The Cornwall-based music festival, Boardmasters has released its first wave of artists for the 4-day event next summer. The festival takes place from July 7 to July 11 and brings music lovers from all over to Watergate Bay on the Cornish coast. The first headliners have been announced as British grime artist Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr, known more commonly as Stormzy and electronic dance duo Saul Milton and Will Kennard, otherwise called Chase & Status.
Both acts are storming the music industry within their respective genres with multiple BBC, BRIT and DJ awards between them. With hundreds of more acts still to be announced, the festival caters to all music tastes booking indie, pop, rock and dance artists alike. Stormzy has become a household name in the music industry, gracing his way through a wide span of music genres like a knife through butter. He rose to fame through his Wicked Skengman series of freestyles over classic grime beats going on to win multiple awards such as a MOBO in 2014 and British Album of The Year at the BRITs amongst others.
Party starters, Chase and Status released their latest album 2 Ruff Vol. 1 on October 27 this year. The album included their popular single ‘Badadan’ featuring Bou and Flowdan which came out earlier this year in July.
The duo have also collaborated with UK dance vocalist, Becky Hill on their joint single ‘Disconnect’. Hill will be playing her own set at Boardmasters next summer. The singer is known for a multitude of collaborations on tracks such as ‘Afterglow’ with Wilkinson, ‘Gecko’ with Oliver Heldens and ‘Crazy What Love Can Do’ with David Guetta.
Other dance artists who will be on the bill include the experimental, electronic duo Bicep, who originate from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They have been hailed by the BBC as “one of the biggest names in UK dance” and have had music debuting at number two on the UK Official Albums Chart and number one on the UK Official Vinyl Albums. This led to two BRIT Award nominations.
Last year the headliners included Lorde, Liam Gallagher and Florence and The Machine. Previous years have seen acts such as The Chemical Brothers, Ed Sheeran, Calvin Harris and Two Door Cinema Club. However some years, the festival had to be cancelled due to poor weather and COVID-19.
The festival was founded in 1981 as a surfing competition and became a home for new music acts in 2005, with festival goers camping at Watergate Bay. The event now consists of surfing and skateboarding competitions happening in and around the town of Newquay and artists playing on stages overlooking the sea. There is currently a maximum capacity of 53,000 surf and music enthusiasts who attend each year. With plenty more artists still to be announced, this festival is one not to miss.
Check out the full line-up below! Tickets are available here
