ArcTanGent Festival (also known as ATG) is a three-day British rock festival held annually at Fernhill Farm in Somerset, England since 2013. It is the most popular British summer festival for math rock, post rock, progressive metal and experimental music. The festival is named after the Earthtone9 album arc'tan'gent (2000).[1]
| ArcTanGent Festival | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Dates | August |
| Location(s) | Compton Martin, Somerset, near Bristol, England |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Website | arctangent |
Previous performers include Heilung, Mogwai, Meshuggah, Devin Townsend, Explosions in the Sky, Coheed & Cambria, Opeth, Glassjaw, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sleep Token, Polyphia, Converge, Animals As Leaders, Shellac, American Football, TesseracT, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Russian Circles, Electric Wizard, Carpenter Brut, Igorrr, Alcest, Cult of Luna, Battles, Public Service Broadcasting, Empire State Bastard, Deafheaven, And So I Watch You from Afar, 65daysofstatic and Fuck Buttons.
The festival features five stages, silent disco after the live performances have finished, a selection of bars and food vendors, and weekend camping and VIP options.[2]
2013
edit
The 2013 edition of the festival was the first to be held. It has since returned annually, albeit now one week earlier each year.
The Yohkai stage was curated by Damnation Festival on the Friday.
| Thursday 29 August | |||
| Yohkai | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Maybeshewill | |||
| Friday 30 August | |||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
65daysofstatic |
Earthtone9 |
Public Service Broadcasting |
Damien Schneider |
| Saturday 31 August | |||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Fuck Buttons |
Bo Ningen |
Turbowolf |
Non Classical DJs |
2014
editThe PX3 stage was relocated from the campsite to the main arena for the 2014 edition and every year since.
| Thursday 28 August | |||
| Yohkai | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
And So I Watch You from Afar | |||
| Friday 29 August | |||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Russian Circles |
Maybeshewill |
Tellison |
Cleft |
| Saturday 30 August | |||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Mono |
Lite |
I Like Trains |
Shiver |
2015
edit
Where the 2013–14 editions were held on the last weekend in August, the 2015 edition moved a week earlier in August where it has remained since.
The 2015 edition was the first time the PX3 stage hosted performances on all three days of the festival, with the Thursday PX3 program curated by BBC Introducing. This edition of the festival also included a Sargent House takeover, with several of their artists performing including Deafheaven, Emma Ruth Rundle, Marriages, Helms Alee and Mylets.
Cult of Luna were originally scheduled to perform on the Arc stage before Deafheaven, however they instead headlined the Yohkai stage after flight delays.
| Thursday 20 August | |||
| Yohkai | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
65daysofstatic | |||
| Friday 21 August | |||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Dillinger Escape Plan |
Vennart |
Blanck Mass |
Emma Ruth Rundle |
| Saturday 22 August | |||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Deafheaven |
Cult of Luna |
Toundra |
Vessels |
2016
edit
The Bixler stage was relocated from the campsite to the main arena for the 2016 edition and every year since. All four stages are now situated in the main arena.
Cleft performed their final ever show at the 2016 edition of the festival. The set was recorded and the movie posthumously screened across seven UK shows in December 2018 as part of One More Tour: In Memory of Dan Wild-Beesley.
| Thursday 18 August | |||
| Yohkai | PX3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Mono |
Axes | ||
| Friday 19 August | |||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Godspeed You! Black Emperor |
Nordic Giants |
Monuments |
Plini |
| Saturday 20 August | |||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
American Football |
Meet Me in St. Louis |
Gallops |
Foes |
2017
edit| Thursday 17 August | |||
| Yohkai | PX3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Russian Circles |
Nordic Giants | ||
| Friday 18 August | |||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Converge |
Leprous |
Ho99o9 |
worriedaboutsatan |
| Saturday 19 August | |||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Explosions in the Sky |
SikTh |
Jambinai |
The St Pierre Snake Invasion |
2018
editThe 2018 event was the first year in which the Arc stage featured bands performing on all three days.
The Thursday Yohkai and PX3 lineups were curated in part by Big Scary Monsters vs Holy Roar respectively.
Gallops were the first band to play a live set as part of the silent disco, performing fully electric on the Thursday night.
Chiyoda Ku replaced Mugstar on the Yohkai stage. Jo Quail joined Takaakira 'Taka' Goto for the Behind The Shadow Drops performance.
The festival marked Giraffes? Giraffes! first ever performance outside of North America since their formation in 2001.
| Thursday 16 August | |||
| Arc | Yohkai | PX3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
And So I Watch You from Afar |
La Dispute |
Tangled Hair | |
| Friday 17 August | |||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Glassjaw |
Leprous |
Tides of Man |
Behind the Shadow Drops |
| Saturday 18 August | |||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Shellac of North America |
Arcane Roots |
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs |
Scalping |
2019
editOn 6 September 2018 Meshuggah was announced as the first headliner.[3]
The 2019 event featured an expanded site footprint and an additional campsite, albeit the layout remained largely unchanged. There was also the introduction of the Bar Stage, located in the centre of the site.
Friday night once again featured live sets as part of the silent disco, including The Algorithm and GosT. There were also silent disco sets from John Stanier and Effigy across the weekend.
