Lightning Seeds and Fuse ODG are the latest additions to the festival line-up, with a number of exciting acts including Snow Patrol’s guitarist project Little Matador, dance act Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip and local lad Lee Glasson also included in this year’s line-up.
Running from 4-6 July in the city’s War Memorial Park, event organisers are happy that the final line-up will prove as popular and attractive as previous years. Friday night will also host the first-ever rock tent, headlined by Kids in Glass Houses and Baby Godzilla.
Councillor Lynnette Kelly, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Events said:
“The festival has always attracted big name bands and this year’s line-up is no different. I’m sure Lightning Seeds and Fuse ODG in particular will get the event great coverage. Personally I’m really pleased to see the Friday rock line up as well as I know this genre of music is very popular around here and will be sure to pull a crowd.
“We’ve got a real desire to raise the city’s profile on the back of this event and it’ll be interesting to see how many people from outside the city the festival does attract as we know those who do travel bigger distances bring extra economic benefit to the city.”
Indie-rockers Lightning Seeds are a well-established band who have been gigging since the 90s and enjoyed a string of hits including 1996 hit “Three Lions on the Shirt” – quite apt given this year’s World Cup. Fronted and formed by Ian Broudie, they have had 12 top 20 UK hits including Pure, Change, Sugar Coated Iceberg and You Showed Me and also released seven studio albums to date – six as the Lightning Seeds and one Ian Broudie solo album, 2004?s “Tales Told”.
Ian Broudie, lead singer and a founder member of the band, said:
“I’m really looking forward to playing Coventry this summer and entertaining the crowds on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The atmosphere is always good at outdoor festivals such as this so it should be a great show.”
Festival organisers are also delighted to capture Urban Music Award Winner Fuse ODG, currently riding high in the national download charts with his latest single ‘Antenna’ featuring Wyclef Jean and TS7.
Born Richard Abiona, Fuse ODG is a UK based musician who has set the music scene alight and in March 2013, Fuse reached the number one spot in the iTunes World Chart, cementing his status as the first Ghanaian musician in history to achieve such a feat. Fuse describes his sound as ‘life-changing music seasoned with his African roots’ and his aim is to elevate the world through music.
Snow Patrol guitarist Nathan Connolly’s project, Little Matador, have been slowly building their own reputation an exciting rock band, culminating in their debut album release this year.
Described in some quarters as the sound of someone throwing off their shackles, the sound is raw, aggressive rock’n’roll, which lies somewhere between Queens of the Stone Age and the heavier Arctic Monkeys, with a dash of post-punk tension.
Nathan said:
“We are delighted to be playing Godiva Festival along with such a great line up.”
Lee Glasson
Providing a platform for local-based talent has always been another of the key ambitions of the Coventry Godiva Festival and this year will be no exception. On Sunday afternoon, Coventry artist Lee Glasson, probably best known for his recent high profile appearance of national TV programme ‘The Voice’, will perform some of his favourite songs.
Sunday will also feature a number of Coventry grown talent including Coventry Schools Young Entertainer participants and MOBO nominated Gospel singer Sandra Godley.
The festival, now entering its 16th year, will not only deliver great live music across several stages but a host of family attractions, especially in the festival family field.
For further details about the full line-up and general information about the event and how to sign up to receive all the latest news, please visit www.coventrygodivafestival.com.
The Council acknowledges the support of the following sponsors and partners for Coventry Godiva Festival 2014:
Jaguar Land Rover, Fargo Village, IKEA, Costain, Kerrang!, Free Radio, Touch FM, Trinity Mirror Newspapers, Carey’s, Radio Plus, Rotary Club (Coventry and Warwickshire) and St John Ambulance.