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The pioneering, award-winning Latitude Festival returns to England ’s Sunrise Coast for another spectacular edition. Taking place on 16th – 19th July, near Suffolk ’s stunning seaside town of Southwold , organisers Festival Republic are promising Latitude will be the perfect British summer destination.

OBELISK ARENA

The open-air Obelisk Arena has been the stage of some epic performances over the past three years and Latitude 2009 will be no different. Lay out your picnic blanket, bask in the sunshine and get down to some of the best music around.

French alternative four-piece Phoenix bring their eclectic '80s influenced rock-synth sound to Latitude. Cutting their teeth with follow French band Air (they actually acted as Air’s backing band on several UK TV appearances) and with links to Daft Punk the band developed a unique sound that has earned their critical and commercial success throughout Europe. Their fourth album ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’ came out last month and reached the Top 40 in the US and Top 20 in Australia and France .

The Gaslight Anthem were New Jersey ’s best kept secret until their much publicised performance at last year’s Reading Festival. The release of their incredible second album ‘The '59 Sound’ saw the band take on an army of new fans and play sold out shows up and down the UK with folk singer songwriter Frank Turner earlier this year. Gaslight’s Springsteen-esque sound and punk sensibilities seem to have a genre defying appeal making them the perfect band for Latitude.

The Rumble Strips had great success with their debut album ‘Girls And Weather’ that featured several chart singles. Currently the band are putting the finishing touches to its follow up with famed producer Mark Ronson and fans can expect the first single in June. Speaking about the band’s new album they said that "Ronson's kitchen sink production is evident after little more than a minute" with the record sounding "lush". Let’s hope to hear a sneak preview of some new material at this year’s Latitude.

One of the most important and innovative songwriters and musicians of our generation, Thom Yorke, will be playing a solo set on the Obelisk Arena at noon on Sunday. With this specially created time slot, there is no doubt Yorke will wow audiences with this exclusive and very rare solo performance.

Also playing the Obelisk Arena are: Pet Shop Boys, Regina Spektor, Prtenders, Ladyhawke, of Montreal, Amazing Baby, Grace Jones, Doves, White Lies, Patrick Wolfe, The Airbourne Toxic Event, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Editors + many more.

UNCUT ARENA

The impressive structure of the tented Uncut Arena houses an eclectic line-up of alternative, leftfield music; a hotbed of genre-spanning artists all offering something unique

Enveloped in an imaginative musical world of his own creation, Mika is one of the few British male pop stars of his age that doesn’t run with the pack. A classically trained musician that revels in pop’s flamboyancy his music is joyful and empowering and doesn’t kowtow to fashion or convention. Since he burst onto the scene with first single ‘Grace Kelly’ he has gone on to sell beyond 5 million albums and win awards at the Brits, the Grammys and an Ivor Novello to name but a few. His performance will be electrifying in the Uncut Arena.

Wolverhampton-based Scott Matthews has been compared to such icons as Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley and John Martyn over the years and with his incredible song writing craft – it’s easy to see why. His second album ‘Elsewhere’ came out last month and features a stunning duet with Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant on ‘12 Harps’. His acclaimed debut album ‘Passing Stranger’, went Silver in the UK and won him an Ivor Novello Best Song Award for the signature single ‘Elusive’.

Emma-Lee Moss, better known as Emmy The Great specialises in articulate anti-folk songs that has earned her a steady underground following for a number of years. Her enchanting debut album ‘First Love’ came out earlier this year, full of beautifully crafted songs with outstanding lyrical ability and melodies that will no doubt propel her to mainstream success so catch her captivating live show at Latitude this year.

In the sport of cricket, the Duckworth-Lewis method is a mathematical way to calculate the target score for the team batting second in a one-day cricket or Twenty-20 cricket match interrupted by weather or other circumstance. The Duckworth Lewis Method is also a cricket-inspired Irish pop group formed by Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy and Thomas Walsh of Pugwash, and is also the title of the group's forthcoming album, which is due to be released this July. Hannon and Walsh have described their album as “a kaleidoscopic musical adventure through the beautiful and rather silly world of cricket.”

