RockNess announces first wave of acts

The first wave of acts have been announced to get messy with Nessie this Summer,

Rockness will be ehadlined in 2012 by:

The UK festival return of Deadmau5
Mumford & Sons in what should be a great headline set
And Scotlands own, Biffy Clyro!

There’s a lot of good vibes floating around on Twitter today about the headliners and the bands announced for the festival today, other acts including:

Justice,
Ed Sheeran,
Azealia Banks,
Noah and the Whale,
Wretch 32,
Metronomy,
Chic,
Beardyman,
Death in Vegas,
Etienne de Crecy,
Totally Enormouse Extinct Dinosaurs,
Busy P,
Gesaffelstein,
Riton,
The Cuban Brothers,
Filth DJs,
Polymath,
Count Clockwork

For more Rockness lineup info click here

All in all Rockness is shaping up to be a great line up indeed, what do you think to the first wave of acts?

Leave us a comment,

Keep on Rockin’ in the Free world

- Brandon

Scuzz Announces Sonisphere Headliner…but who?

Scuzz narrow down the guessing game..

The devils over at Scuzz TV last night narrowed down the guessing for one of the Sonisphere headliners to just 11 bands. Playing songs from the following 11 bands Scuzz TV claimed that one of these bands would be headlining Knebworth this year – the question is, who?

Bands played:

Van Halen
Paramore
Tool
Rage Against the Machine
Rush
Foo Fighters
Avenged Sevenfold
Faith No More
Kiss
Iron Maiden
Blink 182

It hasn’t helped us a great deal as many of these bands have been rumoured for the festival anyway, now all we can do is wait for Sonisphere to give us an official announcement to sink our teeth into.

Which of those bands would you like to see play Sonisphere, leave us a comment.

 

- Brandon

New Acts for Download Festival 2012!

Is there a more vocal fan base than Download festival goers?

A Download announcement rarely comes without its controversy and booker Andy Copping isn’t the type of person to back down and book ‘safe’ bands for the festival, especially now that it’s in its tenth year at Donington.

Perhaps it’s because he’s more accessible than other festival promoters being regularly available, but his job seems somewhat thankless at times with the uprising of people deeming his announcements not ‘metal’ enough for Download, despite the fact Download is a rock festival. Maybe that’s just me.

Anyway we’ll get the controversial pick out-of-the-way to start with: CHASE & STATUS are coming to Download to play under The Prodigy on Friday night. For anyone who listens to anything other than metal…that’s a great lead up to the mighty prodigy, the fields of Donington will be jumping.

Coming off a surprisingly successful headline set at Sonisphere last year, BIFFY CLYRO will be making an appearance before the mighty Metallica take to the stage to play the Black Album in full.

Arguably the biggest announcement of the night came when Zane Lowe announced that the reformed grunge legends SOUNDGARDEN had reformed and would be taking the coveted slot before Black Sabbath on the Sunday night for their first ever Donington performance.

Also confirmed in last nights announcement:

Tenacious D
Machinehead
YouMeAtSix
Anthrax
 Trivium
Lamb of God
DevilDriver
Devin Townsend Project
Little Angels
 Ugly Kid Joe
August Burns Red

There seems to be something for everyone in there, and if not then remember that we still have two second stage headliners to be announced and many more bands to boots. Plus it wouldn’t be Download without a healthy dollop of Classic Rock to sing along to.

For the full Download Festival line up click here

Ready to rock?

- Brandon

Coachella 2012 Line Up announced

Coachella always has a line up to get a little bit jealous of for us UK festival goers, This years Coachella. It’s a dual festival happening April 13th – 15th and then the exact same festival happening again April 20th – 22nd giving people twice the chance of getting tickets for the festival.

Coachella is becoming more and more popular year on year over in the states with many of it’s residents coming from outside of California and travelling for the festival in the Indio desert.

This year the festival is being headlined by Radiohead, The Black Keys and rather excitingly…Snoop Dogg & Dr Dre!

For the full line up visit it here: https://p.twimg.com/AiwWSHmCIAAXlCI.jpg

Tickets for Coachella go on sale this Friday at 10am PST if you are lucky enough to be heading to California this April.

If these are the bands we can look forward to on the UK festival scene this Summer, then it’s going to be an exciting few months of announcements.

Ride Free Citizen!

