May Ball Blog 2014

Whether you’ve got a ticket or are planning to party-crash, never fear because The Tab is here to bring you the most up-to-date May Ball news. We have ears to all floors and flies on all walls. If there’s something to know, we’ll know it. Stay tuned for May Ball mania. 

For a rundown of what’s happening and when, check out our May Ball Guide.

If you have any info you’re keen to share, or have heard any rumours, let us know at —[email protected], and don’t forget to get involved in the comments section below.

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Saturday 14th June

Trinity have finally released their headline comedian but it was worth the wait folks. Russell Kane will be gracing Cambridge’s richest college with his awesome presence. A regular at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Russell Kane is one of the UK’s top young comedians. Having performed alongside such renowned acts as Reginald D Hunter and Russell Howard, and won numerous comedy awards (including the 2010 Edinburgh Comedy Award), he is sure to raise a laugh.

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Wednesday 11th June

Today we bring you the first in our series of Turf events, live streamed here to your very own May Ball Blog.

Getting ready to head out? Chilling and looking for a readymade playlist? Let Cambridge’s best DJs take you through their favourite summer tunes.

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Tuesday 10th June

St John’s full setlist is now freely available. Their huge headliner Katy B and support act MNEK were released in the wee hours. See more here.

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Monday 9th June

Trinity announced the rest of their superb setlist this evening.

First up their headline DJ will be Artful. This is one-half of Artful Dodger, the pioneer of UK Garage. With hits such as “Re-Rewind” with Craig David and “Movin’ Too Fast”, Artful is bound to get the crowd hyped up with these classic late nineties tunes.

Additionally, we can confirm their final support act will indeed be Big Brovaz. The MOBO award-winning R&B and hip-hop music group, are guaranteed to be a fun-filled blast from the past. With hits such as “Nu Flow”, “Baby Boy” and “Favourite Things”, guests will be transported back to the early noughties. Recognise this haunting hit?

Finally, Trinity’s headliner is Lawson. They are a pop-rock sensation who have had huge success in the UK charts. With six Top 20 singles to date, including “Juliet”, “Brokenhearted” and “Taking over me”, Lawson have toured with such internationally-renowned stars as Avril Lavigne and Jessie J. Be sure not to miss them.

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Saturday 8th June

Trinity’s Ents comittee members have secured Saint Raymond and Chlöe Howl as their support acts at this white tie ball. Read on here.

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Monday 2nd June

Two newsy titbits for you today folks:

1) Homerton June Event headliner Chipzel has cancelled due to “contractual complications :(” it was revealed earlier today over when one excited Fresher tweeted the band after securing his ticket. The committee were then forced to reveal the news on the event’s Facebook page but assure the Tab, “We have found a replacement act that we will reveal nearer the date of the ball”.

2) The Strawberries and Creem Festival location has been announced. This highly anticipated afternoon featuring Shy FX and David Rodigan will take place in the grounds of 18th century Anstey Hall.

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Saturday 31st May

Two HUGE announcements today.

Firstly, Sidney Sussex have announced their headline act with us. See here for more info.

St John’s have also announced their two headline DJs. Rinse FM regular Oneman will be gracing the John’s stage, hot off tours of the US and Europe.

Neuroscientist Floating Points, with his handmade E&S rotary mixer, is one of the most exciting DJ talents worldwide. He too will be fronting up John’s lineup. Stay tuned for John’s’ headliner, which will be announced here in a few days.

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Monday 26th May

Clare May Ball looks set to be a stonker.

We have just had news that the alliterative Ella Eyre will be headlining this year. Ella was the runner up for the BRIT Critics’ Choice Award and for the BBC Sound of 2014 award.

You may have heard her singing alongside such big dogs as Rudimental, Bastille and/or Wiz Khalifa. Her new single ‘If I go’ is set to be the sound of the summer:

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Saturday 24th May

King’s were very very excited this morning to inform us of one of the headliners at their fancy dress dress ball. Laid Blak are urban reggae heavyweights from Bristol and are taking the UK Live music venues and underground club scene by storm. Give this filthy track a listen:

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Ooo midnight update… On this, our editor’s birthday, we have a fun rumour for you. Word on the street is that the answer to Emmanuel’s cryptic crossword, and thereby their 2014 headliner, is Eliza and the Bear. Now you just have to work out the rest of the clues to get your hands on those May Ball tickets for next year. Rather you than me.

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Friday 23rd May

Today we have the St John’s Comedy Headliner, for their ball on June 17th. They will be hosting Nina Conti, internationally-acclaimed comedian and ventriloquist with multiple awards and appearances on shows like Russell Howard’s Good News and Live at the Apollo.

