After last year’s glorious 20th year sun-kissed celebrations, T in the Park is back and set to enter its third decade with another unmissable weekend featuring some of the world’s biggest artists.
Homegrown heroes Biffy Clyro and Calvin Harris will close the Main Stage at the festival for the very first time, becoming the first Scottish acts to do so in 13 years with what will be their biggest ever shows on home soil. Biffy Clyro’s 10th Balado outing will see them become the artist which has played the festival the most times. Man of the moment Pharrell Williams is sure to be another highlight, and DF Concerts have also today announced a further array of top acts which will join previously announced Arctic Monkeys and Paolo Nutini as well Biffy Clyro, Calvin Harris and Pharrell Williams on the T in the Park 2014 bill:
FRIDAY 11TH JULY: Biffy Clyro, Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Bastille, Pixies, Steve Angello, Alesso, Haim, You Me At Six, Manic Street Preachers, Chvrches, Maximo Park, The Rifles, Len Faki, Pan-Pot.
SATURDAY 12TH JULY: Calvin Harris, Paolo Nutini, Pharrell Williams, Elbow, Rudimental, Ben Howard, James, Bombay Bicycle Club, Twin Atlantic, The 1975, John Newman, Embrace, Katy B, Nina Nesbitt, The Stranglers, Dave Clarke, Carl Craig, Metronomy, Clean Bandit, We Are Scientists, Ella Eyre, George Ezra, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Magda.
SUNDAY 13TH JULY: Arctic Monkeys, Jake Bugg, Disclosure, Example, Imagine Dragons, Tinie Tempah, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, London Grammar, Tame Impala, Kodaline, Above & Beyond, Sam Smith, Passenger, Sven Vath, Newton Faulkner, Chance The Rapper, Slam, The Twilight Sad, Inspiral Carpets, Julio Bashmore, Levon Vincent, George Fitzgerald and many, many more acts to be announced (line-up subject to change).
There will be more music than ever before, with Friday extending to a full day of performances for the first time ever from 12pm, and on the Saturday night the party continues right through to 1am, plus camping tickets and Saturday and Sunday day tickets will be available at 2013 prices. With a full day of performances on Friday, the day ticket will be priced as per the other day tickets.
Biffy Clyro are T in the Park fan favourites, and they cite their very first performance on the T Break Stage back in 1999 as a defining factor in the band being signed. An incredible 2013 saw the band named Best British Band at the NME Awards and debut at no. 1 with their Opposites album (which achieved the best reviews of the band’s career). They headline the T in the Park Main Stage for the first time this July in what will be their 10th appearance at the festival, and as the fields of Balado ring out once again with the sound of “Mon the Biff!”, it’ll surely be a special moment for band and fans alike.
Biffy Clyro guitarist and singer Simon Neil said: “It’s so great to be playing this year. We’ve seen so many amazing bands at T in the Park over the years. Genuinely T in the Park has shaped our lives in more ways than just our experiences of performing there. We wouldn’t be here, doing this now, if it wasn’t for playing T in the Park. To headline it finally is amazing – it just feels poetic to be headlining on our 10th time. It’s going to be the night of our lives, hopefully it’ll be the night of your life and we can’t wait.”
Global Superstar Calvin Harris will be one of the highlights for T in the Parkers. A Grammy award-winning, multi-talented DJ, songwriter, performer and producer, Calvin’s no. 1 album 18 Months has to date sold over 750,000 copies in the UK alone, along with over 35 million singles worldwide. 18 Months also made chart history by scoring the most Top 10 singles from one album, with 9 UK top 10 singles including Nothing feat. Florence Welch and the massive We Found Love feat. Rihanna. Last year he became the first DJ to win a prestigious Ivor Novello award and will close T in the Park’s Main Stage for the first time this summer.
Calvin Harris said: “I’m very excited that I’m going to be headlining and closing T in the Park’s Main Stage. Last year was incredible, so I can’t wait to be back this year. It’s going to be amazing – I’ll see you all there!”
Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter/producer and man of the moment Pharrell Williams is one of the most successful and prolific artists to emerge during the last decade, as part of the The Neptunes, N.E.R.D., and as a collaborator and solo star in his own right. He featured on the two biggest selling singles of 2013 - Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines (producer, co-songwriter and featured artist), and Daft Punk’s Get Lucky which he co-wrote and fronted. This year looks set to be just as successful, with Pharrell picking up the Producer of the Year Award at the 2014 Grammys, and his hotly anticipated new album G I R L – which features the no. 1 smash hit Happy - due out next month.
Ed Sheeran is one of the most in-demand singer-songwriters to emerge from the UK music scene in recent years. With an Ivor Novello and Grammy nomination under his belt, he’s sure to inspire mass sing-alongs with his anthemic tunes.
Nominated for the Best British Male at this year’s Brit Awards after receiving a Mercury Music Prize nomination his debut self-titled album in 2013, Jake Bugg’s ever-broadening musical palette saw him produce an outstanding follow-up to his debut with Shangri-La. He’s a welcome edition to the T in the Park bill this summer.
2014 has started with a bang for Ellie Goulding. Her million-selling album Halcyon Days reached no.1 in the UK’s Official Albums Chart. Selling out her 2014 UK arena tour and with total sales now topping over three million albums and fifteen million singles, Ellie Goulding’s star is set to soar at Balado as she joins the T in the Park line-up this July.
Elbow return to Balado, headlining the BBC Radio 1 Stage. After winning the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in 2008 with the glorious, triple–platinum selling The Seldom Seen Kid, they picked up the BRIT Award for Best British Group the following year along with 2 Ivor Novello Songwriting Awards. In 2012, the band composed the theme to the BBC's coverage of the London 2012 Olympics, before playing to a global audience of 750 million at the closing ceremony. Their hotly anticipated sixth studio album The Take Off and Landing of Everything is released on March 10th.
In the last 12 months, Disclosure have been nominated for four Brit Awards in 2014, sold-out venues across the world and received critical-acclaim with their debut album Settle. In their return to Balado this summer, they are sure to bring the party vibe to T in the Park 2014.
Bursting out of London’s underground music scene early last year, Rudimental are a pioneering melting-pot collective who rocketed to fame when their single Feel the Love topped the UK singles chart in 2012. At the start of 2013 they returned to the number 1 spot with Waiting All Night ¬– which last week won Best British Single at the BRITs - swiftly following up with a number 1 debut album.
The band said: “We had a wicked time playing at T in the Park last year so we are really excited to have been asked back again. The crowd up there really know how to have a good time! We can’t wait to get back up there for an even bigger Rudimental party this year.”
Fresh from winning British Breakthrough Act at the BRIT Awards 2014 and the following the success of their number one platinum selling debut album Bad Blood, Bastille will return to T in the Park this summer with a plethora of great songs that are both absorbing and genre-defining.
Since his last T in the Park appearance in 2012, Ben Howard has scooped two BRIT Awards, for British Breakthrough Act and British Male. His debut album Every Kingdom was a top five hit going platinum in the UK, and he’s sure to be a big hit on his return to T in the Park.
Pixies made a triumphant return in 2004 following an eleven-year hiatus, wowing fans and critics at live shows around the world. Last year, the group released their first new song in over a decade – Bagboy – on their website to the delight of their fans, with the release racking up than one million downloads/streams in the space of a month.
Pixies’ Joey Santiago said: “We played T in the Park back in 2004, the year of our reunion, and as I recall, it was a great show, especially for the band. So here it is, ten years later, and we’re just as excited to be part of the 2014 line-up and look forward to playing some of our brand new songs as well as the classics for our Scottish fans.”
A pioneer of the Stockholm underground turned icon of the global EDM scene, Steve Angello returns to T in the Park to close the Radio 1 Stage on the Friday night. From the billboard charts to the club floor, he is firmly at the top of his game having taken the reigns at famous stages across the globe and boasting annual residencies for Ibiza’s most prestigious night spots, and recently joined BBC Radio 1’s impressive Residency line-up.
