Belle & Sebastian have announced the initial lineup for The Boaty Weekender; their curated, four-day music festival at sea and holiday experience, sailing from Barcelona to Cagliari, Sardinia, August 8-12 2019. Joining the legendary Scottish host band is an eclectic mix of acts including Mogwai, a reunited Camera Obscura, Django Django, Alvvays, The Buzzcocks, Japanese Breakfast, Honeyblood, HINDS, Kelly Lee Owens, Nilüfer Yanya, Whyte Horses, Tracyanne and Danny and more to be announced.

“It’s the start of September, Belle and Sebastian are facing the autumn term, back in the studio, back to the blackboard, sharpening their plectrums, already dreaming of next summer. If only there was something to look forward to, a party, an adventure, something on the horizon, something to take the chill out of the thought of winter... The Boaty Weekender: a sail around the Med, a nice little trip with friends, some of the best people, in some of the best places!

We’ve asked around, we collected the first shipmates. They’re going to earn their passage by playing their best for you, digging deep into their musical reservoirs. We’re really going to try to make this a great holiday. We’d love to have you along for the trip!

“I thought about a new destination/I'm never short of new inspiration/Roll out the map and mark it with a gin!” - Belle & Sebastian

The Boaty Weekender marks the 20th anniversary of Belle & Sebastian’s legendary 1998 Bowlie Weekender – a landmark in DIY festivals. The four-day floating festival and luxury cruise around the Mediterranean, produced in partnership with Sixthman, the leader in festivals at sea, and AEG Presents, is a natural continuation of the band’s special and unmediated relationship with their fans for over three decades.

In addition to multiple performance by each band across 5 stages, this fan and band holiday experience will play host to one-of-a-kind artist collaborations, insightful Q&As, storyteller and panel sessions, theme parties, group activities, custom event merchandise and more. Guests who book in the first 350 staterooms will get access to a special performance of Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant – an album never before performed in its entirety. Those who reserve a stateroom at any point during the pre-sale will receive an exclusive Boaty Weekender Vinyl for their collection.

For the best selection of staterooms, fans are encouraged to register for the pre-sale of The Boaty Weekender. For more information and news on line-up announcements, visit online at http://www.theboatyweekender.com/ or call Sixthman directly at +44 191 580 4707 between the hours of 3pm-11pm GMT (10am-6pm EST).

This year’s Sensoria Festival promises a packed programme of live music, outdoor cinema, immersive events and film screenings across Sheffield. Taking place from September 27 – October 6, the festival has expanded to 10 days in its 10th year and covers the theme ‘Senses Working Overtime’.

The event will see live sets (many for the first time in Sheffield) from BEAK>, Ex-Easter Island Head, Will Gregory Moog Ensemble (Goldfrapp), Drenge, Rolo Tomassi, Fvnerals, Textasy, International Teachers of Pop (The Moonlandingz), and The Everly Pregnant Brothers’ Dare performance, plus Glasgow-based artist Robbie Thomson who harnesses the sonic capabilities of the Tesla coil in his XRFMR visual performance, as well as Indiana-based electronic producer, Jlin.

Latest additions include The 3 Ring Circus Feat. Richard Hawley + special guests. A special event where each artist acts as opener in a different venue, then jumps into a waiting car which will speed them to the next location, with each artist becoming the opener, middle act and headline in different locations. The order of which is a complete mystery to the audience.

Flying high off the back of their stunning new album Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It, Sheffield’s purveyors of post/math-rock Rolo Tomassi also return for an intimate hometown show.

For one night only, and to celebrate the release of their new EP, Autonomy, Drenge’s long suffering robot companion DR3-NG3, will curate an evening of cake, dancing and Robo-Karaoke entitled DR3-NG3’s Big Night Out.

Dallas DJ/producer Textasy will perform a special DJ set at Bal Fashions. Taking inspiration from early Miami Bass tracks, his productions bounce between genres the likes of electro, breakbeat hardcore, acid and hip hop—using familiar samples from each respective genre to create extremely dance worthy tracks.

Film screenings will include the world premiere of ‘Arada’, the Northern premiere screening of ‘Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records’, ‘Studio 54’, ‘Olancho’, 'Barbara Rubin & The Exploding NY Underground', 'Walking in the Opposite Direction' and 'Beautiful Things'.

 ‘Stop - Look – Listen’ is a very special Anim18 commission that will see animated public information films from across many decades visually mixed by DISCO_R DANCE (Dan Conway and Peter Rolliston). Expect to see a wealth of film and TV content including favourite 1970s characters such as 'Tufty', 'Charley says' and Dusty telling us to 'Keep Britain Tidy'. The material will also include 1920s silents and post war pleas to 'grow your own' and to save energy.

There's also a special screening of Desolation Center, a documentary about the now-legendary series of Reagan-era guerrilla punk/industrial desert happenings in Southern California. Feat. interviews and unseen footage of Sonic Youth, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Swans, Einstürzende Neubauten and more.

Dawn Shadforth Q&A: A retrospective of one of music video’s most quietly prolific auteurs, focussing on videos made for Kylie Minogue, Sugababes, Björk, Oasis, Moloko, All Seeing I, The Moonlandingz and more.

SynthFest UK returns with 40+ companies showcasing synth products plus a packed Seminar Programme.

Industry events include SensoriaPro, Composing for Film - Masterclass with Ilan Eshkeri, the popular Scoring Contest and more. Sheffield Robotics will be on-hand to demo teleoperations of robots.

‘Steel, Street, Synth and Shutter’ is an exhibition of the work of Sheffield photographer Barbara Wasiak, who captured the city's music and alternative culture during the ‘80s and ‘90s, as well as documenting lives of local people facing uncertainty during huge job losses in the steel, manufacturing and mining industries.

Full festival programme is here:

http://www.sensoria.org.uk/current-events/