Brandon

Red Bull Bedroom Jam 2012

We’re big fans of the Red Bull Bedroom Jam, it’s an innitive that helps unsigned bands get from the bedroom to the stage at major festivals. The movement is now in it’s 6th year and this year among other benefits the winning bands will have a chance to create a professional music video with industry professionals. Cool right?

In 2012 RBBJ will be giving 8 bands the chance to play four of the UK’s Summer festivals (Slam Dunk, Hevy, Download and Sonisphere). Not only do you get the fantastic opportunity of playing a festival, but the overall winner of the 8 bands will get studio time at Red Bull Studios in London, AND  a slot supporting slot on an artists UK tour.

To kick off the 2012 season, from Monday 30^th January 15 weekly shows will present the best of this year’s entries before it goes to the vote on who will make it through to the festival stage. Hosting the shows this year is Kerrang!’s new bands editor and rock connoisseur, Katie P. The judging panel who will be helping pick the cream of the crop to go through to the festival stage and later, the live final is: editor Ben Patashnik (Rock Sound), festival booker Andy Copping (Download Festival) and rock agent Becky Sugden (The Agency Group).

So how does YOUR band get involved?

How it works:

• Bands can enter Red Bull Bedroom Jam now by uploading their music video to redbullbedroomjam.com
• One band will be chosen each week for 15 weeks, using the Buzz Chart system. These bands will have the Bedroom Jam team come and record a live show direct from their bedrooms
• From these 15 bands, 8 will be chosen by the panel of judges to play the festival tour
• At the end of the festival season the judges will choose three finalists. Each of these will have a TV-quality music video made for them
• Then the final 3 will go head to head in a live final to see who walks away as the Red Bull Bedroom Jam Champion!

Last year’s Red Bull Bedroom Jam Champions, Page 44 have recently returned from their UK-wide tour supporting The Blackout and We Are The Ocean. Commenting on their RBBJ experience they said:

“It was incredible – absolutely amazing. Joining The Blackout and We Are The Ocean on tour was something we could never have dreamed of without the help of Red Bull Bedroom Jam. We’ve experienced so much and have so much to show since entering – we’ve really developed as a band!”

 

Ease up though rockers, there are a few rules that need to followed:

Rules & Dates

To enter, bands must be unsigned and have at least one member under the age of 22

The first Red Bull Bedroom Jam web-streamed show featuring the band picked using the Buzz Chart will be broadcast on redbullbedroomjam.com at 5pm on Monday 30^th January. These shows will be at the same time each week for a series of 15 weeks

From the 15 bands who have played a live show, the band that resides at the top of the Festival Buzz Chart and 6 bands chosen by judges will continue to the festival tour. In addition to this a ‘wild card’ band will be chosen by the judges from any of the 2012 entries to also continue to the festival stage

Following the festival tour, the judges will pick 3 bands to go head to head in a live final.

The public will then vote to choose their favourite band to be crowned the 2012 Red Bull Bedroom Jam Champion

 

If you plan on entering, be sure to let us know! We’ll promote you to our Twitter followers and see if we can’t help you get a few votes!

Get practising!

- Brandon

 

2012, We’re back!

We’re a week into 2012 and we’re really starting to get excited for the 2012 Festival season.

There’s plenty already going on with the 2012 season, Isle of Wight Festival have already announced a blockbuster line up of heavyweight bands that take Isle of Wight back to the festivals roots, not only that but Download festival are looking to celebrate their 10th Birthday with a bang after announcing a special Black Album set from Metallica alongside The Prodigy and a reformed Black Sabbath.

With a fallow year for Glastonbury in 2012, all eyes are on the other major festivals and who will pull in the heavyweight names that fans usually associate with the Pyramid stage.

So join us through 2012 as we take to the fields with festival news and plenty of camping deals.

Keep on rocking’ in the free world

Brandon

Ultimate Halloween Playlist

I love Halloween, i’ts such a great time of year that we as Brits don’t embrace anywhere near as much as we should do.

It’s about getting dressed up, hitting the town and having a laugh (or if you’re not quite that age yet, go Trick or Treating)

The issue I have is that the bars all play the same three Halloween songs: Thriller, Ghostbusters and Monster Mash. Don’t get me wrong, these are great Halloween songs, but there are so many more out there. We hit Twitter to find out from our followers what Halloween gems these DJ’s are missing out on.

