Legendary UK shoegaze outfit Ride have been announced as special guests alongside The Verve singer Richard Ashcroft’s appearance at South Facing Festival, which will take place at Crystal Palace Bowl in London on Saturday, August 6^th. More information regarding the event, including tickets, can be viewed here.

Ashcroft’s headlining appearance at the festival was announced in March, with support yet to be announced at the time of the announcement. Now, Ashcroft has revealed his special guests for the show, which include British DJ Steve Lamacq, Hull-based shoegazers bdmm, Canadian singer-songwriter Tess Parks, and Alan McGee. South Facing Festival debuted last year, and featured performances from Dizzee Rascal, Supergrass and The Streets. The festival this year will run from July 29^th to August 21^st. This year’s event will include performances from Becky Hill, London Grammar, Jungle and Bombay Bicycle Club.

Richard Ashcroft’s headlining show on August 6^th will also mark a big day for Ride, who will be performing their debut album Nowhere in its entirety for the record’s 30^th anniversary. The album was originally released in 1990.

For any shoegaze fan, this is an absolute dream come true, given Ride’s status as pioneers of the beloved genre. The group’s debut is a feverish wash of lush, reverberating soundscapes and what sounds like an orchestra’s worth of screaming guitar noise that swirls around dreamy, lethargic vocals and thick, catchy basslines; an essential listen for any lover of rock music.

Ride originally broke up in 1996, but reformed in 2014 to play a series of shows across Europe and North America, which eventually resulted in the group releasing new music in 2017, starting with a single called “Charm Assault”. In June of that year, the band released Weather Diaries, their first full-length album in twenty-one years. The band also went on to release another album after their reunion; 2019’s This Is Not A Safe Place, which received favourable reviews from critics, with NME saying: “It’s fitting that Ride would choose to call their new album ‘This Is Not A Safe Place’. After spending the last two decades of his career very much playing it safe, (Andy) Bell is back in brave, progressive, creative territory.”

Ride also announced earlier this year that they will be re-issuing some past releases, including their debut Nowhere, and their sophomore full-length effort Going Blank Again. The re-issues will be released on November 4^th, via Wichita Recordings. You can pre-order them here.