Festival favourites Bellowhead will headline the main stage on Friday 8 June. Five-time winners of Best Live Group at BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, the 11-strong Bellowhead’s set will be a special opening night treat. Armed to the teeth with South American charm and soul The Cuban Brothers, will strut their stuff on Wychwood’s main stage on the Friday 8th June, while Howard Marks, renowned for his captivating spoken word and story telling, will step up to the mic in the Big Top on Saturday 9th June. Also appearing on Saturday over on the main stage are Doctor & The Medics, the psychedelic rockers famed for their number 1 single ‘Spirit In The Sky’.

From a recent appearance on Rob Brydon’s 2011 Christmas Special on BBC2 to Cheltenham Racecourse, The Magic Tomolinos’ punk infused Balkan folk will headline Friday in the Big Top. Sunday’s Big Top welcomes folked-up hip-hoppers Dizareli and The Small Gods, while the cheekily named Thrill Collins return to Wychwood offering up cover versions skewed with their own ‘nu-skiffle’ twist as part of Sunday’s main stage line-up as will JuJu. Comprising of artists Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara, JuJu present a heady mix of traditional African and leftfield jazz sounds on Saturday alongside fellow musicians Billy Fuller and Dave Smith.

Once again seven BBC Introducing shows from surrounding counties will be joining forces to provide the best in new music from Bristol, Bath, Gloucester, Coventry, Warwickshire, Hereford, Worcester, Oxford, Wiltshire and Wales, further information to be announced soon. Famed for delivering a truly family-focused festival experience, Wychwood leads the way with innovative programming designed to delight children as well as wonderful music from around the world to entertain the adults. Since launching in 2005, Wychwood has become one of the UK’s most successful independent arts events of the summer season and been nominated in the ‘Best Family Festival’ category at the UK Festival Awards every single year.

Day tickets now on sale, starting at £37 for adults or £47 with camping for one night. Weekend tickets from £115adv . All tickets available from www.wychwoodfestival.com

The Limit To Your Love singer will be joined by the likes of The Walkmen, The Felcie Brothers, Yann Tiersen and The Wave Pictures as well as a whole host more of indie artists. Other confirmed acts include Jonathan Richman, Junior Boys, Damien Jurado, The Time & Space Machine (Live), Cass McCombs, Scritti Polliti, Slow Club, Ghost Poet, Peaking Lights, Dark Dark Dark, Cashier No. 9, Islet, Rocketnumbernine, Alt-J, Teeth of the Sea, The Perch Creek Family Jug Band, Richard Warren, Goodnight Lenin, Sweet Baboo and Alaska.

Feist, whose 2011 album Metals was among one of our albums of the year, will take to the stage at the 10th anniversary Green Man Festival on Sunday August 19 (festival dates August 17-19) and heads the first wave of amazing acts confirmed for the most varied and exciting line-up in its decade-long history. Her Grammy-nominated 2007 solo breakthrough The Reminder sold over a million copies worldwide, while last year’s superb follow-up Metals was declared the best album of 2011 by The New York Times. A long-standing member of acclaimed music collective Broken Social Scene, Feist has also collaborated with the likes of Wilco, Beck and Grizzly Bear, and this month received a 2012 Brit Award nomination for Best International Female Solo Artist.

Tickets on sale now at www.ticketline.co.uk/green-man More info at www.greenman.net

The annual Run to the Sun shebang (RTTS) takes place on June 1-4 at Trevelgue Holiday Park in Porth, nr Newquay. Entertainment comes from Pendulum, Judge Jules, Lisa Lashes, DJ Hype and Netsky as well as Jaguar Skills, Modestep, Friction, Mister Jam and more.

Established in 1987, RTTS has become popular with VW enthusiasts and fun/sun-seekers alike. Camping tickets cost £75adv and are available at www.runtothesun.co.uk

Bristol-based festival, Boomtown Fair, are running a completion aptly called ‘Who Would You Like To See Headline?’.

They’re asking fans of the festival to submit their headliner choice, with the winning choice winning a pair of tickets and the opportunity to meet the artist backstage and have a photo taken for posterity – gotta be worth a try!

All you need to do is CLICK HERE and enter your three headliner choices (one per box) and watch out for the big announcement on February 1st, if you chose that artist watch out for a message in your inbox!

