Positivus Festival will be celebrating its 10 year anniversary this summer, with new acts from the UK, United States and Sweden joining previously announced headliner Ellie Goulding for this year’s grand celebration. The festival is proud to welcome the Grammy-nominated alt-rock darlings Wolf Alice, soulful British singer John Newman, the troubadour of a bygone era Richard Hawley, the hushed Scottish ballad composer C Duncan, American psychedelic rockers Mercury Rev and the orchestrally dynamic San Fermin, as well as Sweden’s emerging superstar Seinabo Sey. These are only the first festival programme additions - further artist names are still to be announced, including Saturday's and Sunday's headlining acts.
UK’s youthfully energetic alternative rockers Wolf Alice broke-out with a bang - the band started their career with a Best Breakthrough Artist award at the 2014 UK Festival Awards and are currently nominated for a Grammy as best rock artists of 2016. For this year’s NME Awards, the prominent magazine has nominated them in the best British band, best live band and best songwriting categories, as well as for best album, best track and best music video. The British musicians have also been nominated for the 2015 Mercury Prize, with iTunes naming them the best emerging act of 2015. Rather than adhering to classic rock patterns, Wolf Alice have created a love child of country and grunge, adding the eternally fresh influences of indie and shoegaze. Intertwining frailty and expressive vitality, Wolf Alice embody contemporary rock that we’ll have the privilege of witnessing on the festival’s main stage.
British singer and musician John Newman is undeniably best known for his global hit single Love Me Again, which propelled him to the top of the UK Singles Chart in the summer of 2013. It's also his dynamically creative musical approach and various collaborations, including Calvin Harris and Rudimental, that only further increases his rapidly expanding fanbase, with more than a million record sales in the UK alone. With his seemingly aged vocals, Newman combines retro motown and stax with 21st-century dance-pop, all the while adorning his records with elements of jazz, orchestra, piano solos and gospel quires.
Richard Hawley’s heartfelt and soulful melodies have served as his signature style for decades now. The English guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer has played with Pulp, collaborated with Lisa Marie Presley, the Arctic Monkeys and Paul Weller. Having been nominated twice for a Mercury prize and once for a Brit Award, Hawley’s timelessly romantic and multidimensional compositions take one an elegant journey through the splendour of a bygone era.
Glasgow’s C Duncan’s elaborate pop ballads will provide the perfect soundtrack for the ambient festival atmosphere. His Mercury Music Prize-nominated debut album Architect (2015) was dubbed “a magical record for all seasons” by The Guardian. His music encompasses elements of both classical and modern music, full of lush choral harmonies and acoustic instrumentation, textured like contemporary dream-pop.
Mercury Rev is an American alternative rock group, that formed in the late 1980's in Buffalo, New York. Oscillating between various rock genres, Mercury Rev have always maintained a consistent psychedelic undertone. Their 2015 record The Light In You saw the band emerge from a seven year hiatus, to considerable critical acclaim. With a ripened sound that’s distinctly their own, the band pull no punches - their repertoire features everything from melodic ballads to psychedelic rock, all to the tales of bad habits and undying love.
The eight-piece American baroque pop band San Fermin was started by Brooklyn-based composer and songwriter Ellis Ludwig-Leone. They seemingly take great pride in regularly shocking music critics with their intense, elaborately detailed harmonies, which are simultaneously their trump card and most intriguing feature. A colourful mix of classical music elements, best pop traditions and conceptual lyrics make San Fermin a most-anticipated festival act.
Seinabo Sey is one of Sweden’s freshest emerging artists - her energetic records and powerfully charged performances swiftly captivated both fans and critics alike, resulting in a multitude of awards; In 2014 Seinabo Sey received the Swedish Music Publishers Prize as the Breakthrough artist of the year, followed by a Swedish Grammy Award as Best Newcomer and a Kingsize Award for the Soul/R&B artist of the year in 2015. With a winning combination of soul and modern pop, Seinabo Sey is on the fast track of becoming a spellbinding global performer.
Positivus Festival is Baltic’s biggest music and arts event, gathering more than 30 thousand annual visitors for the past two years and boasting a renowned coastal forest ambiance. Over the years Positivus Festival has hosted a multitude of brilliant performers, including Robert Plant, Muse, Kraftwerk, Sigur Rós, Ellie Goulding, Manic Street Preachers, James, Moby, Sinéad O’Connor, Prāta Vētra and many other formidable global and local acts. The special atmosphere is also created by numerous arts and culture events - movie shows, various performances, theatre plays, as well as a designated children’s recreational area for the youngest festival guests. The 2016 Positivus Festival will take place from July 15th - 17th.