The award-winning Latitude Festival today announced the final acts for the already outstanding line up, with the exception of the famous Latitude secret set still to be announced. With over 500 names over 15 stages, including headliners Solange, The Killers, Alt-J, QI, Harry Hill, and Bridget Christie. Henham Park, Suffolk will be the only place to be across Thursday 12th – Sunday 15th July 2018.
Joining some of the biggest names in music including The Vaccines, Wolf Alice, Rag’n’Bone Man, James, Mogwai, Belle And Sebastian, Jon Hopkins, Jessie Ware, The Breeders, and more, is British pop/R&B superstar MNEK who is finally on track to release his debut studio album later this year, as well as the much hyped and raucous Black Midi, LA rock-duo Deap Vally, the haunting Talos, and Afro-Cuban Tropical-kraut rock 7-piece Bethlehem Casuals.
Returning to Latitude for its third year, BBC Music presents a range of programming live and direct from the festival. The BBC Music Introducing Stage once again welcomes an eclectic array of talent specifically chosen for Latitude, submitted via a plethora of local BBC Introducing shows. Over the years BBC Music Introducing has played a pivotal part in nurturing the careers of some of the biggest acts to have graced Latitude including Ed Sheeran, and Florence And The Machine. This year’s stage is bigger than ever before, and presented by BBC Radio 2 legend Zoe Ball – who will also be live on Radio 2 between 3-6pm on the Saturday – BBC Radio 3 mainstays Max Reinhardt (Late Junction) and Suzy Klein (In Tune), and BBC Radio 6 Music experimentalist Tom Robinson.
If you’re a night owl, there’s plenty to see and do at Latitude when the sun goes down. Returning to the Alcove Stage this year is Keith Allen Presents, and every evening Keith will showcase special guests until the early hours alongside The Alcove House Band, ‘The Musiquarians’ ft. Rev Chunky, and DJ Will Cookson. Across the weekend, DJs will take the helm in the most inimitable of surroundings of the Woods Stage providing a party like no other, including Ollie Twists and Mr Ben & Rama. The previously announced Late Night DJs also take over The Comedy Arena. Sing your heart out during Rave Karaoke and Massaoke, or join in on London’s biggest and best indie dance party Buttoned Down Disco. Guilty Pleasures brings all-girl Bruce Springsteen tribute The She Street Band to the festival, while over in Pandora’s Playground The Disco Shed returns for late night al fresco dancing.
The culturally enriching experience of this year’s comedy, theatre, and arts roster is set to be the festival’s most diverse and forward-thinking yet. The Music and Film Arena is a haven for culture vultures, as the bill offers up insightful documentaries, stimulating discussions, first-see film screenings, and music performances. Announced today, multi-award-winning actor, director, and current Crystal Maze Master Richard Ayoade joins the bill in conversation with the UK’s leading film critic Mark Kermode. In the evening, rising rap star MC Flohio and viral sensation Jimothy Lacoste join Sound System legends Trojan Sound System. There will also be a screening of documentary Boom for Real, exploring the pre-fame years of the celebrated American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Catch the only comedian co-signed by Drake and Stormzy, Mo Gilligan, Tim Key’s new blend of poeticals, and old school wistfulness, Megadate, viral star and news satirist Jonathan Pie, brand new BBC Radio 4 panel show Where’s the F in News, Mock The Week regular James Acaster, comedian and presenter Joel Dommett, and Black Books star Dylan Moran.
Over at The SpeakEasy, Latitude attendees can immerse themselves in lively debate and discussion from the brightest voices. Added to the bill today are champion beatboxer Grace Savage, and the Wellcome Book Prize who present Where’s Your Head At?, featuring current bestseller Christie Watson and ‘the female Brian Cox’, Hannah Crichtlow. Latitude favourite Robin Ince will preview his new Edinburgh show Chaos of Delight – a frenetic hour of art, science and stupid voices, and host The Magick of Future with Dr Suzi Gage and Dr Lucy Rogers. This year’s festival will open its doors to former Labour leader Ed Miliband, and Geoff Lloyd for their award-winning hit podcast Reasons to be Cheerful, as well as Jessie Ware’s chart-topping podcast Table Manners, and documentary maker Reggie Yates.
London’s Street Feast, renowned for transforming disused spaces into unique eating and drinking environments, is coming to Latitude with over 80 vendors, making it the first major festival to do away with ‘fast food’ and become completely catered by the capital’s street food pioneers. Across the site, festivalgoers can re-fuel, wind down and eat across the world without leaving Henham Park, whether on a health kick, vegan, or meat-obsessed, there’s something for everyone, including the kids. New additions include vegan loaded waffles from The Brook, Rainbo’s vibrant Japanese street food, and Flank’s nose-to-tail, open flame barbecue.
The first-ever UK Theatre of Food at Latitude Festival sees acclaimed chefs, food authors and culinary gurus explore and explain the forgotten skills of the culinary world. Latitude food lovers can explore the forgotten skill of cooking with fire with Gill Meller, inhale the aroma of homemade bread with Food Writer of the Year Felicity Cloake, plus there will be an unmissable spice-filled session with recent Guild of Food Writers award winner Meera Sodha who will delve deep into the majesty of India’s magnificently diverse cuisines. The world’s leading investigative food writer and recent Guild of Food Writers award winner Joanna Blythman will be in-conversation with Irish food writer John McKenna about the myriad machinations of the food industry, and Chefs Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich of Honey & Co will be interviewed about their lives in food and their new book Middle Eastern Recipes.
Chris Young of the Real Bread campaign will MC talks from leading Real Bread Campaign bakeries, and will host a panel on the forgotten skill of real bread making, whilst cutting-edge chefs, including Richard Bainbridge, Jordan Bourke, Sally Butcher, and Pure Package founder Jennifer Irvine, will showcase thrilling forgotten cooking techniques. Chocolatiers Lynn Lockwood and David Greenwood will also make us realise how we’ve forgotten how chocolate really should taste, and should be tasted. Street Feast will also be present at Latitude’s Theatre of Food, featuring demos from Yum Bun, Club Mexicana, and Up In My Grill. All these amazing performances will take place on the stage of the elegant and wonderfully designed Anglia Factors kitchen.
Carlsberg’s Danish Quarter will bring the taste of Copenhagen to Suffolk on Friday and Saturday, where 30 lucky festivalgoers each day will learn the history and methods of Danish baking and the details of different grains before baking their own piece of bread each, led by head baker Christoffer Hruskova of The Bread Station, and to be collected the following morning after 24 hours prove time.
BBC Radio 4’s The Kitchen Cabinet will be recording a special episode on the Thursday night from 6pm in a secret location, presented by the restaurant critic and Masterchef judge Jay Rayner. The culinary panel show is packed full of tasty titbits that might change the way you think about food, cooking, and eating, and will give Latitude visitors the chance to ask the expert panel their culinary questions. There will be complimentary drinks for the audience and the chance to taste the team’s dishes! The panel will feature Kitchen Cabinet regulars Dr. Zoe Laughlin, Tim Hayward, Andi Oliver, and Jordan Bourke.
The BBC Radio 4 Gardeners’ Question Time Camper Van will be open from 2pm until 4pm on Friday 13th July at the festival as a drop-in clinic for visitors to put their gardening questions to the experts one-on-one, and have a chance of appearing on BBC Radio 4! Appearing in the van will be regular BBC GQT panellists James Wong, Bob Flowerdew, Bunny Guinness and Matthew Biggs… so come armed with your questions, whether you’ve a few window boxes or a few acres – no plot’s too big or too small!