Music
Preview
Latitude 2024 – line-up deep dive
Your ultimate guide to the names playing Suffolk's biggest party of the summer
The serene surrounds of Henham Park will burst into life on 25 July as 45,000 fans descend on Southwold for a weekend of fun. Some will be taking a dip in the local lake, some sampling the delicious foodstuffs on offer, and others simply basking outdoors in the British sunshine (fingers crossed). But of course, the main attraction is the music and comedy.
For those already attending, you’ll no doubt recognise the names at the top of the bill of this year’s Latitude festival. However, look a bit deeper into the line-up and you’ll find a smorgasbord of sounds spanning indie, rock, pop, folk and dance – plus, some of the best names on the stand-up scene. For those that don’t know where to start, we’ve taken a deep-dive into the 2024 line-up so you don’t have to.
The headliners
Duran Duran
A band that needs no introduction, Duran Duran are one of the 80s’ most enduring pop acts. Outgrowing their initial new romantic beginnings in search of loftier heights, they famously rode the wave of MTV notoriety in the Second British Invasion of artists that dominated both airwaves and television sets that decade. They’ve been selling out stadiums ever since. Expect a swathe of classic hits such as ‘The Reflex’, ‘Girls On Film, ‘Hungry Like The Wolf’, ‘Rio’ and ‘Ordinary World’ closing out the Sunday in show-stopping style – keep an ear out for a cover version or two as well, especially given their recent album, which featured a slick version of Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’.
Keane
Soft rockers Keane will celebrate their 30th anniversary in 2025 – with 30 years soon passing since they formed in 1995 as wide-eyed school friends from Battle in East Sussex. This year, however, marks two decades since the release of their breakthrough debut album, Hopes And Fears, a record which went on to top the UK album charts, winning a Brit Award the following year, and establishing Keane as a household name. 20 years, five albums, a lengthy hiatus, and various personal trials and tribulations later, Tom Chaplin and Co are back where they belong – wooing Latitude festival with a co-headline set that’ll have the Obelisk Arena gently swaying in the sunset.
London Grammar
Fellow co-headliners London Grammar will take to the stage beneath the stars, which couldn’t set a more perfect scene for the shimmering Nottingham three-piece. Since their formation in 2009, the trio – led by singer Hannah Reid and her singularly evocative contralto voice – London Grammar have charmed global audiences since their debut album, If You Wait, sold over two million copies and won an Ivor Novello award. Reid has had to overcome both stage fright and managing chronic illness throughout her career, so performing at a festival of this magnitude will no doubt be as cathartic for her as it is for the Latitude crowd.
Kasabian
Leicester’s rowdy dance rock titans Kasabian will ensure the Friday night headline set will be nothing short of ‘Fire’. Another headliner celebrating a landmark in their musical journey, it’ll mark two decades since the band’s eponymous debut album so they’ll undoubtedly celebrate with a career-spanning set. They’ve consistently evolved at the behest of the band’s central creative force and now bonafide frontman in Serge Pizzorno, picking up numerous accolades on the way – including a BRIT Award and seven NME Awards. On their upcoming album, Happenings, Kasabian lean deeper into their dance odyssey, so anticipate a show that’s equal parts rave and rock.
The hip-shakers
Nile Rodgers & CHIC
The man who single-handedly shaped 70s disco’s finest moments and has been ‘Lost in Music’ ever since: it’s Nile Rodgers. Renowned for his gleaming disco ball of a smile and chucking guitar style, Rodgers has influenced countless artists since the formation of CHIC, consistently impacting the sounds occupying disco dance-floors around the world, be it with his own timeless compositions such as ‘Good Times’ and ‘La Freak’ or producing Madonna’s ‘Like A Virgin’, David Bowie’s ‘Let Dance’, and Duran Duran’s ‘The Reflex’.
Khruangbin
Undoubtedly the go-to mood music for summer soirées at dusk, Khruangbin’s globally infused psychedelia can cater to most crowds’ music tastes. Voyaging through Thai surf rock, Middle Eastern disco, Caribbean dub, Latin-indebted guitar music, and the Texan soul of their hometown origins, the trio risen to universal acclaim through their projects Con Todo el Mundo, Mordechai, and The Universe Smiles Upon You.
