LATITUDE ANNOUNCES OVER 50 MUSIC NAMES PLUS MASSIVE COMEDY BILL
Leading music and arts festival Latitude festival returns to the picturesque grounds of Henham Park, Suffolk, on 20-23 July 2023 with Pulp, Paolo Nutini , George Ezra, Young Fathers and Siouxsie topping an eclectic bill where music meets the arts in a culture explosion. Festival fans can prepare for a joyous weekend of uninhibited discovery with a bill packed with the most exciting artists across music and the arts plus foodie feasts, relaxing retreats, family fun and counter-cultural club nights.Tickets for the festival are on sale now here.
Today, Latitude announces its massive comedy bill including headliners Ed Gamble, Bridget Christie, Sara Pascoe and Romesh Ranganathan. A truly unmissable festival experience set against a backdrop like no other, Latitude also continues to expand its stellar music lineup for 2023 with James, Mimi Webb, Confidence Man, Yard Act, Georgia, Men I Trust, Dry Cleaning and Kiefer Sutherland amongst over 50 new music additions announced today.
Romesh said, “I thought I would never do a festival gig again, but the opportunity to play Latitude as a comedian and hip hop party host, plus a substantial fee have changed my mind !”
Indie icons James will play a special show at this year’s Latitude in celebration of their momentous 40th Anniversary. The band will perform in Latitude’s iconic Sunday lunchtime slot complete with a full 20 piece orchestra and a gospel choir , conducted by Joe Duddell in what promises to be a stand-out festival moment. James are no strangers to Latitude headlining the BBC Music Stage back in 2018 to rapturous acclaim. The performance coincides with the release of the band’s new double album. The Manchester legends will release the as-yet-untitled new album next year, which will feature new versions of their greatest hits, fan favourites and deep cuts and a brand new track.
James said, “James are very happy to announce an exclusive UK festival date – playing with an orchestra and choir. We’re playing Latitude Festival at midday on Sunday July 23rd when we won’t be competing with noisy neighbours! We will be the morning balm to your late night hangovers”
Fresh from her Best New Artist nomination at the Brits 2023, viral pop-powerhouse Mimi Webb also joins the Latitude bill. Weaving octave-destroying vocals, gut-wrenching ballads and confessional storytelling, Webb has enjoyed a stratospheric rise to success. TikTok star Charli D’Amelio brought widespread recognition to her debut track Before I Go and Mimi has since racked up over 850 million streams worldwide, appeared on The Ellen Show and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon had two singles in the UK Top 15. She’s recently been making waves with her latest earworm Red Flag, a follow up to smash hits House On Fire, and Ghost of You which feature on her highly-anticipated debut album Amelia out in just a few days. An iconic performance is guaranteed!
Mercury Prize nominees Yard Act join Siouxsie and Young Fathers on the bill as the 3rd second stage headliner. The spiky, post-punk, satirical masterminds recently announced a series of shows which will bring the curtain down on their stunning debut album The Overload. The Overload is a record which rages with Yard Act’s inimitable wit, musical dexterity and tasteful curation. Live, the band is next level. Prepare for a vibrant, energetic wall of noise!
Yard Act said, “It’s an honour to be headlining the second stage at Latitude, and the best news is we don’t clash with Pulp! Come watch us, then watch them immediately after and directly compare us. Take notes, make observations loudly in your friends ear. Decide for yourself if we are worthy of headlining the second stage, or nothing more than mere Pulp pretenders who pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes and should never have been allowed on site in the first place. Dun dun duuun.”
Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor, producer and director Kiefer Sutherland also makes a surprise Latitude appearance. The star of timeless movies including The Lost Boys, Stand By Me and Flatliners – plus hit US TV shows 24 and Designated Survivor – has successfully pulled off the gearshift from Hollywood royalty to acclaimed singer-songwriter. Emerging to a new wealth of critical acclaim, Kiefer Sutherland’s latest album Bloor Street made a huge chart impact in the UK. made a huge chart impact in the UK debuting at #16 on the Official Albums Chart, it also fired straight to #1 on both the Americana and Country charts.
