Let the fun begin. Photo © Clare Potts
This month we embark on our annual pilgrimage to Latitude Festival in Suffolk.
This will be our 8th year and Latitude will be celebrating their 10th birthday, cause for celebration indeed!
1. Getting there
Our pilgrimage always begins in the same way: we pile up the car with far more than we could actually need, pile ourselves in and drive the few hours down the longest motorway in the entire world (definitely not accurate but 54 junctions on one road is quite grim) and stay in a Travelodge before heading off bright and early to pitch our tent on the first day of the festival.
Each part of the pilgrimage makes our weekend amazing, from the ridiculous car games to pass the time to the now-traditional Travelodge midnight picnic of wine, crisps, olives and other savoury treats, every little bit makes it special.
But, as this year is a big birthday for Latitude, it promises to be rather spectacular, something even more special than we’re used to.
2. The best of headliners
So, let’s talk music.
The main stage headliners at Latitude are always a little off-piste. They’re not what you would see at any other festival, and aren’t always what you’d decide to see, but they are always amazing.
Sigur Ros at Latitude. Photo © Clare Potts
Sigur Ros’ performance at our very first festival still makes me smile to this day, it was absolutely incredible.
This year, the headliners are Alt-J, Portishead and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. I’m so looking forward to seeing Alt-J headline, we’ve seen them at Latitude for the past few years and seen them move up the stages.
I’m also really excited to see Portishead, I adore them but have never had the chance to see them live!
I’ll be honest, I’m not in any way excited about Noel Gallagher so I’ll probably wander off for that…
3. The smaller, new acts
One of the best things about Latitude festival is discovering new bands and seeing smaller bands that I haven’t had the chance to yet.
Sun and sound. Photo © Clare Potts
I am so excited to see Young Fathers, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Gengahr, Rae Morris, Aquilo and The Unthanks. There are also old favourites like Seasick Steve that I can’t wait to see again!
4. The comedy (and cider)
The Comedy tent is one of my favourite parts of the festival, I could quite happily spend all day in there laughing along to the comedians, sipping cider and sitting in the (fingers crossed) sun, pure bliss.
This year there is a whole hoard of people I really want to see, from the perpetually angry Rob Delaney and Jon Richardson to the insanely offensive Andrew Maxwell to the rather delightful Josie Long.
5. Film and music love
The Film and Music tent is another of my favourites, we’ve seen some amazing things over the years from Jarvis Cocker doing an impromptu cover of Purple Haze with Schlomo to Adam Buxton being his usual delightful self. I also want to try and get to the theatre stage this year too; in 8 years I’ve never made it into any performance!
There’s not long until Latitude festival, I cannot wait to spend another weekend in Suffolk for my annual dose of music, comedy and festival fun.
