When checking out this year’s hottest Brit music events, one can’t ignore Virgin Music’s annual extravaganza, the V Festival. Held 20-21 August in South Staffordshire and Chelmsford, the multi-venue show boasts a truly impressive variety of acts. Past invitees over the festival’s history include: Blur, Coldplay, Muse, Radiohead, Morrissey, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and even the late great James Brown.
This year’s edition is taking the V Festival’s growing tradition of variety to new heights. Along with some of the typical homegrown UK stars (such as Glasvegas, KT Tunstall, Mark Ronson, and the fantastic Manic Street Preachers), you will also find some surprises among the performers. For example, Bruno Mars and Ziggy Marley will be on one stage in one venue, while Good Charlotte and Detroit-based rap group D12 are on another.
Of course, no major music festival would be complete without headliners, and V doesn’t disappoint. On Saturday, at the Weston Park (Staffordshire) venue, Rihanna and Eminem share the stage with the aforementioned Manics. At the Hylands Park (Chelmsford) venue, Arctic Monkeys, Plan B, and Kaiser Chiefs form a raucous treble. All acts swap venues for Sunday.
In all, there are four separate stages at each venue, each with its own musical flavour. This tallies up to more great music than one can possibly see in one night. But don’t worry — if you miss your favourite artist on Saturday, they’ll be playing again at the opposite venue on Sunday. Good luck deciding which times to visit each stage!