Music
Queens of the Stone Age
Having added some rock flourishes to Lady Gaga’s 2016 curio Joanne, producer and human quiff Mark Ronson injects a touch of slinky pop into Villains, the latest album from “ginger Johnny Cash” Josh Homme and the other members of the band you wouldn’t recognise even if they stood in front of you holding a placard that said, “I’m in Queens of the Stone Age!” The album’s artwork by Liverpool artist Boneface suggests some playfulness has returned after the relative introspection of 2013’s … Like Clockwork. Have a listen from Friday.
Reading and Leeds festival
Not quite the manly sweat rock emporium it used to be (though the headliners are Muse and Kasabian, plus Eminem), this year’s lineup makes room for pop (Halsey), UK R&B (Ray BLK) and rap (Giggs), and US hip-hop oddballs Migos, who are on the main stage just before At The Drive-In. Obviously.
Bramham Park in Leeds and Little John’s Farm in Reading from 25 August
Creamfields
If you like your festivals to come with retina-burning light shows and tinnitus-inducing soundsystems then get yourself to Daresbury, Cheshire, from 24 August. Diplo, Stormzy, Skream and a whole bunch of EDM upstarts are performing, while Idris Elba is also DJing, should you want to ask him about Luther series five.
Film
Logan Lucky
Having announced his retirement from directing after 2013’s sequin-studded Behind the Candelabra, Steven Soderbergh is back with this heist comedy starring Channing Tatum, Riley Keough and a bleach-blond Daniel Craig. Find out if Soderbergh’s recent appraisal of it as the “anti-glam” version of his Ocean’s trilogy is accurate from Friday.
Detroit
After The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal turn their attentions to the true stories surrounding the racially charged 12th Street Riot in Detroit in 1967, specifically the notorious Algiers Motel incident. The cast features a handful of British actors including John Boyega, Will Poulter and Skins’ Hannah Murray. Out on 25 August.
Theatre
Late Company
Canuck playwright Jordan Tannahill confronts the modern-day malady of cyberbullying via an old-fashioned set-up – creating the dinner party from hell when grieving parents invite their son’s bully and his parents round for tea.
Trafalgar Studios, SW1, 21 August to 16 September
Exhibitions
The Albesila Luminarium
Who doesn’t want to get lost in an inflatable structure made up of maze-like interconnected paths, 27 – TWENTY SEVEN! – domed areas and more brightly coloured geometric shapes than you ever thought possible? Billed as a “sanctuary for the senses”, the exotically named Albesila Luminarium features a multitude of patterns inspired by Islamic art and is possibly the most Instagramable event outside of eating a burger near some puppies on a beach. Take your iPhone to the Piece Hall in Halifax from 25 August.
Soul of a Nation: Tate-commissioned films
This free event on Friday showcases four short films inspired by Tate Modern’s exhibition Soul of a Nation, featuring LA film-maker Kahlil Joseph’s tribute to the photography of Roy DeCarava. There’s also a screening of Process, Kahlil’s collaboration with R&B maverick Sampha.
Starr Cinema, SE1, from 6pm on 19 August
Podcasts
News Roast
Now in series two, this podcast from satirists Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein features the likes of Ian Hislop, Noel Clarke and Ken Loach waxing lyrical about three hot topics.
Mogul: The Life and Death of Chris Lighty
As its title suggests, this six-part podcast traces the extraordinary life and mysterious death of legendary music executive Chris Lighty, the man often credited with turning hip-hop into a lucrative, extremely powerful industry. The story is narrated by Jay-Z’s former lawyer Reggie Ossé.
