Bestival: The top five

A new venue plays host to this year's Bestival but, as ever, a great line up is on hand to provide the soundtrack. With plenty to choose from, we've selected the five must acts coming to the Lulworth Estate.

Last updated: 22nd Aug 2017

Originally published: 10th Aug 2017

Image: Bestival (credit)

With a brand new venue, but the same fun loving ethos, Bestival 2017 is all set to be an action packed affair with not just a massive musical billing but a plethora of entertainment on hand to make for a truly unforgettable four days.

The Lulworth Estate, home to Camp Bestival for many years, is where Rob Da Bank's wacky weekender will take place, with the organiser saying: "We’re super excited about our shiny new Bestival adventure. We have an incredible line-up and ridiculous new stages and installations coming your way”

Away from the world's biggest confetti cannon, the world's biggest disco ball, HMS Bestival, Happy Kanye and plenty more, the Bestival line up is a sight to be hold, with a distinctly diverse range of acts featuring across numerous areas of the enormous site. Taking place between Thursday 7th - Sunday 10th September, there's something for literally anyone and everyone, so we've thought long and hard about the top five acts coming to Dorset for Bestival 2017.

5. Charlotte Church's Late Night Pop Dungeon

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The Welsh songstress has created a ten piece pop powerhouse to deliver some of the best-loved hits from throughout the ages to frenzied crowds. With extravagant costumes and heaps of humour, there's certainly a cabaret feel to Church's show, but one thing is for sure, a good time is guaranteed.

From Bump and Grind to Killing In The Name Of, there's few stones left unturned in the late night pop dungeon (coming to The Box), although we're most definitely holding out for a rendition of 'Crazy Chick'.

4. Jasper James

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As always, Bestival's diverse dance music offering is complete with quality DJs and producers from across all genres, so if you're keen to put on your dancing shoes at the new site in Dorset, you'll be more than catered for. 

Guaranteed to deliver a high octane party set is Glaswegian selector Jasper James, with an ear for rarities and dancefloor classics, his sets cover house, techno, disco and all the good bits in between. Festival sets don't come much better than his.

3. Nick Mulvey

 

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Known for being what is potentially the most chaotic festival of the year, Bestival is a blur of colour, noise and perfectly crazy people. What better way to take a step back and gather your thoughts than to the soundtrack of Nick Mulvey's chilled melodies and brilliant voice, which has been compared to the likes of Nick Drake and John Martyn.

His 2014 album First Mind and 2008 album Knee-Deep in The North Sea with his previous band Portico Quartet, were both nominated for Mercury Prizes; this is an artist that will bring quality and talent to The Box stage this year. 

2. Pet Shop Boys

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Nostalgia is always a winner at festivals, something which was clearly the case at last year's event when the Human League caught our eye with arguably the performance of the weekend.

This year you've got the chance to see another synth pop group from the 80s, with the delectable Pet SHop Boys playing. Expect their fully immersive audio-visual showcase to capture the hedonistic abandon and colorful magic of Bestival in a nutshel.

1. A Tribe Called Quest

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It's not often that you get to see genuine hip hop royalty bringing the fire to the UK, and they don't come a lot bigger than Tribe. What is there to say that hasn't been mentioned before about the greatest rap collective of all time? Probably nothing, but take it from us; you'd be mad to miss them. 

With a discography that sans back to 1990, Tribe can drop the likes of Can I Kick It, Buggin' Out, Electric Relaxation, and the plethora of fat tracks to feature on their most recent release, 2016's We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service. Their headline show at Bestival maybe one of their last on these shores, what with the death of Phife Dawg, and a feeling that last year's powerhouse album was their last - if you're at Bestival 2017, don't miss your chance. 

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