V Festival 2008, the line-up and past highlights
1/5
By: Alex Lee Thomson
It may be the most corporate festival of the year, and easily the most un-rock 'n' roll and middle class, but with Muse at the helm it's sure to be one of the best weekends of the summer. Renowned as a festival for putting big name pop acts beside rock legends, 2008 will be no exception for the V team this year seeing (hold onto your hats, kids) Robyn, Girls aloud and Sugababes perform. Because of this child friendly line-up though, the festival is a big pull to families which tends to make for a far more relaxed and enjoyable weekend. Nice, huh.
Key acts to check out this year include: Hot Chip, Kaiser Chiefs, Jamie T and Kings of Leon... alongside the mighty stomping power of Muse, naturally. Muse really are one of those bands that you can never see too many times, or in a big enough stadium with enough people. They transcend an audience with ease, making every night the apocalypse, and will surely hold one of the biggest, loudest and tightest performances of the festival. Anybody who's not yet seen the loudest trio in the world should take this chance and head to one the summers most fun and worry-free events, V Festival. Halfway through 'Plug in Baby' you'll thank us for it, honest.
Artists for the Virgin Mobile Union Stage have yet to be announced, but the tent has in years seen some remarkable performances from up and coming bands which along with the Sessions Stage will mean there's no excuse not to be watching great, or at a push... at least... memorable music.
V Festival has a long standing tradition with excellence and it's easily forgotten that this event was the first duel-site festival, this year once again happening in Staffordshire and Chelmsford simultaneously, maybe something to be applauded. We think so.
Great performances of the past have included an early Killers outing in 2004, a year that also saw The Pixies, N*E*R*D and Strokes play the main stage. 2005 was maybe not as strong with Oasis and Scissor Sisters putting in the headline slots while El Presidente offered the highlight of the weekend as a Kaiser Chief circle pit, the likes of which we've not seen since, was still felt in our flip-flops.
Cue 2006 and they're back on form. It's hard not to love a festival that has Radiohead, Morrissey and Beck playing the main stage while Regina Spektor, Young Knives and Art Brut show off some new band talent elsewhere. Maybe the best V yet, it was surely an extraordinary year and proof this thing is worth talking about.
2007 was maybe the poorest for new music, flying in the shape of The Bravery, The Dodgems and Holloways, but saved triumphantly by Plan B and Graham Coxon. Damian Rice, Happy Mondays and Jarvis Cocker made for a sensational time while Foo Fighters and Kasabian didn't quite drag us to the main stage as much as Editors and the Goo Goo Dolls did. Still a great year, but not a scratch on 2008.
To say that V Festival has some outlandish pop bands perform is no secret, but one glance at the line-up each year and you know you're going to see some shows that will be imprinted on your ear-drums for a good while. This scribe remembers leaping into the air watching Muse in 2004, feeling engulfed by the atmosphere, and recreating that moment is something very high up our list of summer priorities.
We can only hope 2008 offers some more of the first class memories for which this fine two-day affair is celebrated. The line-up is already laughing at Glastonbury and looks to only boast more as new acts are billed.
Line-up so far includes:
Saturday 16th August
The Verve / Kings of Leon / Amy Winehouse / Lenny Kravitz / The Feeling / Girls Aloud / Squeeze / The Stranglers / Kaiser Chiefs / The Zutons / The View / Reverend And The Makers /Scouting For Girls / One Republic / The Courteeners / Delays / The Rifles / The Chemical Brothers / Hot Chip / Robyn / Sam Sparrow / Alphabeat / Captain
Sunday 17th August
Muse / Stereophonics / The Kooks / Maximo Park / Alanis Morissette The Futureheads / Michael Franti and Spearhead / The Prodigy / Pigeon Detectives / Duffy / The TWang / Sugababes / Shed Seven / Air Traffic / Ian Brown / The Pogues / Jamie T / Newton Falkner / Royworld
For ticket info and more band names head to www.vfestival.com.
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment