Seasick Steve has been installed as the headliner of upcoming festival Strummer of Love.
It’s almost ten years since Joe Strummer passed away. The iconic punk frontman became something of a Glastonbury fixture in his latter years, erecting enormous bonfires and breaking down the barriers between artists and fans.
The Strummerville project aims to keep his memory alive and – since there’s no Glastonbury this year – the charity recently decided to launch their own festival.
Strummer of Love opens this August, with Seasick Steve being installed as the Friday night headliner. The roaming bluesman is now a household name, following years of struggling to get by.
Recently nominated at the BRITs, Seasick Steve remains a festival favourite. The late Joe Strummer was a firm fan of roots music, and would no doubt approve of the Delta vagabond dropping by.
Elsewhere, Basement Jaxx will supply a DJ set while DJ Scratchy – a former tour buddy of The Clash – will also be on hand.
Joe Strummer’s devotion to reggae is much documented, and the new festival aims to highlight this. Rootikal, London’s foremost roots reggae night, have been invited along with Roots Manuva set to showcase some of the more cutting edge ideas filtering through bass culture.
Frank Turner was amongst the acts previously confirmed for the festival, and recently doffed his cap to the punk icon. “The Clash to me are the archetypal punk band, they laid the blueprint for pretty much everything that has followed. I never met Joe but he’s that unusual thing – an iconic figure who was also completely on a level, not aloof. The Strummerville guys are friends and collaborators of mine and it was a no-brainer for me to play the festival.”
Strummer of Love runs between August 17th – 19th.
Main line up:
The Pogues, Badly Drawn Boy, Frank Turner, Billy Bragg, Roots Manuva, Basement Jaxx (DJ), KT Tunstall, King Charles, Alabama 3, The Farm, The Men They Couldn’t Hang, Dreadzone, Emmy the Great, Reverend and the Makers, Don Letts, Mr C, David Rodigan, Kitty Daisy and Lewis, Slow Club, Dog is Dead, Dub Pistols, Man Like Me, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Bastille, The Whip, Joshua Moses, Jim Jones Revue, Fionn Regan, Crazy P, Channel One Soundsystem, Talisman, Fit Les, The Time and Space Machine, Hollie Cook, Josh Kumra, Ska Lavin, Kate Tempest, Yob, Luca C & Brigante, Guy Williams, Parma Violets, Matices Latinos, Dark Moon, Atlantics, The Joker and the Thief, The Validators, The Supernovas, Beans on Toast, Ben Folke Thomas.