FESTIVAL GUIDE: Isle Of Wight Festival

Name: Isle Of Wight Festival

Where: Seaclose Park, Isle Of Wight

When: 11th – 14th June

Headliners: Fleetwood Mac, Blur, The Prodigy and The Black Keys.

Also Featuring: Paolo Nutini, Pharrell Williams, First Aid Kit, Billy Idol, Groove Armada (DJ Set), James Bay, Foxes…

A Brief History: The Isle Of Wight’s initial three year run (1968-1970) provided some of the most iconic festival moments in history, with performances from The Who, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, the latter reportedly choosing the 1969 event over Woodstock to stage a comeback of sorts. The 1970 event is believed to be one of the largest global gatherings in history, with up to 600, 000 estimated to have descended on the tiny island. God bless those poor Portaloos. The festival was revived in 2002 and has boasted line ups to rival Glastonbury, and in some cases even better the Eavis’ bookings. They bagged The Rolling Stones first (in 2007) and while Fleetwood Mac seemed like a dead cert for Worthy Farm this year, IOW has them at the top of their biggest bill yet.

How To Get There: You’re going to need a boat or swimming skills to rival David Walliams. There are four ferry ports from the mainland (Southampton, Portsmouth, Lymington or Southsea), all served by good rail and road links.

Gigslutz Top Tip: With many festivals you’ll be told it isn’t all about the headliners, but most festivals don’t have the world-class headliners you’ll find at Isle Of Wight Festival. Not only do each of the four acts boast hit-rammed sets which will provide raucous choir sing alongs night after night – they’re all very different acts too, from the classic ‘70s coke fuelled, break-up rock of Fleetwood Mac to the intelligent side of Britpop from Blur, heavy dance that’s far from generic from The Prodigy and two-man, beat-heavy indie-rock from The Black Keys. But look further down the line-up and you’ll see that it’s actually made up of legends, new and old.

Memorable Moments: 1970. All of it. Although anyone there might struggle to recall any of it.

What We Said Last Year: “When Isle Of Wight wasn’t showcasing the bigger bands, they had their fair pick of some exciting new talent.” Read the full review here.

Did You Know? The 2002 festival was a one-day event called Rock Island, headlined by The Charlatans.

How To Get Tickets: Both camping and non-camping tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.

The Playlist:

Dan Bull

@danbull7609

Dan Bull

Dan Bull

Reviews Editor
London. Likes: Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, Prince Charles Cinema, Duran Duran Dislikes: Soreen, All-hits setlists, "I liked them before everyone else..."
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About Dan Bull
London. Likes: Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, Prince Charles Cinema, Duran Duran Dislikes: Soreen, All-hits setlists, "I liked them before everyone else..."