The arena is full, and by all accounts (and by my estimation) it’s got the makings of being the best Jersey Live yet.  After chatting with Peter from The View about his experience travelling to the sunny island of Jersey (‘blue rinse airlines’ he described it as) and how great an audience the Jersey lot are, we stood on top of a bench with the likes of Professor Green, Darwin Deez and the members of We Have Band, to catch a glimpse of Chase & Status. The drum n’ bass / breaks / dubstep outift ABSOLUTELY smashed it, bringing easily the biggest crowd of the day and turning ther festival site into an all-out moshpit.

The almighty Biffy Clyro who, after much stretching, warming up, psyching-up and group-hugging, entered the Main Stage to rock the Jersey Live Arena, whilst on the Les Inrocks Magic Stage, psych-folk New Yorkers Here We Go Magic drew a small crowd but won each and every one of them over with their blissful vocal harmonies, and helped by the hyperactive dancing of onlooking Darwin Deez and his bandmates which geed up the crowd. Next up, Jamaica on the Les Inrocks Magic Stage, Switch and then Caspa in the Dance Arena, and heavyweights Groove Armada headlining the Main Stage. It’s all going off – and we’re off too.

Check in tomorrow. Goodnight and Godspeed, music fans.

A warmer reception went to New York indie-rock boys Darwin Deez, with whom we chatted backstage before their set. They compared Jersey to “Florida or Martha’s Vineyard” before heading to the stage where they entertained the crowd, engaging them with their pre-choreographed dance routines and tweee, poppy indie.

In the Dance Arena, Tharindu kicked off affairs, and meanwhile in the Wild West Tease Stage, local youngsters The Wizz drew a raucous crowd before the Midnight Expresso took to the stage in his trademark Mexican wrestling mask and cabaret rap.

On the Main Stage, Professor Green busted out recent hits like ‘Be Good to Green’ and thanked those in the crowd who “helped his new album reach number 2 in the charts.” With the arena now filling up, legend of legends, Main Stage compere Main (of Stone Roses and Primal Scream) worked the crowd up, preparing them for Scottish indie-rockers The View, whose arrival was met with the biggest cheer of the day. They’ve just kicked off, and their set appears to be going down a treat.

In other news, Biff Clyro are getting a massage, We Have Band just got freaked out by a magician, and Christian from the Valentines just dropped his pint. All in all, it’s been a good day so far.

More reports to follow…

Jersey Live Festival and Jersey Arts Trust have teamed up to present a week of live music featuring the best of local live acts to get the island’s music fans in the mood for the showpiece festival.

Featuring a different theme each night and in conjunction with various live events promoters and in different venues, the event will feature live acts each night. Each event is free entry, and the itinerary is as follows:

MONDAY 30^th AUGUST:

Jersey Bob, Harry & Alfie @ The Bridge

An evening of folk music, perfect for relaxing on the last Bank Holiday of the summer. Headlining is a stalwart of the local scene, the troubadour that is Jersey Bob, whose witty lyrics and laid-back melodies make him a firm favourite with local audiences. Support from acoustic duo Harry & Alfie, followed by open mic.

TUESDAY 31^st AUGUST:

Junior Battle of the Bands @ Thelmas

Featuring the cream of young local musical talent, bands like The Wizz, The Fix and Clockwork Sodomy have pitted themselves against each other through several heats throughout the summer for the chance to be crowned Junior Battle of the Bands champions for 2010. The final takes place at Thelmas Show Lounge, with the winner guaranteed a slot at Jersey Live on the Wild West Tease Stage.

WEDNESDAY 1^st SEPTEMBER:

Mutiny & Jersey Live present Hold Your Fire! and Lizzard Channel @ The Live Lounge

A mid-week sonic tear-up waits in store for music fans at the Live Lounge, as metallers Hold Your Fire! go head to head with ska-punk 6-piece Lizzard Channel at Mutiny, one of Jersey’s finest rock and indie nights. Both bands will be performing on the Wild West Tease Stage at Jersey Live, and will be looking to fine tune their sets before they hit the festival stage.

THURDSAY 2^nd SEPTEMBER:

Club Kamikaze & Jersey Live present Brobots and Dinosaur Collective @ The Live Lounge

Indie-electro night Club Kamikaze has amassed a loyal following since starting up in 2009, with some of the best cutting-edge indie and electro acts in the UK having performed there. Local electronica duo Brobots (who perform in the Dance Arena at JL10) bring their synths n’ sequencers combo to this event, alongside electro-rock mash-up alchemists Dinosaur Collective, whose influences range from Daft Punk to Soulwax to The Prodigy.

FRIDAY 3^rd SEPTEMBER:

Jersey Live Launch Party: Brave Yesterday & The Bloody Battle @ Thelmas

To get you all in the mood for the weekend’s festival frolics, we present two of the island’s best-loved live bands, Jersey Live Battle of the Bands 2010 finalists Brave Yesterday and The Bloody Battle.

