Tommy101

The K's were on early doors on the main stage last year and were quite good; one of the more surprisingly positive bands of the weekend for me

I'm giving up on them, which ever ones they are! In other news:

Just realised the poster is 'The Bohemians' who seem to be a queen cover band!

After browsing a few acts on the Kashmir line up this afternoon I can recommend checking out Slick Minded Individuals if you like Jazzy Funky Hip Hop, and Bohemians for some indie that is a bit like Two Door Cinema club in places EDIT: and The Ohmz are some Dubby reggae vibes, I'd not heard of much off this poster but looks like it has real depth after sampling just a few names that stood out

Is there a line up for that stage yet? Or was it a self confirm? In the past I've noticed they tend to have a few bigger than expected acts. We're getting fairly close to the wire for any additions to the main stages too.

There is some info on the buses here: https://isleofwightfestival.com/info/travel and a bit more here: https://www.islandbuses.info/travel-bus-isle-wight-festival I've no idea of the local area but I think you might be out in the sticks a little for the buses. If you are able to get from Cowes you'd be able to pick up a festival bus from there. Might be an idea to contact the caravan site and see what they would recommend? I'm sure you're not the first to do it.

I think I've seen them 4 times, all so drunk that I probably remember about 4 songs combined and I'm OK with that.

Is that the River Stage? Maybe Hard Rock just no longer sponsor it.

This Paul bloke has got potential. Used to be Rhianna's guitarist

Doesn't seem to be to everyone's taste but Unconditional I is straight in at one of my favourite AFs songs on the first listen.

Bit pointless telling people it's a pointless post.

I'd completely forgotten that about that Orbital set. Those vehicles were roaming the festival all weekend weren't they? Then converged there during the set? I seem to remember people being fired out of the cannon onto the spider? I must be making that up.

Using last years clashfinder as a guide we currently have the following portion of the line up (amount of bands playing each day and stage could change though): Thurs Big Top 4/4 Fri Main 5/6 Big Top 5/7 Sat Main 8/9 Big Top 7/9 Sun Main 8/10 Big Top 8/8 So basically there might be 1/2 names per day for the 2 biggest stages. Realistically the names could be anywhere from stage openers to sub headliners in a few cases so hard to gauge what size they will be. Would be nice to see some one of note somewhat filling the Lionel Richie hole. And obv there is the smaller stages to be added too which have provided good entertainment for me in the past but not many recognisable names other than cover bands.

I'd be interested in Bad Boy Chiller Crew, Groove Armada (even more so if they do a live set somewhere else), Patrick Topping b2b Eats Everything, Ross From Friends, Sad Night Dynamite (but I'm surprised they are on SH tbh, I saw them more as Park or JP). Realistically it's a corner of the festival I don't find myself at often though. Hopefully with the new team and rebrand it will be a bit more inviting.

It's not going to be Poster, gap, Avalon, gap, Full Line, other areas. There are going to be more area announcements before the full line up with times etc

Not that I can remember, but it's possible that I wasn't paying much attention by the time they were. Also what I meant to say about the Big Top is that there is always more space down the right hand side of the tent as you look at the stage (the side opposite the entrances and the photographer above) Yes, HRC was there last year, there's also the Cirque de la Quirk that has DJs, and alternative performances like fire dancers etc that can be quite the spectacle, especially after dark. There are a couple of tents nearer the campsites that are normally banging on Thursday, Platform one is for up and coming bands and Electric Love is an 80's themed tent full of fun with normally a huge mix of great cover bands on. There is also Hipshaker that has good DJs on too. Here is last years clashfinder for an idea of the programmes for the small stages https://clashfinder.com/s/iow2021/ I'm hoping we get a bit more of the line up soon but I don't honestly remember if they normally leave it late to do so. Mud - normally the sight holds up quite well. There has been at least one year where it got muddy but it rained for days on end. Nothing like the muddy years at Glastonbury though. Unless the forecast is horrific I'll just take walking boots and wouldn't bother with wellys but that is just my preference I suppose. Evenings can get a bit chilly but nothing a decent jumper/few layers/beer jacket and dancing can't mitigate. I guess this is personal too and completely depends on what sort of June we are having.