Latitude is renowned for booking an exceptional array of musical talent and 2023 takes it to a whole new level. This year’s line up is erupting with a diverse range of huge names, and trailblazers. The music stages will be buzzing to the eclectic sounds of Confidence Man, Georgia, Men I Trust, Dry Cleaning , Don Letts, N’famady Kouyaté , Teddy Swims, The Bootleg Beatles, Tinariwen, Picture This, Rachel Chinouriri, Creep Show, The Murder Capital, flowerovlove, Gwenno, Do Nothing, Kai Bosch, Caity Baser , Ber, Warmduscher, Bob Vylan, Dolores Forever, Wunderhorse , Red Rum Club, Okay Kaya 86TVs , Artemas, Gretel Hänlyn, The Mary Wallopers, Sons Of The East ,Connie Constance, girlpuppy, Bar Italia, The Last Dinner Party , Lime Garden, Miss Grit, Sophie May , cumgirl8, Wasia Project , Meyy, Modernlove, English Teacher. Beaux, High Vis, Divorce, April and Jack Botts.
Latitude’s comedy line-up has set the bar for summer festivals since inception. The festival provides a unique opportunity to see some of the biggest names in the business all over the same weekend. It’s also the first chance to see the new acts destined to make waves in Edinburgh later in the summer.
A riotous sun-filled weekend of laughter is just what we all need right now and the Comedy Arena never disappoints. Stepping into the headliner slot is stand-up comedian, writer and co-host of the hit Off Menu podcast with James Acaster, Ed Gamble. Gamble actually MC’d in Latitude’s infamous Comedy Shed way back in 2012 and the first act he welcomed to the tiny stage? You guessed it, James Acaster! Two years later he debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe and then became a familiar face after winning Taskmaster in 2019 and appearing in a series of shows including Mock the Week, Live at the Apollo, Would I Lie To You, The Russell Howard Hour and QI. Currently he is a judge on Great British Menu, and is a regular host on Radio X. The beloved jokester hits Latitude fresh from his critically acclaimed Electric tour and is sure to get the laughs rolling and the party started.
Ed said, “ Last time I was at Latitude I peed in a bottle in my tent and kicked it over in the night, so I’m delighted to return for an even better time”
One of the most critically acclaimed British stand-up comedians this decade, Bridget Christie makes a momentous Latitude return, having headlined the festival back in 2018. The Edinburgh Comedy Award, Rose D’or and South Bank Sky Arts Award winner, star of her own Netflix special and BBC Radio 4 series, Bridget Christie Minds the Gap headlines the festival fresh from the success of her highly-acclaimed, brand-new show Who Am I? Previous shows include A Bic For Her – which won the Fosters Award for Best Show at the 2013 Edinburgh Festival, a South Bank Sky Arts Award, and became the best-selling show at the Soho Theatre ever. Her Brexit-themed show, Because You Demanded It, was named as The Guardian’s No 1 Comedy of the Year in 2016 and won the Chortle Award for Best Show. She recently appeared in Taskmaster Series 13 which won her a legion of new fans. Bridget is currently filming her own star-studded comedy drama series The Change for Channel 4.
Bridget said, “Can’t wait to perform on the Latitude Comedy stage again! It’s the best comedy stage of all the festival comedy stages by some margin. Some festivals give you nightmares and PTSD, but performing at Latitude makes you feel good about yourself – not like someone who has been pretending to be a comedian for years who somehow managed to get on stage. Anyway, slightly worried about how my left-wing material on the menopause, the Tories and veganism is going to land at Latitude, but I’m sure I’ll be ok! I hope so anyway because this is always the festival that loads of parents from school and my family go to.”
Third headliner Sara Pascoe is one of the finest stand-ups in the country. Sara Pascoe is a highly acclaimed comedian, writer and actor. Her extensive TV credits include the BBC solo stand-up special LadsLadsLads; BBC2’s Frankie Boyle’s New World Order, on which she is a weekly guest contributor; Comedians Giving Lectures on Dave, which she hosted; and the BBC2 sitcom Out of Her Mind, in which she plays the lead role. In September 2021 Pascoe was announced as the host for The Great British Sewing Bee.Pascoe also wrote and performed the BBC Radio 4 series Modern Monkey and the BBC2 short Sara Pascoe vs Monogamy, which was inspired by her first book Animal. Her second book, Sex Power Money, was a Sunday Times bestseller, and the accompanying podcast of the same name garnered millions of listens and multiple award nominations during its run.
Sara said, “I’m polishing my sequins in anticipation for the joyful atmosphere of the Comedy Arena. Can’t wait to get back to the best place in the world to do jokes outside!”
