Whatever about the unpredictable weather which hovers over Co Kildare every July, the musical going is certain to be good at Punchestown next weekend, as the nation's biggest festival gets under way. As we've come to expect from Oxegen over the years, there are one or two earplug-grabbing acts on the bill, but most performances should be well worth a look, including such heavyweights as REM, The Verve and The Prodigy. Jim Carrollpreviews three days of live music, with particular emphasis on the in-form newcomers

FRIDAY

MAIN STAGE

KINGS OF LEON
Last year's Because of the Timesalbum took the sons of a travelling preacherman and their cousin to the top of the tree here and elsewhere. Anyone who headed to last winter's shows in Dublin's RDS can testify to the broad appeal of their southern rock.  www.kingsofleon.com

INTERPOL
It's 10 years since Interpol started strutting around New York clubs, but it's only in recent times that they've added some musical heft to their gallop. Current album Our Love To Admirefeatures a powerhouse set of songs with both post-punk spirit and new-world indie appeal.  www.myspace.com/interpol

EDITORS
While their sonic family tree would have you joining the dots to early Radiohead and Coldplay, Editors would probably demand a redraft based on recent events. Since the release of the An End Has a Startalbum last year, Editors have grown into real stadium-filling contenders.  www.editorsofficial.com

PADDY CASEY
The Dublin singer-songwriter's current album, Addicted To Company, has not enjoyed the same runaway domestic commercial success as its predecessors. He is, however, finally getting overseas love, with MTV recently selecting him for some high-profile promotion in the United States.  www.myspace.com/paddycasey

THE CORONAS
The Coronas have enjoyed domestic success in the past 18 months with a bevy of top-30 tunes . Add in an album ( Heroes and Ghosts) and a growing live profile and you can see why they're on the Oxegen bill.  www.thecoronas.net

AMY MACDONALD
The shy Scottish folk-pop singer with the blooming big voice, Amy Macdonald's star has been on the rise thanks to her This is the Lifedebut album. That release knocked Radiohead In Rainbowsoff the number-one slot and she has taken to the festival circuit with confidence.  www.myspace.com/amymcdonald

02 STAGE

GROOVE ARMADA
Groove Armada know all about festivals. Hell, they even run their own one, Lovebox, in a big park in London. Groove Armada specialise in hot-to-trot house with oodles of pop appeal. Yes, they're the ones with I See You Baby.  www.groovearmada.com

THE GO! TEAM
Who needs a double-espresso when you have The Go! Team? A whirlwind of infectious sounds and grooves including cop-show soundtracks, freaky rock-outs and block-party thrillers - custom-built for a racecourse in the middle of Co Kildare.  www.thegoteam.co.uk

BEN FOLDS MEET THE PIANOMAN

Ben Folds fronts Ben Folds Five (stay with us here), but he also does a mean man-playing- the-piano-and-singing-songs. You can strike that Billy Joel image from your mind right away, though - Folds is far sharper and far more wry.  www.myspace.com/benfolds

dEUS
They may no longer be the first name on the tip of your tongue when it comes to Belgian rockers (these days, that would be Soulwax), but these veterans from Antwerp are still capable of causing a racket. Last album Vantage Pointis a return to the epic splendour of Worst Case Scenario, the album which introduced Tom Barman and friends to the world in 1994.  www.deus.be

SUGABABES
While many high-profile pop acts would baulk at the idea of appearing at an indie-heavy outdoor fest, Sugababes have the hits to make up for any disadvantages caused by the setting. When your hands are in the air for the umpteenth time, you'll know it makes sense.  www.sugababes.com

FUTURE KINGS OF SPAIN
Dublin's Future Kings of Spain had a good 2007. Their Nervousystemalbum led to another round of big gigs home and away and saw them getting three nominations in the last round of Meteor Music Awards as a result.  www.myspace.com/futurekingsofspain

GREEN ROOM

BELL X1
If 2007 was a year of ups (their biggest-ever Irish show at Malahide Castle) and downs (splitting from Universal), 2008 is the year of the Yanks for the Bellies. They've now got two US tours under their belts as they consolidate on the buzz from appearances on the David Letterman, Conan O'Brien and Craig Ferguson TV shows plus good reviews Stateside for Flock.  www.bellx1.com

MUNDY
Edmund "Mundy" Enright is the chap who has done a lot of singing and writing since he emerged from the Faithful County well over a decade ago. Now firmly established as a star on the Irish scene, Enright's currently enjoying acclaim for his Meteor Award-winning Galway Girlturn with Sharon Shannon.  www.mundy.ie

ASLAN
They're the veterans on this bill, the band who have been fighting the good fight for rock and pop since 1982. What's kept them sharp is the connection with their audience via such songs as Crazy Worldand This Is.  www.aslan.ie

