This morning, Watergate Bay’s sunrise brought the first wave of acts set to take the stage at Boardmasters in the summer of 2019, including Saturday’s headline act. Cornwall’s own surf and music festival is stoked to welcome Florence + the Machine
After 2018’s bigger-than-ever Boardmasters, the festival returns to the sun-soaked Cornish coastline for another year of the most exhilarating surf and music action in the UK. Boardmasters runs from Wednesday 7 – Sunday 11 August 2019 across Fistral Beach and Watergate Bay, tickets are on sale NOW via the website from £30 deposit.
Florence + the Machine’s soulful power theatrics will ensure to have spirits lifted to great heights as the sun sets across Watergate Bay. The musical heavywieght oozes credibility with three no.1 albums across the past decade including massive hits ‘You Got The Love’, ‘Dog Days Are Over’ and ‘Hunger’.
Boardmasters has also unveiled 17 more epic acts for 2019. Festivalgoers can expect unforgettable sets from British grime superstars Giggs and Dizzee Rascal this summer. With the 2018 Brits Critics’ Choice award, Mercury Prize nomination and critically-acclaimed debut album ‘Lost and Found’ under her belt, one of the most exciting names to emerge from the UK music scene this year, Jorja Smith joins the Boardmasters line up for 2019, along with prolific indie rock band Franz Ferdinand, having released their first single 15 years ago this year.
Also riding the wave towards Watergate Bay in August are drum and bass duo Wilkinson b2b Sub Focus, garage legend DJ EZ, Bristol punk rockers IDLES, funk and reggae outfit Michael Franti + Spearhead, hip-hop artist Ocean Wisdom and vocal powerhouse Lewis Capaldi.
Crowds can also expect unmissable sets from Australian singer-songwriter Pete Murray and grime royalty Lady Leshurr, hotly-tipped DJ Flava D, London electro DJ and producer Dimension, Rhythm Section’s own Bradley Zero, electronic-pop singer Self Esteem and recent Welsh Music Prize-winning Boy Azooga, who will join Florence + the Machine for five unforgettable days in the most breathtaking festival setting in the UK.
Boardmasters will continue its tremendous work to keep the festival and the Cornish coastline, cleaner than ever before. There will be beach cleans in partnership with Surfers Against Sewage throughout the year as well as during the festival. This year’s successful re-useable cup scheme will continue, along with the litter bond to incentivize campers to pick up their litter and recycle, Cornwall’s ‘Final Straw’ scheme and much more in place to make Boardmasters as clean, environmentally-friendly and enjoyable as possible. This is all part of the mission to have eradicated all non-essential single use plastics from Boardmasters by 2020.
Beyond the music, Boardmasters will return with its epic surf competition, part of the World Surf League Qualifying Series as the biggest names on the international surf scene battle it out on the waves at Fistral Beach. More details to be revealed in 2019. Following huge success this year, Boardmasters is bringing back its Zennor Haven Wellbeing Area at Watergate Bay. The perfect place to unwind and relax, there will be yoga, mental health workshops, healthy food offerings, meditation and much more. The UK’s largest Silent Disco will make a hotly-anticipated return on Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 August as scores of festivalgoers kick start 2019 proceedings at the Watergate Bay main stage.
In 2018, Boardmasters welcomed over 50,000 festival goers to Cornwall. Headliners Catfish and the Bottlemen, The Chemical Brothers and George Ezra entertained festivalgoers against the picture-perfect backdrop of Watergate Bay, while at Fistral Beach, pro surfers battled it out in UK waters over five action-packed days. NME enjoyed “stunning sea views and an eclectic mic of indie, dance, dubstep, rap and soul”, with The Sun describing it as “stellar” and the Daily Star taking in “Instagram-worthy sunsets”. The Cornish Guardian commented, “brilliant Boardmasters returns with a bang” whilst the Newquay Voice summarised it as a “stunning weekend of great music and fun”.
Inspired by the freedom, adventure and creativity of surfing and music, Boardmasters was born in 1981. Expect parties that run late into the night and a beautiful beach to recuperate on during the day. The five-day event is situated across two stunning locations in Cornwall – UK surfing mecca, Fistral Beach, where world class International Surf Competitions take place, and the most stunning location in the country to watch live music, Watergate Bay.
Published on 30 November 2018 by Ben Robinson
