Many new festivals arrive on the scene every year but few can boast the involvement of some of the world’s most innovative and influential musical collaborators. Named after a nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll, Jabberwocky is a crazy creative offspring of tastemaker promoters ATP, US musical blog giant Pitchfork and eclectic Spanish music promoters Primavera Sound.
With such impressive musical forces at the helm, you know it’s going to be a rare treat! And the two-day festival in East London looks set to be a thing of beauty. The first announcement presented us with an elegant line up headlined by recently resurrected experimental indie collective Neutral Milk Hotel and 2013 Mercury prize winner James Blake.
The second wave of acts included an impressively diverse range of artists from the boisterous indie rock of Cleveland’s Cloud Nothings to the warm slacker pop of Kurt Vile and the Violators, solo project Panda Bear from Animal Collective‘s Noah Benjamin Lennox and caustic, kneejerk hip-hop of LA’s rap trio clipping.
The biggest announcement of the second round was, of course, Mute Records’ Liars. With a decade-long pedigree of dance punk and a chorus of critical acclaim for this year’s album ‘Mess’, they come to Jabberwocky for an exclusive UK set for 2014.
And if all this wasn’t enough to get you clicking that ticket link, Jabberwocky team laid on a luxurious array of hot new names like Untold, Perfect Pussy, Joanna Gruesome and Big Ups, as well as a collection of underground sounds from the likes of Kode9, Deafheaven and Jesu.
Intriguingly, Convention Centre ExCel is not somewhere you’d associate with alternative music events but – given the clout of the curators – we’re expecting an unconventional gathering.
Want more? Well…cinema programme information has not been released yet but in keeping with the much-loved and sadly-missed ATP sleepover tradition, the organisers announced a special collaboration with Ace Hotels, ideal for those out-of-towners not wanting to be missing out on hanging out with each other morning and night.
Friday and Saturday nights will see after parties at Shapes in Hackney Wick, featuring DJs and acts from the festival. And on top of smaller after parties for the artists and guests who have bought a Jabberwocky hotel package, Ace Hotel will also host Frabjous Sunday – a day of Jabberwocky related music to help ease you back into the world in the aftermath of the weekend’s festivities.
Have a frabjous time, everyone, and see you in East London!
Festival trailer: http://youtu.be/FBrxpL50pTg
Full line up so far:
Neutral Milk Hotel / James Blake / Kurt Vile & The Violators / Caribou / Panda Bear / Darkside / Electric Wizard / Liars / Connan Mockasin / Cloud Nothings / Forest Swords / Thee Oh Sees / Sun Kil Moon / The Bug / Kode 9 / Deafheaven / The Ex / Pissed Jeans / Forest Swords / Perfect Pussy / Earth / Iceage / Jesu / The Growlers / Speedy Ortiz / I Break Horses / Untold / clipping. / Metz / The Van Pelt / Patten / Eaux / Vatican Shadow / Paus / Yamantaka // Sonic Titan / Joanna Gruesome / Chelsea Wolfe / Big Ups / Hookworms / Amen Dunes / Oso Leone / Joana Serrat / Mick Turner
Tickets (from £38.50 incl. booking fee) on sale at: http://www.dashtickets.co.uk/event/5026wtbyq
For more information about the festival and Ace Hotel deals, visit http://www.atpfestival.com/events/jabberwocky2014/view/hotelpartiesjabberwocky.php