CAPTAIN
Captain arrive in Co Kildare with two albums to show off. After giving a good account of their boy-girl pop with the Trevor Horn-produced This is Hazelville, second album Distractioncontinued the yarn of a London band with a keen ear and a heartfelt fondness for slow-burning and hypnotic pop melodies and hooks.  www.myspace.com/captaintheband

2FM NEW BAND STAGE

WHITE DENIM
The band who stole the show at this year's South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, White Denim trio should also be the band Oxegen-goers will go home raving about. Expect slam-dunk, soulful, sleazy garage rock played by maestros who know all the right moves to make when it comes to making audiences scream and shout. www.myspace.com/bopenglish

FRIENDLY FIRES
Friendly Fires play the kind of spikey indie-disco which everyone goes loo-lah for at events like this. Influenced by everything from early bare-bones house to underground post-rock, their work with producer Paul Epworth has already produced one or two pay-offs of note, including Paris.  www.myspace.com/friendlyfires

THE METROS
The Metros are a quartet of punky urchins from Peckham in south London who do a fine line in yelpy rock which owes a debt or a pint to classic British sounds of the 1980s. Their songs about geezers, ASBOs and bad schools will remind you of youthful Weller or the bounce of Madness. They've already spent a season on the festival circuit so they know what's ahead.  www.themetros.com

NOAH & THE WHALE
While the name may sound like the latest US indie flick hit ("think Juno meets Sideways with a bit of Mystery Train thrown in"), Noah & The Whale actually produce cute-as-pie pop. The London folkies have a good handle on this particular product as excellent tunes like 5 Years Timeand Shape of My Heartdemonstrate.  www.myspace.com/noahandthewhale

SPARKADIA
Now that Australia is under their thumb, it's time for Europe to show some love to Sparkadia. With their debut album Postcardsgetting the once-over from producer Ben Hillier, Sparkadia have a whole bunch of crafted, mature indie-pop tunes to throw at the masses at festivals like this.  www.sparkadia.com

BRYN CHRISTOPHER
He is, as you will all learn, a Brummie singer-songwriter with a powerful set of pipes on him. Twentysomething Bryn Christopher knows that old-fashioned soul music never went of fashion, especially when it's applied to fancy songs like The Questwhich Sam Cooke might have taken a hankering to if he was still around. www.myspace.com/brynchristopher

LIAM FINN
Irish audiences can expect to see a lot more of Kiwi with an Irish passport Liam Finn in the coming months. He's introducing his debut album I'll Be Lightningto audiences worldwide at present, a fine collection of beguiling, heartfelt tunes. And yes, he's from the same Finn family which produced Crowded House and Split Endz.  www.liamfinn.tv

LEOPOLD
A big ol' gig for the Dublin funk-rock outfit, but their fanbase will tell you that they are more than equal to the task. They've plenty of live experiences under their belts already, including supports to Thin Lizzy and an appearance at last year's Knockanstockan festival in Co Wicklow (they go back there for more in August). www.myspace.com/leopoldireland

PET SOUNDS

APHEX TWIN
The Limerick-born Richard D James is the go-to guy if you're after bite-your-legs-off cutting-edge electronic music. A DJ, producer, label boss (Rephlex) and remixer with a string of alter-egos, James has some seminal releases to his name, notably Selected Ambient Worksand the crunchy, freaky wipe-out of Windowlickerand Come To Daddyand other assorted acid-techno braindances.  www.rephlex.com

TRICKY
Tricky's new album Knowle West Boysees him bringing it all back home to the 'hood where he spent his youth. It's a fantastic album, easily his most cohesive and engaging collection since he first rhymed "they call me Tricky for particular reasons" all those years ago when he was running with the Wild Bunch.  www.myspace.com/tricola

CAT POWER
Currently plugging Jukebox, her second album of covers, Cat Power has taken some right twists and turns in the road over the course of nine albums. Whether it's the sweet, slowcore delights of 2006s The Greatest or reworking songs by The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan or Nina Simone, Power's a one-off.  www.myspace.com/catpower

Hear the drummer get wicked. John Stainer's high-rise cymbal may get all the visual wows when Battles go to work, but this is a group where all four members are capable of striking winning notes. Their pulsating tribal clatter, best seen on boom tune Atlas, has won applause from worldwide and their Irish fan base, continues to grow. www.myspace.com/battlestheband

GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT
Full-bodied rocktronica is what God is an Astronaut bring to this particular party. Their three albums to date has seen them becoming a band more than capable of turning the quiet-loud-quiet formula into something hugely infectious and, on occasions, riotous. www.myspace.com/godisanastronaut