Alison Goldfrapp
Whether it’s as the focal point of her namesake electro-pop duo Goldfrapp, or under her solo guise, Alison Goldfrapp has conjured delirium on dancefloors for the best part of three decades. Consistently innovative, the synth-pop pioneer has garnered many a GRAMMY Award nomination and a Mercury Prize nod to boot, before eventually stepping into her own with her debut solo record, The Love Invention, in 2023. Her alchemy of ethereal on-stage charisma and effervescent disco-electronica will bring the party to the Second Stage.
The ravers ‘n’ misbehavers
Orbital
Dance acts might not even have found a place at mainstream music festivals if it weren’t for Orbital: after their opinion-shifting set at Glastonbury Festival in 1994 – on what was then entitled the NME Stage – the praise from one performance later encouraged Michael Eavis to evolve the stage into an entire arena dedicated purely to raving. Fast forward 30 years, mischievous brothers Paul and Phil Hartnoll still play with enviable levels of energy and enthusiasm, adding a human touch to their pioneering brand of techno. If London Grammar and Keane’s dulcet tones aren’t your cup of tea, check out Orbital on the Second Stage if you’re in need of a proper party.
Fat Dog
Punishing is a fair way to describe Fat Dog. The chaotic troupe refer to their sound as “rabbis on ecstasy” (Rolling Stone, 2023), and sonically they do echo Nitzer Ebb, a dash of klezmer, and 90s video games percolated through the South London scene where they proved their chops, which swiftly ignited a label scrabble that Domino Records eventually won. Extremely sweaty and silly, Fat Dog welcome havoc at every live show they’ve played thus far, likely where their word-of-mouth reputation spiralled from. Their Sunrise Arena set will undoubtedly be carnage too.
cumgirl8
Not one for the straight-laced Latitude festival goers: cumgirl8 attack your senses so viscerally, they’ll leave you clutching your eyes like the famously meme-ified image of Mr. Smithers resisting two lap dancers that pin him against a wall. The former art collective’s berserk brand of post punk (which draws from B-52s, The Shangri-Las, and ESG) skewers everything from female objectification to social media sensationalism, all while dressed like strippers from outer space. You’ll be blushing whilst you head-bang.
The troubadours
Waxahatchee
After six stunning albums which have journaled her shifting desires and personal growth – including her most recent album of the year contender, Tigers Blood – Katie Crutchfield, aka Waxahatchee, is very much poised for her mainstream breakthrough. The alluring alt country artist possesses the kind of lilt that evokes a creekside scene of seeking shade beneath a weeping willow in the Southern sun’s heavy heat. Her Friday afternoon set in the Obelisk Arena will provide the perfect tonic to the late July rays, if the weather holds out.
Marika Hackman
Through her career to date, Marika Hackman has been dabbling in her musical laboratory, matching sounds to her shifting identity. Pivoting from heavy-lidded dream pop on debut, We Sleep At Last, to upbeat Britpop on follow-up, I’m Not Human to brash, bold rock on 2019’s Any Human Friend. On her latest, Big Sigh, Hackman has gone with her gut to find a nail-bitingly vulnerable style of grunge, one that channels her teen idols in Nirvana and Radiohead as much as her candid self-loathing and necessity to emotionally purge through her music. Cathartic and compelling, you won’t be able to peel your eyes away from her Second Stage set.
The guitar slingers
Future Islands
Future Islands are arguably as renowned for the animated dance moves of lead singer Samuel T. Herring and his bizarre, husky baritone vocals as they are for their pulsing guitar-based synth-pop. In their live shows, however, you get all of the above. Celebrating a decade since their breakthrough viral performance of ‘Seasons (Waiting on You)’ on the Late Show with David Letterman, the Baltimore four-piece have reiterated their credentials as a must-see festival act. Their shimmering album, People Who Aren’t There Anymore, detailed Herring’s process of separation from his partner mid-pandemic, but he conjures a connection with his audience on every occasion, and their headline set on the Second Stage won’t be any different.