Boomtown Fair returns in 2012 over the weekend of 9 – 12th August, for more info or to but tickets visit: www.boomtownfair.com

Since their formation in 1999, The National have grown organically from indie cult heroes in their early years, to creating truly stunning LPs such as the amazing Alligator and Boxer, and more recently with the success of High Violet deservedly achieving crossover success to become one of the most acclaimed bands on the planet. Much of this success is based on their incredible live shows – ATP are very excited that the band have accepted our invitation to headline and to curate an exciting supporting bill featuring many of their favourite artists.

In total the line-up will feature 40 live acts playing across the weekend on three indoor stages with a total festival capacity of just 5500 people. The event will also feature DJs until late, Cinema chosen by The National, Book Club curated by The National, and much more! Other acts confirmed for December’s ATP are: Kronos Quartet, The Antlers, Owen Pallett, Boris, Tim Hecker, Sharon Van Etten, My Brightest Diamond, Wye Oak, Lower Dens, Megafaun, Suuns, Dark Dark Dark, Buke and Gase.

All Tomorrow’s Parties has been promoting festivals and concerts throughout the world for the last ten years. It was founded in the wake of Belle and Sebastian’s Bowlie Weekender, with Mogwai curating in the unusual setting of Pontins Holiday Camp, Camber Sands. Since then the festival has appeared every year and has expanded across the globe continuing to set itself apart from large scale corporate festivals by staying intimate and fan-friendly. The line-ups are chosen by significant bands or artists which results in eclectic events that combine performances by legendary and influential acts with appearances by the latest crop of experimental artists from any (and every) musical genre. The festival has become more successful with every passing year, and ATP events have taken place in the UK, USA, Europe and Australia, with past curators including Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Mike Patton, My Bloody Valentine, Portishead, Sonic Youth, Slint, and Tortoise. In 2011 ATP launched a new series of curated city-based events called I’ll Be Your Mirror, with events so far taking place in Tokyo, London and Asbury Park, New Jersey.

For ten years ATP has set itself apart from other festivals by embracing seemingly disparate artistic genres, with events featuring art exhibitions, cinema programmes, spoken word performances and stand up comedy. It has spawned an acclaimed concert series (Don’t Look Back), a record label (ATP Recordings), and the release of a feature length documentary about the festivals from Warp X, titled All Tomorrow’s Parties, out now on DVD.

Early bird tickets start at £150pp. All tickets include accommodation in private apartments for you and your friends – tickets must be booked in groups of 2-7 people. Tickets go on sale at 2pm on Friday January 20 at www.atpfestival.com

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Towering and tribal, Simon Emmerson’s stellar, twice-Grammy nominated Afro Celt Sound System fuses traditional Celtic tunes with driving African rhythms and hypnotic, cutting edge dance grooves. One of the most inspirational and innovative collectives ever, eight of the best musicians on the planet promise to bring the 2^nd Bristol Folk Festival at Colston Hall to an unforgettable close on Monday, May 7.

Says co-organiser Paul Preager of Bristol Music Trust: “With their excellent reputation as one of the world’s most exciting live acts, we’re thrilled to announce Afro Celts will star in our festival finale. Alongside two award-winning West Country names for our Saturday and Sunday headline acts- – Show of Hands and Cara Dillon – we believe we have an enviable line-up for the second Bristol Folk Festival.”

The much anticipated 2nd festival will be buzzing in Bristol over the early May Bank Holiday (May 5-7)-a guaranteed “rain free” event as it returns to one of the city’s flagship venues, the revamped Colston Hall. Headliners already confirmed include Show of Hands and Cara Dillon, who are joined by Karine Polwart and Rua Macmillan Trio along with Cornwall’s effervescent 3 Daft Monkeys and BBC Radio 2 Folk award nominees Lady Maisery and Walsh and Pound.

Top value 3-day weekend tickets are now available price £80 (concessions £70) from Book via Colston Hall box office on 0117 922 3686 or online at www.colstonhall.org More info at www.bristolfolkfestival.com

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Winter Sessions 2012, which takes place in Chamonix on March 31, will feature a stellar line up of live music and DJs, including Norman Jay, Cheeba, Zero 7 and Trojan Sound System as well as Lazy Habits, Running Numbers, Jon Kennedy and Mr Thing. Daytime activities include ski and snowboard competitions, a mountain top bar and BBQ, iPod battle, an Alpine bake off and onsie competitions.

