentine, Four Tet and Hot Chip are all lined up, while legendary act The Breeders are set to play Last Splash in full. Plus, discerning music fans will be pleased to know that Pitchfork will be curating a stage at the festival for the first time.

Weekend tickets are sold out but €125 (£69) day tickets are still available. www.optimusprimaverasound.com

2. BENICASSIM

18-21st July | Spain

If sunning yourself on the Costa del Azahar’s langorious coasts, drinking Sangria and dusting down your embarrassing New Rock Revolution trillby doesn’t quite tick your summery boxes, scoot on down the road to Beni while you’re there. Hosting a Stellar (Artois) lineup, including Beach House, Queens of the Stone Age, Temples, The Child of Lov and Swim Deep. Aaaaand, breath. Aaaaaand book your tickets right away.

Weekend tickets are available from £150. Day tickets from £70. http://benicassimfestival.co.uk

3. LONGITUDE
19-21 July | Dublin, Ireland

The sister festival of Suffolk’s Latitude Festival, the inaugural Longitude is an open-air event set in Dublin’s Marlay Park. Taking place on the same weekend with Latitude, it shares the same stellar line-up and is one of Ireland’s leading summer events. German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk have been announced as headliners and promise another triumphant return with their 3D concert; Brit newcomer Tom Odell, Hot Chip, Vampire Weekend and Yeah Yeah Yeahs are scheduled too.

Weekend tickets are €149.50 (£127); day tickets cost €54.50 (£46). longitude.ie

4. MELT
19-21 July | Gräfenhainichen, Germany

For a German alternative to Longtitude, check out Melt, which happens over the same July weekend at Ferropolis, an open museum of old huge industrial machines in Gräfenhainichen, a city near Dessau, Germany. Reigning supreme for the last 15 years, Melt has well and truly established itself as a major player on the festival calendar, scoring a nomination for Best Overseas Festival in 2001’s UK Festival Awards. Ferropolis is known as the ‘City of Steel’, and its imposingly huge machinery exhibits give the festival the feel of a dystopian sci-fi. Confirmed acts that include Atoms For Peace, The Knife, Flying Lotus, Everything Everthing and Mount Kimbie.

Weekend tickets are €119 (£100.73) plus booking fee. www.meltfestival.de/en

5. SECRET GARDEN PARTY
25-28th July | Cambridgeshire, UK

This crazed blend of fancy dress, surreal art and music was initially inspired by Burning Man, the infamous drug-friendly hippie utopia. That pretty much tells us all about SGP, which has grown from being a tiny invite-only party to a thousands-strong contender on the boutique festival line-up. Set in a 220-acre landscaped garden (essentially the backyard of a British aristocrat), think of it as a prim garden party gone to the dark side. Django Django, Regina Spektor and Soulwax are playing, along with Wonderland favourites Wolf Alice and Bastille.

Tier 4 tickets are £185 plus booking fee. www.secretgardenparty.com

6. WAY OUT WEST
8-10th August | Gothenburg, Sweden

This 3 day event plays host to some of the most sought after international artists, who take to the stage in various venues all over the city. Clubs, churches, theatres and cultural centres are all set to showcase emerging talent as well as more established acts such as Azealia Banks, The Knife, Local Natives, Solange and veteran musicians Neil Young and Crazy Horse. The big acts perform in Slottsskogen Park in the centre of Gothenburg, whilst the rest of the festival’s ‘Stay Out West’ line-up takes place throughout the city from Thursday evening onwards.

Standard weekend ticket are 1,895 kr (£189), with day options available. www.wayoutwest.se/en

7. OUTLOOK / DIMENSIONS
Fort Punta Christo, Croatia
29 August-2 September5-9th September | Fort Punta Cristo Pula, Croatia

Croatia is shaping up to be the festival destination of summer, with both Dimensions, Unknown (below) and Outlook heading to its sunny shores. Outlook and Dimensions are organised by the same underground party crew, who can be relied on to bring epic soundsystems and a friendly, up-for-it vibe that makes dancing all night in flip-flops a true joy. In particular, Dimensions has gathered much critical acclaim since it launched last year, notably for having one of the most forward-thinking electronic music line-up. It’s less bass-heavy than its older brother, Outlook – though both boast the highest technical specification of soundsystem. Featuring everything from daytime beach sessions to boat parties, don’t be surprised if you’ll never want to get on the EasyJet plane home. This year’s Dimensions line-up includes Mount Kimbie, Gilles Peterson, Skudge, Blawan and Zed Bias while Outlook has nabbed Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Rustie and many others.*

Standard tickets are £135. www.outlookfestival.com / www.dimensionsfestival.com

8. UNKNOWN
10-14th September | Rovinj, Croatia

The brains behind The Warehouse Project and Field Day have developed something brand new for 2013 in the shape of Unknown. Enhanced by the beautiful backdrop of summery Rovinj, Croatia, the festival promises to incorporate what they already do best with an impressive collection of DJ sets and live performances. Alongside the forward-thinking music programme will be what the organisers promise as intimate design space projects to match the hedonistic mood. Entertaining the crowd will be Jamie xx, Joy Orbison, SBTRKT, Disclosure and Jessie Ware.

Standard weekend ticket costs £109. Various accommodation packages are available. www.unknowncroatia.com

* Want to win a pair of tickets to Outlook or Dimensions? Click here to find out more.

Words: Shane Hawkins

The post SEVEN WONDERS: Top summer festivals appeared first on Wonderland.

&% #@! You heard: Wonderland is a little hot around the collar, and we ain’t exactly whispering about it. Neither’s the bold, brash beautiful talent that pepper our Outspoken issue this summer. It’s all about having an opinion and not being afraid to holla it, and the top of your lungs.

Take it from cover girl Taylor Swift, who talks candidly about her gripes with the press, her global, chart-topping run as country pop girl to be, and, well, how relationships are like traffic lights.

Then there’s the furious, formidable R&B talent JoJo, who explains – in her own terms, of course – how to stay strong, despite everything. Fluoro-haired rap queen Gita gets real with us about bass-poppin’ collaborations with the likes of Mark Ronson and Venus X, Kanye protégé Big Sean advises on how to freestyle your way into a major record contract, and outer limits, grenade-wielding indie overlord Wayne Coyne takes us through Flaming Lips’ newest existentialist masterpiece, The Terror.

And if this doesn’t fill your swear jar, feast your eyes on a champagne-soaked karaoke session with the best new bands going, and a Brit Encounter of the Thespian Kind: we pin down a horde of edgy, talented newcomers to the British acting scene. We chat to cinema’s truest enfant terrible Harmony Korine about his newest nightmare, Spring Breakers, and curtain-haired alt. country strummer Kurt Vile explains why he no longer has anything to prove.

We may be feeling a li’l rough and ready this summer, but it doesn’t mean we’re not as generous as ever. For a chance to win a pair of tickets* to taste-making Croatian music festivals Outlook (August 29) or Dimensions (September 5), post a photo of yourself throwing the Taylor “hearts” pose, as seen on our cover. Send photos to hearttoheart@wonderlandmagazine.com (or tweet @wonderlandmag) by April 22, stating which festival you’d like to attend in the subject header. Make ’em good – the best photos will go up on our Facebook page and the ones with the most number of likes will win. Good luck!

The Outspoken issue comes out on Tuesday 9th April at WH Smith and all good newsstands. Subscribe here.

* One pair of tickets per winner. Winning ticket does not include flights or accommodation.

The post Taylor Swift for Wonderland Summer 2013 appeared first on Wonderland.