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Thursday 22nd May

The Christ’s May Ball ents team have finally announced their hotly anticipated acts. Unlike other colleges they have put together a festival style poster and are announcing all their acts at once. If you are of a fainting disposition, look away now. This is arguably the best line up christs has ever had, with several big names from inside and outside Cambridge.

To Kill a King – toured with Bastille for the past two years and collaborated with them.
Truly Medley Deeply – Christ’s most popular act of 2012
Molly Warburton – amazing new singer, headlining their Alternative Stage
Itchy Feet – hours of dance lessons and DJing in their formal hall
+ all the big names from Cambridge.

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Wednesday 21st May

Jus’ when you thought the fun was over, Strawberries and Creem Festival have just released another stellar act.

Jus Now, and are an up and coming (quite literally about to hit the big time) duo who are known for bringing Carnival to festivals. They have a fusion of traditional Caribbean rhythm and culture with the sub heavy sound of the UK underground. You can rely on them to provide plenty of baseline, dancehall and tempo to the festival. They also DJ around the UK and in Trinidad. Check out this naughty vid:

They will also be releasing 200 final tickets after being given the all clear by the secret venue and the po-po to up their capacity. Its going to be very very big.

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Monday 19th May

More fantastic news has dribbled out of the Clare May Ball team. Five-piece Mancunian boy-band, Swiss Lips will be doing a set at Clare’s Primordial themed ball. The Guardian described them as “all fizzy, balearic, dance-pop thrills”, have recently supported Bastille and are supposed to be incredible live. Check this brilliant music video:

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Sunday 18th May

King’s Affair team have announced a very exciting addition to their line up. The wonderful Wonderland crew are going to be delighting you with their presence in the Chetwynd Room ALL NIGHT LONG!! Venture down the rabbit hole and join Alice and her friends for a one-night-only appearance of these fabulous London party-makers in Cambridge. All in aid of this year’s King’s Affair charity, the Wonder Years Centre of Excellence in The Gambia and run by fabulous volunteers, this stage brings you everything you’ve ever wanted to dance to, including music from the amazing:

Mr March Hare, Miss White Rabbit, JubJub bird, Imo LOVES Dick, W3DGE, Elementum and Grandmaster Faff.

Expect Swing, Disco, Dubstep, House, Electro, Funk, DnB, Hip Hop, Soul and GLITTER .

This is the video of their last party so you know just how much wonder to expect! And you can find music from some of their amazing djs here: http://www.wonderlandfestival.co.uk/index.php?page=music

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Saturday 17th May

Over the course of today we will be releasing some really exciting acts.

Here’s a little summin summin to start with… Reggae legend and musical pioneer Sir David Rodigan will be stopping over in Cambridge for The Strawberries and Creem Festival before he begins his summer headline tour at Glastonbury, Park Life, Outlook and Hideout. 

It’s gonna look something like this:

Next we have some sik Sidney Sussex stuff. Backed by an ensemble of live instruments for an unmissable set of electric soul ticket holders are in for a treat from Fatima & the Eglo Live Band. Following eight-years of outstanding work, she released her debut album ‘Yellow Memories’ last week, which received 4.5/5 from Resident Advisor. It’s free on SoundCloud until Monday. She has featured alongside Beyoncé on iTunes, and is set to support Lauryn Hill this summer – a testament to her mammoth talent.

Now approaching their eleventh year of existence, the four-man DJ collective Horse Meat Disco have been pivotal in the re-emergence of disco as a leading genre at parties around the world. Their nights celebrate the melodrama, musicality and sheer pleasure of music from the 60s, 70s and 80s, and will be closing Sidney’s Main Stage in a wave of hedonistic nostalgia. ‘They have something quite magical that can turn any occasion, however mundane, into a polysexual cosmic disco wonderland’ (BBC).

Next week they will announce their 2014 headliner who will cap off a billing of unprecedented quality.

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Wednesday 14th May

SHOUT-OUT to Margot.

We see you have put an advert up to find your son a little minx. We can also see, from the link on your post, that you are reading The Tab’s May Ball Guide.

Please email [email protected] and we will help your son find his dream woman.

Margot: This could be your son

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Monday 12th May

It’s been a HUGE day in the niche world of May Ball News. Probably, but not definitely, our last update of the day.

Have a listen and a cheeky dance to dance and electronic DJ Eliphino who will be at King’s Affair this May Week!

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UNBELIEVABLE UPDATE

It has just been announced that Jo O’Meara, Paul Cattermole and Bradley McIntosh will be Bringing us All Back on the Clare main stage as S Club 3! Can you remember which one’s which? Perhaps it’s time to revisit ‘S Club Seeing Double’…

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PEMBROKE HEADLINERS:

Pembroke June Event 2014 have announced that The Crookes will be headlining the main stage this year.