Brave Yesterday, Jersey Live Main Stagers on 2009, have built up a big fan base in Jersey, their infectious melodies, vocal harmonies and energetic pop-punk sensibilities making them easy on the ear and a great live act. The Bloody Battle – featuring former members of Black Stats and The Author – are a darker affair altogether, blending shoegaze and grunge elements for a heady mix. Think Kasabian meets Queens of the Stone Age, and you’re somewhere close. The perfect way to usher in the annual celebration of music that is Jersey Live Festival.

LA MOTTE CENTRE EDUCATIONAL COURSES

In affiliation with Jersey Live, La Motte Centre will be running a series of music courses and workshops throughout the next school term. Amongst the opportunities available to young people are Studio Recording courses, to be held in November, and ‘Rock School’ – a five day course this December, aiming to hone the stage performance techniques of its students. There will also be Crew Training and Live Sound classes available for teenagers wishing to learn about stage management and live sound engineering.

Chris Bell of Jersey Arts Trust, and one of the organisers of Jersey Live Music Week, said: “Jersey Live Festival is the biggest date of the year for music fans and we’re pleased to be able to be involved with this celebration of the local music scenes. The range of bands involved is reflective of the diversity of music on offer at the festival, and it’ll make a refreshing change to have something on offer every night of the week.

The La Motte Centre workshops are absolutely fantastic too, and provide a really great opportunity for young people that have hopes of working in the music industry. If I was a little younger I’d apply for them myself!”

For more information, please contact:

Chris Bell, Jersey Arts Trust: chris@arts.je
Tim Bartlett, Jersey Live: tim@jerseylive.org.uk
Ivor Richards, La Motte Youth Service: ivorrichards@youthservice.yc.je

Stay posted this week for updates on progress

Originally pencilled in for the Dance Arena, there has been a growing clamour amongst young music fans urging the event organisers to switch Tinie Tempah on to the Main Stage, where he will instead perform to an open air crowd to over 8000 people. In the Dance Arena, each act has been pushed up the bill to allow them a potentially larger audience.

After shooting to number one in the singles charts with his debut single ‘Pass Out’ in March, he was narrowly beaten to the top spot again by James Corden and Dizzee Rascal’s World Cup anthem ‘Shout’ (incidentally, written and produced by Jersey resident Ray Hedges) in June, and has a first album, ‘Disc-Overy’ due for release in October.

Tinie Tempah was signed to Parlophone earlier this year and has this summer performed at some of the world’s biggest festivals, as well as opening for 50 Cent at Wembley Stadium in April. His sharp rise to stardom is perhaps best illustrated by his guest spot with hip hop legend Snoop Dogg on the Glastonbury Festival Pyramid Stage – the American rapper’s first British appearance in years, and with whom Tinie performed ‘Pass Out’ to a 70,000 strong crowd.

Festival organiser Warren Le Sueur said, “Obviously we were bitterly disappointed to have lost Plan B from the line up at such a late stage, and bringing a like-for-like replacement so close to the festival was always going to difficult. However, we feel very positive about this move. Tinie originally specifically wanted to perform in the Dance Arena, and we were well aware of a fair bit of disappointment that he wouldn’t be on the Main Stage, from comments left by his fans on our official Facebook page. We’re grateful to Tinie that he’s agreed to switch stages and hopefully this will be a happy solution for everyone. He’s a bonafide star in his own right and he certainly has the presence to do a top job on the Main Stage.”

Elsewhere on the festival line up, Paul Weller, Groove Armada, Biffy Clyro, Calvin Harris and Kate Nash are amongst the festival line up.

Plans are well underway to make this years Jersey Live bigger and better than ever and things are really hotting up.
With only 5 days to go tickets are selling fast. Remaining tickets are available from the Jersey Telecom Shop, Queen Street.

To celebrate we’ve teamed up with the Jersey Arts Trust to present a week of live music featuring the best of local live acts to get the island’s music fans in the mood for the showpiece festival. Featuring a different theme each night and in conjunction with various live events promoters and in different venues, the event will feature live acts each night.

Check out the line up HERE >

Jersey Live Festival and Jersey Arts Trust have teamed up to present a week of live music featuring the best of local live acts to get the island’s music fans in the mood for the showpiece festival.

Featuring a different theme each night and in conjunction with various live events promoters and in different venues, the event will feature live acts each night. Each event is free entry, and the itinerary is as follows:

MONDAY 30^th AUGUST:

Jersey Bob, Harry & Alfie @ The Bridge, 8pm

An evening of folk music, perfect for relaxing on the last Bank Holiday of the summer. Headlining is a stalwart of the local scene, the troubadour that is Jersey Bob, whose witty lyrics and laid-back melodies make him a firm favourite with local audiences. Support from acoustic duo Harry & Alfie, followed by open mic.