SATURDAY

MAIN STAGE

THE VERVE
They're back! The Verve always wrote songs which were ideal for anthemic singalongs in the open-air and, now on their second reformation, that is still the case. If you're not able to sway along to Bitter Sweet Symphonyor The Drugs Don't Work, you really should have gone to Celine Dion instead. Wonder what the new songs will sound like?  www.theverve.tv

R.E.M.
"A return to form" is something which has been written about every new R.E.M. album for the past 15 years or so, but Accelerateseems to the first one to go some way to living up to that promise. Recorded and proofed in Ireland, Acceleratehas seen the veteran US rockers gather barrow-loads of positive press. As one reviewer said, it sounds as if the three musicians finally believe in themselves again.  www.remhq.com

AMY WINEHOUSE
Will she? Won't she? Unfortunately, the most interesting aspect of Amy Winehouse on the Oxegen bill is the fact that many fans don't expect her to show. Since she released the awesome Back to Blackalbum in late 2006, Winehouse's life has become a horrific tabloid circus with the music as a mere afterthought. We hope that will change, but chance would be a fine thing. www.myspace.com/amywinehouse

STEREOPHONICS
The Welsh for meat and two veg, Stereophonics continue to inexplicably attract an audience for their stodgy journeyman indie rock, a sound which ceased to be interesting or attractive a long time ago. Latest album Pull the Pincontinues that trend, a set of hackneyed, crude and unkempt tunes all kept well below par by Kelly Jones's belligerent bellows.  www.stereophonics.com

COUNTING CROWS
The US is a big country which is why bands like Counting Crows still exist. There, they can tour and tour and tour away and make a grand living for themselves. They're certainly not to get rich on new album sales, as most recent album Saturday Nights and Sunday Morningsshows. The band's first album in six years is a poor pastiche of the few hits they once had, now delivered in a dull, trad-rock fashion.  www.countingcrows.com

NEWTON FAULKNER
There may not be much surf action going on his his native Surrey, but that didn't stop the Cornwall surf fraternity taking Newton Faulkner to their collective heaving bosoms. Of couse, it's not just the surfing community who have been applauding the twentysomething's scruffy, folky pop as best seen on his Hand Built By Robotsalbum. Here's a boyo who knows how to write a song which will sound just right around a campsite or getting belted from a big stage like this.  www.newtonfaulkner.com

SCOUTING FOR GIRLS
Lots of "who the hell are they" questions were asked when Scouting For Girls annexed the number-one spot in the UK album charts earlier this year, but the 200,000 people who snapped up that album knew the answers. Scouting for Girls have built a following for their high-spirited youthful pop by gigging, gigging and then, after all that, going back for another spot of gigging.  www.scoutingforgirls.co.uk

BOWLING FOR SOUP
Selling over a million albums is a mean feat these days and that's what Texan combo Bowling For Soup have done over the course of their recorded output to date. Yes, there is a vast audience for this kind of cheery, beery pop-punk with comedy edges, although their jokes and japes (and songs about Val Kilmer) do tend to wear very thin after repeated listens.  www.bowlingforsoup.com

O2 STAGE

THE PRODIGY
Do you really need reasons to go to see The Prodigy rock your brainy head upside-down and inside-out? They're the band who were born to explode onto stages like this and they have an arsenal of tunes to make everyone in the place jump like crazy.  www.theprodigy.com

THE ZUTONS
Thanks to Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse recasting their Valerie into a soulful thriller, The Zutons havn't been out of the picture for quite some time. But they didn't need that hand-up, as current album You Can Do Anythingshows. The only indie band who will sock it to you with a female sax player this weekend.  www.thezutons.com

FEEDER
While they've never produced anything to set the charts alight over six albums, there still seems to be enough of a following for this sort of mundane and undistinctive rock to warrant continued high placings at fests like this.  www.feederweb.com

PANIC AT THE DISCO
The latest band to come hurtling out of Las Vegas's neon canyons, Panic at the Disco may have become associated more by accident than design with emo's smudged eyeliner melodramas, but don't let that put you off. Stick with them and you'll find a band whose sound is informed by rock's past rites of passage, but who have a very modern outlook. www.myspace.com/panicatthedisco

THE ENEMY
Many, many bands have walked the same streets as The Enemy, but it's a while since a band have captured suburban disillusion so well. A bunch of kids hailing from Coventry, their debut album We'll Live and Die In These Townsis brimful with lusty rebel yells about life on the bleaker side of the streets.  www.theenemy.com

THE HOOSIERS
Audiences on this side of the Atlantic have always had a soft spot for extra-large cheery Yankee rock, so it makes perfect sense that a band from Over Here (two parts English to one part Swedish) should seek to replicate that. Enter The Hoosiers, a band whose The Trick To Lifealbum has enough anthems and epics to keep you going for days.  www.myspace.com/thehoosiers

