This year, Bestival returns to the Isle of Wight. The festival is known for its fancy dress themes (this year’s is HMS Bestival), enthusiastic crowds and great music, and it’s no different this year. Running from 5th to 8th September, the festival schedule is absolutely packed with top talent, so if you’re going, you will need some help choosing who to see.
Well, we’re here to give you that help. Below are our picks for the best acts at Bestival 2013.
Elton John and his band
Of course the legendary piano man is one of our top picks. This is his first-ever UK festival appearance, and there is no doubt he will bring the house down. He has responsible for the biggest pop hits of the last four decades, and everyone is anticipating a show that will cover his best-loved hits. This is one show you absolutely cannot miss.
Chic featuring Nile Rodgers
Nile Rodgers has had something of a resurgence, thanks to his chart-smashing collaboration with Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams, “Get Lucky”. The band that helped him make his mark in the disco era, Chic, is back on the road, and he’s joined them this time around. They stood out at Glastonbury this year, so expectations are high for them at Bestival.
Belle and Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian may have inspired countless twee bands, but they transcend that label without sacrificing any of their charm. Their songs are unrepentantly cheerful and just generally lovely. Their set is going to give festival goers a break from the intensity of other acts, a welcome respite filled with quality music.
Tom Odell
Tom Odell has seemingly come out of nowhere to become one of the new talents of 2013. His singing style and lyrical abilities have some comparing him with Jeff Buckley, and though it’s an accurate comparison, his style is distinctively his own. This can be seen in “Another Love”, his biggest hit – so far.
Sinead O’Connor
Nothing compares 2 Sinead. Even when she has been courting controversy, no one has been able to deny she has a remarkable voice and a magnetic stage presence. She has bounded across genre divisions with artists like Peter Gabriel and The Chieftains, so her show will have a little something for everyone who wants their singers with voices as big as their personalities.
Annie Mac
Annie Mac hardly needs an introduction to Bestival regulars and dance fans. She worked her way up the ranks, going from a girl in Dublin teaching herself to mix records to Radio 1’s reigning queen of dance. If you go to her set, expect pumping tunes, driving beats and an audience losing its collective mind.
The Social Club Cabaret
Bestival is not just about great music. It’s about great entertainment, and that is exemplified in The Social Club Cabaret. Housed in the Grand Palace of Entertainment, the cabaret will feature amazing circus acts, intriguing cabaret performances and the hilarious style of compere Peewee Murray.
Wu Tang Clan
Wu Tang Clan emerged in 1993, and through the years, they have released solo albums and lost one of their most exciting members. Through it all, they have always returned to each other. Wu Tang is easily one of the most influential rap groups of the last 20 years, and at Bestival this year, they are going to show everyone why.
John Cooper Clarke
Punk Poet John Cooper Clarke is known for his irreverent, unapologetically satirical poetry. In the 70s, he gained fame by opening for punk pioneers like The Clash and The Sex Pistols, before headlining his own shows. His ability to engage, manipulate and enrapture rock audiences will surely be one of the most talked-about performances at Bestival.
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips have been a part of the Bestival family since headlining the first Camp Bestival in 2008, and if you catch them live, it’s not hard to see why. Their live shows see outlandish costumes and imaginative props brought together by front man Wayne Coyne’s electrifying performance and the band’s genre-defying sound.
Are you going to Bestival this year? Who are you going to see? If you can’t go, who are you going to miss?
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