One of the greatest things about festivals is the sheer variety of acts on offer. Most organisers try to cater for all tastes, and there’s usually everything from rock to pop and hip-hop to jazz. Some festivals even offer comedy, film and avant-garde performance art.

While the headliners are undoubtedly the main draw at most large UK festivals, there’s something refreshing about spending a little bit of time each day at the smaller stages checking out some fresh new acts. As is often the case, an artist can be opening the new bands tent at a festival one year only to be headlining the main stage the following year, and there are always plenty of surprises to be found on the smaller stages. Smaller venue shows for these up and coming bands often sell out rapidly, so why not book tickets for one of the festivals for a perfect opportunity to see these bands do what they do best.

Whilst watching rock n’ roll royalty perform in front of 50,000 people is an amazing experience, taking the time to explore the smaller stages for some new talent can be incredibly rewarding. With that in mind, here’s a rough guide to five rising stars worth watching during this summer’s festivals:

Mount Kimbie
Ambient post-dubstep duo Mount Kimbie bring a fresh, organic approach to the electronica table. Blending dubstep, house, jazz and the hazy ambience of the likes of Boards of Canada, the band are due to release their second album ‘Cold Spring Fault Less Youth’ this summer, and are set to embark on a slew of festival dates in support of it. Their live show adds a new dimension to the studio tracks, with plenty of room for experimentalism.

Savages
All-female post-punk four-piece Savages take their musical cues from late 70’s/early 80’s gloom, with hints of Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Gang of Four. Spidery guitar riffs clash with rolling basslines, all tied together by vocalist Jenny Beth’s cutting social commentary. It’s a glorious racket, and the band is not to be missed this festival season. Savages have recently released their debut album ‘Silence Yourself’ to critical acclaim.

The 1975
By the time September rolls around and it’s time to pack up the camping gear, the 1975 could well be established as a household name. The band combines keen pop sensibilities with gritty lyrical themes offsetting the catchy backdrop of the tunes. The 1975 put on a blistering live show, and minor hit ‘Chocolate’ has the sort of infectious chorus tailor-made for a festival singalong.

Deptford Goth
Daniel Woolhouse makes woozy, heartsick electronic pop. Blissfully chilled out synth pads and baritone vocals makes Deptford Goth an ideal choice for some chill-out time this festival season. The recently released ‘Life After Defo’ is a slice of shimmering chillwave pop genius.

Kodaline
Dublin-based four-piece Kodaline create ambitious pop songs in the vein of U2 and Coldplay. Things are looking up for the band, and this festival season might just be the final chance to catch them on the small stage.

Now preparing for his upcoming album Between and a supporting North American tour, U.K. synthpop act Frankmusik released new single “Chasing Shadows,” with the video out on May 13.

In a statement about the track, the artist born Vincent Frank revealed he came up with the song’s title in 2007, envisioning it as an EP but having no substance beyond it at this point. However, he goes onto reveal: “I liked the concept of the title but I didn't find myself in a place where I could write anything relatable in my life at the time to the imagery it conveyed. Not until February this year. Being back home and away from many distractions I guess I woke up a little to the world around me and it didn't look as pretty as I liked to think it was. Not in a waterfalls and rainbows sense, but on a human level; a personal level. I found myself to be a victim of what lengths people can go to mislead, elude and trick you into thinking something real when it clearly is false to most other people. Chasing Shadows is a song that, to me, describes the dire struggle to believe the lie you are being told.”

As Frank fleshed out the track, its lyrics reflected the role of religion, politics, and relationships in his life – specifically betrayal. Through sparse electronic textures, he intends to stir listeners’ emotions with “Chasing Shadows.”

Frankmusik’s headlining U.S. tour begins on May 25 and lasts through July. If you haven’t had the chance to hear “Chasing Shadows” or see the video, watch it below:

Electronic dance music, otherwise known as EDM, experienced a huge popularity surge in the United States over the past two years, and one act at the forefront, with hit singles and massive touring schedules, has been the Bingo Players, a duo from the Netherlands.