THE WOMBATS
Paul McCartney, the man who wrote The Frog Chorus, claims to see something in The Wombats, but we're damned if we can spot anything but characterless indie rock from a band who first bumped into each other at the Macca-endorsed Liverool Institute for Performing Arts.  www.thewombats.com

POWDERFINGER
Meet the veteran rockers from down under who nicked their name from a Neil Young tune and got away with it. Powderfinger's six albums have done more business at home than Neighboursand Home & Awaycombined but, unlike those totem-poles of Aussie culture, the band have not travelled as well. Maybe the time has come for that situation to change. Or maybe not.  www.powderfinger.com

ONE NIGHT ONLY
Teenage indie rockers whose Started A Firealbum is their first stab at greatness. They need a bit more practice because there's very little here to suggest anything more than poor Supergrass try-outs. But, hey, they're young.  www.onenightonlyonline.com

LITTLE MAN TATE
Little Man Tate's cloying taste in observational lyrics, Jam-style swing and sardonic posing doesn't really lead you anywhere interesting.  www.myspace.com/littlemantatemusic

GREEN ROOM

MANIC STREET PREACHERS
These days, the Manic Street Preachers are a well-honed classic rock machine. After all, it would not be possible for them to still be trading on the notions of revolution and sedition with which they first made their entrance two decades ago.  www.manicstreetpreachers.com

THE CHARLATANS
The journey of The Charlatans from baggy warriors to blue-eyed country soul dreamers is one chock-a-block with incidents, adventures, mishaps and some great music. Over the course of 10 albums, they've hit some mesmerising heights and, going on latest album You Cross My Path, there's still plenty in the tank.  www.thecharlatans.net

PENDULUM
Originally purveyors of buckwild drum'n'bass when they were sorting out their heads in their native Australia, Pendulum's relocation to Britain saw them retooling their sound. As you'll hear on latest album In Silico, Pendulum's drums and basses are now louder, more frantic and more bad-ass than ever.  www.pendulum.com

ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN
This stage is beginning to resemble an old indie folks' home. In their pomp, Echo and the Bunnymen were peerless when it came to wonderfully spacey and idiosyncratic big music. While lesser talents (yeah, you, Bono) went on to reap the rewards, the Bunnymen fell apart. Their comeback album, 1997's Evergreen, was sweet, but they've yet to show they're capable of replicating those classics of old. www.myspace.com/thebunnymen

VAMPIRE WEEKEND
It's an album which gets better and better with every listen - the debut from the well-educated New York act with lofty ambitions to resuscitate the notion of erudite, danceable pop.  www.vampireweekend.com

BRITISH SEA POWER
Thanks to latest album Do You Like Rock Music?British Sea Power are finally becoming more than just the token weirdos at the indie rock party. While their live shows have always been inimitable feasts of grandstanding eccentricity, the new album sees them adding some decent songs.  www.britishseapower.co.uk

THE TING TINGS
From the very get-go, That's Not My Namehad "hit" written all over it, and so it went for Jules and Katie. But there is more to this Mancunian tag-team than that one big tune, and recently released debut album We Started Nothinghas a slew of similarly spikey, day-glo and sharp tunes. There is every chance that Tingmania will break out in Punchestown.  www.myspace.com/thetingtings

BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE
Californian psychedelic wig-out specialists Brian Jonestown Massacre are probably best known because of Dig, Omni Timoner's wry documentary on the band's lengthy history, the eccentric comings and goings of frontman Anton Newcombe and their love-hate relationship with The Dandy Warhols. The game for them now is to out-shine the flick. www.brianjonestownmassacre.com

THE DELAYS
As latest album Everything's the Rushshows, The Delays certainly can do intricate, slow-burning, melodic pop.  www.thedelays.co.uk

CONCERTO FOR CONSTANTINE
Concerto for Constantine have been on stages this big before, albeit not together or under this name. Mark Greaney, Gavin Fox and Paul "Binzer" Brennan have form as previous members of JJ72, Idlewild and The Frames. Since forming last summer, they've gigged a lot, and got to compare riders with the Smashing Pumpkins.  www.myspace.com/concertoforconstantineofficial

PET SOUNDS

THE NATIONAL
The Irish and The National, we have a thing going on. Six sold-out shows in the last nine months testify to the bonds which are beginning to bind the erudite classical indie rockers from Brooklyn to these shores. They've the perfect material for such links on such gorgeous recent albums as Alligatorand Boxer.  www.americanmary.com

HOT CHIP
Another band who've become closely acquainted with Irish airports and ferry ports of late, Hot Chip will be showing off recent album Made In The Darkon this visit. Of course, there will also be room for such electropop slam-dunks as Over & Overand Boy From School, which have seen the London combo make their name in the first place. www.hotchip.co.uk

