The xx & Sigur Rós are to play exclusively at Bestival this year. . In addition we can reveal Justice, Two Door Cinema Club, Hot Chip and many more will be performing live.
We’ve already announced 12 brand new things that will tickle your fancy, our Wildlife theme, the mighty Orbital as the closing act for the Big Top and Rob da Bank tweeted a few choice tasters but now the time has come to unveil an array of fantastic acts that will be coming to Robin Hill Country Park to rock Bestival 2012. With a pair of electrifying exclusives and a cavalcade of incredible bands and DJs, we really want it to be September already and we still aren’t announcing any of the main stage headliners! You’re going to have to wait at least a week for the first of those!
Rob da Bank says: ‘So, here we are then! Announcing Bestival again - and another bumper selection of acts from across the musical world and styles. The xx at Bestival two years ago is in my top three Besti performances ever so I’m delighted they're hitting the main stage in 2012 and I’ve finally landed Sigur Rós, one of my all-time fave festival acts. From Justice to Azealia Banks, Spiritualized to Sister Sledge, I hope there’s something for everyone and still three headliners to unveil shortly!'’
In 2010, just after winning the Mercury Prize for their debut album, The xx, played a victory set in our Big Top that has gone down in Bestival lore as one our most beautiful moments ever, so we are exceptionally excited to be welcoming them back for as a UK festival exclusive in 2012. With new material on the horizon we can’t wait to see what ethereal treats they have in store for us.
Icelandic post-rock behemoth Sigur Rós are also set to make a UK festival exclusive appearance with us on the Isle of Wight. Lead singer Jónsi was behind another of Bestival 2010s undoubted highlights but we’ve been waiting a long time to be able to announce that the full band, in all its majesty, will be joining us and we can’t tell you just how excited we are to have them on board.
As well as those tantalising mouth-watering exclusives we’ve got a colossal first wave of acts to tell you about, including Gallic dance dons Justice, who told us: “To tell you the truth, we wanted to kick off the new tour at Bestival last year but we finally thought we wouldn't be ready (and we weren't) and decided to take more time to get prepared. Now we're ready, it's gonna be a big surprise for us, we played there in 2005 and 2006 which we believe were Bestival early years (and ours too, think it's the first time we ever played a festival, actually) and we heard since that Bestival has become THE festival to play in the UK, so we're definitely excited and have no idea what to expect as everything will probably be a bit different from 2006”.
We’re already fit to burst but still there’s so many more brilliant bands to tell you about like Northern Ireland’s finest Two Door Cinema Club, Bestival veterans and firm crowd favourites Hot Chip, sharp suited electro purveyors Soulwax, dubstep duo Nero, Scottish soul siren Emeli Sandé, rave deities Orbital, LA artrockers Warpaint, daisy-age hip-hop kings De La Soul, first ministers of bass Major Lazer, utter legends Sister Sledge, handsome pop chameleons The Horrors, towering wig-out merchants Spiritualized, Detroit techno overlord Kevin Saunderson feat. Inner City Live, electro-rock pioneer Gary Numan, BBC Sound of 2012 winner Michael Kiwanuka, NME Cool List topper Azealia Banks, drum n basser Sub Focus, the adrenalin charged Gallows, mythological rhyme master Doom, disco groove powerhouse Earth Wind & Fire Experience Feat Al Mckay, the irrepressible Rizzle Kicks, the one and only Cuban Brothers, Kuduro dons Buraka Som Sistema, fine folksters Bellowhead, the sublime Little Dragon, laconic looper Gold Panda, and 80s pop-god Adam Ant with The Good The Mad and The Lovely Posse.
Other acts getting on the ferry for Bestival 2012 include the hotly tipped Lianne La Havas, wild psychedelic soul sensations King Khan And The Shrines, neo-dubstep songstress Delilah, insouciant Brooklynites Friends, harmonious beatmeister Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, folk troubadours First Aid Kit, darkwaver King Krule acoustic chanteuse Ane Brun, knees-up governors Chas & Dave, DJ Magazine’s Best of British Best Live Act Dub Pistols, Robert Smith collaborators The Japanese Popstars, pop upstart Charli XCX, the magical Jaipur Kawa Brass Band, anti-folk dude Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard , the mesmerising Slagsmålsklubben, madcap mackems Field Music and the Jaipur Kawa Circus.
Plus there will be live performances from Jinja Safari, Church of Love & Ruin, Frankie Rose, Milagres, Three Bonzos and a Piano, Liz Green, Gabrielle Aplin, Prince Fatty, Fiction, 2:54, Turbowolf, This Is The Kit, Ghost Outfit, Patterns, Young British Artists, Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo, To Kill A King, L.A. Salami, Laurel Collective, ahab, Gecko, Heathward, Model Society Sky Sphere, Blackhouse Crow, plus many more still to be announced.
With a jam-packed live line-up taking shape, we also have an exquisite litany of turntable botherers that will be Bestival-bound including Soulwax alter-egos 2manydjs, the incredible Annie Mac Presents, the august Four Tet and the exalted Caribou who will be throwing down the platters back to back for your pleasure. There will also be hirsute pursuits from 2 Bears, reggae guru David Rodigan MBE presenting RAM JAM, the Dirtybird showcase featuring the enviable talents of Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin & Eats Everything, house music forefather François Kevorkian, deck destroyer DJ Yoda, deep and techy up-and-comer Maya Jane Coles , underground techno genius Scuba, DnB original LTJ Bukem, grime superstar Plastician, ertwhile Hacienda resident Greg Wilson, turntable messiahs Scratch Perverts, and secretsundaze top boys Giles Smith & James Priestley. Plus there will be sets from Oneman b2b Jackmaster, Camo & Krooked, Jaguar Skills & His Amazing Friends, Mosca, Ben UFO, PBR Streetgang, DJ Shepdog, Shellac Collective, DJ Charge and many more still to be announced.
Published on 08 February 2012 by Ben Robinson
