The recent Common People and Mutiny have shown us that the festival season is well and truly under way. Luckily we don’t have to wait too long until the next big festival. The Isle of Wight Festival is this coming weekend and with the good weather we’ve been having recently it is looking like it’s going to be an awesome weekend at Seaclose Park.

This is the fifteenth festival since its revival back in 2002. In that time we have seen bands such as The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen and Fleetwood Mac perform the event.

This year Portsmouth based band Bigtopp will be kicking things off on Thursday night in the Kashmir Cafe at 9:10pm.  The band describe their sound as “offbeat Ska sounds, and mix in a little Rock, some Jazz and Pop with a helping of smooth Reggae.” I first became aware of the band when they won the 2012 Road to Blissfields at the Wedgewood Rooms. They were electric and were worthy winners that night.

Local club night Beats & Swing can be found on the Island taking over the Field of Dreams tent this weekend. They’ve brought along local DJ talent The Business Partners, Wesley Brown and Los Cojones for the ride.

I was pushed to pick three must see acts over the weekend the first would be The Kills. The duo of Alison Mosshart (vocals) and Jamie Hince (guitar) have been favourites of mine since I first became aware of what was their second album No Wow back in 2005. This week the band are release their latest album Ash and Ice. As well as their classic tracks you can expect to hear plenty of new material in their including the latest track “Siberian Nights”.

I was fortunate to be in the crowd to see the trio of Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and Rollo aka Faithless first headline the festival eleven years ago. This year they are returning to celebrate the twenty year anniversary since the release of their debut album Reverence. 

Completing my hat trick of recommendations has to be Queen! Granted they will be missing the key member Freddie Mercury but active members Brian May and Roger Taylor with American vocalist Adam Lambert standing in for Mercury.

In a recent interview with Gigwise Lambert downplayed the Freddie Mercury comparisons, saying: “There’s never going to be another, and I’m not replacing him. That’s not what I’m doing. I’m trying to keep the memory alive, and remind people how amazing he was, without imitating him.”  From what I’ve heard online Lambert has done the songs and Freddie’s memory justice. This potentially could be the highlight of the weekend.

It’s not too late if you want to get tickets, there are a limited number available at www.ticketmaster.co.uk. You can stay up to date on all things Isle of Wight Festival over on their Facebook, Twitter @IsleOfWightFest, YouTube and Instagram pages. If you are heading over to the festival and will be donning any of our Strong Island Clothing gear then be sure to tag us into any photos.