This week sees the return of THE UK motherfest: Glastonbury.

With roots that go back to the dizzy hippie sixties, Glastonbury is a monolithic celebration of the very best art forms known to man. Over the course of four days it is home to every musical style and shade of creativity you could possibly want to indulge in or experience.

As a result it’s a little bit popular. Actually it’s so freaking popular every year the 200,000-odd tickets sell out within an hour-long tearful, frustrating, internet ticket stampede. Some of the UKF team successfully negotiated the fray this year. To celebrate we’ve put together 10 reasons why this year’s Glastonbury will be immense.

Note: we could have put 100 acts in this list. Just check the full line-up and see for yourselves.

If you were lucky to get a ticket, we’ll see you there!

(Image credit: BBC)

10. Metallica

When: 9.45pm Saturday night
Where: Pyramid Stage

Random for a UKF selection? Not really… One of the most popular gateways into electronic music is metal. And Metallica are kings of the genre. Need more relevance? Head 22 minutes deep into Nick Thayer’s UKF podcast and get head-slapped by his Master Of Puppets / Knife Party mash-up!

UKF Music Podcast #44 – Nick Thayer in the mix by Ukf on Mixcloud

9. John Newman

When: 1.30pm Friday
Where: The Other Stage

Perfect soul to ease yourself into the first full day of partying, John has one of the most powerful voices to grace the electronic scene in years – thanks Rudimental!

8. Jus Now

When: 10.30pm Sunday night
Where: Gully Outer National

One of the most exciting live acts to emerge in electronic music. Proper DJ chops, tight percussion and fine-tuned hype abilities, their genre-shattering delivery has set a new benchmark. Turn up and Tun Up!

7. Danny Brown

When: 8pm Friday
Where: Park Stage

Danny Brown’s distinctive patter and cutlass sharp trap beats are set to melt Pilton Farm to a smouldering halt when he hits the Park Stage on Friday night. 25 Bucks says he’ll smash it…

6. Skrillex

When: 10.30pm Friday night
Where: The Other Stage

He’s gone on record to say every show is different and he’s constantly testing out new material he’s writing on the road. With a recent Instagram clip of him damaging Webster Hall with some firing jump up D&B, we’re really amped to see Skrillex. You should be too.

5. Calibre

When: 1am Friday night
Where: The London Underground

Not a name you see on every festival flyer, Calibre delivers wherever he plays. Joined by consummate MC compadre DRS, vibes are guaranteed. Stick around after him, too… He’s followed by Klute and dBridge!

4. Shy FX

When: 11.30pm Sunday night
Where: The Blues

FACT: some of the best stuff happens on the final night. Shy FX and Stamina MC will be taking care of business well into Monday morning. The moral of this story? Don’t burn yourselves out on Thurs, Fri or Sat…

3. Massive Attack

When: 10pm, Sunday night
Where: The Other Stage

Entrenched in Bristol bass culture decades before the city added heaps of creativity to the dubstep scene, Massive Attack remain one of the most characteristic and moody electronic-flavoured acts of all time. Serious heritage, roots and powerful live presence, the amount of acts they’ve inspired since their 1991 debut album Blue Lines is endless.

2. Black Butter Takeover

When: 9pm till late Friday night
Where: LBHQ: Million Bullet Club

Friday night is sorted: Black Butter are taking over the Million Bullet Club and they’re shooting from every cylinder… Kidnap Kid, Gorgon City, Wayward, Redlight and My Nu Leng. There’s a few ‘tbc’ slots in that line-up too. Could the label’s even bigger/now-major signed acts be jumping on the decks, too? Get your asses down there and find out…

1. Arcadia

When: Every night
Where: Arcadia

The Arcadia line-up is a festival unto itself… Set under an impressive industrial strength, flame-throwing projection-mapping acrobat-flinging spider-type beast, Arcadia have been a firm feature at Glastonbury for years now. It has to be seen (and raved under) to be believed. This year they seem to be seriously next-levelling. Acts include Nero, Ed Rush & Optical, Optiv & BTK, Friction, DJ EZ, David Rodigan, Disclosure, High Contrast, Metrik, Fred V & Grafix and LOADS more.