Kanye West, Chemical Brothers, Rodrigo y Gabriela To Headline The Big Chill Festival & Tickets
Monday, 18 April 2011
Written by Brad Norris
The Big Chill have unveiled headliners Kanye West and Rodrigo y Gabriela, both UK festival exclusives, and The Chemical Brothers plus more as the first confirmed artists for 2011.
Nestled in the idyllic surroundings of Eastnor Castle Deer Park in Herefordshire, The Big Chill celebrates an impressive 17th year from 4th - 7th of August 2011 cementing its position as one of the festival calendar’s true originals.
For 2011 The Big Chill celebrates it's rich heritage with new and developed aspects of a much loved summer weekend. Another diverse line-up, spanning countless genres and corners of the globe featuring performances from superstars and rising stars alike, culminates in a tantalising offering for 2011’s festival.
Crowning the Deer Park Stage on Friday night are The Chemical Brothers, a duo who can easily lay claim to the title of dance music royalty. Tracks cited as classics by fans and peers alike such as Hey Boy, Hey Girl, Block Rockin’ Beats and Galvanize are a regular fixture in clubs from the UK to Ibiza and beyond. They have proved their amazing abilities as a live act through many performances at Brixton Academy and festivals worldwide. The Chemical Brothers are bringing their Further Tour to The Big Chill, currently receiving rave reviews for its beats, visuals and light show which are blowing away fans and critics across the globe.
Saturday night’s Deer Park Stage headliner will be the boundary pushing hip-hop superstar Kanye West. The multiplatinum rapper and producer has sold over 15 million albums worldwide and has collaborated with a list of artists that reads like a true “Who’s Who” of popular music over the past decade including Jay-Z, Alicia Keys and Janet Jackson to name but a few. Kanye West’s performance at The Big Chill in 2011 is a UK festival exclusive; fans need look no further for the only place to catch this interstellar set featuring tracks such as Stronger, Gold Digger and Love Lockdown.
From the bars and pubs of Dublin to five consecutive sell out shows at London’s 10,000 capacity venue, Shepherd’s Bush Empire in November, Rodrigo y Gabriela’s rise to success has been meteoric. Despite meeting whilst playing in thrash metal bands the duo are now renowned for their folk and Latin style, played to a virtuoso level on acoustic guitars. The pair have scored number one albums both in Ireland and in the US, topping the American Billboard’s World Music Charts for 10 weeks, consequently they performed for US President Barack Obama at The White House. Rodrigo y Gabriela’s set at The Big Chill is yet another UK festival exclusive continuing the festival’s history of diverse and globe-spanning programming.
Also appearing on the Deer Park Stage on Friday will be Neneh Cherry, the BRIT Award-winning Buffalo Stance star’s performance will be her first UK festival appearance since Glastonbury 1997. Critically acclaimed indie band and Mercury Music Prize nominees Wild Beasts will appear as well as experimental indie from Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti. Alt-rock outfit Electrelane will break their three year hiatus in an exciting return to the stage and Mahala Raï Banda complete Friday’s line-up as confirmed so far with gypsy-inspired Balkan sounds.
Saturday welcomes Soulwax side project and duo famed for their bootlegs and visuals, 2manyDJs, to bring the Deer Park Stage to a triumphant close. Armed with an Olympic standard set of vocal chords Jessie J has stormed the charts recently with her slick pop tracks now destined to play out for The Big Chill. Currently receiving rave reviews and gracing magazine covers Metronomy bring their quirky electro-indie-pop to the table while Janelle Monáe offers up an energetic performance of futuristic funk-pop sure to electrify the Deer Park. Electronic influences collide in the form of the Basque-influenced group Crystal Fighters and The Knocks prove their status as one of the ‘20 hottest producers in the world right now’ according to NME.
We are joined by a legend on Sunday as Robert Plant and The Band of Joy take to the Deer Park Stage. Named after Plant’s first band and also featuring Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, The Band Of Joy’s blend of folk, blues and rock comes with true musical pedigree. Creating ethereal art-rock at The Big Chill will be taste-maker favourites Warpaint. Of celebrated lineage is Femi Kuti & the Positive Force, eldest son of afrobeat legend Fela Kuti and renowned saxophonist, band leader and world music icon brings with him rich international flavours. MBE and The Big Chill regular Norman Jay makes a welcome return in 2011, also performing are British reggae originals Steel Pulse. The Deer Park’s bounty as confirmed so far is completed by the improvisational About Group featuring Alexis Taylor from Hot Chip.
Deer Park Stage Friday
The Chemical Brothers
Neneh Cherry
Wild Beasts
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
Electrelane
Mahala Raï Banda
Saturday
Kanye West
Jessie J
Metronomy
Janelle Monáe
Crystal Fighters
The Knocks
Closing the Deer Park Sat: 2manyDJs
Sunday
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Robert Plant and The Band of Joy
Warpaint
Femi Kuti & the Positive Force
Norman Jay
Steel Pulse
About Group
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