RICHARD HAWLEY
Let's hope the Sheffield man's graceful, lovelorn, old-fashioned romantic torch songs will get the reaction they deserve in Co Kildare. For Hawley, once a journeyman guitarist with Pulp and Longpigs, these are heydays to remember, with the success of his Coles Cornerand Lady's Bridgealbums.  www.richardhawley.co.uk

SEASICK STEVE
Steve Wold has probably taken the longest and strangest route to get to Oxegen of all the acts this weekend. A one-time hobo in the United States, he set up a recording studio in Olympia, Washington. These days, he's based in Norway, from where his raw blues hollerin' and guitar-pickin' have seen him sell a mighty load of albums.
www.seasicksteve.com

DECLAN O'ROURKE
Such has been O'Rourke's ubiquity on the Irish scene that it comes as a surprise to realise he has just two albums to his name to date. Both Since Kyabramand Big Bad Beautiful Worldhave seen his fanclub mushrooming in size and stature (Paul Weller, Gary Lightbody and Paul Brady have praised his songcraft), while his split from V2 has not put a halt to his domestic gallop. www.declanorourke.com

PAUL HEATON
Paul Heaton's the one who co-wrote the songs which first The Housemartins and then The Beautiful South sang. Jaunty, melancholy, wry and whip-sharp have always been Heaton's hallmarks when it comes to the lyrics. Now following a solo star, this is your chance to see how new album The Cross Eyed Ramblermeasures up in the canon.  www.myspace.com/paulheatonmusic

MY MORNING JACKET
Evil Urgesis probably the great leap forward for the Kentucky band. While Jim James and company's fondness for Neil Young and Crazy Horse still shines like a crazy diamond on their fifth outing, it's also an album honed from their desire to go further and deeper than they've gone before. Classic Americana sounds with one foot in the roots, and heads firmly in the clouds.  www.mymorningjacket.com

CAMILLE O'SULLIVAN
Putting drama in the music has served the Irish-French cabaret singer very well since she first stepped into the limelight. The songs of Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Kurt Weill and David Bowie are what O'Sullivan cuts loose with and she's more than capable of charming and beguiling this particular tent.  www.camilleosullivan.com

JACK MCMANUS
We don't have a school like the BRIT school in Ireland, but maybe the Department of Education could do something about that. Jack McManus joins an old boys' and girls' network which includes Adelle, Amy Winehouse, Kate Nash, Katie Melua and Leona Lewis. In his case, his schooldays allowed him to polish such piano-rock fare as Bang On The Pianobefore going it alone.  www.jackmanus.co.uk

2FM NEW BANDS STAGE

ELLIOT MINOR
Classical music's loss may be rock music's gain some day as Elliot Minor shuns orchestras and conductors in favour of hair gel, scarves and big-kahoona rock. Watching the York youngsters onstage, you may wonder whether this is what you'd get if Muse, Flat Out Boy and Queen collided in a bizarre gardening accident. www.myspace.com/elliotminor

ROYWORLD
A band who find solace in sounds to remind budding musicologists of such endangered species as Simple Minds and Marillion, Royworld are proof that history does ­ unfortunately ­ repeat itself. www.myspace.com/royworldtheband

JOE LEAN AND THE JING JANG JONG
Joe Lean and The Jing Jang Jong are the latest bunch of lightweights to be hailed as the Next Big Thing by people who should really know better.  www.myspace.com/joeleanandthejingjangjong

BLACK KIDS
Sometimes all it takes is just one song and, in the case of the thrilling Black Kids from Jacksonville, Florida, their current calling card (and it's better than anything Hallmark can offer) is I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You. If that doesn't work for you, search out the other terrific skyscraping pop songs they have on their Partie Traumaticalbum www.myspace.com/blackkidsrock

ALPHABEAT
Forget any prior encounters with Danish pop (Aqua?) and feast your eyes and ears on the pop delights of Alphabeat. They are six Danish kids having the ride of their lives on a high-energy, dayglo pop rollercoaster. Check out their This Is Alphabeatalbum for the full depth of what they're capable of.  www.myspace.com/thisisalphabeat

IDA MARIA
You're going to love Ida Maria Sivertsen, a Norwegian pop princess who deals in dramatic, delicious and intense tunes like she's auditioning to be a screenwriter on a new take of Six Feet Under.  www.myspace.com/idamaria

YEASAYER
Joining the dots between Silver Apples and Talking Heads, Yeasayer are as keen on arty rock as they are on weirdbeard experimentation. Tunes like Sunriseand 2080, with their shimmering guitars, sitars, children's choirs, communal chanting and freewheeling raving, will have you under their spell.   www.myspace.com/yeasayer

HOLY FUCK
What's so attention-grabbing about these Toronto groovers is not so much that name as the band's sure-fire ability to swagger and swerve along that line where DIY punk and electronics meet for a bit of a shuffle.  www.myspace.com/holyfuck

MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE
Meet Jimmy Urine, Steve Rich?, Lyn-Z and Kitty, four New York rockers on a mission to make you rock like the sweaty, smelly beasts you will be by day two of Oxegen 2008.  www.mindlessselfindulgence.com

CAGE THE ELEPHANT
They're a bunch of kids from deepest Kentucky who spent most of their youth living in a Christian hippy community. After discovering that the devil may have a few tunes worth hearing, they discovered Led Zeppelin, Pixies and the Rolling Stones. These days, the live shows are said to resemble a trip to the circus without the clowns.  www.myspace.com/cagetheelephant

SERGEANT
Jangling guitars? Check. Big riffs from the Age of Baggy? Check. Cocky vocals which sound even better if the singer sings with his arms behind his back? Check. Already inevitably championed by Alan McGee, Scottish rockers Sergeant fit in that classic British indie mould, shaped by the La's, Stone Roses and Oasis. K-OKis the song to hang around to hear.  www.myspace.com/sergeantmusic

SUNDAY

MAIN STAGE

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
In the last few weeks, Rage Against the Machine's debut album has become essential listening ahead of their return to an Irish stage. One of the most welcome reunions of the last few years, RATM will end Oxegen 2008 in style.  www.ratm.com

KAISER CHIEFS
What's that coming over the hill? Why, dear reader, that's the Kaiser Chiefs with more of those cheery monster choruses and Ricky Wilson doing the splits. The Chiefs have yet to show that they have the wherewithal to throw down songs which match early breakthroughs I Predict A Riotand Oh My God.  www.myspace.com/kaiserchiefs

THE FRATELLIS
If there is a more annoying band doing the rounds at the moment than The Fratellis, we have yet to meet them. The nadir of indie's current irritating flirtation with beer-spilling oompah-loompah sounds.  www.thefratellis.com

THE KOOKS
We spoke too soon - there may be something worse than The Fratellis. The hugely unoriginal Kooks play the kind of whey-faced pop music which once used to be associated with Leo Sayer. Kudos, though, to them for finding a following and a sound, thanks largely to the dastardly plan of only releasing records when Razorlight are on hiatus.  www.thekooks.co.uk

THE BLIZZARDS
The Blizzards may not be able to get arrested beyond this country but they're probably more popular than Brian Cowen. Currently engaged in the task of finishing off a new album, they'll be the ones to have the masses singing and swaying when they appear in the mid-afternoon.  www.theblizzards.ie

THE FEELING
Producing the kind of soft-rock anthems which are always destined to get loads of radio play is The Feeling's mission in life.  www.thefeeling.com

EDDY GRANT
There are times at every single festival when you wonder what the hell is going on, and the presence of Eddy Grant at the bottom of the bill today is one of them. What the hell, people? Perfect sunsplash reggae pop.  www.myspace.com/eddygrant1

02 STAGE

CHEMICAL BROTHERS
The brothers are still working it out. Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands have been virtually joined at the hip since the early 1990s, when their booming breaks, beats and grooves first gained them traction. Festival stages on days like this are their domain and, as last year's We Are The Nightproved, they still have a handle on tunes which push all the right buttons.  www.thechemicalbrothers.com

THE RACONTEURS
Starring Jack White, Brendan Benson, Patrick Keeler and Little Jack Lawrence, The Raconteurs have somehow shoehorned two rocking albums into jam-packed schedules and also managed to get in a couple of tours. Fans of hairy rock and pop, get thee to the front of the stage.
www.theraconteurs.com

REPUBLIC OF LOOSE
Few acts can match the Loose when it comes to funky riffs, chunky breaks and stone-cold infectious verse-chorus-verse bits. If that swagger wasn't enough, they've a show-stealing frontman in Mick Pyro. Channelling in fairly equal measure the spirits of Screamin' Jay Hawkins, James Brown, Brendan Grace, Solomon Burke, Joe Dolan and LL Cool J, Pyro cajoles, provokes, teases, screams, shouts, stomps and flirts away from start to finish. A band putting the "show" in "showbusiness".  www.republicofloose.com

KATE NASH
The world of Noughties pop would be a different place if London educational institution the BRIT school taught, say, organic gardening instead of musical performance. Kate Nash is another BRIT graduate who has put what she has learned to good use with dreamy, emotional, sometimes eccentric pop. Not to be confused with Lily Allen, Adelle or Amy McDonald.  www.myspace.com/katenashmusic

THE PIGEON DETECTIVES
From Leeds, this outfit are indie's equivalent of a photocopier which has just had its toner changed. Churning out identikit reproductions of work by Kaiser Chiefs and The Fratellis, they are an example of British indie's Achilles heel, the bands who jump on the bandwagon. Don't expect to be seeing them at Oxegen 2010.  www.myspace.com/thepigeondetectives

