V Festival 2016
Festival guide
Over the years, V has gradually edged away from its indie-rock roots to become the go-to UK festival for fans of commercial dance music and chart-friendly pop. On the latter score, this year’s line-up is arguably their strongest yet, boasting UK festival exclusives in both Rihanna and Justin Bieber, plus huge names like Sia, Bastille and Little Mix. Here’s who we recommend watching at the split-site event, which takes place in Chelmsford and Staffordshire from 20th to 21st August.
Top picks
Justin Bieber
If you’d confessed your love for Justin Bieber two years ago, your pals would probably have nodded politely and made their excuses to go speak to someone else. Not now. Thanks to Skrillex/Diplo-collaboration ‘Where Are Ü Now’, and last November’s excellent LP, Purpose, everybody wants a piece of Biebz. He headlines on Saturday in Chelmsford and on Sunday in Staffordshire – tell all your friends, because they won’t want to miss him.
Rihanna
Returning to V Festival for the first time since 2011, Rihanna will be bringing the Anti World Tour to Staffordshire on Saturday and Chelmsford on Sunday. If her recent Wembley Stadium setlist is indicative of her plans for V, fans are in for a huge treat. Expect compelling renditions of songs from Anti, interspersed with an array of crowd-pleasing smashes, including ‘Rude Boy’, ‘Umbrella’, ‘We Found Love’ and ‘Diamonds’.
Zara Larsson
Discovered in 2008 on the Swedish equivalent of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, 18-year-old Zara Larsson is already a huge star throughout Scandinavia. Following her huge collaboration with MNEK, her irresistibly summery single ‘Lush Life’, and her recent VMA nomination for Best New Artist, she looks well on the way to repeating the trick over here. Go see her on the MTV Stage at V, and you’ll have bragging rights when she inevitable becomes huge.
Big names
Don't miss
More from the line-up
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