Since forming in Manchester in 1982, James's enduring creativity and musical legacy has made them one of the most influential British indie bands. During their music career now spanning over 30 years, they have released 12 studio albums and sold 13 million albums worldwide. James’ biggest hits include Sit Down, She’s A Star, Laid and Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), with an impressive 20 Top 40 singles in the UK under their belt. Having spent most of 2013 in the studio with Max Dingel (The Killers, Muse), the band's new album La Petite Mort is set to be released via BMG/Cooking Vinyl’ after 2nd June.
Jim Glennie, bassist, James said:"It's a real privilege to be playing this year’s T in the Park. It is a festival that we've a long and memory packed history. The Scottish people have always been wonderful to James and it will be a true pleasure to be back amongst friends. Yours, Jim from James.”
Tinie Tempah’s multi-platinum selling debut album Disc-Overy took the world by storm, before its hotly anticipated follow-up Demonstration was released last November featuring an A-list of collaborators including Dizzee Rascal, Paloma Faith, Emeli Sandé and Naughty Boy. A glittering array of prestigious awards - including multiple MOBOs, BRITs, Urban Music Awards, a UK Festival Award and the Ivor Novello for Best Contemporary Song for debut single Pass Out - are a testament to his major critical acclaim as well as his huge popularity as one of the freshest hip-hop stars around right now.
Now a regular at some of the world’s largest festivals and collaborating with producers such as Sebastian Ingrosso, Calvin Harris on and OneRepublic, Alesso has had successive Beatport chart toppers with debut single Nillionaire and to the dark and energized Raise Your Head. He topped the UK singles chart with his collaboration with Calvin Harris, Under Control, and scored chart success once again on his Grammy nominated remix of OneRepublic’s If I Lose Myself. Having already spun against a backdrop of different skylines on various stages across the world, the producer/DJ is destined for greatness and set to make his T in the Park debut this summer when he takes to the decks on the Radio 1 Stage before Steve Angello, for a Friday night dance extravaganza.
Glasgow art-pop four-piece Franz Ferdinand were catapulted to global stardom with the release of their classic, era-encapsulating self-titled debut album in 2004. The band returned with a new album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action last summer, with critics hailing the band’s trademark lyrical detail, heavyweight hooks, and uncanny ability to marry artistic sensibility with pop punch.
Glasgow’s alt-rock powerhouse Twin Atlantic - whose celebrated full-length debut Free went silver in the UK – return to T in the Park to cement their incendiary live reputation.
Sam McTrusty, vocals and guitar, said:“T in the Park has become a massive part of our band’s history and we are so proud to be able to say we are playing again this year. We have been working on new music that we will be unveiling this year and it will be a massive relief to be playing new songs this time around. Our 6th year playing at the renowned festival is shaping up to our best one yet. See you in the fields!”
You Me At Six released their long awaited fourth album Cavalier Youth at the end of January. With three gold albums, a sold out Wembley show, countless tours and festivals, this year is theirs for the taking and they can rightfully claim their position as one of the biggest rock bands in the UK.
You Me At Six's lead singer, Josh Franceschi said: "Playing in Scotland is always exciting for us as they have some of the best crowds we have seen anywhere in the world, I know a lot of other bands feel the same. We are so pumped to play the main stage this year and can't wait to show off the new songs on Cavalier Youth.”
Tame Impala’s second album Lonerism won international plaudits for its simplistic beauty and boundless creativity, hailed as album of the year by NME and Rolling Stone in their native Australia in 2012. After embarking on a phenomenal sold out world tour at the end of 2012, the band are back on the live circuit and set to return to T in the Park this July.
Manchester quartet The 1975’s eponymous debut album topped the UK Album Charts last September when it entered at no.1. Their infectious anthems where alt.rock explosions meet electro-pop grooves are the perfect summer festival soundtrack, and are sure to inspire mass sing-alongs when they make their T in the Park return.
Matty Healy, The 1975: “T in the Park was a crazy show last year and we're really looking forward to returning this summer, we love Scottish crowds!”
