While we’ve been devoting our attention to all things Bonnaroo over the last few days, music fans across the pond we’re enjoying a multi-day festie of their own at the Isle Of Wight Festival. The fest, which famously ran from ’68 – ’70 & was revived in 2002, featured a diverse mix of music from Jay-Z to Paul McCartney to The Hold Steady, but all eyes were on the return of NYC rockers The Strokes, who were playing live for the first time since ’06.
Julian Casablancas & Co., who played a surprise club show a few days earlier under the moniker Venison, headlined the storied festival on Saturday night roughly 40 years after nearly 600,000 people famously descended on the island to catch the likes of Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Doors, Joni Mitchell and Miles Davis. The band’s 17-song set leaned exclusively on material from their three studio LPs, with a heavy dose of songs from their debut Is This It
The Strokes, who are rumored to be releasing their new album in early 2011, will continue on the European festival circuit before returning stateside in August for their first US festival headlining performance at Lollapalooza.
