If you’re stuck in an office like me all summer with substandard air conditioning and an overwhelming sense of FOMO, a weekend festival is the perfect escape. Obviously the headliners are what initially convinces you to part with an extortionate amount of money to spend three days covered in either mud, suncream or beer (or a combination of the three), but often the best sets are in the smallest tents. Half the fun is in wandering around semi-sober in search of something more exciting than cramming your way through crowds to catch the last half of Budapest or What You Know.
Whether you’re festival-bound or not, these artists should be on your radar anyway.
Chappaqua Wrestling
Hailing from Brighton, Manchester-based Chappaqua Wrestling are set to conquer Three Wheel Drive and Green Man this year. Comprised of best friends Jake Mac and Charlie Woods, and with influences ranging from Steely Dan to the Beach Boys and Teenage Fanclub, their slick Brian Wilson-esque harmonies are worth missing the headline sets for.
Green Man – Crickhowell, Wales, 15th-18th August
Skinny Pelembe
Dubbed by the Guardian as an act that “[blends] psychedelia with pixelated drum patterns”, Doya Beardmore – a.k.a. Skinny Pelembe – will make a hotly-anticipated appearance at Farmfest on Saturday 27th July. Born in South Africa and raised in Doncaster, the 28-year-old is an alumnus of Gilles Peterson’s Future Bubblers programme. He exudes a cool confidence with pensive, sun-drenched vocals and killer bass riffs. Not bad for someone whose debut music video was filmed on a £10 budget.
Green Man – Crickhowell, Wales, 15th-18th August
We Out Here – Huntington, Cambridgeshire, 15th-18th August
Easy Life
Leicester’s Easy Life are a perfect combination of Jamie T’s whimsical lyrics and Rex Orange County’s nonchalant R&B pop beats. Anyone who sings – sincerely or not – about spaghetti hoops gets my vote (they’re a far superior carb to baked beans imho). Quite literally fresh off the back of stocking shelves in TK Maxx and working on a farm, the five-piece have become revered for their candid, heartfelt melodies that don’t take themselves too seriously. DIY’s Class of 2018 alumni are ones to keep your eyes on.
Beyond The Woods – Horncastle, Lincolnshire, 9th-10th August
Sasami Ashworth
After her departure from rock band Cherry Glazerr, 2019 marks the release of Sasami Ashworth’s debut album. Complete with french-horn wielding videos, nodding to her classical past, Sasami oozes LA cool and refreshingly honest relationship anthems. She’s definitely one for fans of DIIV, Jaws and Snail Mail.
End of the Road Festival – Larmer Tree Gardens, Wiltshire, August 29th-September 1st
Kokoroko
London’s Kokoroko are young, fresh and packed full of sunshine. Their eponymous EP is an amalgamation of jazz, soul and afrobeat carried by the seismic sounds of Sheila Maurice-Grey’s trumpet. They’re inspired by West Africa’s rich history of musicians such as Fela Kuti, Ebo Taylor and Tony Allen. If these lot are anything to go by, it’s an exciting time for jazz. As they say, they’re “proper London fire.”
Nile Rodgers’ Meltdown Festival – Southbank Centre, London, August 5th
Feet
Despite being very hard to pin down on Google without the affix “band”, Feet have emerged atop the Coventry music scene with all guns blazing. Their new-age Britpop raucous has firmly rooted them at the helm of 2019’s guitar music landscape. After their run on the festival circuit watch out for their debut album, ‘What’s Inside is More Than Just Ham’ out in October.
Boardmasters – Newquay, Cornwall, August 7th-11th
Reading and Leeds – August 23rd-25th
Wheels and Fins Festival – Ramsgate, Kent, September 7th-8th
Pip Blom
Pip Blom is the eponymous project of lead singer Pip, brother Tender as guitarist with Dareck Mercks and Gini Cameron on bass and drums respectively. Their uplifting crooning is of the same label that brought you Fur and Sports Team (Nice Swan Records) and they’ve already got their first album down so it’s only up from here.
Reading and Leeds Festival – August 23rd-25th
Feature compiled by Holly Patrick