Sonisphere Festival

Recently voted ‘Best New Festival’ in the UK Festival Awards, Sonisphere returns to Knebworth for three days of the greatest outdoor rock action you will ever experience.

NEWS - 22nd July
On BOHEMIA, current Terrorizer Magazine cover stars ENFORCER will be flying in from Sweden to deliver a set of timeless true heavy metal, with London industrialised metal mob THE DEFILED providing a hard and heavy performance on the Sunday.

The new look JAGERMEISTER stage boasts additions from instrumental stoners KARMA TO BURN, homegrown rockers WINNEBAGO DEAL and industrial metallers OCTOBER FILE on the Friday, plus appearances from Reading thrash-mob MALEFICE and NY Jungle-Punks CEREBRAL BALLZY on Saturday, and Belfast Metalheads SWEET SAVAGE on Sunday.

Over on the RED BULL BEDROOM JAM on Friday, trance rockers YOU AND WHAT ARMY share the stage with Essex screamo mob NEVER MEANS MAYBE. Saturday additions come in the form of Derry grungers NO MEAN CITY, Newcastle prog-metallers THIS IS DEVINE and Belfast rockers STAND UP GUY, with Sunday seeing performances from ex-PLACEBO man Steve Hewitt’s LOVE AMONGST RUIN, epic hardcore mob HEIGHTS, Surrey punk-princesses HEARTS UNDER FIRE, electro-tinged screamo-popsters SACRED BETRAYAL plus the debut UK appearance of French hardcore heavies HEADCHARGER.

As if that’s not enough, the STRONGBOW BOWTIME BAR can confirm some heavyweight additions in the form of Glasgow Death-metallers BLEED FROM WITHIN who play on the Saturday, plus hotly-tipped Norwegian Rock’n’Rollers KVELERTAK on the Sunday

NEWS - 20th July
Organisers have announced that Advance ticket sales at the existing prices will close at 9am on Thursday 29th July. After that, tickets will be available from the box office at the festival and from the following local outlets :
Coda Music (Stevenage)
David’s Music (Letchworth)
City Sounds (Welwyn Garden City)
Machine Head (Hitchin)

Tickets bought from any of the above, after 9am on Thursday 29th July will be priced as follows:

Early Entry £15.00 face value
Weekend Only £140.00 face value
Weekend Camping £170.00 face value
Weekend Family Camping £170.00 face value
Friday £45.00 face value
Saturday £70.00 face value
Sunday £70.00 face value
All Car Park Passes £20.00 face value
Lockers £15.00 face value

*Please not subject to booking fees if paid on credit / debit cards

NEWS - 21st June
With less than 6 weeks to go, Sonisphere has announced a further 10 acts to the already stellar line up. Hot off the US Bamboozle roadshow, GOOD CHARLOTTE will take to the Apollo stage on Saturday straight after Papa Roach and before Placebo for an exclusive festival appearance. Armed with a plethora of catchy tunes, the US Pop-Punksters have 4 UK top 10 singles under their studded belts, making them one of the biggest bands in the world of punk.

Another festival exclusive comes in the form of comedian BRIAN POSEHN'S debut UK performance at Sonisphere Comedy. You’ll recognise Brian from “The Office – An American Workplace”, as well as his recently released music converge250video “Metal By Numbers”

A further 8 bands have also been confirmed, including exclusive appearances from US noisemakers CONVERGE and sludge metallers KYLESA, who both fly in from the States to dish out the decibels on Bohemia and Red Bull stages respectively.

There are also some very welcome additions to the Jagermeister stage. As well as sets from TIGER PLEASE, LITTLE LONDON and OUT OF SIGHT, we can confirm a very special headline appearance from reformed metal heroes EARTHTONE 9 on the Saturday

Over on the Strongbow Bowtime Bar stage STRAIGHT LINES will play on the Sunday, with CHROME HOOF headlining the Saturday.

NEWS - 8th June
Joining the Friday night festivities, GARY NUMAN will make his Knebworth debut before Alice Cooper opens his Theatre Of Death.

After making his UK solo debut at last year’s Sonisphere, it is with tremendous excitement that we can confirm the return of COREY TAYLOR to Bohemia. Armed with an acoustic guitar and his voice!

Joining COREY on the Saturday at Bohemia will be LAUREN HARRIS’ Six Hour Sundown, whilst on the Red Bull Bedroom Jam stage additions come in the form of DON BRONCO, Belfast rockers GENERAL FIASCO, Icelandic hardcore mob ENDLESS DARK and London Grungers JAPANESE VOYERS. The Jagermeister stage sees additions in the form of ALLIES, RSJ and the TOM HOLLISTER TRIO, while OUTCRY COLLECTIVE are set to make a racket on the Strongbow Bowtime Bar stage.

Sunday additions include classic rockers VOODOO SIX in Bohemia, SACRED MOTHER TONGUE, SLAM CARTEL, GU MEDICINE and TURBOWOLF on the new look Jagermeister stage, with a special performance from blues rocker PHILIP SAYCE on the Strongbow Bowtime Bar stage

NEWS - 25th May
Day splits announced - see LINE UP tab above for more details

DAY TICKETS announced - Day tickets will be priced at £40 for the Friday, and £60 each day for Saturday and Sunday, and will go on sale at 9am Tuesday 25th May - CLICK THE BUY TICKETS LINK ABOVE TO GET YOURS!

NEWS - 19th May
Welsh Ragga-Punks SKINDRED return to Knebworth with their exciting blend of metal, punk, rap and reggae.

On the Bohemia stage, additions come in the form of post rock instrumentalists 65Daysofstatic, hotly tipped rockers Black Spiders, Reading thrash heroes Sylosis, and a special appearance from ex-Motorhead guitarist Fast Eddie Clark’s Fastway.

On the new-look Jagermeister stage, there are appearances from hardcore grind-punks Throats, Welsh noise-makers The Boys With The Xray Eyes, hardcore rock-types The Casino Brawl, metallic hardcore merchants March Of The Raptors, hard-rock grungers Slaves To Gravity and Norwegian hard-rockers Audrey Horne.

Additions on the Red Bull Jam stage come in the form of progressive scream-rockers After The Ordeal, northern alt-rockers Blitz Kids, the simply stunning Fei Comodo, acoustic/indie rock duo Little Fish and melodic hardcore heroes Lower Than Atlantis, while on the Strongbow Bowtime Bar stage, alternative rock types Cars On Fire and power-pop rockers The Xcerts join the line-up

NEWS - 5th May
Organisers have added CKY and SABATON to this year's line up and have announced that the Red Bull Bedroom Jam stage will be making its debut as will the Strongbow Bowtime Bar showcasing new talent in the form of - All Forgotten, The Bendal Interlude, Bow And Arrow, Bury Tomorrow, Chickenhawk, Deaf Havana, Failsafe, The Ghost Of A Thousand, InMe, Kellermensch, Me Vs Hero, Rinoa, Tek-One, While She Sleeps, Theworldonfire

NEWS - 28th April - SONISHPERE ADDS COMEDIANS TO THE LINE UP!
This year for the first time Sonisphere organisers have revealed that comedians Sean Hughes, Tim Minchin, Andrew O'Neill, Jarred Christmas have been added to the festivities in Bohemia on the Saturday and Sunday, to give festival goers some welcome relief from the serious business of rocking out all day!

NEWS - 28th April
Flying in from the US, Lead by MAX CAVALERA - SOULFLY will be to lay waste to the SATURN stage. With swords in hands and war-paint on face, Viking Metal heroes TURISAS will be sailing the longboat from Finland. Flying in from Los Angeles, California, BIGELF bring their psychedelic mix of prog, metal and rock to this year's SONISPHERE Festival.

Fresh off the Vans Warped Tour are POLAR BEAR CLUB and back for a second year after rocking the Jagermeister stage last year are HEAVEN’S BASEMENT

Currently working on their third album, DELAIN take time out make their first ever UK festival appearance at SONISPHERE this summer and coming all the way from Perth, Australia, prog-lined alternative Rockers KARNIVOOL

Having earned a reputation for manic, in your face live shows THE EIGHTIES MATCHBOX B-LINE DISASTER make a very welcome appearance at SONISPHERE this summer

One of the forerunners of the death/doom genre Swedish melodic doomsters KATATONIA will be flying in from Stockholm to cast a dark shadow over the summer sun

Lastly, we have the addition of THE UNION to this year’s line-up. Formed by LUKE MORLEY, guitarist of the legendary THUNDER – who played their final show at last year’s SONISPHERE


NEWS - 7th April
Bringing their unique style to Sonisphere as Iron Maiden’s special guests are Australian dance rock outfit PENDULUM.

