TWO Southampton favourites have been handed prized slots on the Big Top stage in 2016.

Indie stars The Novatones will be completing their Isle of Wight Festival hat-trick in their biggest show so far.

Frontman Anthony Pitman, drummer Sean Swift, guitarist Mackenzie Gordon-Smith and bassist Toby Hornby-Patterson are veterans of IoW and will be one of the very few bands to play three consecutive years after getting the nod from festival supremo John Giddings.

Meanwhile The Lounge Kittens are also booked to play The Big Top with their take on popular songs with a twist – all in three part harmony.

Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst and Francis Rossi from Status Quo are among the industry fans of the Southampton trio who shot to fame in 2014 with their viral internet video for their cover of Rollin' by Limp Bizkit.

From Sean Paul to Slipknot, the band’s covers have been wowing fans in the UK and in Europe having just returned from touring with the bad boys of heavy metal Steel Panther. Their tuneful and cheeky style will certainly give a sparkle to the Big Top stage!

The Lounge Kittens are Jenny Deacon, Timia Gwendoline and Zan Lawther.

The Novatones and The Lounge Kittens will be joined in the Big Top by Australian indie-pop sibling trio Germein Sisters, multi-instrumentalist Simon Townshend, atmospheric rock ‘n’ rollers Bang Bang Romeo and powerful rockers The Carnabys.