The Line of Best Fit Festival Guide 2011: Part two

The first installment of our wonderful festival guide led you to the north, south, east and west of Great Britain, as well as hopping over the Irish sea to pay a visit to our lovely neighbours. We showed you what July had to offer on the music front and where you had to go to hear it, from (hip) Hop Farm to leafy Latitude, from the mysterious Secret Garden Party to the musical delights of Truck Festival. The second part of our journey sees the festival season creep over the cusp and into the (potentially) balmy heat of August, but first, there’ll be a quick stop by the capital to round off July’s events.

Photo credit: Sebastien Dehesdin

ATP/I’ll Be Your Mirror : 24-24 July

Taking place in the magnificent setting of North London’s Alexandra Palace is the first UK edition of I’ll Be Your Mirror Festival, presented by ATP and curated by Portishead. Beach House, Caribou, Swans, Grinderman, PJ Harvey and Godspeed You! Black Emperor will all be playing what are sure to be extraordianary shows over the two days, with Portishead closing both nights of the festival. This is set to be a musically gorgeous weekend, and to warm you up, the lovely chaps over at ATP have put together this mixtape for your listening pleasure.

I’ll Be Your Mirror tickets

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Field Day : 6 August

Field Day have managed to do exactly what they did last year, in providing a line up so good that just the thought of it makes you weak at the knees. The brilliant Connan Mockasin is going to be there, Ducktails, Erol Alkan, Star Slinger, Still Corners, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Spectrals, Mount Kimbie… I could go on, but that’s what the line up page on their site is for. Yet again, a stunning collection of artists will be filling East London’s Victoria Park, let’s just hope the weather’s as gorgeous as it was last year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1cFsmhxQ0s

Field Day tickets

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The Apple Cart : 7 August

Before all of the tents are sent off to hibernate through the winter months, the organisers of Field Day have decided that they deserve to be filled for a little longer. The Apple Cart takes place the day after Field Day in Victoria Park, East London but is a much more family orientated day out that its sister festival. Music shall be provided by Badly Drawn Boy, Chilly Gonzales, Steve Mason and Gilles Peterson amongst others, but time must also be taken to check out the magic shows, the comedy tent and the Candlelit Matinee.

The Apple Cart tickets

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Standon Calling : 12-14 August

Set in the grounds of a 16th century mansion, Standon Calling is by all means a different class of festival. It’s fairly small, it’s intimate and full of original little touches and thoughts. Gallops, Goldheart Assembly, Errors, Three Trapped Tigers and Saul Williams will join headliners Spiritualized and Lamb this year, but also not to be missed are the art installations, Howard Marks doing a reading and of course, the swimming pool…

Standon Calling tickets

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Summer Sundae : 12-14 August

Last year, Summer Sundae celebrated its 10th anniversary, and what a cracking little festival it has turned into. Now home to 4 stages and with a capacity of 7,000, what started off as a little ‘do’ in the gorgeous gardens of Leicester’s Demontfort Hall has turned into one of the UK’s top family friendly festivals. Summer Sundae has always been known for having a rather diverse line up and this year is absolutely no exception. For those who aren’t particularly taken with McFly, bands such as Blood Red Shoes, The Antlers, Factory Floor, Little Comets and King Creosote & Jon Hopkins should certainly be able to grab your attention. And afterwards, how about a bit of Leicester’s very own Showaddywaddy?

Summer Sundae tickets

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Wilderness : 12-14 August

Wilderness is the sister festival to Cambridgeshire’s Secret Garden Party and Lovebox, and is set in lush Oxfordshire woodland where guided nature walks and campfires are all part of the experience. There’s even a spa for those moments when you’re not indulging in the music of Antony & The Johnsons, Guillemots, The Low Anthem and the only UK festival appearance this year from the legendary Daniel Johnston.

Wilderness Festival tickets

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Green Man : 19-21 August

The next stop on our UK festival journey takes us to Glanusk Park in South Wales, the site which plays host to the 2010 winner of the Best Medium Sized Festival Award, Green Man! Taking place in the exceptional setting of the Brecon Beacons, Green Man strives to combine the natural, green beauty of the venue with a line up to leave you speechless. Explosions In The Sky, Holy Fuck, Suuns, 2:54, Marcus Foster, Josh T. Pearson and Destroyer will all be appearing, and it’s even possible to extend your stay on site to a full week this year, so that you can make your trip into a proper holiday!

Green Man Festival tickets

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V : 20/21 August

If you’re after something to do on this particular weekend, see GREEN MAN festival above, then sell your ticket to V and go there instead. Duran Duran, you’re coming with us.

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Reading/Leeds Festivals : 26-28 August

“Ah Reading. You’ve been there for a long time – you’ve seen us grow, you’ve seen us fall, you’ve seen us covered in mud. You’ve grown to an astronomical size and, to be fair, you can be quite overwhelming. But you always manage to pull some beauts out of the line up bag.” This year OFWGKTA, D/R/U/G/S, Tom Vek, And So I Watch You From Afar, Cults, Friendly Fires and Interpol will be entertaining the masses before Pulp come on stage, and no doubt, within three minutes of beginning to play, steal the show.

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Electric Picnic : 2-4 September

September used to mean back to school time. Now it means that the summer months are so packed full of festivals that they’ve had to spill over into the month dreaded by children up and down the country. But do we mind? Not at all, we love it! County Laois in Ireland presents Electric Picnic on the first weekend of September where Beirut, Blonde Redhead, James Blake, The Rapture, Midlake and Best Coast, alongside plenty of their musical peers shall be appearing.

Electric Picnic tickets

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End of the Road : 2-4 September

With a line up as magical as its surroundings, End of the Road is set to be outstanding this year. Joanna Newsom, Beirut, Lykke Li, Wooden Shjips, Timber Timbre, tUnE-YarDs and Sarabeth Tucek will all be there to make this little treasure of a festival even better. It’s set in the leafy surroundings of north Dorset, the food is great, the beer is great and the bands play for ages. What more could we ask for, really?

End Of The Road Festival tickets

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Bestival : 8-11 September

The Cure and Brian Wilson are going to be at this festival. If that’s not reason enough to get you there, then how about the fact that everyone’s going to be dressing up for this year’s theme of Rock Stars, Pop Stars and Divas? No? What if we told you that the fancy dress competition was going to be judged by The Village People? There we go, now we’ve got your attention! Bestival is the last and most colourful of the year’s summer-time festivals and proceedings will be helped along by a whole heap of bands – Mogwai are going to be there, as will DJ Shadow, Primal Scream,Public Enemy, Willy Mason, Emeralds, Ghostpoet and Tanlines as well as many, many more.

Bestival tickets

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Still to come: The Line of Best Fit, having spanned the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland on its search for great festivals has decided to spread its wings and venture to the mainland. Coming up in part 3 of our festival guide are our top picks for 2011′s European festivals.