1 VISIONS festival
A music and arts festival in Hackney may sound like it could fall prey to Nathan Barley levels of self-parody, but VISIONS is the opposite. Well-organised and carefully curated, it takes place over various indoor and outdoor spaces, with a lineup featuring Anna Calvi, Mykki Blanco and Elf Kid (pictured).
2 Caught By The River Thames
How many times have we heard that a festival plans to “bridge the gap between mind-bending psychedelic rock’n’roll shows and Springwatch”? OK, probably a grand total of zero, but then Caught By The River Thames has always done things differently. This two-day festival combines music from the likes of Low and Super Furry Animals with poetry, craft beer and – oh yes – a talk from Chris Packham.
3 Martha
At the forefront of a thriving UK indie-pop scene of bands that identify as queer, anarchist, vegan, straight-edge or all of the above, Durham’s Martha sing about gender identity, breakups and partying in the same joyful breath. They bring their sentimental anarchy to Brighton in support of their new album with DIRTYGIRL and Twink-182 (a queer Blink-182 covers band).
The West Hill Hall, Brighton, Sat
4 BoomTown Fair
Evolving from a village fair into a metropolis of world music, BoomTown is what Glastonbury might be like if it was entirely made up of the offbeat bits you don’t get to see on TV. Home to jazz, ska, jungle and electro-swing alike, it’s split into 24 main stages, themed as everything from a psychedelic forest to a scrapheap, with nine city districts and countless street venues.
Matterley Estate, Winchester, Thu to Sun
5 Dag Nasty
The founding members of 80s melodic hardcore pioneers Dag Nasty recently piled into a studio together for the first time in over 30 years. Now, they tour the UK for the first time ever with a full original lineup.
Blackpool, Sun; Birmingham, Mon; Bristol, Tue; London, Wed