Michael Jackson – Thriller
Ray Parker Jr – Ghostbuster Theme
Monster Mash
Kemkraft 400 – Zombie Nation
Ozzy Osbourne – Zombie Stomp
The Automatic – Monster
Kanye West Ft. Jay Z and Rick Ross – Monster
Nightmare Before Christmas – This is Halloween
Insane Clown Posse – Boogie Woogie Woo
Ozzy Osbourne – Bark at the Moon
Iron Maiden – Wicker Man
Metallica – Enter Sandman
Ozzy Osbourne – Hellraiser
Alice Cooper – Man Behind the Mask
The Misfits – Dig Up Her Bones
Pantera – Cemetary Gates
Rocky Horror Picture Show – The Timewarp
Talking Heads – Psycho Killer
Blue Oyster Cult – Don’t Fear the Reaper
Credence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising
Ozzy Osbourne – Mr Crowley
Duran Duran – Hungry Like the Wolf
The Rolling Stones – Sympathy for the Devil
AC/DC – Highway to Hell
Meat Loaf – Bat out of Hell
Alice Cooper – Feed my Frankenstein
Van Halen – Runnin’ With the Devil
Rob Zombie – Dragula
Murderdolls – Dead in Hollywood
Iron Maiden – Fear of the Dark
White Zombie – I’m Your Boogie Man
MC Hammer – The Addams Groove
Fresh Prince – Nightmare on My Street
Alice Cooper – Welcome to My Nightmare
Johnny Cash – Ain’t No Grave

Got any more? Hit us up on Twitter or leave a comment on here.

 

Happy Halloween!

- Brandon

 

Festival Friendly Cooking

Not everyone can afford £5 for a questionable meat burger from one of the vans every time they are hungry at a festival, If you’ve chosen to camp for the weekend the expense can definitely add up. Unfortunately many festival goers find it difficult to know what they are and aren’t allowed to take when it comes to cooking.

Many of the UK’s major festivals have banned Gas due to a few silly people blowing up cannisters on the last night, it became such a safety issue that these festivals now will only allow solid of liquid based fuel stoves.

GO Outdoors have a solution, not only that but you’re now covered for your pans and cutler too.

Click to buy Festival Cookset

The Hi Gear Festival cookset includes a solid fuel stove (acceptable at all major festivals) a cutlery set, and two mess tins. Not only that but it all comes in handy carry bag for only £8.99

This kit is an essential bit of your camping equipment when it comes to Festivals, plus it’s far more affordable than those noodles that everyone seems to drop on the floor (you know the ones).

Brandon
Simply The Fest

 

 

Festival Camping Pack

So you’re excited, you’ve paid for your ticket for a Festival and week after week more bands are being added and you’re thinking ‘This may be the best Summer ever’ and you’ll probably be right too.

Did you forget something?

Your tent. In fact…All the camping gear.

It’s generally something that gets left till the last minute for most young festival goers and it’s something we wanted to make as easy as possible for you.

GO Outdoors now stocks a couple of quality camping bundles for Festivals.

1 Person Camping Bundle

Includes: 2 Man tent, 1 x Sleeping Bag, 1 x Roll Mat, 1 x Torch, 1 x Festival Cookset (Solid Fuel stove, two tins to cook in, and a cutlery set)

Click for more: 1 Person festival camping bundle
2 Person Camping Bundle

Includes: 3 Man tent, 2 x Sleeping Bags, 2 x Airbeds, 1 x Lantern

Click for more: 2 Person festival camping bundle

 

Make sure you take the right equipment with you this Summer, you will always need someplace to crash come the end of the night.

Brandon
Simply The Fest

System of a Down at Rock Am Ring 2011

Download Festival had a lot of rock fans foaming at the mouth earlier this year when they announced that one of their headliners would be the reformed System of a Down who hadn’t played together in years.

System are a favourite among metal fans and always receive rave reviews for the near CD quality live performances. Fans generally watch in awe as Serj Tankian breaks through sounds you didn’t think could come from a human being.

The band are back and they show no signs of rust as they tore up Rock Am Ring over the weekend with a setlist including some classics and some of their newer tracks.

If you were excited about System of a Down at Download Festival before, you should be positively giddy by now. Campers at the festival will be heading down from Wednesday ready for a weekend of rocking out at Castle Donington.

Tickets for the festival are still available and the weekend will feature another reformation in the form crotch rockers The Darkness.

Remember if you are camping at Download Festival that you need to consider a non-gas option for your camping stove. GO Outdoors stock an ideal festival friendly stove (Includes solid fuel stove, two mess tins, a cutlery set and it all comes in a handy bag for £8.99)

Rock on!

Brandon
Simply The Fest