Back in 1999, Scottish indie darlings Belle and Sebastian hosted an event called "Bowlie Weekender" at an English seaside resort in Camber Sands, Sussex, where they invited a bunch of friends (Scottish peers Camera Obscura, the Pastels, Teenage Fanclub and Mogwai, among other acts including the Flaming Lips, Sleater-Kinney and Godspeed You! Black Emperor) to play for audiences. According to All Tomorrow's Parties organizers, the event was the inspiration behind the launch of their own event.
Now, more than a decade later, Belle and Sebastian are making their first appearance at the ATP festival, which this December, is being dubbed "Bowlie 2" in their honour.
The band will host the December 10-12 ATP fest at Butlins Holiday Centre in Minehead, England, and effectively cap off a year of tenth anniversary celebrations for the festival. Bowlie 2 will feature "around 40" Belle and Sebastian-chosen acts, and the line-up for the event will be announced on Monday (March 29), the same day that tickets go on sale.
Of course, this year ATP is holding more than a few different events, with separate festivals being curated by Matt Groening (UK, May 7-9), Pavement (UK, May 14-16) and Jim Jarmusch (U.S., September 3-5).
Belle and Sebastian haven't released a studio full-length as a band since 2006's The Life Pursuit, although they recently announced they are heading to L.A. to record.
Even so, the album looks far away. Front-man Stuart Murdoch recently posted on the band's Q and A site a "to-do" list of sorts:
"finish the songs
pick the songs to record
record the songs
mix the songs
sequence the songs
think about an image to accompany the songs
pick an lp title that suits the image
stand back and try and look for a cohesive theme!"
Finish the songs? Yep, still a while to go...
Now, more than a decade later, Belle and Sebastian are making their first appearance at the ATP festival, which this December, is being dubbed "Bowlie 2" in their honour.
The band will host the December 10-12 ATP fest at Butlins Holiday Centre in Minehead, England, and effectively cap off a year of tenth anniversary celebrations for the festival. Bowlie 2 will feature "around 40" Belle and Sebastian-chosen acts, and the line-up for the event will be announced on Monday (March 29), the same day that tickets go on sale.
Of course, this year ATP is holding more than a few different events, with separate festivals being curated by Matt Groening (UK, May 7-9), Pavement (UK, May 14-16) and Jim Jarmusch (U.S., September 3-5).
Belle and Sebastian haven't released a studio full-length as a band since 2006's The Life Pursuit, although they recently announced they are heading to L.A. to record.
Even so, the album looks far away. Front-man Stuart Murdoch recently posted on the band's Q and A site a "to-do" list of sorts:
"finish the songs
pick the songs to record
record the songs
mix the songs
sequence the songs
think about an image to accompany the songs
pick an lp title that suits the image
stand back and try and look for a cohesive theme!"
Finish the songs? Yep, still a while to go...
