Once again, London Festival Lovebox has already got us clearing our schedule in preparation for July 15th-17th. The inner city festival has pulled together a fantastic array of acts, with headliners ranging from UK indie upstarts The Wombats, the legendary Snoop Dogg – who will be performing his ’93 classic ‘Doggystyle’ in it’s entirety – and Scissor Sisters, who will undoubtedly give the weekend an suitably lavish finish. There’s a host of other musical delights over the course of the festivals three days, including Santigold, Blondie, The Drums, Jessie J and Example.
To get you in the mood, one of the festival founders (and one half of Groove Armada) Tom Findlay has put together a mix with tracks from a variety of artists playing this years event. Featuring the likes of Metronomy, Lykke Li, Azari & III and Black Devil Disco club. It’s available for download here, read on for the full tracklist.
Jon Davies Gigs/ Events Lovebox
This year’s Lovebox was noteable for several reasons. Firstly the event – usually spread out over two days – had expanded to a three day festival, with eager revelers able to kick proceedings off on the Friday. Another factor that worked in Lovebox’s favour this year was the flawless weather. London has recently experienced an enviable amount of sunshine, something that was obviously lapped up by this year’s attendees. Add this to a bulging list of amazing bands, performers and DJ’s and you get what turned out to be a spectacular weekend for all involved. The strength of Lovebox has always been its ability to attract a genre defying, wide ranging line up and this year was no different. Click on the link below to read our full run down of the weekend.
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Jon Davies News Dizzee Rascal, Grace Jones, Lovebox, Roxy Music
This year’s Lovebox Festival is less than two weeks away. From 16th-18th of July London’s Victoria Park will be taken over by a wealth audible treats featuring the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Roxy Music, Grace Jones, Chase & Status and Hot Chip. Originally conceived by Groove Armada’s Andy Cato and Tom Findlay, the festival has steadily risen to become one of the highlights of London’s festival season. The site now holds around 50,000 revelers spread out over 6 stages and tents, playing host to staggering batch of bands and DJs.
This year Lovebox is giving one unsigned band the enviable prize of opening the festival. The entrants have been whittled down to five acts and Lovebox needs your help in choosing the right one. Simply head here to listen to the bands and vote for your favourite. In return, you could win one of ten pairs of tickets to this year’s festival.
To get you in the mood Lovebox have compiled three separate playlists – one for each day of the festival. Listen now to Friday, Saturday & Sunday for the perfect build up. For those who aren’t lucky to win, head to the official site as some weekend and day tickets are still available.
Jon Davies Gigs/ Events, News Lovebox
London’s Lovebox Festival has long been a staple choice in the discerning festival goers calendar. Every year it continues to deliver a feast of varied and eclectic acts and this year Lovebox has upped the ante by adding a third day to the proceedings. Headlining the final day will be Grace Jones, the 80’s diva who has had a scintillating return to form after her 2008 comeback album ‘Hurricane’. If that wasn’t enough, Ms. Jones will be joined on the Main Stage by a wealth of electro pop acts including Hot Chip, Peaches, Hercules & Love Affair and the hotly tipped Hurts. However as any previous attendee knows, it’s not all about the main stage. The Gaymers Stage will host the welcome return of Chromeo; who will be debuting tracks from the forthcoming album ‘Business Casual’. Cut Copy will also appear for their only UK festival appearance of the summer.
One thing that has to be experienced at Lovebox is the notorious NYC Downlow (pictured), the perfect arena for the outrageous and hedonistic. Taking to the decks will be a wealth of DJ’s from some of London’s finest nights including Horsemeat Disco, Disco Bloodbath, Trailer Trash and Wet Yourself. Several other new acts have also been announced across the weekend, including Bombay Bicycle Club, These New Puritans and Mercury nominees The Invisible. For tickets and full line up info, please head to www.lovebox.net
Jon Davies Gigs/ Events, News Lovebox
London’s Lovebox festival has now confirmed several acts for this year’s event, including some stellar headline performers. The announcement will no doubt cause gig goers problems in deciding which festival to pick this summer. The weekend, curated by Groove Armada’s Andy Cato and Tom Findlay, has pulled a real coup in securing Roxy Music’s services on the Saturday. Lead singer Brian Ferry commented “There is a song on my album that I have co-written with my friends Groove Armada. They asked me if Roxy would like to perform at Lovebox. We of course thought it would be cool”. The influential 80’s band join Dizzee Rascal and the irrepressible Grace Jones as the events headliners, with the festival now expanding to three days.
Taking place in Victoria Park on the 16th-18th July, the weekend will also see performances from the likes of Hot Chip, Mark Ronson & The Business and Empire Of The Sun – making their first UK appearance. Other notable acts playing are Canadian synth demons Chromeo, Cut Copy, Wild Beasts and Hercules & Love Affair. However anyone whos been to Lovebox will know it’s not just about the bands, the weekend also boasts a fine array of DJ talent including Crookers, Booka Shade and Joy Orbison. For tickets and full line up info, head to the Lovebox site.
Jon Davies Gigs/ Events Dizzee Rascal, Grace Jones, Groove Amarda, Lovebox, Roxy Music
Driving to the middle of no-where, getting caked in mud and then having to face a soul destroying trip back to the city is for many part and parcel of what makes a festival. However, for some the effort and cost of traipsing across the country is too much, thus the rise of the ‘City Festival’; all the fun of a full day in a field but with the prospect of a shower and warm bed only a bus ride away.
One of the more established of these events is ‘Lovebox’, the brainchild of pop and house music impresarios, Groove Armada. After walking away with the ‘Best Medium Sized Festival’ gong at last year’s UK Festival award, Lovebox build on their policy of combining London’s most talked about underground parties with heaps of populist fun. This year’s line-up puts 80’s icons Duran Duran, Gary Numan and New York Dolls alongside current favourites such as N*E*R*D and Florence And The Machine. Meanwhile, über cool parties such as Horse Meat Disco, Secretsundaze and Disco Bloodbath take care of the tents, meaning that London scenesters can have their fill of minimal/ ironic grooves before getting drunk and making a fool of themselves to ‘Rio’ and ‘Hungry Like A Wolf’ on the main stage.
As well as an array of musical delights, Lovebox is also unique in the quality of its culinary goods. With an area run by the folks from Borough Market, well know as a foodies heaven, Lovebox’s ‘Sourced Market’ features a number of top quality restaurants and stalls offering organic food from around the world. That means no sloppy burgers or mystery meat kebabs which are the usual festival fare.
The event takes place this weekend at London’s Victoria Park and tickets are still available from www.lovebox.net
Lovebox 18/19th July Victoria Park London
Stephen Titmus Gigs/ Events Duran Duran, Floremce And The Machine, Horse Meat Disco, Lovebox, N*E*R*D, Secretsundaze
