For the third year running, Disclosure and Rudimental will head up an enticing two-day party on the outskirts of Brighton as Wild Life returns as the biggest festival in the Sussex calendar. The sister act to the more-established Parklife, which takes place across the same June weekend up in Manchester’s Heaton Park, sees a Friday night adopted hometown headline set from Fatboy Slim in his first south coast show since Common People’s debut run in 2015, whilst the festival’s other headline pairings are split between Jess Glynne, Dizzee Rascal, and Stormzy.
Again carrying a staunchly anti-guitar lineup, Wild Life’s lineup is tailored for a two-day extravaganza of electronically-minded wonder. In addition to Fatboy Slim’s appearance, the WHP Presents Stage also hosts a rare UK festival set from Swedish house maestro Eric Prydz alongside festival regulars like David Rodigan, My Nu Leng, Dusky, and Radio 1 stalwart Pete Tong. Elrow, the renowned Barcelona party brand, is letting Jamie Jones and Joris Voorn head up a day each in their touring Sambodromo Do Brasil setup, likely to be complete with giant inflatable gorillas, and Kopparberg’s Urban Forest setup will bring crisp sets from the likes of Bondax, DJ Zinc, and Brighton youngster Kideko.
Over on the main stage, pop is more the name of the game with George Ezra, Clean Bandit, and Zara Larsson all joining Glynne on Friday around sets from grizzly London rapper Giggs and funk icon Chaka Khan. On Saturday it’s the turn of Dizzee Rascal and Stormzy to share top billing, with Liv Dawson, Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley, and Sussex lad-turned-breakthrough superstar Rag’n’Bone Man filling out the stage. For one-stop genre showcases, look no further than Friday’s Tropical Stage with the best of grime (JME, Wiley, AJ Tracey, J Hus) and its Saturday rebirth as the Sounds of the Near Future (Andy C, Mura Masa, SG Lewis, Tom Misch, Shy Luv) for the best in new and emerging electronic grooves. To top it off, Rudimental will emerge for an obligatory DJ set and the on-hiatus Disclosure brothers will join house icon Armand Van Helden behind the decks, making Brighton City Airport sure to take off underneath the summer sun once more.
