Festival: Latitude
19th – 21st July
While Kraftwerk and Carol Ann Duffy might be two names which rarely come together in the same sentence, the forefathers of electronic music share a billing with the poet laureate and GCSE English staple at 2013’s Latitude Festival, in a line-up which, at first glance, might make for slightly bemusing reading – Modest Mouse, Germaine Greer, Duane Eddy and Tim Key all feature among a wealth of others, in what is surely one of the more wide-ranging mix of artists assembled this summer. However, as organiser Melvin Benn has stated, Latitude is “much more than a music festival.”
Headlining alongside Kraftwerk are festival stalwarts Bloc Party and Foals, although with over 500 live acts booked for the four day festival – including break-through acts Laura Mvula and Rhye – it would be hard not to find something to enjoy. The appeal of Latitude’s eclectic (sorry) range of live performance is matched by the allure of its setting, in the idyllic grounds of Suffolk’s Henham Hall, over which rogue flocks of luminously dyed sheep roam at will – as far as British festivals are concerned, locations don’t come much better in this. Founded in 2006, and with a current capacity of 35,000, Latitude is already becoming a major highlight of the UK’s festival circuit.