Still recovering from Glasto? Stop spamming us with TBT Instagram posts, quit the nostalgia and put on Spotify, because there are plenty more festivals where that came from this summer.
‘Tis the season to be festive and here to help you gear up for the onslaught with his ultimate festival playlist is Joe Langridge-Brown of Nothing but Thieves, the Essex five-piece boasting unique vocals and chunky bass beats, who are helping you scratch your musical Itch.
Sleaford Mods – Jobseeker
Joe said: “Never managed to catch them live but I’m a big fan. The lyrics in this song are brilliant and if the the track doesn’t make you wanna move, I don’t know what will.
Consists of two guys, one of which stands there for the entire show with a beer in hand, watching the madness unfold. That’s how I like to spend my time at a festival too.”
Arcade Fire – Everything Now
Joe said: “It’s like ABBA!!!! I fucking LOVE ABBA. For reals. Despite the lyrical content, this song has such a happy vibe about it and it’s perfect for festivals.
There’s this section in the middle of the song where a crowd sings along – it’s a crowd from Voodoo Music festival in New Orleans. They got the crowd to sing and then put it on the actual record. Why didn’t we think of that?”
Circa Waves – Wake Up
Joe said: “Picking this as: 1. It has a killer riff. Loved it as soon as I heard it and I’m really into their new, darker sound. 2. I met Kieran from Circa Waves at Glasto and he’s a top bloke. We were watching their set from side of stage and it sounds even better live.”
Radiohead – Lucky
Joe said: “Again, another Glasto highlight of mine. I did an interview before our show and they asked ‘if you could hear any Radiohead song live, what would it be?’ My answer was Lucky and it was the second song of the set. So good.
Some might not call it ‘festival ready’ as it’s a slow burner. But it’s my list. So fuck you.”
Airways – Reckless Tongue
Joe said: “Airways are a fairly new band but they’re wicked. We’ve taken them out on tour a couple of times now and they kill it live. Jake (their frontman) has a very endearing way about him on stage. Dom from Nothing But Thieves helped produce their EP so I’ll begrudgingly give him a shout out I suppose.”
Highly Suspect – Lydia
Joe said: “We love this band, they’re so fucking ballsy. They remind me of bands like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden that I grew up listening to. If you fancy going to scream your lungs out at a festival, this is your band. I’m seeing them tomorrow.
Would love to do some sort of collaboration with them at some point. Haven’t asked them yet. Probably should. Watch this space.”
Everything Everything – Can’t Do
Joe said: “In my opinion, Everything Everything are the most exciting modern day British band going. They’ve just come back with this new single and I can’t recommend it enough.
They manage to use these dance-y pop rhythms and still ensure that the song has a soul. My festival highlight at Reading last year.”
Foo Fighters – Run
Joe said: “This is quickly turning into a list of bands I love and I’ve seen recently but deal with it. Wasn’t sure about the last album but happy to see that they’ve come back with an absolute monster.
It’s huge live, as is most of their back catalogue. They put on a masterclass of a performance at Glasto. Inspiring stuff.”
July Talk – Picturing Love
Joe said: “Canada has the maddest bands, I swear. July Talk are not an exception. You have to see the chemistry between July Talk’s vocalists to really get it, they fuck with each other for the entire set, it’s brilliant.
A band that has something to say, hallelujah. I can’t recommend seeing them enough.”
Cage the Elephant – Cigarette Daydreams
Joe concluded: “One of life’s ultimate sing-a-longs I reckon. The perfect end to any setlist at any festival. Extremely jealous I didn’t write this song. That’s all I have to say about that.”
Nothing But Thieves are set to play at this year’s Standon Calling (July 27th-30th, Hertfordshire) and Kendal Calling (July 27th-30th, Cumbria).
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.