WE ARE SCIENTISTS
Few will fail to smile at We Are Scientists, three geeky New Yorkers who have a winning way with glittering, kooky tunes which are a little bit heavy on the guitars and a little bit heavier on wayward choruses. They are also one of the very few bands around who have mastered the art of between-song rapport with the audience.  www.myspace.com/wearescientists

THE COURTENEERS
Do we really need another band like The Courteneers? I don't think so, but there are probably hundreds who will simply thrill to the lumpen, delusioned, arrogant Ingerland-indie which they specialise in. Debut album St Judewas full of it, an album high on a sense of its own importance, and thick with it. Go see some other act for the sake of your sanity.  www.myspace.com/thecourteneers

THE SUBWAYS
Few acts rock as hard as Welwyn Garden City trio The Subways, who have been visiting festival stages, tiny clubs and TV studios like billy-o over the last few years, getting the word to the masses. What began as a bunch of pals playing Nirvana and punk covers have progressed to two albums and a burgeoning rep.  www.thesubways.net

GREEN ROOM

IAN BROWN
Oh Ian, where did it all go wrong? The former Stone Rose foghorn has never bettered or even come close to matching those highs from his past, and he probably knows it too.  www.ianbrown.co.uk

THE POGUES
Anyone who can pen a line like "You are the measure of my dreams" deserves to be kept in high regard. Well over two decades on from when Shane McGowan was putting together classic lines like that, The Pogues continue to fill sheds, theatres, clubs and festival stages with the faithful.  www.pogues.com

TOM BAXTER
Having knocked around without much success for his James Blunt/David Gray schtick at home in Britain, Baxter found an Irish audience eager for more.  www.tombaxter.com

REVEREND AND THE MAKERS
Jon McClure is the Reverend concerned and he cuts his scathing observations on the rubbish of modern life from much the same cloth as fellow Sheffield dude Alex Turner. What sets Reverend and the Makers apart from other would-be Monkeys is the hard-edged electro grooves. www.myspace.com/reverendmusic

JACK PENATE
Wide-eyed spikey confessional pop tunes are what Penate has to offer the world, all tied up with the kind of infectious boogie not heard since the Stray Cats were threatening to rock this town.  www.jackpenate.com

ALABAMA 3
Landing the theme tune to the life and complicated times of Tony Soprano may be the high point in the Brixton collective's CV, but there is more to these unshaven, shambolic desperados than Woke Up This Morning, as those who tune in on Sunday will discover.  www.alabama3.co.uk

THE STRANGLERS
Thirty years on from their high, The Stranglers, albeit without singer Hugh Cornwall but with the iconic Jean-Jacques Burnel in their ranks, continue to rip merrily through such unweathered fare as No More Heroes, Golden Brown and Peaches. www.stranglers.net

THE HOLD STEADY
Those who value the heartstopping swagger of a hot-to-trot band, the lyrical craft of a songwriter like Craig Finn and live shows which remind that it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive will do the right thing when The Hold Steady walk onstage. www.theholdsteady.com

THE WHIGS
Garage-rock trio The Whigs have been making friends and influencing people with such bold and brazen slices of overheated sonically disturbed pop as Give 'Em All A Big Fat Lip.  www.thewhigs.com

PET SOUNDS

THE SWELL SEASON FEATURING GLEN HANSARD & MARKÉTA IRGLOVÁ
Glen and Mar are currently on an extended worldwide lap of honour to mark the huge runaway success of their involvement with John Carney's Onceflick. Expect songs from the film and, naturally, Frames favourites given a fresh lick of paint.  www.myspace.com/theswellseason

ROISIN MURPHY
Her Choice Music Prize-nominated Overpoweredalbum, the one which had her sashaying under the biggest glitterball in the world, has turned things around for Wicklow native Roisin Murphy. www.myspace.com/roisinmurphy

BAND OF HORSES
Pushing classic American rock with streaks of country and folk running through it, Band Of Horses have shown on their two albums to date that they know how to turn a simple spark into a flame.  www.bandofhorses.com

MGMT
They are one of 2008's hottest acts, the Brooklyn psychonauts with the monster tune Time To Pretendand an album, Oracular Spectacular, packed with lavish layers of technicoloured sounds and smartly structured pop nuances which are a little pop and a little prog.  www.myspace.com/mgmt

DELORENTOS
In the 15 months since they released debut album In Love With Detail, Delorentos have gigged as if their lives depended on it. Irish, European and (highly eventful) American tours have seen them turn good songs into great songs.  www.delorentos.net

LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION
Dev Hynes used to be in the Test Icicles, but he's okay now. As debut album Falling Off The Lavender Bridgealbum showed, the Texan native is taking a more welcome approach for his new guise, preferring eclectic tunes to his former outfit's noise-for-the-sake-of-noise buzz. www.myspace.com/lightspeedchampion

