2015: The Year of Notts Festivals

Everywhere Festival

When? 3rd May Where? Various Venues, Nottingham Who to look out for? Hannah Wants, Route 94, Cyril Hahn, Redlight For fans of? Dollop, 51°27′, Yeah Yeah & What, Detonate

As if Stealth and Dollop hadn’t already cemented their places into music history, Everywhere returns for its third instalment after two phenomenal years, priding itself as the Mecca for the ever-widening umbrella that is dance music.  Born and raised in Nottingham before moving to London for even greater success, Dollop is never tied to one genre which, in this ever changing and fickle industry, is a clever tactic to hold.  People’s tastes change by the day, yet one fact stands firm in Dollop’s heart: everybody loves to dance.

Beholding a tasty lineup of huge names including Birmingham rising star Hannah Wants, persistent hit-slinger Redlight and student favourite Cyril Hahn, if you’re wanting an all-night, shape-throwing extravaganza then you my friend have come to the right place.  Tickets, although running short, are still on sale for a stupidly cheap price considering the plethora of artists on show would each cost upwards of £10; a festival of the night, the only thing you should be struggling to decide is which room you spend the most time in.  Spanning several venues, there’s no surprise it’s billed as ‘Everywhere’, although some might argue it boasts that name for the sheer reason that by the end of it all, you’ll be too buzzing to realise your head goes one place whilst your feet take you to elsewhere.  Whether you’re a shuffling god or a sprinkler phenomenon, if you miss Everywhere I guarantee you now that you’ll regret it.  If you still need convincing, check out the 2014 video, the lineup below and grab a ticket here.

When? 24th May Where? Various Venues, Nottingham Who to look out for? Saint Raymond, Rae Morris, Hudson Taylor, Swim Deep For attendees of? Glastonbury, Latitude, Bestival, The Big Chill, Acoustic Rooms, Pressure

Bringing Nottingham’s festival calendar into the live-music scene in style is the tri-city spectacular that is Dot To Dot.  Coming into it’s milestone 10th year, Dot To Dot has helped catapult some of the biggest and best UK acts into the spotlight, whilst also showcasing a healthy dose of worldwide talent too.  To quickly roll off a short list of names that have leapt to stardom shortly after performances at the festival include Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Mumford & Sons, Peace and Tom Odell, all of whom are huge acts in their own right; take Ed Sheeran for example, 4 years ago he was playing to a minimal crowd lost somewhere in the middle of a forgotten lineup – now, he’s set to headline 3 nights at Wembley later this year and his album ‘X’ has sold 5.8 million copies worldwide as of February 2015.

Year upon year, the festival has grown to become one of the glittering names on a music fan’s bucket list.  Beginning from humble roots in 2005 at just £12 a ticket across Rescue Rooms, The Bodega and Stealth, it is now celebrating a 10th year over 3 days in Nottingham, Bristol and Manchester – arguably three of the most musically-influenced cities outside of London, you’d struggle to find a musician whose tour didn’t stop in at least two of the three.  Looking at the lineup, DHP have finally moved towards showcasing local talent, with loveable Nottingham born-and-bred Saint Raymond headlining the bill; just last month, Callum Burrows aka Saint Raymond played to a sold out crowd at Rock City and boy did he smash it – you can read our exclusive interview with Burrows here.  Other acts include singer-songwriter Rae Morris, Birmingham indie band Swim Deep and Irish folk-pop duo Hudson Taylor; although the festival is predominantly aimed at the indie pop culture lovers, if even an ounce of you appreciates real music you’ll struggle to be bored throughout the whole day with the astronomic array of talent on show.  Check out the lineup below and get your tickets here.

When? 30th May Where? Colwick Country Park, Nottingham Who to look out for? Nas, Sigma, Sub Focus, Wilkinson, Skepta For attendees of? Detonate, Hospitality, Outlook, Dimensions, Boomtown

Where do we start with Detonate Festival?  A great man once muttered the words “Big dirty stinking bass, bass bass, bass, bass.”  To this day, truer words have yet been spoken.  Coming into its second year after an unforgettable debut, Detonate Festival fought toe to toe with some of the heavyweights of 2014, shagged their sisters and threw a steamy shit in the eye of any other that dared stand in its way.  Detonate is the older brother of the kid you just tripped over and you best start fumbling together your most convincing excuses as to why your life should be spared because when the 30th of May comes, Colwick Country Park is being torn a fresh new one – and if you’re not there, you’re next.

Bolstering a filthy lineup of the best in house, bass and rap, New York 90’s rapper Nas is cementing one foot in the doorway in his claim for most anticipated performance of 2015.  Set to perform his ’94 hit album Illmatic in full, expect to graduate with a first-class honours in Narcotic Studies by the time the night’s through.  “Life’s a bitch and then you die”, remember that.  Well, if we’re going to die, you might as well enjoy it and experience all that Detonate has to offer in the underground world of bass music; Sigma bring their handful of global hits including Summer anthem ‘Nobody to Love’, Sub Focus continues to surf the success of Torus and everybody’s favourite grime-lord Skepta brings one glass of champagne for him and two glasses of champagne for us … so you best be ready to do the ‘Rolex Sweep’.  Check out the full lineup below and buy your tickets here.

When? 6th-7th June Where? Wollaton Park, Nottingham Who to look out for? John Newman, Jessie Ware, Philip George, Milky Chance, Gorgon City, James Bay For fans of? Dollop, YNot, Boardmasters, Relentless NASS, Glastonbury

The perfect crossover between faultless live music and the best in DJ talent, No Tomorrow hosts the party of the Summer in Batman’s back garden.  If you thought last year was good, this year No Tomorrow returns twice as big and ten times better.  Upgrading to a whole weekend and predominantly aimed at students celebrating the end of exams, there’s absolutely no excuse to be anywhere other than Wollaton Park on the 6th and 7th of June.

In a very clever move, No Tomorrow’s lineup boasts a magnificent array of live acts.  Headliners John Newman and Jessie Ware are both set to top the performance of London Grammar last year, arguably the University of Nottingham’s biggest musical success story, whilst chart newcomers James Bay and MNEK are ready to win the hearts, minds and dancing shoes of students and locals alike with powerful and soulful sets.  Bay’s ‘Down by the River’ persists in tickling the chart’s Top 10, whilst MNEK’s debut 6-track EP dropped last week to critical acclaim – you can read 6 unknown facts about MNEK here.

2014’s boom in house music has merrily spilled over into 2015, birthing more expertise each day and breaching more boundaries by the second.  No Tomorrow’s delicately crafted lineup reflects the students iPod perfectly, hosting some of the greatest up-and-coming musicians who are masters in their field already.  Take Philip George as a prime example; people love George for his 2015 smash ‘Wish You Were Mine’, a tune which not only asserts a strong foot on the podium for an infectious, memorable house tune, but also one that reflects the music of our generation.  The high-pitched vocals are synonymous to T2’s 2007 hit ‘Heartbroken’, or for even more avid garage fanatics, Agent X’s remix of Ironik’s ‘Stay With Me’.  Little do people know however that George hails from our very own city of Nottingham at the youthful age of 22 and along with other acts such as Bristol’s Eton Messy, Blonde and My Nu Leng, complete a DJ lineup to rival the very best.  Check out the rest of the lineup below and buy your tickets here.

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