English Teacher
Arguably the British buzz band of the moment, English Teacher garnered gushing reviews from almost every publication that reviewed their 2024 debut album, This Could Be Texas. A rumination on alienation and the lack of tolerance lead singer Lily Fontaine faced on a daily basis as a mixed-race individual growing up in Doncaster, the working-class band have been vocal about their experiences, and have added musical maturity to their DIY might. See what all the fuss is about as they headline the Sunrise Arena.
Been Stellar
Been Stellar sound like the result of a teenage rite-of-passage vagabonding on New York City’s subway. With a knowing nod to their city’s forefathers in the Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth and The Strokes, Been Stellar stir their street smarts in a dissonant melting pot of reverb-drenched guitars, spectral melodies, and lyrics that paint an earnest picture of modern life in the City Of Dreams.
The bright young things
Picture Parlour
There’s a scant number of new bands that could claim to have had bonafide rock royalty amongst their fan base before even having released their debut album. Picture Parlour are one of those few, after Courtney Love discovered the four-piece on an impromptu visit to the Windmill Brixton and shared her exaltation to her many millions of Instagram followers. There’s good reason Island Records instantly snapped them up: the elegant rockers blend Arctic Monkeys-esque anthems with retro-indebted appeal; lead singer Katherine Parlour exuding a similar prowling preacher man energy to Nick Cave, albeit with a noir-ish femininity.
BIG SPECIAL
For dedicated listeners of BBC Radio 6 Music, BIG SPECIAL will no doubt be your bread and butter. Punching somewhere between Sleaford Mods – who they’ve supported – and IDLES, the duo forged their poetic post punk gospel in the shadow of the Black Country and its industrial legacy. Their recent debut, POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES, channels the frustrations and subsequent apathy of growing up with little opportunity, though BIG SPECIAL have turned their indignation into an album that’s already being talked about as one of the year’s best.
Fabiana Palladino
Fabiana Palladino’s glossy synth-pop is a testament to her painstaking perfectionism as a producer. The pianist’s eponymous debut received rave reviews from the Guardian and Stereogum, which is reward for her pain-staking musical process. It’s been seven years in the making before she stepped out into the spotlight herself, having sessioned with Sampha and Jessie Ware before before owning her own expression. The daughter of famed session bassist Pino Palladino, Fabiana’s affection for shimmering synth funk jams and the earnestness of 80s pop ballads is clear, roping in her musical family to record what is yet another contender for this year’s top albums. Get to her set at the Sunrise Arena early.
The belly laughs
Grace Campbell
Her Instagram handle, @disgracecampbell, gives you a roundabout idea of comedian Grace Campbell’s affronting brand of humour. Campbell’s lewd, self-absorbed comedy puts her series of sexual experiences from her 20s and beyond at the fore. She’s shamelessly self-interested, liberated, and more than happy to ruffle a few feathers. It must run in the family – her dad is none other than former political strategist Alistair Campbell.
Rosie Jones
One of the most infectiously likeable comedians out there, Rosie Jones delivers a mix of wickedly uncomfortable gags and lashings of smut, with her beaming trademark grin consistent throughout. Skewering the general perception of her disability – Jones has cerebral palsy – she laps up the awkwardness of her close-to-the-knuckle jokes that would probably get gasps if she weren’t just so darn charming.
Stewart Lee
The comedy snob’s comedian: Stewart Lee has made a career out of deconstructing the very fabric of stand-up comedy, all the while maintaining an extreme contempt for his audience and their perceived lack of intelligence. In all honesty, he’s not at all like his comedy persona away from the stage. Though on the day you won’t know if you’ll be getting the Stewart Lee ‘schtick’ at a festival, or his more truthful, music-loving self. Either way, it’ll be plenty of fun and will likely give you a superiority complex like the rest of his insufferable fans.
Latitude 2024 comes to Henham Park in Suffolk on 25-28 July. Find tickets here.
Photo credits: Sergione Infuso/Corbis via Getty, Katja Ogrin/Redferns, Joseph Okpako/WireImage
