The 2012 Isle of Wight festival kicks off this Thursday at Seaclose Park on the outskirts of Newport.
Below are a few of our picks from the lineup, along with links to our coverage of the artists, exclusive videos, playlists, and various other bits and pieces to read, watch and listen to.
• Are you attending the Isle of Wight festival? If so, let us know how it goes. Tweet @guardianmusic and tell us about the best and worst things you've seen. Or if you've got the Guardian's iPhone app, you can use the "Send us a story" function at the bottom of the homescreen to tell us more. We'll be rounding up your views next week when we review the festival.
• Are you taking a camera? If so, we'd love to see your photos. Our Festivals 2012 Flickr group is the place to upload your pictures from this summer's outdoor music events. We'll be featuring some of our favourite pictures from the group on guardian.co.uk.
Biffy Clyro
Saturday, 20:15
Last year the Scottish trio talked to Rob Fitzpatrick about their fans, their habits and The X Factor. Here's our review of the band's performance at RockNess festival, and you can watch their How We Wrote session performing the song Many of Horror, as covered by celebrated X Factor warbler Matt Cardle.
Labrinth
Saturday, 14:30
Labrinth performed at London's Lovebox last weekend; read a review of the festival here, and read the review of his debut album Electronic Earth. Labrinth produced Tinie Tempah's Pass Out – read why it was so successful in our 60 years of No 1 singles series.
Bruce Springsteen
Sunday, 20:00
Last month Bruce Springsteen expressed his anger at the banking crisis during his Berlin concert. Is he the last of the protest singers? In this article read what Ed Vulliamy thinks. See what he looked like before he was famous in our picture series of rock stars at school.
Elbow
Friday, 20:45
In this special edition of our How I Wrote series see Elbow perform Jesus Is a Rochdale Girl in their Blueprint rehearsal studio. It's from their album Build a Rocket Boys!, which Alexis Petridis reviewed last year. See what Elbow's frontman and amateur astronomer Guy Garvey says about what festivalgoers should look out for in the night sky this summer.
Example
Friday, 19:15
Read Kitty Empire's review of his album Playing in the Shadows, which came out last year. Discover what Example's summer playlist was in 2008, along with tracks from other musicians.
Noah and the Whale
Friday, 18:15
This review of their performance in Edinburgh a few months ago may help give you an idea of what they'll be like at the Isle of Wight. Read how their gig in Scotland was "energised" and a little "mischievous". Want to know how the band wrote their song Tonight's the Kinda Night? Watch the How I Wrote session they did with us last year. Plus see what Michael Hann thinks of their third album Last Night on Earth.
The Vaccines
Sunday, 16:45
See what we thought of their sold-out gig in Brixton last December, and check out our review of the album What Did You Expect from the Vaccines? Before seeing them at SXSW, Tim Jonze had reservations. Read why he was suddenly swept away.
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
Sunday, 18:15
Noel Gallagher earned himself godlike status at the NME awards. Read our article about the night and what other musicians made of it. Last year Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds debuted at No 1 in the charts. Here's a review of their gig at Manchester Apollo where they played Oasis classics alongside their new material.
Madness
Saturday, 15:45
Last time you saw Madness perform was most likely during the Queen's diamond jubilee, where they appeared on the roof of Buckingham Palace. Here's our review of the night and what we made of the other performances.
Joan Armatrading
Sunday, 13:05
Forty years into her career, Joan Armatrading is still making music. She talks to Paul Sexton about why she loves The X Factor and her work with former prime minister Gordon Brown.
• And if all that's not enough of a warm up, here's some video highlights from last year's festival:
Mobile users, please click here to view video.
And here's a Spotify playlist put together by the organisers.
Are you heading to the festival this weekend? Let us know what you're looking forward to in the thread below.
