Eminem, Muse, Kasabian, Jay-Z, Black Eyed Peas, The Prodigy and Meteors show-stealers Florence & The Machine are among the headline attractions at this year’s Oxegen festival, which takes place between July 9 and 11 in Punchestown.
Also on the extremely tasty looking bill are another of the Meteors’ big winners Paolo Nutini, Faithless, Stereophonics, David Guetta, Vampire Weekend, John Mayer, Calvin Harris, Newton Faulkner, Gossip, Temper Trap, Empire Of The Sun, Goldfrapp, La Roux, Wolfmother, Rise Against, The Coral, Broken Social Scene, Ellie Goulding, and Two Door Cinema Club.
Meanwhile, the dance line-up includes that most superstar of DJs Armand Van Helden, Steve Angelo, Simian Mobile Disco, Erol Alkan, Steve Aoki and A Trak And Aeroplane.
Tickets will go on general release on Friday March 12 2010 at 8am nationwide. Prices remain unchanged since 2008 with a 3 day camping ticket costing €224.50 (incl booking fee).
The campsite will open on Thursday with entertainment on the Thursday Night Live Stage. For an extra €20 you can purchase a 4 day including camping ticket.
And once again this year you’ll be able to secure camping tickets with a e120 deposit, and then pay the balance before April 30.
Eminem’s trip to Kildare comes five years after he pulled his Slane Castle headliner for “unspecified reasons”, which later turned out to be him going into rehab for prescription drug addiction.
Now fully recovered, he recently picked up ‘Best Rap Album’ and ‘Best Rap Performance’ awards at the Grammys.
Muse were a lot of people’s tip to headline Slane Castle this year, but have settled instead for a slot at Punchestown, which is good news for anyone who missed their remarkable The Resistance Tour date last November in the Dublin O2.
Another band who excelled in the O2 before Christmas are Kasabian who, with Oasis now out of commission, are probably the biggest ladrock band on the planet.
Securing the services of Jay-Z is a major coup for Oxegen promoters MCD. On the back of his Brit Awards appearance, the hip hop man’s The Blueprint 3 album has re-entered the UK top 10, and is still selling steadily here.
Despite her announcing last week that she’s retiring from the music biz, Jay-Z says he wants to perform this summer with Lily Allen.
“I known her for a minute,” he says. “I think she’s a great artist. I respect her. We just haven’t collaborated yet. I’ve collaborated with so many artists. It’s pressure because on the days when they don’t come out I have to over-perform. It’s like, ‘You better make me happy that Beyoncé’s not here tonight!’”
If he manages to twist Ms. Allen’s arm, we’re sure she’ll be very welcome at Punchestown! Someone Jay-Z did get to hang out with last week at the Brits was Paolo Nutini who was chuffed that the rapper shared some of his £1,000 a bottle Ace Of Spades champagne with him!
72 hours later recent Hot Press cover star Nutini was celebrating again as he picked up the ‘Best International Album’ award at the Meteors, and also treated the RDS to a live rendition of ‘Pencil Full Of Lead’.
Also expect plenty of high-pitched squeals from the crowd when Vampire Weekend give their Contra album its first live airing in Ireland. They’ve just put the video for their new single, ‘Giving Up The Gun’ on YouTube, which features cameos by RZA from Wu Tang Clan, Lil’ Jon, Joe Jonas and actor Jake Gyllenhaal.
A band who by July should be making serious waves are Two Door Cinema Club, the Bangor outfit who include Kanye West among their celebrity admirers. Due out on February 26, their debut Tourist History album is an absolute gem.
In town on Sunday for the NME Shockwaves tour date in The Academy, the boys had a chat with Hot Press, which will be appearing in our March 11 issue.
It’s also a first Oxegen outing for Ellie Goulding, the ‘BBC Sound of 2010’ winner who additionally scooped the ‘Critics Choice Award’ at the Brits, and releases her own Lights debut this Friday.
Goldfrapp will be coming armed with a new album, Head First, which is out here on March 19 and in addition to the title-track features ‘Rocket’, ‘Believer’, ‘Alive’, ‘Dreaming’, ‘Hunt’, ‘Shiny And Warm’, ‘I Wanna Life’ and ‘Voicething’.
If you haven’t already invested in Gossip’s fabulous Music For Men album, the good news is that it’s available from iTunes Ireland for a limited period for just €7.99. Beth Ditto & Co. are currently on tour in Australia where punters have been treated to an a capella cover of Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’.
The 33 acts announced this week are just the tip of the Oxegen iceberg, with dozens more to be added over the coming weeks. We’ll have all the Punchestown news for you as it breaks on hotpress.com.