GRAB you’re money, hats, shorts, tents and emergency supplies and get ready for a few days of mud, sweat and sleep deprivation, it’s time to put you’re body through hell and leave you’re mind at home... it is festival season.

Last year, The Vibe spent a rather cushy time at Leeds Festival in the VIP section, where the ground was dry and the grass was plentiful.

We sat and had jerk chicken alongside Queens of the Stone Age, rubbed shoulders with Biffy Clyro and got thoroughly destroyed in a Rage Against The Machine pit before being launched down in front of the stage during a rather vicious and all to brief crowd surf. So, what do we have in store this year?

Well we’d love to give you a run down of all of the festival and lend a few cheeky tips as to which should be amazing, but that would require about 30 pages of nonsense and ramblings.

Instead, we are focusing on Leeds Festival as it’s the closest one to us and Sonisphere as it’s the festival that The Vibe will be stealing a cheeky guest spot at this year.

Let’s start with our local music festival – Leeds Festival 2009, August 28-30, at Bramham Park.

As the festival is spread over three days, we’ll take a look at each day in turn and pick the highlights.

Friday, August 28

There is a real mix of bands playing on Friday, with Sheffield’s finest The Arctic Monkeys, headlining the main stage.

With so many side projects going on with the Arctic Monkeys (Last Shadow Puppets for example), it is difficult to guess how many more years they will available to headline festivals, so it might just be worth checking them out while you still can.

The other huge act on the main stage really worth seeing, and well-known for their immense live shows, are The Prodigy, still going strong after well over a decade at the top.

Other bands that might just grab your attention are Enter Shikari, Fightstar, Glasvegas, You Me At Six, Rise Against, Thursday, Atreyu, and I am very happy to see that the reformation of Rival Schools has lead to a performance on the Lock Up Stage, a rare treat.

Saturday, August 29

There are some real heavyweights playing on the Saturday main stage, including one of the most influential bands of our generation, Radiohead.

Other musical beasts gracing the main stage include Brand New and Bloc Party.

Spanning the genres, here are a few acts to take note of, Vampire Weekend, Lostprophets (hopefully playing their older material before they became offensively poor), AFI, Gallows, our good old friend Frank Turner, Lethal Bizzle, and Lightspeed Champion.

Sunday, August 30

This can often have a weird atmosphere as the third day is generally the day when people start losing use of their senses.

For example, individuals will be found drinking or eating something that to a fully functioning person would look and smell like it had been found on the floor of the cinema, but not to worry, the festival goes on with the band that seem to have headlined everything for the last couple of years, Kings of Leon. There is a very nice balance to the main stage on day three, with something for everyone. The highlights include Placebo, Fall Out Boy, Deftones, Funeral For A Friend, New Found Glory, and Alexisonfire.

You can find some cracking acts in the tents and smaller stages too, such as Faith No More, Billy Talent, Marmaduke Duke, and perhaps most suspiciously of all, Alexisonfire, again on the same day, playing on two different stages, that is outrageous. Ask for some money back.

So, that is the brief run down on Leeds this year. The verdict, I’d say, is that it’s a pretty good line-up all-in-all. There is something, or several things for everyone.

Have a cracking weekend.