London Grammar are one of the biggest breakthrough acts of 2013. In the past 12 months, they’ve had their first BRIT nomination for Best Breakthrough Act, and seen their highly acclaimed debut album If You Wait named Album Of The Year by iTunes and hailed amongst the best albums of 2013 by BBC 6 Music, Sunday Times, Line Of Best Fit and Clash, to name a few.
In 2012, a year before his first solo material had even seen the light of day, John Newman scored a no. 1 single, and had written and sung on two of the biggest dance hits to storm the UK charts in years: Rudimental’s massive number one Feel The Love and the powerfully anthemic follow up Not Giving In. Last year, he released his first solo material, topping the charts with debut solo single Love Me Again and album Tribute.
Sam Smith came to the fore featuring on fellow T in the Park act Disclosure’s breakout hit Latch and went on to work with Naughty Boy on the MOBO-winning, no.1 hit single La La La. His own debut single Money On My Mind topped the UK singles chart on Sunday, and with his debut album due in the Spring, plus having been named the BRITs Critics Choice and topping the coveted BBC Sound of 2014 Poll, it’s shaping up to be a big year for the singer-songwriter.
Half Scottish, half Swedish singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt released her debut album, Peroxide, last week, with the record entering the UK charts on Sunday at no. 11. Destined for big things this year, she was named 'Singer/Songwriter New Artist of the Year' by iTunes at the tail-end of 2012.
Nina Nesbitt said: "This will be the first year I play T with an album out. Last year was an amazing experience on the King Tut's stage and I'm so excited to come and play among so many other great artists back in my home country! It'll be a great way to celebrate going to no. 1 in Scotland!"
Clean Bandit’s culture clash of bass, beats and soaring strings evokes memories of classic Massive Attack. When they released their first single Mozart’s House on their own label it caught the attention of DJs Nick Grimshaw, Annie Mac, Rob Da Bank, Huw Stephens, John Kennedy, Eddie Temple Morris and Fearne Cotton, before they hit the top spot with Rather Be feat. Jess Glynne. They make their hotly anticipated T in the Park debut this summer.
Grace Chatto (cello), Clean Bandit said: “We haven't actually ever played a festival in Scotland, but we have done a headline show in Glasgow and supported Disclosure and Basement Jaxx in Edinburgh. The Scottish audiences are always up for a good time which makes the shows so fun for us. We've heard great things about T in the Park, and to be playing on such a big stage like the Radio 1 stage is huge! We can’t wait!”
Scottish indie rockers The Twilight Sad also join the bill. James Graham, Twilight Sad, singer, said: "We're delighted & excited to be part of the line-up at T in the Park this year. T was the first festival I ever attended and we, The Twilight Sad, all went together even before we became a band. Therefore it's a festival that means a lot to us. The T in the Park crowd is one of the best crowds in the world and we can't wait to play for them.”
An impressive line-up of electronic artists will take to the decks in the Slam Tent, including Sven Vath, Dave Clarke, Carl Craig, Magda, Len Faki, Pan-Pot, Slam, Julio Bashmore, George Fitzgerald and Levon Vincent, with more to be announced.
Festival Director Geoff Ellis said: “Every year we ask our audience which acts they’d like to see at T in the Park, and we’re thrilled to have some great acts joining us in Balado once again this summer. Biffy Clyro, Calvin Harris, Paolo Nutini and Pharrell Williams are big favourites with the T in the Park fans, and I’m sure it’ll be a very special weekend. Last year’s festival was one of the best yet, and 2014 is shaping up to be a brilliant weekend already, with a full day of performances on the Friday for the first time ever, plus more hours to party on the Saturday. We can’t wait to see you all there.”
George Kyle, Head of Sponsorship, Tennent’s Lager said: “As we enter into our third decade as the T in T in the Park, we couldn’t be prouder to be founding partner of this wonderful festival. We remain passionate about live music and supporting unsigned talent, which we do every year through our T Break initiative. This year will be particularly special with Biffy Clyro headlining the festival for the first time, having made their T in the Park debut on the T Break Stage. We’re very much looking forward to celebrating another fantastic weekend with our partners DF Concerts and with the T in the Park fans this July.”
Published on 26 February 2014 by Ben Robinson
