Out on Patrol

The big names at Sandance keep on coming. Organisers on Thursday confirmed that Northern Irish indie favourites Snow Patrol and Scottish DJ Calvin Harris — both chart-toppers — will perform at next year's instalment of the beach side music festival on March 9.

Held at Nasimi Beach, the outdoor venue at the Atlantis, The Palm, the festival has already had packed-out sessions this year with its unique mix of indie rock and dance music masters, with Richard Ashcroft and Example on October 14, and The Script and Groove Armada on November 18. Nasimi hosts the next Sandance on New Year's Eve, with Above & Beyond, Basement Jaxx, Roger Sanchez, Sister Bliss and Goldfish.

"We're really excited about Sandance on both New Year's Eve and next March for different reasons," said Brendan McCormack, Assistant Food & Beverage Manager, Special Events, at Atlantis.

"Our New Year's Eve event is all about partying with the biggest DJs on the planet under a sky filled with fireworks, while March will have much more of music festival feel. Snow Patrol are one of the world's best loved bands and Calvin Harris is right at the top of his profession. I was lucky enough to see Snow Patrol perform at Ireland's Oxegen festival in 2009 in front of 100,000 people and whenever I hear them on the radio it still gives me goosebumps," he added.

The band, known for their hits Chasing Cars and Take Back The City, will be touring with their latest album, Fallen Empires, which released last month. Harris is the go-to producer/DJ of the moment, and is riding high in the charts with his collaboration with Rihanna, We Found Love. He'll be making a do-not-miss return to Dubai.

"There are more big names to announce for March, but you'll have to wait a few more weeks for those," added McCormack.

Tickets for the March Sandance go on sale at the New Year's Eve Sandance, priced Dh250 and Dh450 for VIP.