Irish-noiseniks THERAPY? will be making history at Knebworth this year by playing their classic album “Troublegum” in its entirety to commemorate their 20-year anniversary, at their only UK show of 2010. J-Rock superstars DIR EN GREY bring their creative and visionary metal force field to Knebworth this year, at their only UK performance of 2010

Bradford rockers TERRORVISION will also be making their only UK appearance of 2010 at this year’s SONISPHERE, New York legends and original kings of the circle pit SICK OF IT ALL will bring an aggression injection to the Sonisphere ranks with their infectiously catchy hardcore, joining them will be RENEGADES and RISE TO REMAIN.

Back for a second year are ALICE IN CHAINS, gothic-infused metal from LACUNA COIL and hot on the heel’s of their critically acclaimed studio album “Last Look At Eden” Sweden's biggest rock band EUROPE all join this year's Sonisphere bill.

NEWS - 2nd March
More acts announced - SKUNK ANANSIE, APOCALYPTICA, GALLOW, FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND, FIGHTSTARS

Joining them flying in from Chicago, MADINA LAKE bring their catchy blend of pop-punk and alt-rock to the Sonisphere stage, along with US newcomers FAMILY FORCE 5

NEWS - 21st December
After being forced to pull out of their scheduled Sonisphere 2009 performance, FEAR FACTORY return to Knebworth in 2010!
The first non-musical act to be announced for 2010 is the multi-talented HENRY ROLLINS. The former Black Flag frontman weighs in with one of his astounding spoken word performances for a special Sunday morning sermon at Bohemia.
More additions include PLACEBO, PAPA ROACH and BRING ME THE HORIZON

NEWS - 9th December - IRON MAIDEN & RAMMSTEIN to Headline Sonisphere 2010
Iron Maiden will perform their only UK show of 2010 and Rammstein will make their first ever (and only 2010) UK festival appearance at Knebworth for Sonisphere 2010.

Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson says: “Knebworth has been the home of so many legendary concerts going back many years it really will be a privilege to play there. We enjoy the camaraderie of playing great festivals and are very muchlooking forward to getting back out to do some shows next summer and, as it will be over two years since we played the UK, we will certainly be looking to deliver a memorable and spectacular night for our fans!”

Rammstein say: “The great support that we’ve experienced from the UK fans has been beyond anything we expected. This will be the first time that Rammstein has appeared at a festival in the UK and we are looking forward to putting on a show that no-one will ever forget!”

Also confirmed today are ALICE COOPER, ANTHRAX, THE CULT, IGGY & THE STOOGES and SLAYER all making their only UK festival appearances at Sonisphere whilst Motley Crue will perform their only UK show of 2010

The music will start at 6pm on Friday 30th July, running across three stages with Alice Cooper headlining the Saturn stage on that very evening. There will also be a Rocky Horror Show fancy dress theme on the opening night!

A total of 11 Sonisphere Festivals will take place across Europe in 2010 - dates and countries below : (click country for more information)

Warsaw - Poland - Wednesday 16th June
Jonschwil Degenaupark - Switzerland - Friday 18th June
Prague - Czech Republic - Saturday 19th June
Sofia - Bulgaria - Tuesday 22nd & Wednesday 23rd June
Athens - Greece - Thursday 24th June
Bucharest - Romania - Friday 25th to Sunday 27th June
Istanbul - Turkey - Friday 25th to Sunday 27th June
Getafe - Spain - Friday 9th - Saturday 10th July
Knebworth - UK - Friday 30th July to Sunday 1st August
Stockholm - Sweden - Saturday 7th August
Pori - Finland - Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th August

For more information see the Official Sonisphere Festival UK website

FRIDAY 30th JULY - FROM 6PM

Saturn Stage
Alice Cooper, Gary Newman, Europe, Turisas, Delain

Bizarre Friday Bohemia Stage
Terrorvision, 65daysofstatic, Fastway, Sylosis, Bigelf, Black Spiders,

Jagermeister Stage
Karma To BUrn, Winnebago Deal October File, Throats, Little London

Bowtime Bar Stage
Chrome Hoof, Failsafe, And So I Watch You From Afar, Deaf Havana, Chickenhawk, Ultimate Power Dj's

Red Bull Bedroom Jam Stage
Fei Comodo, Lower Than Atlantis, March of The Raptors, You and What Army, Never Means Maybe

SATURDAY 31st JULY - FROM 11.15AM

Apollo Stage
Rammstein, Placebo, Good Charlotte, Papa Roach, Anthrax, Lacuna Coil, Family Force 5

Saturn Stage
Motley Crue, Skunk Anansie, Apocalyptica, Fear Factory, Soulfly, Sabaton