A spokesman for the festival said: “Set in one of the most jaw dropping places in the world, the Winter Sessions Weekender is a boutique snow fuelled music festival in the heart of the French Alps. Renowned as the adventure sports capital of Europe, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc plays home to the two-day festival on and off the slopes of the Mont-Blanc Massif. Winter Sessions heart and soul is rooted in creating good time party vibes with storming line up’s echoing out across the Alps. The line up this year brings together an eclectic mix of world class DJ’s and bands covering an array of musical genres to suit every taste; house, electro, drum & bass, hip hop, disco, dub step, ska, roots and reggae.”

Chamonix is the third most visited natural site in the world for some damn good reasons!  Walk into an ice cave of one of the longest glaciers on earth; the Mer de Glace, check out the view from the Aiguille du Midi some 3,842 metres high, go husky dog sledging or take a helicopter ride around France, Italy and Switzerland in one afternoon. It boasts some of the most amazing terrain in Europe, over 600km of piste – not to mention what you’ll discover off piste. Freeriding at its very best!

Winter Sessions official travel partner, Off The Piste, are offering some unbeatable holiday packages around the Weekender. Bespoke holidays from just £314 pp including 7 nights self catered accommodation, 6 day ski pass and 2 day festival wristband which gives you access to a range of fantastic discounts across the Chamonix valley (skis, boards and boots hire, restaurants, bars & experiences).

Early Bird Weekender festival tickets, priced £49 and available until January 31, are exclusively available from www.soundcrashmusic.com, after that, £65 tickets are available through www.ticketweb.co.uk

<iframe src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/34027803?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0″ width=”600″ height=”300″ frameborder=”0″ webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/34027803″>Winter Sessions Weekender 2012 Teaser</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/worldsessions”>World Sessions</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>

Headlining the multi-date event is Oxford sound pioneers Radiohead, who played a secret gig at last year’s Glastonbury, but who haven’t toured for years. They’re joined by headliners The Black Keys and Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Other acts confirmed for what could be the festival of the year are Pulp, who made a triumphant return in 2011, At The Drive In, who yesterday revealed they were reforming, and The Shins, who are about to release some new material. Sounds like a cliche, but there really is something for everyone. Top notch acts for indie/Americana fans include Bon Iver, Beirut, M Ward, Laura Marling and more. And for dance fans, David Guetta, DJ Shadow, Swedish House Mafia, Calvin Harris, Girl Talk, Nero and more. Other acts include The Horrors, Feist, Fanfarlo, The Vaccines, James, Band of Skulls, Kaiser Chiefs, Jeff Mangum, Yuck, Wu Lyf, St Vincent, SBTRKT, Real Estate, First Aid Kid and more.

Coachella Festival 2012 takes place in Indio, nr LA, from April 13-15 and April 21-23. Full line up and tickets, which start at $285 / £185 go on sale Friday, available HERE.

2012, the year of the Olympics, end of the world predictions and a big hole left in the festival season by no Glastonbury! But none of these events should cause a glum face as Sunrise Celebration festival has announced some very happy news for 2012 – It will be returning to Summer Solstice, for this year only, and will take place 21st-24th June, the dates usually held by Glastonbury festival, at Gilcombe Farm near Bruton in Somerset.

“The festival is about experiencing how “another world is possible”. Connecting with others who know it too, having an awesome magical party, being inspired and being touched by possibility and the heart felt vibe,” said Dan Hurring, Festival organiser.

Tickets, priced £115, on sale now at www.sunrisecelebration.com

No Direction Home will be the first time that this historic and beautiful setting, first mentioned as far back as the Domesday Book, will play host to a festival. A main stage is to be built by a lake with views of the ancient abbey and there will be music, merriment and new twists on everything you’d expect from the End of the Road team including a carefully crafted programme of film, literature, workshops and comedy. Musical acts confirmed for the 3-day soujourn include Andrew Bird, Beth Jeans Houghton & the Hooves of Destiny, David Thomas Broughton, Diagrams, Dirty Three, Gruff Rhys, Lanterns on the Lake, The Low Anthem, Slow Club and the winner’s of 247 Magazine’s album of 2011 prize (OK, it wasn’t a prize, it was merely prestige) The Unthanks with Brighouse & Rastrick Brass.

More information and tickets, priced £105, at www.nodirectionhomefestival.com

The first few acts have also been announced for End of the Road Festival and are Grizzly Bear, Tindersticks, Beach House, The Antlers, First Aid Kit, Jeffrey Lewis and the Junkyard
Justin Townes Earle, Robyn Hitchcock and more. Tickets for End of the Road available now from www.endoftheroadfestival.com priced £150.