The War on Drugs, Neneh Cherry, Sleater-Kinney, the Fall, Gaz Coombes and the Maccabees are among the names confirmed for this year’s 6 Music festival. Presenters on the BBC radio station revealed performances live throughout 27 January.
Moving from its original venue at the Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, the event will take over Tyneside, with gigs on 20 February at 02 Academy Newcastle and 22 and 21 February at the Sage Gateshead.
Those making an appearance at the festival include 2014 Mercury winners Young Fathers, the Brit award-nominated Royal Blood, Kate Tempest and Eliza Carthy in a collaboration for 6 Music. Sleater-Kinney’s appearance, meanwhile, will mark their first UK performance in almost 10 years.
Five years after the station was threatened with closure and subsequently saved, 6 Music has enjoyed a steady ascent. It reached its biggest-ever audience of close to 2 million listeners last year, with an average weekly audience of 1.99 million listeners in the third quarter of 2014. Lauren Laverne, the station’s mid-morning DJ, presented its most popular show with 868,000 listeners.
“I’m so excited that this year’s 6 Music festival is taking us back to my home in the north-east,” Laverne said in a statement. “It’s going to be an incredible weekend of music, not to be missed. The festival is a celebration of the music and culture we and our listeners love so much.”
In addition to the three-day event, a separate leg called 6 Music Festival by Day will take place on 21 and 22 February in the Ouseburn and Stephenson Quarter areas of Newcastle upon Tyne. Its line-up will be announced on 3 February.
The inaugural festival in 2014 saw the likes of Damon Albarn, Midlake, Kelis, Haim, the Horrors, Metronomy, the National, Franz Ferdinand, Jake Bugg, Bombay Bicycle Club perform.
6 Music festival lineup
The War on Drugs
Young Fathers
Maximo Park
Hot Chip
Neneh Cherry
Jon Hopkins
Interpol
Sleater-Kinney
Ibibio Sound Machine
Ghost Poet
Villagers
Father John Misty
Kate Tempest and Eliza Carthy
The Fall
Jungle
Lonelady
The Charlatans
Wire
Public Service Broadcasting
Gruff Rhys
Royal Blood
Jamie T
King Creosote
The Cribs
Glass Animals
Gaz Coombes
The Maccabees
Simian Mobile Disco
Mogwai
British Sea Power
Django Django
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
