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  1. Home
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20 of the hottest guitarists at 2015 summer festivals

By Matt Parker
( Total Guitar, Guitarist )
published 3 June 2015

Six-stringers looking for summer lovin'

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Introduction
(Image credit: Steve C Mitchell/epa/Corbis)

Introduction

Our pick of the best guitarists appearing at UK festivals throughout summer 2015.

Believe it or not - not, from where we’re sitting - but summer almost is upon us. For us, that means two things: 1) other people going on good holidays; and 2) standing in a field and having your tenuous bowel situation bludgeoned by a monstrous PA system.

We do it for the music, and fortunately, in 2015, the guitar player is in rude health…

Page 1 of 21
Page 1 of 21
Ben Weinman, Dillinger Escape Plan
(Image credit: Amy Harris/Corbis)

Ben Weinman, Dillinger Escape Plan

Festival: ArcTangent, Bristol

Date: 20-22 August

The mother-flippin’ D.E.P. head to Bristol’s post-rock festival mecca ArcTangent this year and the rest of the line-up is a veritable smorgasbord of great guitar bands: not least Vennart, Black Peaks, Mylets and Alpha Male Tea Party.

Page 2 of 21
Page 2 of 21
Wilko Johnson
(Image credit: Steve 'Beach' Davies/Demotix/Corbis)

Wilko Johnson

Festival: Lunar, Warwickshire

Date: 5-7 June

Having been through more than his fair share of near-death experiences of late, former Dr Feelgood man Wilko Johnson is in the form of his life. Let’s make sure we never take him for granted again.

Page 3 of 21
Page 3 of 21
Mark Tremonti
(Image credit: Amy Harris/Corbis)

Mark Tremonti

Festival: Download Festival, Donnington

Date: 12-14 June

The Creed and Alter Bridge fretboard fiddler is on the road with the second Tremonti album Cauterize and, unsurprisingly, it doesn’t disappoint on the guitar front.

Page 4 of 21
Page 4 of 21
Andy Bell, Ride

Andy Bell, Ride

Festival: Field Day, London

Date: 6-7 June

It’s great to see Ride’s guitarist back in the saddle after years in the bass backseat with Oasis. Bell helped set the template for 90s guitar music and the Oxford band’s debut Nowhere is a shoe-gaze classic.

Page 5 of 21
Page 5 of 21
Rodrigo y Gabriela
(Image credit: AKM-GSI/Splash News/Corbis)

Rodrigo y Gabriela

Festival: Larmer Tree Festival, Wiltshire

Date: 14-19 July

It’s rare these days to see an instrumental acoustic duo level a festival audience, but Rodrigo y Gabriela manage it with incredible consistency. If you get the chance to see them this summer, take it. And expect to clap until your hands are raw…

Page 6 of 21
Page 6 of 21
James Hetfield / Kirk Hammett, Metallica
(Image credit: ELIAS HIDALGO/epa/Corbis)

James Hetfield / Kirk Hammett, Metallica

Festival: Reading and Leeds

Date: 28-30 August

Making a rare detour from their usual bi-annual jaunt between Sonisphere and Download - and last year’s Glasto invasion - the metal titans will be taking in Reading and Leeds festivals this year, bringing the festival back to its hard rock roots.

Page 7 of 21
Page 7 of 21
Albert Hammond Jr., The Strokes
(Image credit: Amy Harris/Corbis)

Albert Hammond Jr., The Strokes

Festival: British Summer Time, London

Date: 18 June

In a sort of reverse Made In Chelsea move, the kings of New York indie pop across to visit their London friends once more this summer. Albert Hammond Jr.’s also got a new solo album, Momentary Masters, on the way, so it’s set to be a good summer for fans of the guitarist.

Page 8 of 21
Page 8 of 21
Dave Grohl / Pat Smear / Chris Shiflett, Foo Fighters
(Image credit: Splash News/Splash News/Corbis)

Dave Grohl / Pat Smear / Chris Shiflett, Foo Fighters

Festival: Glastonbury, Somerset

Date: 24-28 June

Yeah, we went for all three. Asking us to pick a favourite Foo Fighters guitarist is like asking us to pick a favourite Easter Island head. They’re all giants, they’re all part of something bigger and they can all handle a crowd.

Page 9 of 21
Page 9 of 21
Ben Howard
(Image credit: Robb D. Cohen./Retna Ltd./Corbis)

Ben Howard

Festival: Radio One’s Big Weekend, Norwich; Glastonbury Festival, Somerset

Date: 23-24 May; 24-28 June

Ben Howard’s atmospheric second album I Forget Where We Were might not make for the ‘hands in the air’ moments of his festival-friendly first effort, but we can envision his shoe-gazing new direction making for a hair-raising sunset-soaked (we can dream) Glastonbury appearance.

Page 10 of 21
Page 10 of 21
Noel Gallagher
(Image credit: Amy Harris/Corbis)

Noel Gallagher

Festival: Lattitude, Suffolk

Date: 16-19 June

Alongside his guitarist Noel’s been letting his freak flag fly on new album Chasing Yesterday, so expect an exploratory festival headline set from a man who really does know how it’s done.