Since 2011, the production duo of Paul Baümer and Maarten Hoogstraten has created tracks that have topped or placed highly on the Beatport, U.K., and European charts. Now, in an effort to continue this streak, they released “Buzzcut” last week, through new online channel THUMP.

An electro house track, “Buzzcut” is notable for its inclusion of Melanie Iglesias in its video. In it, Iglesias is seduced by a raver, giving new meaning to the visual element of electronic music.

“Buzzcut” follows off the heels of the Bingo Players’ earlier 2013 hit, “Get Up (Rattle),” which went to No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart. The original “Rattle,” out in 2012, also performed well on the European charts. Prior to this, the group got recognition for “Cry (Just a Little)” in 2011 and “Out of My Mind.”

THUMP, an electronic dance music and cultural channel from a partnership between VICE magazine and Recreation Worldwide, launched in 2013. Rather than looking at EDM from a single angle, the channel aims to capture all aspects, from major festivals across the globe to more intimate warehouse parties to the fans and any new music.

If you have yet to see the video for “Buzzcut,” watch the track below:

At one point, Lily Allen, who scored multiple hits and released two albums in the aughts, announced her retirement, favoring motherhood over a music career. Instead, however, she revealed earlier this year she intended to get back into music. Over the past week, The Mirror caught up with the “Smile” star at the Ivor Novello awards, where she attended as a guest, and learned more details about Allen’s upcoming third album.

Although taking care of two children, Ethel and Marnie, Allen admitted during the interview that full-time motherhood has not been for her. She explained: "Five years ago, what I really wanted to do was have kids and I’ve had two kids now. As much as I love that, I’m never going to be the type of person who sits at home all day playing with plastic toys and watching Peppa Pig. I'm actually writing my third album at the moment. I went to a meeting yesterday. Went through a load of tracks and it’s shaping up pretty well."

Of course, Allen didn’t entirely disappear during her retirement, occasions surfacing as a guest performer on other artists’ tracks. Perhaps facetiously, she described her new songs as being about “babies, nappies,” explaining that songwriting is far more challenging than before: “I wouldn’t say it’s been easy. It hasn’t been hard. It’s just been different because my pool of inspiration is so different to what it was nine or ten years ago." 

Cody Simpson has seen his career soar, and as he’s readying his sophomore album, an autobiography is in the works and due later this year.

At the end of last week, news of Surfers Paradise broke, with the announcement revealing a July 16 release date. Nevertheless, that’s not the first taste fans have gotten of the Australian teen-pop singer’s sophomore effort. So far, first single “Pretty Brown Eyes” already dropped, while a video for song “Awake All Night” debuted on YouTube.

In a statement about the album, the pop star revealed he felt more confident recording this time around. Simpson told the press: "Surfers Paradise is basically the most famous area on the Gold Coast of Australia, where I am from. I think this album really represents that piece of me, my lifestyle, and where I come from. When making my first album Paradise, it was sort of a journey to find myself as a young adult and artist. With Surfers Paradise the entire process felt more natural and comfortable, like being back home. I wanted to share that feeling with my fans."

Fans wanting all the inside details about Simpson’s life outside of teen gossip magazines have to wait until fall, when his autobiography hits stores in October. Titled Welcome To Paradise: My Journey, the autobiography will come out on HarperCollins.

To support, Simpson will go on the road at the end of this month. His 36-date tour starts in Jacksonville, Fla.

To hear Simpson’s latest, here is “Awake All Night”:

The United States has just been getting used to Cher Lloyd, the U.K. X Factor contestant who saw her profile rise with song “Want U Back” on this side of the pond. Part of keeping that momentum is doing multiple collaborations, she recently revealed in an interview with HuffPost Teen, including with Ne-Yo and Demi Lovato.

Considering the Disney star an artist she respects, Lloyd raps on “Really Don’t Care,” a track on Lovato’s latest, Demi. Lloyd has a release of her own in the works, a follow-up to debut Sticks + Stones. While, she explained, first albums are often for experimentation, she feels surer of herself this time around: “But I feel like the second album, to me, is exactly what I wanted to do. If I wanted to curse or whatever, I could curse because I felt like it in the moment -- and it’s something that I can really be proud of. I’ve worked so hard, so hopefully, fingers crossed, this album will be the one that makes me.”