Last FM Bohemia Stage
Gallows, Evile, Corey Taylor (acoustic set), Therapy?, Renegades, Sick Of It All, Evile, Katatonia, Polar Bear Club, Heavens Basement, Futures, Enforcer
Comedy from Tim Minchin and Andrew O Neill hosted by Jarred Christmas with more TBC

Jagermeister Stage
Earthtone9, Maleforce, Out of Sight, Allies, The Casino Brawl, Audrey Horne, Young Legionaire, Cerebral Ballzy, Tom Hollister Trio, RSJ,

Bowtime Bar Stage
Inme, Bolied from Within, Kellermensch, Bury Tomorrow, All Forgotten, Rinoa, While She Sleeps, Cars On Fire, Bow And Arrow, Bendal Interlude DJ, The Beat Monkeys DJ, Loz DJ

Red Bull Bedroom Jam Stage
General Fiasco, Endless Dark, Don Broco, Blitz Kids, No Mean City, Japanese Voyeurs, This is Divine, Stand Up Guy, Little Fish

SUNDAY 1st AUGUST

Apollo Stage
Iron Maiden, Pendulum, Alice In Chains, Slayer, Skindred, Karnivool, Madina Lake

Saturn Stage
Iggy And The Stooges, The Cult, Bring Me The Horizon, Dir En Grey, The Fab Beatles, CKY

Last FM Bohemia Stage
Funeral For a Friend, Henry Rollins, Converge, Fightstar, The Union, 80’s Matchbox B-Line Disaster, Rise To Remain, Voodoo Six, The Defiled
Comedy from Sean Hughes, Jim Jefferies, Brian Posehn, Glenn Wool hosted by Jarred Christmas

Jagermeister Stage
Slaves To Gravity, Sweet Savage, GU Medicine, Tiger Please, Turbowolf, Boys With Xray Eyes, Sacred Mother Tongue, Allies, Slam Cartel

Bowtime Bar Stage
The Ghost Of a Thousand, Tek One, The Xcerts, Inner City Dwellers, Me Vs Hero, Kvelertak, The Worldonfire, Straight Lines, Bendal Interlude, Firebug, Orange Goblin Boys DJ, South Central DJs, Loz DJ

Red Bull Bedroom Jam Stage
Kylesa, Headcharger, Lights Go Blue, Army of Freshmen, Heights, After The Ordeal, Hearts Under Fire, Love Against Ruin, Sacred Betrayal

HISTORY

The idea for Sonisphere was first conceived when Stuart Galbraith, was working for now business rivals and organisers of Download Festival, Live Nation. The plan was to hold a series of events that would 'translate into other territories'. The event did not begin to materialise however, until Galbraith left Live Nation for events company Kilamanjaro Live. Galbraith gained the support of influential metal band Metallica who will help curate the festival in coming years, however, rumours were quickly denied of them being signed to a multi million pound deal which would see them headline the festival for three years. Galbraiths' plans for future festivals are to expand the number of festivals making the event global rather than local to Europe, expanding the UK event to a 3 day festival and increasing the UK capacity from 40,000 to 60,000

The 2009 Sonisphere festival tour was made up of six one day festivals across Europe with an final festival in England spanning two days. The festival had a core group of bands that played each of the 6 dates with numerous extra bands added to each date individually. The locations for the 2009 festivals were Goffert Park, Nijmegen, the Netherlands, Hockenheimring, Germany The Forum, Barcelona, Spain, Folkets Park, Hultsfred, Sweden, Kirjurinluoto, Pori, Finland, and Knebworth House, Knebworth, England. Metallica have been announced as the main headliners for each of the 2009 Sonisphere Festivals

Sonisphere UK 2009 - Line Up
Metallica, Linkin Park, Heaven & Hell, FACT, Anthrax, Taking Back Sunday, Alien Ant Farm, Nine Inch Nails, Limp Bizkit, Machine Head, Lamb of God, Killing Joke, Buckcherry, Bullet for My Valentine, Airbourne, The Used, Bjorn Again, Skindred, SOiL, Avenged Sevenfold, Alice in Chains, Feeder, Mastodon, Saxon, Paradise Lost, The Wildhearts, Thunder, Fucked Up, Rolo Tomassi, Oceansize, Coheed & Cambria, Flood of Red, Twin Atlantic, Fighting With Wire, Failsafe, Glamour of the Kill, Sylosis, Blakfish, Telegraphs, Hundred Reasons, Zebrahead, Pepper, Architects, Cancer Bats, Little London, Corey Taylor, Lauren Harris, Dead By April, Attack! Attack!, Rise to Remain, Young Guns, Exit Ten, Blackhole, New Device, Fin,The Dead Formats, Heaven’s Basement, The Defiled, Young Guns The Crave, Sharks, Me Vs Hero, Dear Superstar and many many more.....