Page 11 of 21
Page 11 of 21
Mark Morton, Lamb Of God
(Image credit: Chris Schwegler/Retna Ltd./Corbis)

Mark Morton, Lamb Of God

Festival: Download Festival, Donnington

Date: 12-14 June

Lamb Of God’s new album, VII: Sturm Und Drang, arrives at the end of July and judging by the punishing form of Mark Morton’s lead work on advanced single Still Echoes, we’re in for a treat at Download.

Page 12 of 21
Page 12 of 21
Slash
(Image credit: Amy Harris/Corbis)

Slash

Festival: Download Festival, Donnington

Date: 12-14 June

To paraphrase Big Daddy, Slash and Download go together like lamb and tuna fish (or spaghetti and meatball). Prepare to be scorched by a blazing World On Fire set, with help from Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators.

Page 13 of 21
Page 13 of 21
Dan Auerbach, The Black Keys
(Image credit: Suzanne Cordeiro/Corbis)

Dan Auerbach, The Black Keys

Festival: Isle Of Wight Festival

Date: 11-14 June

The Black Keys man was busy making a mint from guitar music back when everyone was convinced it was dead. Expect big bluesy riffs, sunglasses and an eye-popping array of wonderfully weird vintage guitars.

Page 14 of 21
Page 14 of 21
Lindsey Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac
(Image credit: Britta Pedersen/dpa/Corbis)

Lindsey Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac

Festival: Isle Of Wight Festival

Date: 11-14 June

Peter Green gets the guitar accolades for his work with Fleetwood Mac Mk. I, but Lindsey Buckingham is a knee-tremblingly emotive master of both acoustic and electric guitar – and has fans in unlikely places (Trivium’s Matt Heafy, anyone?).

Page 15 of 21
Page 15 of 21
Graham Coxon, Blur
(Image credit: Daniel Fellowes ./Retna Ltd./Corbis)

Graham Coxon, Blur

Festival: Isle Of Wight Festival; British Summer Time, London

Date: 11-14 June; 20 June

“I got my head done, when I was young, it’s not my problem, it’s not my problem…” Yeah, they’ve got splendid new album in The Magic Whip, but if the sun’s shining and Mr Coxon doesn’t bash out Song 2, well, it will be his problem…

Page 16 of 21
Page 16 of 21
Pete Townshend, The Who
(Image credit: Andrew Snook/Corbis)

Pete Townshend, The Who

Festival: British Summer Time, London

Date: 18 June

The Who return to play Hyde Park for the fourth time in their career. London is the spiritual home of the veteran rockers and Paul Weller’s onboard for the ride, too, making it a day of mod madness.

Page 17 of 21
Page 17 of 21
Johnny Marr
(Image credit: Ester Segretto/The Hell Gate/Corbis)

Johnny Marr

Festival: British Summer Time, London

Date: 18 June

With the release of 2013’s The Messenger and last year’s follow-up Playland, Marr’s planted himself back in the driving seat of his own vehicle. He’s playing on the same day as The Who, too, so that’s two British guitar heroes for the price of one…

Page 18 of 21
Page 18 of 21
Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, Tinariwen
(Image credit: Mohamed Kaouche/Demotix/Corbis)

Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, Tinariwen

Festival: Lunar, Warwickshire; WOMAD, Malmesbury

Date: 5-7 June; 24-26 July

Much is made of musicians who’ve grafted their way to the top, but Tinariwen’s Tuareg frontman Ibrahim Ag Alhabib forged his first guitar from a tin can, a stick and a bicycle brake wire and has proceeded to guide his ensemble of guitar-toting desert nomads to international success. Dwell on that the next time you’re stuck in the tour van.

Page 19 of 21
Page 19 of 21
Matt Bellamy, Muse
(Image credit: Daniel DeSlover/ZUMA Press/Corbis)

Matt Bellamy, Muse

Festival: Download Festival, Donnington

Date: 12-14 June

Mutt Lange-produced new album Drones is set to land in early June and, by the end of the summer, the Muse man will have brought a set peppered with new tunes to both the BBC’s roving annual pop extravaganza and the orgy of metal camaraderie that is Download Festival. Few bands are capable of satisfying both audiences, but if anyone can do, it’s Muse.

Page 20 of 21
Page 20 of 21
Annie Clarke, St Vincent
(Image credit: Splash News/Splash News/Corbis)

Annie Clarke, St Vincent

Festival: Green Man Festival, Brecon Beacons

Date: 20-23 August

Few guitarists of recent years can be said to have achieved the high-brow artistry and wild, exhilarating playing that Annie Clarke has under her St Vincent moniker. This will be one of the only chances to catch a St Vincent summer show on this side of the Atlantic.

Page 21 of 21
Page 21 of 21
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Matt Parker
Matt Parker

Matt is a freelance journalist who has spent the last decade interviewing musicians for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk (opens in new tab), which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.

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