The greatest, and the wettest, rock n roll weekend of the year

THE weather failed to dampen the spirits at Oxegen this year as once again 80,000 music fans donned their wellies and raincoats for what turned out to be a great, albeit incredibly wet, weekend of music.

With one of the best line ups in recent years, fans were thrilled by the headliners - Arcade Fire, Muse and Oxegen newcomer Eminem, who drew proceedings to a close on Sunday night.

The main stage headliners did not disappoint the thousands of fans who braved the weather to catch a glimpse of their favourite act but it was, as always, some of the smaller stages that brought a host of musical delights to this year's festival.

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One of the highlights of Friday was undoubtedly Vampire Weekend, who took to the main stage early on in the day.

The most jaw-dropping stage show must surely have been Empire of the Sun in the Green Spheres tent, whose sparkle and glitter on stage was only matched by Alison Goldfrapp's dazzling outfit!

Despite the horrific weather on Saturday, there was still plenty to keep the spirits up. Biffy Clyro, the 'tops off, tatts out' brigade, where in their usual fine form, even managing to brighten up the most miserable of days.

If you missed out on seeing them at Oxegen, don't make the same mistake when they come to Belfast next month for Belsonic.

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The always delightful Florence Welch also took to the main stage on Saturday and was as captivating as ever.

Florence and the Machine are also lined up for Belsonic this year but sadly if you haven't already got your tickets then you are going to miss out because the show is already sold out.

Saturday also proved to be a big day for Northern Irish band Two Door Cinema Club who, thanks to a last minute line up change when John Mayer pulled out, they were shifted to the main stage and no doubt were thrilled to be in the spotlight.

Thankfully the rain stayed away on Sunday and the sunshine brought with it some of the best shows of the weekend. We Are Scientists in the Green Spheres tent are always fantastic live.

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One of the best performances of the weekend was certainly Temper Trap and the award for best frontman of the weekend goes to 30 Seconds to Mars' Jared Leto. There is no denying that this man knows how to work a crowd into a frenzy.

The weekend rounded off with Eminem taking to the stage on the Sunday night. Obviously this was a great draw on the final day but despite having a superstar on the main stage, relative newcomers Mumford and Sons managed to pack out the Green Spheres tent and were a fantastic end to a fantastic weekend.

Roll on Oxegen 2011!

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