Sonisphere UK 2010 - Line Up
Rammstein, Placebo, Iron Maiden, Pendulum, Alice In Chains, Slayer, Skindred, Karnivool, Madina Lake, Good Charlotte, Papa Roach, Anthrax, Lacuna Coil, Family Force 5, Alice Cooper, Gary Newman, Europe, Turisas, Delain, Motley Crue, Skunk Anansie, Apocalyptica, Fear Factory, Soulfly, Sabaton, Terrorvision, 65daysofstatic, Fastway, Sylosis, Bigelf, Black Spiders, Karma To BUrn, Winnebago Deal October File, Throats, Little London, Chrome Hoof, Failsafe, And So I Watch You From Afar, Deaf Havana, Chickenhawk, Ultimate Power Dj's, Fei Comodo, Lower Than Atlantis, March of The Raptors, You and What Army, Never Means Maybe and many many more.....

GETTING TO SONISPHERE FESTIVAL - KNEBWORTH PARK

Getting to Knebworth Park is EASY! Only 25 minutes from London and 2 hours from Birmingham, Knebworth is right on the A1(M) and served by a mainline train station. Add to that the FREE shuttle service and coach packages offered by Sonisphere and you can be sure you will be standing in front of the Apollo stage in no time!

SHUTTLES

A FREE shuttle bus service will run during the scheduled train timings from Stevenage Train Station to the Sonisphere site starting at 1pm on the Thursday and ending once you have all gone on Monday. It will be a continuous service rather than at set times. More buses will be available during busy periods but you may need to wait for a short while to get the next available bus.

Please DO NOT walk to the festival site. It is a 2 mile walk and involves crossing a motorway junction where you may be stopped for safety reasons

The shuttle bus is not reserved for just rail users. It can be used by local festival goers and people staying or parking in Stevenage. The shuttle bus will leave from the Leisure Park at the foot of the railway station bridge and takes you close to the entrance to the festival.

Rock Royalty camping customers have an additional shuttle which picks them from the main shuttle drop off point in the festival site and takes them to the Rock Royalty reception. This will be signposted but please ask a steward if you are unsure of its location.

TRAVELLING BY AIR

Knebworth is in close proximity to all of the main London airports: Heathrow (30 miles), Stanstead (25 miles), Gatwick (75 miles) and Luton (12 miles). Trains run from all these airports to London where you can pick up a train to Stevenage.

TRAVELLING BY RAIL

The nearest useable rail station is Stevenage, two miles away. There is a free shuttle service from the station (see above) plus is a taxi rank. Taxis should cost around £5 to the festival site (depending on traffic). Non-stop Inter-City and local services run to Stevenage from London Kings Cross Station around every 30 minutes. Plus, there are frequent Inter-City connections on the East Coast main line to Cambridge, York, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh and many other destinations.

Please note that there will be NO festival access from Knebworth Train Station. You must use Stevenage station.
It is STRONGLY recommended that return train tickets are bought in advance. Stevenage is on a very busy commuter line and has narrow platforms so it will not be possible for festival goers to gain access to the station till after 9.30am once the commuter traffic has died down. The free shuttle service will start at 9.15am from the site but you may need to wait for a short while at the station before accessing the platforms. It is therefore recommended that trains are booked for after 10am to ensure you can meet your travel plans.

TRAVELLING BY COACH

The Big Green Coach Company - Don’t worry about the driving, lack of sleep or over indulgence and travel with 48 other rockers direct to the festival, and then home again. By travelling on Big Green Coach you’re helping the environment too as coach travel is the most environmentally friendly way of getting to Sonisphere and in addition, Big Green Coach will plant a tree for every full coach they take to Sonisphere UK! 45 departure points.

National Express coaches take you right to into the coach park at Knebworth and back from major towns and cities throughout the UK.  We’ve organised a convenient schedule for arrival and departure, to give you time to set up camp and to get you home afterwards, without you having to miss a thing.

TRAVELLING BY ROAD

There are two entrances to the site which are accessed via junction 7 and 8 of the A1(M) motorway, 10 miles north of the M25. Signage on the A1(M) will direct you to the appropriate entrance. If using Sat Nav systems, please use the postcode SG1 2AX to direct you till you pick up the road signage.

Ample parking is available on site. Parking can be booked via the ticket page in advance for £10 or on the day for £20. There is no restriction on re-entry.