Since 2009 this Sheffield 4-piece have developed a distinct sound over 3 acclaimed albums, combining classic British pop rock, with courageous guitar riffs and intelligent lyrics.

This announcement coincides with the recent release of their new album ‘Soapbox’ which is available now.

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Sidney Sussex have released two of the five exciting acts they have lined up for their Main Stage in association with Turf.

Jon Rust, NTS Radio and Boiler Room regular, will be opening the Main Stage with a smooth set of jazzy records from his mind-boggling collection. He never fails to produce something short of original and exceptional, and there’s hardly a better DJ to kick-start a stage packed full of talent and groove.

Afriquoi are a truly unique band, blending traditional African beats with contemporary UK sounds and dancehall vibes. Their 2013 festival tour, from Glastonbury to Secret Garden Party, brought the world their set packed full of dynamism and downright fun. We cannot wait to see what they have planned for Sidney.

Next week we will crank up the anticipation with parts 3 and 4 of their Main Stage, before we announce their 2014 headliner the following week.

Saturday 10th May

We’ve got a nice little rumour for you today that’s being bandied around the grapevine. It is said that after a showdown with Christ’s Ents team, Jesus eventually came out tops to secure The Other Tribe. It could be Sidney. But we’re pretty sure it’s Jesus.

Have a wee listen to this funky jam:

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Friday 9th May

UPDATE: The Tab can now release the mind-blowing news that the Strawberries and Creem Festival has been organised in association with the one and only Tinder. 

The world’s number one dating app will be hitting Cambridge in full force. There will a very serious amount of merchandise up for grabs including hundreds of Tinder tshirts. Best of all, get this, A MATCH-MAKING BOOTH. All you singletons put your hands up and get yourself one of these golden tickets. This party is shaping up to be one of the best May Week has to offer.

You could have conversations like this in real life… ‘magine that

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On this fine spring morning we bring you the Wolfson June Event headliner as well as the acts for the hotly anticipated Strawberries and Creem Festival.

First things first, Wolfson, a-wooooooooooo. Headlining their June Event is three-piece band Les Mistons hailing from London. Their music is an inimitable blend of shoegaze, pop and psychedelica which has earned them a keen following. Since forming at school they have gone from strength to strength, bringing their catchy, world-tinged euphoria to venues across the country.

Now, as for Strawbs and Crème, the legendary Drum and Bass DJ Shy FX will be causing a stir in Cambridge’s green and pleasant gardens. This is really really exciting stuff – get yourself a ticket NOW.

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Thursday 8th May

UPDATE – Robinson are announcing their acts on CAM FM at this very moment… Arghhh the suspense… Just kidding, we already know.

SO we have, firstly, four-piece band Mausi. It promises to be a brilliant act what with the lead singer Daisy’s dulcet tones and their summery beats. The band ambitiously performed an accapella cover of Imogen Heap’s ‘Hide and Seek’ at their first gig and decided after raucous applause they better go and write some of their own songs.

Here’s one of them:

And secondly, Robinson party-goers will be treated to some first-class alternative pop from London duo, Thumpers.

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We have ourselves a whopper today ladies and gents. Caius have confirmed their huge acts which we are informed represent the future of music (the theme of the ball being ‘A Brief History of Time’.)

In the first place, we have  the electronic music duo from London AlunaGeorge. You might know them from their collaboration with Disclosure on ‘White Noise’ but their independent stuff is excellent too.

Next we have Young Kato, the six-man indie pop band. Here’s a taster of what they’ll be up to that Tuesday night:

And now for the headliner. I think you’ll agree that after the two huge names above the presence of Duke Dumont on the setlist is hard to believe. And yet you better believe it cos the British DJ and producer will be spinning decks in the heart of Cambridge finishing of this massive evening with a bang.

Gonville and Caius? More like switched-on-ville and please give me a ticket.

Furthermore, we’ve heard rumours that Mausi will be performing at Robinson. Will they, won’t they?? Never fear Robinson revellers for we will be announcing their acts this evening so stay tuned.

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Wednesday 7th May

Turf have just announced acts for their May Week all-nighter on 12th June. Acts include a three hour set from resident Berghain DJ Prosumer, as well as Alex Nut and Romare. 

Tickets go on sale on 9th May.

Straight after on 13th June, Fever are teaming up with The Union to celebrate Ban Ki-Moon’s birthday. Tickets are almost sold out for this event.

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Tuesday 6th May

This is MASSIVE kids. Today we have two huge announcements:

1) Clare Cellars will be hosting two professional headliners for the first time.

The first is Outboxx. Click here for a cool mix they did.

