Countdown to Latitude
Where: Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk
When: 14th-17th July
Highlights: Will Hutton, Ben MacIntyre, The Maccabees, Gold Panda, Bill Bailey
Price:Weekend - £197.50 + £8 booking fee Day - £77.50 + £7 booking fee per ticket
Sometimes it’s easy to get tunnel vision about what a festival can offer. With all the music fests we get every year, all the reviews and photos raving about what band is going to play where, festivals have become synonymous with weekend long gig sessions. However, they can - and should - celebrate more than one particular form of expression and that is where arts festivals like Latitude really shine. As well as offering the kind of musical masterclass you’d expect of a Glasto contender, Latitude has always enthusiastically endorsed other forms of art to battle music’s monopoly of the stage. Dance, theatre,poetry, great literary works and artists are all provided their platform at Henham Park and this years Latitude is set to provide a cornucopia of artistic and creative delight to remind the UK why Latitude has remained the nation’s number one multi-arts festival since it’s birth in the mid 2000’s. So what’s in store for all you early birds that have already snapped up your tickets?
Line Ups and Stand Ups
As we’ve made laboriously clear in our wee intro, Latitude isn’t just offering a monstrous musical line up like so many of its contemporaries. In fact, in this humble writer’s opinion, the comedy line up for Latitude is almost worth the price of admission in itself; Internet darling and bane of politicians Jonathan Pie will be turning up to deliver a delightfully profanity laden indictment of British politics, Al Murray will be inviting us round for a couple of pints and the odd choice word and Bill Bailey himself will be seeing us home on Sunday with his increasingly vintage alchemy of irreverence and observational genius. Oh and lets not forget Russell Howard, Paul Merton and Reggie Watts will be taking a break from filming panel shows and sold out tours to round out Latitude’s comedy buffet. For you music lovers who simply can’t be temped away from a gig, you won’t be disappointed; The Maccabees, Beirut and New Order will see you right. But please make time for the National headlining on Saturday night. Make time to see one of the best live bands performing right now, if only so we can live vicariously through you!
So Music and Comedy, then?
Hold on, now - that’s just the tip of the iceberg lettuce, my friend. There are some serious literary powerhouses and rising stars coming to pitch their latest creations exclusively to the crowds at Latitude. Luminary author Ben MacIntyre will be giving a talk on his research methods behind his latest biography of Kim Philby, the most notorious British defector and Soviet mole in the history of espionage. Comic, actress and author Sara Pascoe is turning out to deliver her findings on the cultural evolution of women in society, alongside their depictions in art, media and literature with her new book Animal: How a Woman is made. Alongside the authors, scientists, political commentators, doctors and historians will be coming to give talks and contribute to the freeflow of ideas going on this summer at Latitude 2016. The coming together of various minds and perspectives to create a better and more progressive understanding of our world is what it’s all about, gang. Most of these speakers are masters of their field and you’ll rarely find a more stimulating and thrilling place to spend a weekend. Plus, it’s nice to take a break from the bass and the beer. Now and again.
Developments, eh?
Latitude is only a couple of weeks away so you guys need to start getting your squadron together for the commute, though it’s worth doing a bit of research ahead of time. Latitude, ever conscious of its commitment to responsible merrymaking, has organised a traffic plan to minimise the disruptive effects a large scale fest can take on its surrounding area. Check out the plan on their page (http://www.latitudefestival.co m/information/essentials) alongside all other essential information re. what to bring, what not to etc. With every day that comes, new gigs, talks, sets, plays, pieces and experiences are revealed on the line up so keep an eye on the ‘news’ segment of their page or check out their twitter feed so you know whats coming. And for you late comers? Buy your tickets. We’re deadly serious. There’s so much to enjoy, learn and experience we’d be personally offended if you didn’t. And we’re delicate wee flowers.
Kyle Cairns