New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Virgin) - Camden Crawl is finally here. The UK's premier city festival heralds the moment when the whole sprawling melee of festival season marauds into view. Plus it's always sunny. This year the streets of north London will be covered with bands including The Drums, Teenage
Fanclub and comedy godheads We Are Scientists. Lost Prophets,
Pendulum and those failures of reinvention, Sugababes, are also on the bill, along with chart-toppers
Plan B and Calvin Harris.
There are plenty of attractions at Camden Crawl other than the headliners though, with hot new bands spilling out of a myriad of venues stretching along two miles of Camden Town.
The likes of Roots Manuva, Summer Camp, The Chapman Family, Shy Child and Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip are well worth checking out, while blasts from the past Ms Dynamite, Gang of Four and Young Marble Giants are sure to draw the crowds.
Last year Madness and Graham Coxon were among the secret gigs that cropped up at the Crawl - expect more big names slumming it in the streets this year, as impromptu sets often end up as highlights of this festival.
Away from the music, a fantasy football contest is sure to get the juices flowing, while a full arts, theatre and comedy line-up will also be running. A spot of daytime drinking shouldn't be encouraged, but is also likely to be sampled.
The whole shebang takes place this Band Holiday weekend (May 1st and 2nd) - that's right, no getting up for work the morning after - and there are still a few tickets available.
Here's a fairly decent chunk of the line-up. Virgin Music will be at the festival grabbing interviews and such, hope to see you there.
TEENAGE FANCLUB �THE DRUMS � CALVIN HARRIS � SUGABABES
MS DYNAMITE � NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB � BILLY CHILDISH � SHY CHILD � I BLAME COCO
CORNERSHOP � SLOW CLUB � BEST COAST � DEAD MEADOW � WE ARE THE OCEAN
Akala � Art Vs. Science � AUTOKRATZ � Billy Vincent � Bo Ningen � The Chapman Family � Graffiti 6 � Holly Miranda � HOUSSE DE RACKET � The Hundred In The Hands � Jamie Woon � Kasms � Left With Pictures � The Like � The Lost Levels � MAN LIKE ME � MOUNT KIMBIE �NECRO DEATHMORT � PULLED APART BY HORSES � Race Horses � RUSTIE � Silver Columns �Spectrals � Stricken City � SUMMER CAMP �Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs � XO MAN
ROOTS MANUVA � GANG OF FOUR � WE ARE SCIENTISTS � LOSTPROPHETS
SPEECH DEBELLE � YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS � LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION � POLAR BEAR
THE SUNSHINE UNDERGROUND � ROX �YACHT � BABYBIRD � THE BLACKOUT � DELAYS
ACTION BEAT � Alan Pownall � Casiokids � Chew Lips �Clock Opera � Cosmo Jarvis � DENIS JONES Drums Of Death � DAN LE SAC VS. SCROOBIUS PIP � Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster � Gaggle � General Fiasco � GOLD PANDA � Hook & The Twin � InvaSION � THE JIM JONES REVUE � Joe Gi deon & THe SharK �Joe Worricker Josh Weller � Kassidy � Katy B � Kyte � Oh No Ono � PHILADELPHIA GRAND JURY * Sharks Tubelord * Wintersleep
APPEARING BOTH DATES: ALEX METRIC * BETTY AND THE WEREWOLVES * CALORIES CHICKENHAWK COMANECHI * CRYSTAL FIGHTERS * DAVID VINER * DRUM EYES * ELIZA DOOLITTLE * EMILY BARKER & THE RED CLAY HALO * EMPEROR MACHINE * ERIK HASSLE * KAP BAMBINO * KURRAN AND THE WOLFNOTES * LEAFCUTTER JOHN LONELADY * MALE BONDING * MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS * NAT JOHNSON & THE FIGUREHEADS * NITEVISIONS * THE POSTELLES * SAMUEL AND THE DRAGON * SKEPTA * SMOKE FAIRIES * SURFER BLOOD * THAT F***ING TANK * TODD TREETOP FLYERS * TURBOWOLF * VERONICA FALLS * VILLAGERS * WILD PALMS