Five Must See Acts at Festival No. 6

Photo: Ghostpoet

We continue with our must see festival round-ups, this time focusing our attention on the glorious line up at Portmeirion's Festival Number 6.

Talking place between September 3rd and 6th, Festival Number 6 (read our Virgin's Guide to the festival here) is back with another huge line up of music, comedy, spend word and much more, with the likes of Grace Jones, Mark Ronson, James and Everything Everything amongst the artists and DJs on offer. We've looked at the five we're most excited about seeing.

Belle and Sebastian

Belle and Sebastian's surprise win at the BRITs in 1999 is still one of the greatest upsets of the award ceremony, pipping pop giants 5ive and Steps to the Best Newcomer gong (despite it being their third album) and introducing many to the unique sounds of Stuart Murdoch's sonic vision.

Their baroque, indie pop was one of the most addictive and original sounds to come out of the nineties, and now, nine studio albums later, Belle & Sebastian still know how to dazzle the senses, with a melancholic but strangely uplifting storytelling prowess that no one does better. Watch them in action at Glastonbury above.

Ghostpoet

Ghostpoet's recent move to incorporate a live band with his world-weary, deep slurring vocal persuasion has seen him enter arguably his strongest creative period yet. Recent single 'Sorry My Love, It's You To Me' has been all over our office radio, as it combines Ghostpoet's intelligently constructed lyrics with a visceral post punk, indie sound - bleak but gorgeous in its delivery.

Rae Morris

She's been on the rise for some time now and it seems the powerful songwriting skills of Rae Morris are finally getting the recognition they deserve, with records signed to label behemoths Atlantic and Warner. There's a soul and authenticity in her style that belies its pop template, culminating in her debut at number nine in the UK album charts at the beginning of the year. Check out 'Love Again' above.

808 State

Responsible for acid's next evolutionary cycle from Chicago acid, 808 State are one of the most respected outfits in UK electronic music. Not many bands release a début album as utterly game-changing as Newbuild, and on that strength alone they need to be witnessed live. Of course they followed it up with another doozy - Ninety, which incidentally is the album the band will be performing live, in its entirety, at the festival this year (relive it above). 

Optimo

The Glaswegian duo are hands down one of our favourite DJing ensembles. Made up of Jonnie Wilkes and JD Twitch, the two straddle a very unique line between rock, cosmic disco, coldwave, new wave and house, creating supreme dancefloor vibes with a selection of tracks you'd be hard pressed to spot never mind track down.

Expect a set crammed with feel good moments, off kilter pop, irresistible grooves and some of the finest mixing you're likely to witness, as seen in their Boiler Room appearance above.

Head here for the full Festival Number 6 line up. Grab your Festival No. 6 tickets here.

More like this? Try Throwback Thursday: Foals 'Antidotes'

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