TUESDAY 31^st AUGUST:

Junior Battle of the Bands @ Thelmas, 7pm

Featuring the cream of young local musical talent, bands like The Wizz, The Fix and Clockwork Sodomy have pitted themselves against each other through several heats throughout the summer for the chance to be crowned Junior Battle of the Bands champions for 2010. The final takes place at Thelmas Show Lounge, with the winner guaranteed a slot at Jersey Live on the Wild West Tease Stage.

WEDNESDAY 1^st SEPTEMBER:

Mutiny & Jersey Live present Hold Your Fire! and Lizzard Channel @ The Live Lounge, 9pm

A mid-week sonic tear-up waits in store for music fans at the Live Lounge, as metallers Hold Your Fire! go head to head with ska-punk 6-piece Lizzard Channel at Mutiny, one of Jersey’s finest rock and indie nights. Both bands will be performing on the Wild West Tease Stage at Jersey Live, and will be looking to fine tune their sets before they hit the festival stage.

THURDSAY 2^nd SEPTEMBER:

Club Kamikaze & Jersey Live present Brobots and Dinosaur Collective @ The Live Lounge, 9pm

Indie-electro night Club Kamikaze has amassed a loyal following since starting up in 2009, with some of the best cutting-edge indie and electro acts in the UK having performed there. Local electronica duo Brobots (who perform in the Dance Arena at JL10) bring their synths n’ sequencers combo to this event, alongside electro-rock mash-up alchemists Dinosaur Collective, whose influences range from Daft Punk to Soulwax to The Prodigy.

FRIDAY 3^rd SEPTEMBER:

Jersey Live Launch Party: Brave Yesterday & The Bloody Battle @ Thelmas, 9pm

To get you all in the mood for the weekend’s festival frolics, we present two of the island’s best-loved live bands, Jersey Live Battle of the Bands 2010 finalists Brave Yesterday and The Bloody Battle.

Brave Yesterday, Jersey Live Main Stagers on 2009, have built up a big fan base in Jersey, their infectious melodies, vocal harmonies and energetic pop-punk sensibilities making them easy on the ear and a great live act. The Bloody Battle – featuring former members of Black Stats and The Author – are a darker affair altogether, blending shoegaze and grunge elements for a heady mix. Think Kasabian meets Queens of the Stone Age, and you’re somewhere close. The perfect way to usher in the annual celebration of music that is Jersey Live Festival.

LA MOTTE CENTRE EDUCATIONAL COURSES

In affiliation with Jersey Live, La Motte Centre will be running a series of music courses and workshops throughout the next school term. Amongst the opportunities available to young people are Studio Recording courses, to be held in November, and ‘Rock School’ – a five day course this December, aiming to hone the stage performance techniques of its students. There will also be Crew Training and Live Sound classes available for teenagers wishing to learn about stage management and live sound engineering.

Chris Bell of Jersey Arts Trust, and one of the organisers of Jersey Live Music Week, said: “Jersey Live Festival is the biggest date of the year for music fans and we’re pleased to be able to be involved with this celebration of the local music scenes. The range of bands involved is reflective of the diversity of music on offer at the festival, and it’ll make a refreshing change to have something on offer every night of the week.

The La Motte Centre workshops are absolutely fantastic too, and provide a really great opportunity for young people that have hopes of working in the music industry. If I was a little younger I’d apply for them myself!”

For more information, please contact:

Chris Bell, Jersey Arts Trust: chris@arts.je
Tim Bartlett, Jersey Live: tim@jerseylive.org.uk
Ivor Richards, La Motte Youth Service: ivorrichards@youthservice.yc.je

Also on the Main Stage across the weekend will be live performances by Chase & Status, Plan B, Tinie Tempah, Darwin Deez, We Have Band, Peggy Sue and Django Django, with Saturday night’s headliner and many more acts due to be confirmed shortly.

For the Dance Arena, confirmations include Saturday night headliner Calvin Harris, also Subfocus, Jaguar Skills, Drums of Death, Foamo, DJ Rafik, Rico Tubbs, with many more acts still to be confirmed.

the first batch of Jersey Live tickets will be available from 1^st May and Jersey Telecom customers will once again be given the opportunity to take advantage of special ticket promotions, details to be confirmed. Tickets: Weekend £84, Single day pass£54 and limited Hospitality (contact us)

What they say about Jersey Live:

“This is just the BEST reception we have had at a festival all year. Jersey is just so cool! The audience are amazing! We wanna come back next year.” Tom Meighan, Kasabian

“The Jersey folk really know how to let it hang out. I’ve made some great friends there and always have the best time… It’s a wonderful island, a beautiful island.” Mani, Primal Scream/Stone Roses

Groove Armada are enjoying a big year in 2010, having recently headlined Brighton’s Great Escape Festival, and have a busy summer ahead of them with sets at Glastobury, Oxegen and V Festival before they come to Jersey.

Jersey Live co-organiser Warren Holt said, “We’re amazed to have secured the mighty Groove Armada and we’re really looking forward to seeing their famed laser show and performing their huge back catalogue of hits live! this September.”

www.groovearmada.com