Trouble in Paradise?

RH Online previews Latitude 2009


In 2007, in only its second year of existence, Latitude festival secured the major coup of bringing Arcade Fire to its closing headline slot. The following year, its reputation had grown so strong as to attract Franz Ferdinand, Sigur Ros and Interpol to top the festival bill. The festival was showered with praise for its musical versatility, relaxed atmosphere, and its willingness to offer prominent stages to non-musical acts. ‘The new Glastonbury’, delighted ticket holders proclaimed. Latitude: a festival on the rise.

Fast forward to April 2009, and an air of disgruntlement pervades. Internet message boards choke with unimpressed fans: unimpressed at the quality of act announced; unimpressed at the way announcements have been handled; unimpressed about the price rise which has accompanied the apparent decrease in headliner quality. Worried, even, that tickets bought in expectation of further improvement will prove impossible to sell on should the billing not improve.

There are, of course, some very fine acts already confirmed for the festival. Bat for Lashes, Editors and Doves all fall firmly within the exciting category, while taken on their own merits, Pet Shop Boys are an act of massive repute. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds would surely seem a brilliant signing, and entirely befitting the nature of the festival, had he not appeared in 2008 with his other band, Grinderman. The less said about the appearance of Grace Jones in the Saturday night headline slot, of course, the better. Yet despite a number of positive, something, somewhere, smacks of lost inspiration amongst those charged with securing acts - a feeling hardly helped by envious glances cast at Glastonbury’s stellar Springsteen/Blur/Young lineup, and the staggering news of Radiohead’s involvement with Leeds/Reading.

More disconcerting, perhaps, is the manner of the announcements thus far. From Uncut revealing the headliners to subscribers (and thus the internet) a day before the official announcement, to the ridiculous situation of seeing Bat for Lashes announced twice - once while already on the lineup poster - an aura of confusion surrounds the direction of the festival.

Hope, of course, remains. Latitude’s major strength has always been its diversity. Official board moderators maintain that each stage will yet announce acts to rebuild the festival’s ‘wow’ factor. In previous years, many of the greatest performances have come away from the main stage, on the Sunset arena buried deep in the woods.

‘More than just a music festival’, the festival literature says. With 4 months to go until it kicks off, many fans would rather see the organisers ensure that it doesn’t end up as something less.

C.S.