The name of Best Kept Secret Festival denotes mystery and the undiscovered, but the acts gracing the stages around Beekse Bergen park this June include some of the most celebrated and discussed in contemporary music.
Here we look at just a few of the big names playing by the lake from June 20-22. For more ticket information head here, and for coach travel from the UK, check out Planet Festival.
Interpol – Friday, Stage 2, 21.15
Paul Banks and his not-so-merry band of beatniks return from their two year hiatus and in September will release El Pintor, their fifth album. People will flock to see them for pulsing hooks from that and classic records Turn On The Bright Lights and Antics (now twelve & ten years old respectively, so ‘classic’ is only slightly improper).
Pixies – Friday, Stage 1, 22.15
Ignore the Apple ad – Pixies are going to be the throwback band of 2014 festivals, like Pulp in 2011 or Oasis in 20-soon (love you Noel). Catch them first at BKS, where you can hear new album Indie Cindy, groove to the the bass of Debaser and ask yourself again, Where Is My Mind?
Slowdive – Saturday, Stage 2, 18.15
There may not be a sound more suited to the idyllic setting of this festival than that created by this Berkshire band, so how fortunate that Slowdive are back. Whether you are revisiting after twenty-plus years or just encountering their music, this will be the perfect place to embrace their dreamy guitar lines and soothing vocals.
CHVRCHES – Saturday, Stage 2, 21.40
2013 and indeed the first half of 2014 belonged to CHVRCHES, but what do you do AFTER you have electro-popped to glory around the globe? A good chance to try some new tracks with a savvy crowd, perhaps? Who knows, but whatever Lauren, Iain & Martin perform will be sure to get you dancing. God may be dead, but one senses CHVRCHES are just getting started.
The Horrors – Sunday, Stage 2, 16.45
So Now You Know’ from this year’s Luminous is one of the best things Faris Badwan and co. have released, and what’s more, it sounds epic live. Recalling The Verve’s ‘So It Goes’ in more than just name, it is a track that deserves to be heard before you, and that’s before you get to eight years and four albums’ worth of other diverse material.
Belle & Sebastian – Sunday, Stage 1, 19.30
It is a big year for Scotland, but some things Caledonian will surely stay the same. We can rely on Stuart Murdoch & bandmates to put the indie in independence referendum (not sorry) with tunes to stretch your smile from the Netherlands all the way back to Glasgow.
Elbow – Sunday, Stage 1, 21.45
A festival this welcoming to all-comers deserves the people’s band to close the weekend. Elbow are surely that, their expansive sound like two huge Northern arms thrown around the world. The Take Off and Landing of Everything has been received with joy by both old and new fans, and like their previous efforts will probably take on a new dimension in the live arena.