DAVID JORDAN
Set the Moodis the album David Jordan wants you, you and you in the corner with your arms folded to fall head over heels in love with. A rapturous mix of rock, soul and pop, the Barnet-born Jordan is a little bit Terence Trent D'Arby and a little bit Prince. www.myspace.com/davidjordanofficial

RYAN BINGHAM
The man from Hobbs, New Mexico, is one of those country gunslingers who talks it like he walks it, with a fully-loaded set of tough-as-ole-boots songs about trouble with a capital T. His Mescalitoalbum is the one to check out for more of his desert hooting and hollering. www.myspace.com/ryanbingham

2FM NEW BAND STAGE

LOS CAMPESINOS!
Seven boys and girls from Wales making a wonderful racket, Los Campesinos! are the anti-Fratellis.  www.loscampesinos.com

CAJUN DANCE PARTY
CDP have already attracted loads of attention due to a number of key facts. One, they're young. Two, they play jangly 1990s indie. Three, they were signed to XL Records for a huge amount of money.  www.cajundanceparty.com

FLOGGING MOLLY
A seven-piece Irish-American Celtic punk rock combo, Flogging Molly belong to that striking musical sub-genre which manages to paint Ireland as a land of saints, scholars, drinkers, fighters and priests.  www.floggingmolly.com

FIGHT LIKE APES
Irish audiences are going bananas for the turbo-charged sound of Fight Like Apes, a crack team of Dublin couch potatoes and sofa-surfers. www.myspace.com/fightlikeapesmusic

GLASVEGAS
Hailing from the mean streets of Glasgow, Glasvegas are sensitive types doing a line in lip-curling doo-wop and intense, dramatic sounds. www.myspace.com/glasvegas

THE SCRIPT
Dublin band on course to be one of 2008's most successful new acts. That's due in part to We Cry, a track with majestic radio appeal, and a debut album due in August.  www.thescriptmusic.com

TWISTED WHEEL
Anyone for skiffle? Yes, skiffle. That's the unique selling point to Manchester's Twisted Wheel, a band who, at first glance, are following the scruffy Arctic Monkeys playbook. But look closer and you'll find a band throwing down all manner of rockabilly and getting away with it too. www.myspace.com/thetwistedwheel

IN CASE OF FIRE
It's easy to understand why so many people have already tipped Norn Iron rockers In Case Of Fire for greatness. They've a cocky, sure-footed sound which is already aiming for stadiums and arenas. The best noisy rock you'll hear this weekend. www.myspace.com/incaseoffireuk

JAGUAR LOVE
From Portland, Oregon, Jaguar Love may well be about to become your favourite new band as they make the kind of arty punk post-hardcore holler which makes everyone within earshot scream and shout.  www.myspace.com/jaguarloveband

WHITE LIES
At one time the Hottest Unsigned Band In Britain. The reason for such hyperbole? The band's ability to sound like Joy Division, Teardrop Explodes and Echo & The Bunnymen without looking like any of them.  www.myspace.com/whitelies

DANCE STAGE

FRIDAY
There's always a sense that the dance stage is Oxegen's poor relation, and it certainly doesn't help matters that it's usually housed in a terrible concrete shed. Tonight, as Oxegen begins its three-night stand, you get the James Lavelle-helmed UNKLE, Scottish disco wizzard Calvin Harrisand Dublin lass Annie Macwho has gone on bigger and brighter things at BBC Radio One. There's also electronoize of a high calibre from ex-Death From Above dudes MSTRKKRFT, sonic booms from Kozeplus Bristol act Kosheen and Burn.

SATURDAY
The crack when Justicetake to the stage with their flashing giant cross, big tunes such as D.A.N.C.E.and Stressand effortless cool will be only mighty. After all, their show at the Marquee in Dublin's Phoenix Park last December was one of the highlights of the year. They're joined on the bill by the excellent Boyz Noize, evergreen Scottish technonauts Slam and Kompaktlabel mainstay and all-round in-demand producer Michael Mayer. Add in French electro dude Kavinsky, Norn Iron wired trio Japanese Popstarsand the Chemistry DJsand you're good to go.

SUNDAY
Another interesting bill of fare on the dance stage at the end of the Oxegen universe. It's headlined by French DJ and producer David Guetta, but we're more excited about the appearance halfway down the bill of Detroit techno royalty Carl Craig. Others making a dash today include regular visitor to these shores Mylo, Swiss DJand Blind Behaviourproducer Luciano,Bodyrocker Kaz James, Milan house hooligans Crookersand the excellent Radioslave, the act to call on when you want epic house. Also on the bill are Does It Offend You Yeah?and Quiet Village.