The main stage was opened by The Beft; a Tribute to Dan Wild-Beesley of Cleft and featured guest musicians including Mike Vennart. Black Peaks set featured Jamie Lenman on vocals due to the absence of the band's singer Will Gardner. And So I Watch You From Afar performed their debut album in full for an unannounced special guest slot on the Arc stage.
| Thursday 15 August | ||||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 | Bar Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Coheed & Cambria |
Daughters |
AK/DK |
Memory of Elephants |
Sleep Beggar |
| Friday 16 August | ||||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 | Bar Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Battles |
TTNG |
Frontierer |
Brutus |
Steve Strong |
| Saturday 17 August | ||||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 | Bar Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Meshuggah |
Caspian |
Employed to Serve |
Doblecapa |
Kinlaw + Franco Franco |
2020–21 cancellations due to COVID-19
editOn 5 May 2020, ArcTanGent was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 21 May 2021, ArcTanGent was cancelled again due to the COVID-19 pandemic, citing the lack of a government insurance scheme to cover COVID-19-related cancellations of music festivals (especially due to increasing spread of Lineage B.1.617 in the UK amid its lifting of restrictions).[4]
2022
editArcTanGent returned after two years of cancellations, with the festival taking place over 16–20 August 2022. The headliners were Cult of Luna, TesseracT and Opeth. The site had a new layout, with the Elephant in the Bar Room stage significantly larger than 2019, which hosted the Wednesday night line-up curated by Effigy, followed by a full line-up across all five stages across the weekend:[5]
| Wednesday 17 August |
| Elephant in the Bar Room |
|---|
|
The St Pierre Snake Invasion |
| Thursday 18 August | ||||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 | Elephant in the Bar Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cult of Luna |
Maybeshewill |
Mclusky |
We Never Learned To Live |
Bolt Ruin |
| Friday 19 August | ||||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 | Elephant in the Bar Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tesseract |
Zeal & Ardor |
Scalping |
Palm Reader |
Paranoid Void |
| Saturday 20 August | ||||
| Arc | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 | Elephant in the Bar Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Opeth |
Leprous |
Godflesh |
Her Name Is Calla |
Miet |
2023
edit
ArcTanGent 2023 was headlined by Converge, Heilung and Devin Townsend, and took place on 16–19 August 2023. Deafheaven's set was playing their 2013 album Sunbather in full. The Ocean also performed a surprise Silent Disco set. The full line-up was:
| Wednesday 16 August |
| Bixler |
|---|
|
Straight Girl |
| Thursday 17 August | ||||
| Main | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 | Elephant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Converge |
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs |
Yourcodenameis:milo |
Sugar Horse |
Ramkot |
| Friday 18 August | ||||
| Main | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 | Elephant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Heilung |
SikTh |
Enslaved |
LLNN |
CLT DRP |
| Saturday 19 August | ||||
| Main | Yohkai | Bixler | PX3 | Elephant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Devin Townsend |
Haken |
Loathe |
Ohhms |
Tokky Horror |
2024
editOn November 6, 2023, ArcTanGent announced the first wave of bands for the 2024 festival, their 10th birthday bash.[6] The festival is scheduled to take place 14–17 August 2024, featuring a final farewell show from Three Trapped Tigers and a Wednesday headlining set voted for by fans from And So I Watch You From Afar. On November 16, ATG announced Meshuggah as the Friday night headliner, alongside Animals as Leaders.[7] On January 25, ATG announced "pretty much ALL the bands for ATG #10", adding another 50+ bands to the lineup including the Thursday headliner Explosions in the Sky and Saturday's headliner Mogwai. On February 27, the organisers announced the final 23 bands for this year's lineup.[8]
On April 19, the festival released the stage times and clashfinder for this year's lineup.[9]
| Wednesday 14 August |
| Yokhai |
|---|
|
And So I Watch You From Afar |
| Thursday 15 August | ||||
| Main | Yokhai | Bixler | PX3 | Elephant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Explosions in the Sky |
Textures |
John Cxnnor |
Tokky Horror | |
| Friday 16 August | ||||
| Main | Yokhai | Bixler | PX3 | Elephant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Meshuggah |
Plini |
Show Me the Body |
Komfortrasuchen |
Teeth of the Sea |
| Saturday 17 August | ||||
| Main | Yokhai | Bixler | PX3 | Elephant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mogwai |
Caspian |
Slift |
MSPAINT |
COLOSSAL SQUID |
Awards
editDuring 2013–2014, the festival was shortlisted for several awards including, Best New Festival, Best Grassroots Festival and Best Small Festival at the UK Festival Awards as well as Best Independent Music Festival at the AIM Awards.[10]
In 2013, the festival won the award for Best Toilets at the UK Festival Awards. In 2016, the festival was shortlisted for Best Headline Performance of the Year for American Football and Line Up of the Year at the UK Festival Awards. In 2018, the festival won the award for Best Small Festival at the UK Festival Awards.[11]
Annual warm-up
editThe festival has hosted an official annual warm-up party each year in Bristol, England in collaboration with promoters Effigy, ForFans ofBands and ArtScare. The event takes place in May each year and has featured mainstays and favourites of the festival including Gallops, The Physics House Band, Cleft, Talons, Toska, Alpha Male Tea Party, Memory of Elephants, Chiyoda Ku, Sœur and Jo Quail [12]
References
edit- ^ HUNTER, NIKK (11 June 2015). "AND SO THEY NAMED IT "ARCTANGENT"..." Fecking Bahamas. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ ArcTanGent Info
- ^ Louder Sound
- ^ "ArcTanGent festival postponed until 2022 after organisers hit out over insurance". NME. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "CLASHFINDER 2022". ArcTanGent. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
- ^ ArcTanGent @arctangentfestival
- ^ ArcTanGent @arctangentfestival
- ^ ArcTanGent @arctangentfestival
- ^ ATG 2024 CLASHFINDER
- ^ Festival Insights
- ^ UK Festival Awards
- ^ Effigy