SUNRISE ARENA

Take a stroll through Latitude’s fairytale woods with art exhibited within the trees and dappled sunlight shining through the leaves and you will stumble across the most exquisite space of all; the Sunrise Arena, home to tomorrow’s biggest stars.

Former Ash guitarist and now successful solo artist Charlotte Hatherley will be bringing her trademark guitar sound and post-punk melodies to Latitude. Although she is the touring guitarist for Bat For Lashes she has somehow managed to write her second solo album which will be released later this year. For a sneak preview of some of those tracks check her set on the Sunrise Arena.

THE LAKE STAGE
curated by Huw Stephens

With the shimmering lake as a stunning backdrop The Lake Stage is an open air hub of rising stars handpicked by Radio 1 DJ and new music aficionado, Huw Stephens. A place for discovery and recognition The Lake Stage brings you the freshest new acts before they even register on the radar of the music press.

Welsh psychedelic-folk outfit Colorama bring their blissed-out quirky acoustic world to the Lake Stage at Latitude. Their debut album ‘Cookie Zoo’ has only come out in Japan so far but with their kooky, psych pop starting to make waves on the underground scene plus support from our very own Huw Stephens this band is destined for bigger things. Catch them here first!

THE WATERFRONT STAGE

Renamed The Waterfront Stage, this year the floating stage will once again showcase contemporary, modern dance from the world’s leading companies and choreographers.
Watch from the grassy banks as Sadler’s Wells bring an excerpt from Swan Lake and freestyle hip hop from Psycho Stylez to Latitude. As the UK’s number one venue for dance, Sadler’s Wells has been absolutely at the centre of this resurgence, presenting a staggering range of shows, many of which have involved exciting cross-artform collaborations and have broadened our perception of what dance can be. ‘The Art of Not Looking Back’ by Hofesh Shechter the first of the triple bill has already been announced, and the further two dance pieces will include a ballet excerpt from Swan Lake and freestyle hip hop from Scotland’s number one breakdance crew.

The duet from Act Two of Swan Lake is one of the most famous moments in classical ballet. This truly iconic piece of dance will be performed by Begoña Cao and James Forbat from English National Ballet. Presented on a floating stage on the lake, this looks set to be a truly magical performance. Begoña trained at Arts Educational School , London and at the Royal Ballet Upper School . After joining English National Ballet in 1997, she was quickly promoted to First Soloist, dancing Principal roles across many of the major works in the ballet repertoire. She recently received the 2009 Spotlight Award for Best Female Classical Artist.  James trained at the Royal Ballet School and has danced with English National Ballet since 2004. Last year he was nominated for the Times/South Bank Show Breakthrough Award.

Based in Edinburgh , Psycho Stylez have competed and performed across the world, with a host of UK titles under their belts. This year, the company brought their piece Cirque du Psycho to Sadler’s Wells’ annual festival of hip hop Dance Theatre, Breakin' Convention, and they are continuing to push the boundaries of hip hop dance and create new styles within b-boying.

Got the urge to hit the dancefloor? Sadler’s Wells Dance Club in Pandora’s Playground gives you the chance to learn a range of diverse dance styles with top dance teachers, and get a glimpse of how they dance it for real. Seema Parma will be teaching Bollywood classes on Friday with a fun, energetic class to bring out the Bollywood heroes and princesses in you, mixing of pure Bollywood cheese, some classical Indian steps, and facial expressions,. Then following his performance on Saturday morning, Psycho Stylez dancer Iain Bleakley will be teaching the foundations of b-boying/breakdancing for you to build on and add your own style to. You will work on top rock, footwork and freezes - everything you need to have some fun and start getting busy on the dance floor! Sunday sees Mariana and Romero taking festival goers through Rio-style Samba where, starting with the basic step, you will have the chance to learn how to develop your sense of rhythm, play with the music and have some fun.   This is a solo dance, so you can come as you are or with a mate

Weekend tickets £150 plus booking fees
Day tickets Fri, Sat, Sun £60 plus booking fee
Weekend tickets prices include car parking and camping
Days include car parking only.

For more details and a full line-up please visit http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk