Concert News

LATITUDE ANNOUNCES LINE UP FOR 15TH EDITION

• 27th May 2021

The multi-award-winning Latitude festival, this year brought to you by headline partner cinch, returns to the picturesque grounds of Henham Park, Suffolk, on 22nd-25th July 2021 with headliners Wolf Alice Chemical Brothers, Bastille, Bombay Bicycle Club, Bill Bailey, Katherine Ryan, Jo Brand  Reginald D. Hunter and Simon Amstell topping a diverse bill where music meets the arts in a full on cultural explosion. Weekend and day tickets are on sale from today here.

It’s been incredibly tough without the music, without the laughs, without the wonder and Latitude is getting ready to make 2021 the best year yet!  Festival organisers are thrilled to announce a refreshed programme and emboldened vision retaining everything fans loved about Latitude and delivering much, much  more.  

Famed for cultivating artists, Latitude earmarked Wolf Alice as a headline act as far back as 2013 when they played the Lake Stage. The band subsequently packed out the BBC stage in 2015 and captivated main stage audiences in 2018 with their charismatic, raucous yet poignant performance.  This month, Wolf Alice delivered a blistering performance of  moshpit-inciting banger Smile on The Late Late Show with James Corden.. The single, from the band’s upcoming album, Blue Weekend,   is released next week and is set to propel Wolf Alice to global superstar status as they take their rightful position as Friday night headliners.

Wolf Alice said: “8 years, several horrendous haircuts, three albums and we are back but this time we are headlining 😉 What an honour “

For nearly three decades The Chemical Brothers have redefined the concept of live electronic music. In that time, their live show has evolved from underground nightclubs into the most in-demand festival headline sets. The band’s last arena tour received widespread acclaim for its spellbinding, mesmerizing electronic sound and multi-sensory experience – lasers, walls of strobes, gigantic moving robots, dazzling graphics and special effects. Masters of the late-night party The Chemical Brothers will provide the ultimate Saturday night experience.   Last month, The Chemical Brothers released some brand new music. The Darkness That You Fear,  which is being used as the BBC’s soundtrack to the Euros. An uplifting trip into the pair’s psychedelic production,  the track is perfectly timed as the world comes out of darkness into light and colour.

Brit Award winners Bastille also make their  debut as Sunday co-headliners . The cinematic performance will see the band close Latitude with ReOrchestrated, the show will see the band reprise a selection of songs from their three UK Top 10 studio albums Bad Blood, Wild World and Doom Days; re-imagining, deconstructing and rearranging the songs with a 20-piece orchestra and choir.. Pioneers of hook-heavy hits such as Pompeii, Marshmello collaboration Happier, and Quarter Past Midnight, the four-piece continue to cement their reputation as one of the world’s most captivating live bands renowned for their cutting edge multi-sensory shows. 

Bastille’s Dan Smith said,

“We’ve wanted to play and go to Latitude for such a long time, so we’re really excited to have the chance to be there after everyone’s year away from gigs. It’s our only British festival gig of the summer and we’re thrilled that it’ll be at Latitude in such brilliant company”.

Bombay Bicycle Club step up to co-headliners on the Obelisk Arena this year after playing blistering sets at Latitude in 2014 and 2011. The band released their  swaggering comeback album Everything Else Has Gone Wrong at the start of 2020 nearly six years after their previous UK chart-topping album So Long, See You Tomorrow.  Expect a joyous set filled with festival-sized anthems including Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You) and Everything Else Has Gone Wrong and electric and unifying feel-good vibes .

Renowned for booking an exceptional array of musical talent, this year’s festival  takes it up a notch yet again. Uplifting drum & bass hitmakers and one of the best live bands around Rudimental play the main stage before The Chemical Brothers on Saturday night.Feelgood hands-in-the-air vibes are guaranteed with the band’s message of unity more powerful than ever before.  On the BBC Sounds Stage, Electro-pop heavyweights Hot Chip will transport us back to carefree communion on the dancefloor and  the thunderous and apocalyptic Fontaines D.C. finally get to  perform their highly acclaimed second album A Hero’s Death live.

An eclectic host of acts across the music stages await revelers with further announcements coming soon. Something for everyone would be an understatement – this year’s line up is just mind-blowing. The music stages will be buzzing to the eclectic sounds of Rudimental, Kaiser Chiefs, Hot Chip, Fontaines D.C., Mabel, Rick Astley, James Vincent Mcmorrow, Beabadoobee, Sea Girls, Maisie Peters, Declan Mckenna, Griff, Akala, Anna Meredith, Arlo Parks, Nubya Garcia, Shame, The Staves, Tim Burgess, Dry Cleaning, Greentea Peng, Dream Wife, Goat Girl, Working Men’s Club, Oklou, Holly Humberstone, Nadia Rose, Jc Stewart, Kawala, Lynks, Alfie Templeman, Billie Marten, Big Joanie, Lyra, Gracey, Sorry, Orla Gartland, Fenne Lily, The Longest Johns, Willie J Healey, And More….

The legend that is Bill Bailey becomes the first comedian to  perform on the main stage  in the coveted Sunday afternoon slot. Bailey’s eccentric style of comedy has made him renowned as an internationally acclaimed standup comedian. Expect to be entertained by Bill’s trademark blend of satire and surrealism, stories and dismantled jokes, crowd sing-alongs, weird instruments and musical showstoppers. A packed-out performance of laughter and wonderment is guaranteed.

Bill Bailey  said, “I am beyond excited to be performing at Latitude 2021. This is a fantastic festival which I have loved for many years, and to get to perform on the main stage is a great thrill. It recalls, for me, indelible memories of headlining at Sonisphere in 2011 in front of 65,000 metal fans, so I say, bring it on!” 

Latitude has never been just about the music – it’s a culturally enriching experience across comedy, theatre and arts.  Latitude attendees can expect the biggest names on the comedy circuit, cultural visionaries, poets,  podcasters, and performance artists in an arts bill without boundaries.

A riotous summer weekend of laughter is just what we all need right now and the Comedy Arena never disappoints. Festival favourite Katherine Ryan joins the Comedy Arena as headliner. Famed for her critically acclaimed tours, Ryan has been performing sell-out shows across the globe. Katherine Ryan is currently dominating the television and live comedy scenes both in the UK and abroad. Her debut Netflix sitcom The Duchess was released to critical acclaim last year.  The series follows two critically acclaimed stand-up specials for Netflix – Glitter Room and In Trouble. She was only the second UK based comedian to get a Netflix Globalspecial released in all territories after Jimmy Carr – and is still the only woman.

Katherine Ryan said, “I love Latitude, it’s one of my favourite dates in the calendar! The festival embodies everything that is powerful and magical about live entertainment .  It’s about community, it’s about family,  it’s about laughter and fun! We all need a little bit of Latitude in our lives,  now more than ever before!  I’m thrilled to be performing a headline slot.  Finally live comedy is back and I can not wait!”

Jo Brand also returns as headliner. From incendiary stand-up to heart-warming jokes about baking, Jo Brand has been making an impression for decades. Preferring to be hailed as a ‘national disgrace’ and not ‘national treasure’, Jo is both anarchic and hilarious.  Star and writer of Getting On, the BBC’s BAFTA award-winning series Great British Bake Off: Extra Slice, Jo Brand’s Hot Potatoes, and the award-winning Through the Cakehole, Jo is the ultimate festival booking. 

Fresh from last critically acclaimed debut feature film, Benjamin and Netflix Special ‘Set Free’ Simon Amstell returns to bring his brand-new stand up to Latitude. His new stand-up show ‘Spirit Hole’ is a blissful, spiritual, sensational exploration of love, sex, shame, mushrooms and more and you can see it at Latitude first.

Since his first UK comedy gig twenty-one years ago, Reginald D Hunter’s searingly honest observations both onstage and on TV and Radio have garnered him a cross-generational fan base. Unafraid to tackle head on the subjects the rest of us skirt around, Reginald is the voice of his generation – searingly honest, brutally funny and uniquely placed to commentate on the unfolding meltdown of life as we know it. Hunter headlines Latitude for the first time, this is a unique opportunity to witness a comedy legend at work.

Home of world-class comedy, this year features spectacular stand-up stars and cutting-edge new talent. Among those in charge of splitting sides across the weekend are Abigoliah Schamaun, David Morgan, Flo And Joan, Glenn Moore, Jessica Fostekew, Kerry Godliman, Luisa Omielan, Maisie Adam, Mark Watson, Olga Kock, Rich Hall, Shazia Mirza and Sophie Duker

Across the weekend, Latitude will host a rabble-rousing range of established wordsmiths and emergent talents who all recognise the power of language to change the world.  Jess Phillips MP lifts the lid on the systems and rules that govern us discussing her  new book Everything You Really Need to know About Politics: My Life as an MP, the Emperor of Punk Poetry Dr John Cooper Clarke discusses his razor-sharp autobiography, I Wanna Be Yours and photojournalist Henry J. Kamara uses images to explore the complexities of race, class, and identity. Tim Burgess’ Twitter listening parties were one of the only joys of lockdown but now it’s time to get back to the fields, so Tim is hosting his listening party live at Latitude this year.  Grumpy Old Women writers Comedian Jenny Eclair and Judith Holder will also broadcast a hilarious live version of their Older And Wider podcast.

The Women’s Prize for Fiction returns to Latitude with its most ambitious line-up yet, including an inspirational panel event, a live Women’s Prize podcast ‘Bookshelfie’ recording with host Yomi Adegoke and comedian Katherine Ryan and a live book club celebrating 2020 Women’s Prize winner Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. Women’s Prize Co-Founder Director and bestselling novelist Kate Mosse will also host an exceptional panel of inspiring women  including activist and writer Scarlett Curtis and writer and founder of the Everyday Sexism project Laura Bates. 

The Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller Charlie Mackesy also joins Latitude for an hour of drawing and conversation, as he brings the characters of The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse to life, live on stage.

Latitude’s new dates mean that the festival now falls within the school holidays. Families looking for quality time together need go no further than Latitude’s Enchanted Garden, where they’ll get the chance to make some magic of their own including the inspiring Family Socials which pack weekend mornings with family-friendly comedy, live music, dance and theatre.

Teens who want to ditch the oldies and be among their friends can head to the Inbetweeners Area with music and fashion workshops, the Access to Music Stage and how-tos on gaming, coding and VR. On site you can expect forest and treetop adventures, zip wires and climbing nets.

Now, more than ever, is the time to reconnect with arts and music, reunite with family and friends and recharge with nature making this year’s festival the most important edition in our 15-year history.