This is a pretty decent picture to explain it. You can get in the side in the picture and the back of the tent freely during the day, but at least in the evenings last year they used the points between those barriers in the picture and a 1 way system in the side and out the back to make sure the tent was not overcrowded. When that happens you tend to get a big crowd outside the tent where you can still see the stage and the sound isn't as good. There is no entry/exit from the long side furthest away from the photo, the little space behind there might be a backstage compound I think? And the short end to the right of the picture is the stage. Just for reference if you walk past this left you get to a big fair ground and eventually the camping, and to the right is the Cirque de la Quirk and main stage. The tent is the wrong orientation in the map below, but the photo would'ver been taken from where the 'Strawberry Fields' writing is.

Another useful difference to somewhere like Glastonbury is that you can walk between the 2 biggest stages in 5 mins, and they stagger the set times with some but minimal overlap - so it's pretty easy to see most of the the big sets as long as you're not fussed about getting near the front. Last year it got hard to get in the big top at night but I think they were trying to control numbers due to covid; once inside there was plenty of room on the right hand side of the tent (the other side to the entrances. I don't remember this being an issue at previous editions though.

Layout wise: It's a lot smaller, and so much easier to navigate. Far fewer stages (Main Stage is outdoor, Big Top seems about the size of the acoustic tent at Glasto maybe? then getting down to fairly small venues both outdoor and in tents that still have some great stuff on). It's much more comparable to Reading/V/Bestival in size. I didn't notice anything bad about the sound on the main stage last year and there is normally plenty of room to get a decent view if you want one. Main Stage normally closes at midnight (earlier on Sunday) and Big top normally has an act on after that. There are DJs on the smaller venues until 1ish. It might also be worth noting that the music doesn't start until later on the Thurs/Friday as part of the site is on a school playing fields so they wait until the kids are out of earshot. The campsites and arenas are adjoining but you have to go through security to get to the music. In previous years they haven't allowed alcohol through these but for one reason or another this wasn't the case last year. I wouldn't count on that happening again but would be a brucey bonus if so as ice cold cans/slabs of beer/cider were very reasonable. I'd say it's more commercial but not to a point where it detracts from the experience, with sponsorships and branded areas (like Old Mout Cider, Aperol Spritz) and Co ops which all have their uses. I wouldn't say it was anywhere near like Reading (or the 'Carling Weekend') used to be when I used to go there though. There are also loads of fairground type rides dotted about and in the big areas between campsite and arena with the main stages which Glastonbury doesn't have. Not my thing to go on but I think it really helps the atmosphere when walking in. Crowd wise, the capacity is a lot smaller, but it's not a small festival. Good mix in demographics with a lot of families, not many teens/young adult groups getting completely wrecked but still lively. Average age is possibly a bit older than most festivals but enough of all ages that no one looks out of place. Very friendly vibes I find, decent food and drink options (but nothing like G). Staff seem to be good when I've had to interact with them but I may have been wearing rose tinted glasses last year because everyone, staff or punter, just seemed so happy to be at a festival. It's fairly easy to get to once over the Solent if not driving, they have loads of buses waiting to take you off to the festival site. There is added cost in the travel crossing but the ticket always seems good value to me so I see it as cancelling each other out. I love Glastonbury but have a lot of time for IOW and will be doing both this year, I just wish there was a few weeks between them.

Side note: Flight Mode when not using your phone helps conserve battery (useful for when the whole team is together/sleeping). Takes less battery than turning off and on, and makes a camera far more accessible for those moments that you need to capture.

Cattle Decapitation on the line up of an event held on a dairy farm could give some people the wrong idea. I'm all for more heavy on the farm though, it's definitely growing and been well received over the last few years.

At Exit Festival they were selling huge baggies with filters, rizla, some gizmo that kept it the right humidity in the pouch, a frisbee and a storm lighter that they would engrave your name on for 1 Euro, they said they'd give it away if they were allowed. There was also a bar on sight that did cocktails for E1.30, after visiting a few times they asked if we'd be around all weekend and that they couldn't make them cheaper but they could make them stronger. For 4 days I was drinking Mojitos and Black Russians that were pure alcohol and ice in 40 degree heat. One afternoon a load of them was followed by sharing a bottle of absinthe between 4 of us, then going into the festival proper where it gets a bit hazy but ended up in 2 very different pits for Hatebreed and Borgore I know that much. Feels like a few years ago but just realised it is a few months off a decade ago.

It won't let me embed as it's age restricted but this might answer a few questions

I'm sure I've seen them on the Other Stage before? From memory it was a pretty decent crowd but was probably a good 5/6 years ago. Would be great to have them (back) at any rate.

I need a rennie just reading this thread but at least we're discussing the important line ups by now and not who are on the stages.