Tuesday 17th July 2012 by Michael Baggs

Tags: Latitude Festival

Don't let the picnic hampers, fold-out chairs and all-terrain pushchairs put you off - Latitude Festival may be the summer's most middle-class event, but it's also one of the UK's most diverse and unique outdoor experiences - just don't try to jump the queue for the Costa coffee van in the pre-12pm rush for cappucinos and mochas.

Twin Shadow opens our Latitude experience, performing the lush woodland hillside of Henham Park. His eighties-influenced electronic-indie sounds incredible, but the steep incline and exceptionally low roof at The I Arena make seeing any of the action impossible for anyone on the outskirts.

Lana Del Rey proves an early highlight of the weekend, putting on a surprisingly stunning performance in The Word Arena, performing with confidence, charm and charisma, lighting a trademark cigarette and even jumping off the stage to perform from the photographers' pit before closing with 'National Anthem' - this year's essential festival jam.

Janelle Monae proves a worthy main stage performer with her funk-soul sounds ahead of Bon Iver's Friday night headline slot. The US star's performance was haunting and ethereral - but failed to pack the punch you might expect from a main stage headliner, leaving many people (us included) wandering off to find something more energetic to end our first night with.

Scheduling was a problem across the weekend, with many artists performing in unsuitable time-slots or unlikely stages. Dance highlights SBTRKT and M83 performed in ridiculously early slots on the Saturday and Sunday, despite both putting on two of the most energetic performances of the weekend. Of Monsters And Men put on an achingly-perfect performance on Saturday afternoon, but once again The I Arena proved incapable of providing a decent viewpoint as hundreds descended to see the Icelandic stars on the tricky-to-see stage. On the plus side however, the band's performance staked their claim as future festival headliners, with a flawless set of soaring tracks.

On the flipside, jazz-star Esperanza Spalding was wasted in a mainstage afternoon set, her subtle soul sounds all but blown out of the park as the picnicking audience munched down on the (admittedly delicious) haloumi and chorizo baps which were a festival food revelation. Thank goodness for the Waitrose set.

Elbow's epic Saturday night set was another highlight, and the strongest headline slot of the weekend, climaxing in a firework display, while late night attendees in the BAFTA tent were treated to a 12:30am performance from Country & Western star Wanda Jackson, who's tear-jerking tribute to Amy Winehouse had her gathered audience in sombre silence as she performed her 'Tears Dry On Their Own' cover.

Sunday opened with early afternoon performances from Rufus Wainwright and Alabama Shakes - the latter justifying ever inch of hype with their 45 minute performance. The might of singer Brittany Howard's voice losing non of its impact in the enormous main-stage setting.

More line-up confusion ensued with Simple Minds performing before Bat For Lashes and Ben Howard on the main stage. With all audience energy generated from 'Don't You Forget About Me' and 'Alive And Kicking' vanishing as the tempo dropped into Sunday evening.

Latitude falls down on many levels - the questionable scheduling, an infuriating bar system (£3 for a plastic cup, bar staff refusing to serve attendees who looked under 30) and the sheer number of people sat reading Kindles with their backs to the bands - but thanks to a brilliant line-up and stunning location was a success. A few tweaks to the scheduling issues, and Latitude could be set to rival the big-hitters on the UK festival scene.

Below: the highlights of Latitude 2012