News: Greetings from Beacons

In Leeds your spots are Jumbo and Crash and A Nation of Shopkeepers, and you’re not surprised that Ripley Johnson from Wooden Shjips/Moon Duo was recently photographed wearing a Brudenell Social Club t-shirt. Or you’re Mancunian and it’s Piccadilly Records, Night & Day, The Deaf Institute, Wowie Zowie, Kingbee… Liverpool: Probe and Hairy, Mellow Mellow, Korova in the old days, but now The Shipping Forecast. Sheffield: Bungalow and Bears and the legendary Rare & Racy book/record store. Amazing shop. If you’re in Hull you definitely know Bob Beasley, but it really doesn’t matter which of these cities you’re from because no one likes telecommunications companies crowbarring their way into music, and seeing Paramore and The Libertines at Leeds last year just didn’t fucking cut it.

‘Boutique festival’ is one of those funny new expressions like ‘curating a gig’, but if you know what the former implies, you’ll understand that one is badly needed somewhere near all of the cities mentioned above. Appetites for less-ordinary music (and art and film) in Yorkshire, the Northwest/east and as far as Scotland demand to be sated and Beacons, which takes place on the southern tip of the Yorkshire Dales from August 11 to 14, will do precisely that. The Stool Pigeon is hosting the main stage and we’re feeling righteous about it. We’ve been waiting to get involved with something exactly like Beacons for years.

Beacons is a collaboration between the Moor Music Festival, many of the people behind the venues and shops already mentioned, promoters Iron Wagon, members of the team who put on Field Day in London and a tonne of others including the Leeds Film Festival and the Club Pony and Modern Amusement clubnights. Four nights, three days and early-bird tickets are only a paltry 50 quid. Of course there’s the music, but also live film re-scores, movies, spoken word, theatre, art installation projects, dance and, yup, a beach.

Booked already: Jamie XX, Factory Floor, The Phantom Band, Polar Bear, Willy Mason, Twilight Sad, Ducktails, Anika, The Apples, Ghostpoet, Toddla T, Wolf People, Andy Votel, Emmy the Great, Spectrals, Dutch Uncles, Ramadanman, Mazes, Pariah, Demdike Stare, D/R/U/G/S, Star Slinger, iLiKETRAiNS, Islet, Fantastic Mr Fox, Napoleon IIIrd and Girl Unit.

Plenty more to be announced. We’ll send out signals soon as we hear.

Beacons Festival
August 11-14
Heslaker Farm, Skipton, Yorkshire Dales
www.greetingsfrombeacons.com

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