And the second is Atlas who collaborated with Henry Krinkle and Kastle in 2013 and recently supported Teen Daze.
Click here for their soundcloud.

2) The St Catharine’s May Ball Comittee have confirmed their headliners with us. Chart-topping drum and bass duo Sigma will be headlining the main stage this year. They recently achieved mainstream success with their first UK number one, summer anthem “Nobody To Love”. Sigma recently produced a guest mix for Radio 1’s Mistajam, which willgive ball-goers a sneak peek of what they can expect on Wednesday 18th June. The mix can be heard here.

You read it here first.

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Monday 5th May

Good afternoon folks. We are happy to announce two news acts at the Sidney Sussex May Ball. The first, MTV’s Unsigned Artist of 2014, 21 year-old Marie Naffah, who will  be playing on their Third Stage. She will be doing  a 60 minute-set in the early hours of the morning .

Next, The White Keys are the UK’s premier disco, funk and soul cover group. With a full band ensemble, they will be blazing a funky trail through some true classic at the top of Sidney’s Second Stage bill. Find their soundcloud here.

*In other news, we will be streaming live from May Week events and secret location events. We will also release all the TURF events’ acts on this very blog*.

Sunday 4th May

On this, Caesarian Sunday, we bring you a barrage of updates.

First, we can confirm that King’s have secured Fantastic Mr Fox who The Guardian labelled ‘dubstep’s new breed’ and ‘a DJ who turns beats basslines and bursts of 8-bit mania into abstract R&B’.

http://www.songkick.com/artists/609805-fantastic-mr-fox

Next, we heard it on the grapevine that Trinity May Ball will be hosting DJ Fresh, the man behind ‘Gold Dust’ and ‘Hot Right Now’ who has remixed tracks for DJ Shadow, Skepta and Katy B.

Finally, Trinity are also rumoured to be planning an acrobatic show. This may ball is shaping up to be pretty action-packed. 

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Wednesday 30th April

UPDATE: JT just called to say he will not be attending Trinity May Ball 2014.

Which May Ball just got fraped…

Lesson of the day?

Tune in to The Tab’s May Ball Blog for each and every May Ball rumour.

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Tuesday 29th April

UPDATE: Señors and señoritas, it is rumoured that the one and only JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE will be performing at Trinity’s White Tie Ball. This is big.

It is rumoured the nine-time Grammy Award winner has reportedly agreed to star at the white tie glamour do on June 16 in an extraordinary coup for Presidents Mary Tan and Lewis Ball.

According to the Which May Ball website, the former N’Sync lead vocalist and ‘Cry Me A River’ artist will be the headline event after the committee tapped into their unrivalled budget to secure one of the most iconic musical figures of the modern era. Timeberlake, who has secured four Emmy prizes in his glittering career, has enjoyed a glorious renaissance in the last couple of years with his third and fourth albums.

The Tab has contacted the Trinity team and is yet to receive confirmation.

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Tuesday 29th April

King’s Affair have just confirmed that the 5 man heavy bass act Coda will be doing a set at King’s.

https://soundcloud.com/codamusicuk

Your cuppa tea? Hyped for King’s? Get chatting below.

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Monday 28th April

DOUBLE WHAMMY UPDATE:

JESUS:

DJ Wilkinson confirmed at Jesus.

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UPDATE: 

We have just had two very big rumours in. Stay tuned for updates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLppVXyFf4s

…… but which one, where?

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Sunday 27th April

The rumour mill has been churning furiously. Word on the street is that Cambridge’s very own Clean Bandit are returning to the May Ball scene (they played at Robinson last year) to perform at Jesus.

Click here for an interview The Tab managed to nab with them last year.

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Monday 21st April

Hot off the press: We can reveal today that Clare May Ball have collaborated with Cambridge-based ‘Hey Man Check My Band’ to organise the HMCMB Introducing Stage. This initiative promises to be an exciting addition to Clare’s programme. You’ll find the other acts here as well in due course…

Find the full details here.

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Wednesday 19th March

The St Edmund’s May Ball Committee have had to let their theme ‘go with the wind’. The theme of the graduate college ball has been changed to ‘Journey through the Seasons’, after complaints that the 1939 film ‘Gone with the Wind’ was racist and therefore unsuitable as a theme.

Read all about it here…

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Tuesday 18th March

Jesus! Rumour has it, British drum and bass DJ, Wilkinson, will be gracing the Jesus May Ball stage with his presence.

One scandalmonger commented: “Not sure if he’s their headliner, but he’s definitely playing at their Ball.”

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Monday 17th March

This just in: R&B and hip hop music group from London, Big Brovaz are rumoured to be supporting Trinity this year.

In other news, Trinity’s headliners will be released here first, so stay tuned for updates.