Although the “Swagger Jagger” singer expresses an interest in working with Nicki Minaj at some point, her own rapping started as a joke but then evolved into a factor that distinguished her from other X Factor contestants.

As far as inspiration is concerned, Lloyd reveals she has never felt an attachment to a particular star. Instead, she goes onto say: “I think to just watch your grandparents now and hear all the stories of what they’ve been through in their life and the struggles, and finding love and stuff like that, it just really inspires me.”

For listeners on this side of the pond, Mat Zo is emerging as a key EDM DJ, whose profile recently grew with the Will.i.am/Arty debacle. Although “Rebound,” the track Zo and Arty created in 2011, is clearly the instrumentation for Will.i.am’s “Let’s Go,” Zo is gearing up for a release of his own, as well as a North American tour.

Recently, Zo put out a remix EP titled Easy, who features radio and extended versions of the title track, a collaboration with U.S. producer Porter Robinson. Along with these two versions are an eclectic arrangement of remixes from Modek, Lamaitre, and Andy C.

A big-room melodic house track that has already made it to No. 1 on Beatport and Hype Machine, “Easy” originally started out as a solo demo for Zo’s debut studio album, scheduled to come out over the next year. Robinson brought Zo on tour, with the track turning into a collaboration in the process and later premiering on Pete Tong’s Radio 1 show. Listen to the track here.

Recently signed to label Astralwerks, Zo previously put out multiple tracks on Anjunabeats, including “Bipolar,” “Frequency Flier,” and “Rebound” and, along with Pete Tong, received support from A-Trak, and Swedish House Mafia to Skrillex, Lifelike, and Above & Beyond.

The announcement for Easy coincides with Zo’s tour, which began on May 17. The dates include:

May 17 Richmond, CA @ DaDa Life Compound, Craneway Pavilion

May 17 San Francisco, CA @ Ruby Skye (AFTERPARTY)

May 18 Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome, Dayglow Tour

May 25 Chicago, IL @ Electric Daisy Carnival 

May 31 Las Vegas, NV @ Light

June 22 Las Vegas, NV @ Electric Daisy Carnival

August 03 Toronto, ON @ Veld Music Festival

August 31 New York, NY @ Electric Zoo Festival

According to a profile of Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine in The Hollywood Reporter, all four original Voice coaches are returning to season 5 of the popular television competition.

As Christina Aguilera went to promote her latest release Lotus and Cee Lo Green his latest Goodie Mob effort, Usher and Shakira came to take their places. Now with an edge over American Idol from a ratings standpoint, the NBC show, one of the network’s strongest programs, sees 14.5 million total viewers.

Season 5 starts in fall 2013, according to Friday’s announcement. However, that’s not to say Shakira and Usher are permanently off the program. While Levine and Blake Shelton, who produced two winners, remain as staples, the two new judges will return for season 6, around the time of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Carson Daly remains as host for all upcoming seasons.

NBC’s Paul Telegdy, president of alternative and late night programming, said to the press in a statement: "We locked in a plan several months ago to have the outstanding Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green rejoin Blake and Adam for cycle 5, and we're pleased to announce that the original four coaches are going to be back together in the fall. They're the reason this show was launched so strong for the first three cycles and we owe them a debt of gratitude. And after careful consideration of everyone's schedules for next spring, we are excited to be returning the current cycle of judges -- Shakira and Usher along with Blake and Adam -- for cycle 6, which will premiere after the Winter Olympics."

Justin Bieber’s European tour has been fraught with all sorts of trouble, from starting a U.K. concert significantly late to that shirtless-in-a-Polish-airport incident to getting his monkey, Mally, confiscated in Munich for not having the proper paperwork.

While the singer, earlier in April, had been warned about picking up the capuchin monkey or paying a fine, he hasn’t appeared to do either. Instead, at the end of last week, German officials stated the singer must pay a fine, now in the thousands of Euros, for the monkey’s two-month stay at a Munich animal shelter. The amount covers the cost of care, food, and vet visits.

Bieber had a deadline of this past Friday night to pay. However, there hasn’t been any word about his decision – either from the singer or his management team.

