Festival Preview Citadel

Finding your niche in the crowded calendar of music festivals can be a tricky game, but it’s a challenge that the organisers of Wilderness have always taken head on. While their 2015 edition will see Björk, Nils Frahm and George Clinton visiting their picturesque Oxfordshire site in just a few weeks time, it’s the capital that commands their attention for the forthcoming weekend.

Citadel is very much a new venture, but one that’s not lacking in a vision. Teaming up with London promoters Soundcrash and Communion – with the latter curating their bill in association with DIY – it’s a considered collaboration with the aim of reflecting the array of influences that shape the evolution of the city’s musical melting pot.

The main, Wilderness-curated, main stage tells its part of the story, with Bombay Bicycle Club and Ben Howard sharing headlining duties. Working their respective ways up from solid festival undercard picks, it’s a gesture of faith in the future of UK bill-toppers, propped up rather handsomely by a UK exclusive appearance from Kurt Vile and the Violators.

Soundcrash and Communion offer up their respective takes on the city’s musical fabric with a combination of acclaimed talent, icons and upcoming acts. Communion x DIY stage headliner Nick Mulvey is given the perfect platform to showcase his Mercury-nominated solo work, while the likes of Honeyblood and Rhodes ensure the whole bill acts as a fresh and exciting springboard for the day’s events. With heritage acts and comeback tours growing ever-popular on the UK festival circuit, Soundcrash call on two greats of past decades that don’t pose the usual questions of relevance in the form of Neneh Cherry and Roots Manuva, while pals of Bombay, Ibibio Sound Machine, promise to open proceedings in a typically colourful manner.

With democracy on the agenda in the form of The Sunday Papers who boast an array of guest speakers, a sports day that includes disco dodgeball, and James Murphy’s Despacio stopping over from its stint at Lovebox, the complete Citadel picture promises to bring something refreshingly original to Victoria Park. To give you a flavour of what’s on offer, we’ve compiled a playlist of the day’s must-see acts. Take a listen below.