Straight off the back sell-out tour in 2022, Romesh Ranganathan makes a rare festival appearance as the Sunday night headliner. Latitude is renowned for nurturing comedy talent and back in 2010 a young Raganathan was a finalist in the Latitude New Act competition and has since quickly established himself as one of Britain’s best loved comedy stars.
A Latitude favourite, Romesh has performed at the festival several times but never in the headliner slot. Known for his RTS Award winning series ‘The Misadventures Of Romesh Ranganathan’, his weekly topical show ‘The Ranganation’, and his Sky One sitcom ‘The Reluctant Landlord’, he has also travelled the globe with Rob Beckett in ‘Rob & Romesh Vs’, been a regular on ‘A League Of Their Own’ and starred in the show that first brought Romesh and his mum to the public consciousness, the BAFTA nominated ‘Asian Provocateur’. Amongst all of this, he still manages to squeeze in time to host The Weakest Link and record his award-winning podcast ‘Hip Hop Saved My Life’ (HHSML) and BBC Radio 2 show For The Love of Hip Hop. Ranganathan will also close Latitude festival with one of his rare and riotous HHSML parties alongside his tour DJ Martin 2 Smoove.
Romesh said, “I thought I would never do a festival gig again, but the opportunity to play Latitude as a comedian and hip hop party host, plus a substantial fee have changed my mind !”
Home of world-class comedy, this year features spectacular stand-up stars and cutting-edge new talent. Expect laugh-out-loud funny comedy from a diversely talented and wildly outspoken bunch of comedians. Taskmaster favourite Fern Brady makes a welcome return to the festival, her caustic wit, exceptional writing and electric stagecraft has made her one of the UK’s hottest comedy stars. Brady is joined by a razor-sharp comedian, writer and columnist Shaparak Khorsandi and Star of Mock The Week, Live At The Apollo, Taskmaster Kerry Godliman.
Also in charge of splitting sides across the weekend are TV favourite Ed Byrne who presents his masterclass in observational comedy, Live at the Apollo and host of hit podcasts Like Minded Friends Suzi Ruffell, Funny Women award winner and star of of Mock the Week and Mo Gilligan’s Black, British and Funny Thanyia Moore and Comedians’ Choice Award winner and host of Radio 4 Extra’s The Comedy Club Laura Lexx.
Hostess-with-the-mostess, Sikisa also joins the festival, fresh from her sold out,highly acclaimed Life of the Party tour, she is joined by former English Comedian Of The Year and star of Live At The Apollo and Roast Battle, Brennan Reece star of 17th series of Live At The Apollo Laura Smyth and Olga Koch, as seen on Mock The Week, QI, and her own Amazon Prime Special.
Actor and comedian Rosie Holt—whose impersonation of a Tory MP set the internet on fire during the lockdowns— also joins the Latitude bill alongside “That French TikTok Lady” Tatty Macleod and winner of the prestigious BBC Caroline Aherne bursary, Amy Gledhill.
Latitude favourite Russell Kane also makes a welcome return bringing to his gut-punch funny, searing, award-winning take on the two years, joining So You Think You’re Funny? 2019 winner Finlay Christie whose 2022 solo show OK Zoomer was nominated for NextUp’s “Best Show” and acclaimed comedian and star and her BBC Radio 4 Show ‘Athena’s Cancel Culture’ Anthena Kugblenu.
The very best in comedy trailblazers including star of the highly acclaimed Sky/HBO’s The Baby and Katherine Ryan’s Netflix series The Duchess Michelle De Swarte, finalist in the prestigious NATY’s awards and Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian Joe Sutherland, star Comedy Central Live! and Netflix’s YouTube sketch What Would You Do? Kyrah Gray and Star of BBC’s Bafta-winning Scot Squad and So You Think You’re Funny finalist Stuart McPherson lead Latitude’s new comedy charge.
One most exciting new acts on the UK comedy circuit, TikTok star Daniel Foxx ( as seen on BBC One, BBC Three and as tour support for Josh Widdicombe and Judi Love) also joins fellow pioneers Daman Bamrah, a British-Sikh performer known for his topical writing, acute observations and imaginative storytelling and and star of BBC Three’s Stand up For Live Comedy and Mary O’Connell.
Latitude is also pleased to present new talent in the form of the 2022 winner of the Edinburgh Fringe-based new act stand-up competition, So You Think You’re Funny? Joshua Bethania , the finalists of the Chortle Student Comedy Award and The Comedy Store.