The shelter has requested, if Bieber doesn’t claim Mally, to place the monkey in a zoo. For those that don’t know, Mally was just 14 weeks old when placed in quarantine – too young to be away from her mother, the shelter claimed. The singer, upon entering Munich to start the German and Austrian leg of his European tour, did not produce the necessary health and species certificate for the monkey to enter Germany. He had four weeks, as of early April, to produce the paperwork and pick up Mally.

At the time, the shelter told the press: "If he doesn't (present the papers), Mally will be taken to a good animal shelter that has experience rearing groups of young capuchin monkeys and can ensure disoriented Mally becomes a healthy little capuchin."

From a new single to a new baby, rumors have circulated Beyonce as of recent. But with the exception of her single for the Epic soundtrack, the singer hasn’t confirmed much, really.

That’s probably why, instead of the “Countdown” singer officially confirming a second pregnancy, multiple sources came to E! with the news instead, stating that Bey is now preparing for child No. 2.

Of course, there have been multiple instances pointing to a possible pregnancy for Beyonce. Sign one – canceling her Antwerp, Belgium concert. While singers do cancel dates on occasion, doctors told her to rest "as a result of dehydration and exhaustion."

Then, that dress she wore to the Met Gala rose some eyebrows. While the belted, cinched waist of the custom-made Givenchy gown seemed moderately in line with the night’s punk theme (about as punk as you can get for Beyonce at the Met Gala), the belt plus a confusing pattern at the mid section set more than a few gossip reporters on bump watch.

Along with this factor, an appearance on ABC News had the singer speaking about wanting more children – one of those indirectly clear hints that she’ll be pregnant soon. As far as having more siblings for Blue Ivy Carter is concerned, she explained: "I would like more children. I think my daughter needs some company. I definitely love being a big sister… at some point, when it's supposed to happen."

It has been practically four years since we heard any new music from Franz Ferdinand. But the Scottish rockers best known for song “Take Me Out” announced on May 16 a follow-up to 2009’s Tonight.

The release, their fourth studio album, will be called Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, which comes out on August 27 through label Domino. The band recorded all material throughout various locations in Scotland, London, Stockholm, and Oslo.

While the statement revealed the title and release date, the band didn’t give many more further details, instead hinting that, over the next month, more will be divulged: "a few interesting collaborations, but more of that later..."

As something for fans, physical copies of Right Thoughts will include a live studio recording of the title track. Collectors may be interested in the “Passport Edition” of the album. These physical copies, in CD and vinyl, will include the album with exclusive tracks and more tracks.

Although “Take Me Out” is Franz Ferdinand’s most successful single in the U.S., cracking the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 66, Tonight peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200. The tracklist for Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is:

1. Right Action

2. Evil Eye

3. Love Illumination

4. Stand On The Horizon

5. Fresh Strawberries

6. Bullet

7. Treason! Animals.

8. The Universe Expanded

9. Brief Encounters

10. Goodbye Lovers & Friends

Kanye West, rather than deal with leaked tracks like many of his contemporaries, is putting out new music on his own terms. While tracks as of recent could be heard at the recent Met Gala, where the rapper performed, and in DJ Hudson Mohawke’s set at a Polish music festival, West, on Friday, decided to preview his new music with a unique approach.

According to reports from Billboard, images accompanied by music were projected onto 66 building across the globe after the rapper’s following Twitter update on May 17: "NEW SONG AND VISUAL FROM MY NEW ALBUM BEING PROJECTED TONIGHT ACROSS THE GLOBE ON 66 BUILDINGS."

Locations ranged from New York, with displays both in Manhattan and Brooklyn, Miami, London, Paris, Sydney, and Canada. In New York, the displays went up at some point between 11:45 p.m. and midnight on May 17.

The track accompanying the visuals is reportedly a song called “New Slaves.” The track that made its way into the Met Gala and DJ Hudson Mohawke sets is rumored to be called “I Am a God.” West is scheduled to return to Saturday Night Live this evening, although there’s no word whether he will play new material.

Some footage of the Brooklyn displays was captured and put on YouTube. Watch it below: