News

The Sound Island Festival is a mid-size ’boutique’ festival held within the lush grounds of the 250 acre Quex Park, on the Isle of Thanet in Kent. James will be headlining on Saturday 28th of July, supported by Echo & The Bunnymen, Cast, Inspiral Carpets and more.

The festival bills itself as a regional and easily accessible option for “the more discerning concert goer who prefers their music with a little more space, a little less crowd and a lot less hassle”. The event aims to provide an intimate festival experience in attractive and comfortable surroundings. There is no camping on site and admission is by day ticket only – they suggest you may wish to make a long weekend of it by staying in one of the surrounding resorts of Broadstairs, Margate or Ramsgate.

Day tickets are priced at a very reasonable £35 and on sale now at gigantic.com.

At last we have some newsworthy news to relay on the much anticipated and chronically delayed box set, The Gathering Sound.

The original developer finally admitted defeat and Universal have called in the experts. The USB interface is now in the hands of a very experienced company that specialises in the production of music USBs, and their development team is in the process of rebuilding it correctly.

We feel confident that with them at the helm there should be no further insurmountable problems, in which case it should be safe for Universal to set a new release date of 16 July 2012.

Thanks for bearing with us throughout this extremely frustrating debacle. Let’s hope you agree it was worth the wait.

Jim and Larry will be catching up with a couple of old band pals on the Radcliffe and Maconie show on BBC Radio 6 Music tomorrow afternoon, from about 2:30pm.

You can text in to the show (during showtimes) on 64046, email radcliffe.maconie@bbc.co.uk, or tweet them at @bbcradmac.

Update: If you missed the broadcast, you can ‘Listen Again’ on the iPlayer for the next seven days. It’s quite a lengthy interview, and begins about an hour and a half into the show.

Formerly known as the Stockton Riverside Fringe Festival, the rechristened Stockton Weekender music and comedy festival kicks off on the banks of the River Tees on Friday 3 August, with James closing the show on Sunday the 5th.

Early Bird tickets offer phenomenally good value, priced at just £15 for the day, £25 for the weekend (Saturday/Sunday), and £45 for weekend plus camping – and parents take note, under-14s are free (2 per paying adult). On 1 May the prices increase by a fiver, but it remains an exceptionally affordable way to get your James festie fix this summer.

Tickets are available online, over the phone (tel. 01642 606 525 – no transaction fee) or if you’re local you can pick them up from the box office at Green Dragon Studios.

For more information on the event and line up as it takes shape, please visit the festival website.

The band are very excited about their first trip to Argentina and Brazil, and we can now reveal the venues for these two dates – Cine Joia in São Paulo on Monday 30 April, and the lovely art deco Teatro Gran Rex in Buenos Aires on Wednesday 2 May.

The fan pre-sale for these includes VIP Soundcheck tickets, and commences at 10am (local time) this Thursday 8 March, through our American ticketing partner Concertmaps. Please note that prices are in US Dollars, and all ‘Will Call’ tickets must be collected from the venue box office with valid photo I.D. such as driving licence or passport.

Update 9/3: Unfortunately there has been a delay in the allocation of tickets for the Buenos Aires pre-sale, and the start time will have to be pushed back accordingly.  The sale will now begin at 9pm local time this evening.

We’ve just confirmed the final date for the upcoming tour of the western Americas – the band will be performing at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday 12 April, the night before their first Coachella appearance.

Our exclusive pre-sale, including the VIP Soundcheck experience, begins at 10am local time (PST) on Wednesday 7 March.  See the live page for ticketing links.

Be aware that tickets for these shows are selling fast; the VIP packages for several have already gone and San Francisco is sold out entirely, so do be quick.

We are pleased to confirm that James are headlining The Big Stooshie, a brand new three day music festival held in aid of two fantastic charities — Help For Heroes and the SSAFA.

Combining great music with a great cause, the festival takes place at Howe Country Centre near Ladybank in Fife.  The site features two stages, both undercover, so you needn’t worry about the weather on the day.

Tickets are on sale now, there is a range of options including a very limited number of day tickets, as well as weekend tickets with or without camping.  Please note that tickets for this event must be purchased in advance, you will not be able to buy them on site. 

For approved online retailers, see the live page; you can also buy tickets in person from the following local outlets:

The Howe Country Centre, Fife (01337 831244), Edinburgh – Ripping Records (0131 226 7010), Dundee – Grouchos (01382 228 496), Perth – Concorde Music (01738 621 818), Stirling – Europa Music (01786 448623), Aberdeen – One Up (01224 642662), Inverness – The Music Station (01463 225323), Elgin – Sound & Vision (01343 556166), Elgin – North East Motorcycles (01343 548412), Keith, Moray – Thingymijigs (135 Mid Street).

James will be closing the festival on Sunday night, 6 May.  For further information on the event, line up, and the charities involved please visit their official website bigstooshie.com, or their Facebook page.

The Mexican shows have now been confirmed, and the exclusive fan pre-sale for Mexico City begins at 10am local time today.

James will be playing at Arena Monterrey on 25 April, and at the newly opened Arena Ciudad de México on 26 April.

Regular and VIP soundcheck tickets for Mexico City are on sale now via our overseas ticketing partner.  Monterrey pre-sale tickets and VIP packages will be available from Sunday 26 February at 10am (CST).

Cada VIP Entrada incluye:

• 1 entrada para un control de sonido de 3 canciones
• 1 entrada para una ronda de preguntas con la banda
• Un gafete laminado edición especial
• 1 entrada para el concierto con la capacidad de entrar mas temprano al teatro

Apologies for the fact that there is currently no information in Spanish on the pre-sale pages, and please note that the prices are in US Dollars.

Winner of Best Small Festival at the UK Festival Awards in 2010 and 2011, Kendal Calling is a friendly and intimate festival held at Lowther Deer Park on the edge of the Lake District.

James are headlining the Sunday night.

Tickets on sale from 9am Thursday 23 February – check the live page for ticketing links. (N.B. Apparently booking through Skiddle you may save a bit on transaction fees.)

“…11 stages, 3 days and nights of fun in the fields in the beautiful Lake District…”

Hope to see you there.

“We return to the land of milk and honey. In our gnarly, battered tour bus we follow the path of the wagon trains. The West Coast calls; sorry East Coast fans – economics. Next time. Been wanting a crack at Coachella for a while and now we have our shot. Then on to South America. Returning to the passion of Mexico, Chile and on to the virgin territories of Brazil and Argentina. Don’t miss us, you never know how much more of this we have in us. Here’s to connection, unity and the fever of dancing naked under a full moon.” – Tim

Spring 2012 will see the band return to the US for a West Coast run of dates around their performances at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, before heading off to Mexico and South America.  Visit the live page for the full itinerary.

“Our last US tour was the first time we tried offering fan access to our sound checks. We approached it really uncertain of what to expect. They ended up being a blast for all of us, and offer an insight into the chaotic inner workings of James. They are spontaneous affairs. You may get to see us butcher songs we haven’t played in years as we attempt to get them match-fit, improvise, pratfall, argue, cover Britney Spears (in honey) or just play some beautiful music. Whatever, I think you will enjoy them and they make the shows better, more intimate; nobody’s asked for their money back so far……” – Tim

We’ll be offering the ever popular VIP Soundcheck packages for all headline shows on this tour. They are strictly limited in number, and the pre-sale for the North American dates commences at 10am local time on Wednesday 15th February, via our US ticketing partner.

The packages include one General Admission floor ticket at GA shows plus early entry – for seated shows: a premium seat location in front 5 rows of the theatre, as well as a unique opportunity to attend 3 songs of the band’s soundcheck, a 15 minute Q & A session (questions from audience after soundcheck), priority early entry into the venue, and a VIP souvenir laminate to take home. (Please note, the VIP packages are non-transferable and you will need photo I.D. to collect your pass at the venue on the day of the show.)