The 2017 Isle of White Festival, which will take place between the 8th and the 11th of June, will be co-headlined on the 8th by David Guetta and Run DMC, as reported by NME. They will join the already announced headliners Arcade Fire and Rod Stewart. Bastille, George Ezra, Rag’n’Bone Man and Jack Savoretti are all also on the bill.
Run DMC became the first rap artist to receive a Lifetime Achievement Grammy earlier this year, and while they have been officially broken up since the death of Jam-Master Jay in 2002, Joseph Simmons and Darryl McDaniels have re-united for a handful of gigs between 2012 and 2014. Simmons, a founding member of the iconic hip-hop collective, sounded excited and paid tribute to UK music fans in a statement, via Metro, saying, ‘We absolutely love playing in the UK, it’s always such a great reception. You guys rock! To be given the chance to play such an iconic UK festival is huge and we’re really looking forward to it!’
Guetta, meanwhile, has not released a album of wholly new material since 2014, but has still been heavily involved in remixes and has released a host of singles, including his latest ‘Shed A Light’ which features contributions from Robin Schulz and Cheat Codes.
Festival promoter John Giddings said of the line-up, ‘The Isle of Wight Festival has always been known for its variety in music and this year is no different. To have the world’s first and most inspiring hip hop group headlining alongside one of the world’s biggest electronic DJ’s is fantastic. I’m also really excited about George Ezra, Rag ‘N’ Bone Man, Bastille and Jack Savoretti. Again there’s something for everyone. I know the crowds at the festival are going wild for all the acts, not just the headliners.’
Giddings must be delighted to have any line-up, let alone this stellar offering, to announce as there were fears the festival would not go ahead at all in 2017 due to concerns over costs and poor ticket sales. Music fans can definitely breathe a sigh of relief at this news, after an agreement was reached between festival organisers and the council. This would not have been the first time the festival was shelved, having begun in 1968 and running for three incarnations until 1970, the festival was brought back in 2002. In 2016, the festival packed in 58,000 fans who saw acts including Status Quo, Faithless, Stereophonics, The Who and Ocean Colour Scene.
Early Bird Tickets for the festival are available now and range in price: children go free; a Friday ticket will cost you £60; single day tickets for the weekend are £80; full priced weekend tickets go for £175 but students (£155) and Teens (£125) get a discount on what promises to be a spectacular event.
The co-headliners join a whole host of acts that have already been announced, a full list can be found below:
Arcade Fire
Rod Stewart
David Guetta
Run DMC
George Ezra
Bastille
Rag’n’Bone Man
Jack Savoretti
