Graham Tarrant, Author at Summer Festival Guide

We Out Here 2025 – Review

August 19, 2025 by Graham Tarrant

We Out Here is a beautiful melting pot of a festival – embracing so many genres, from rap, reggae, funk, disco and jazz – there truly is something for everyone with a passion for great music.

Curated by legendary DJ Gilles Peterson, it should come as no surprise that the music on offer each year is truly special.

Looking through the line-up, there are few artists which may be household names…yet. But that does not mean it is not one of the strongest selection of music found at any festival this year. With WOMAD festival taking a hiatus in 2025, this is the true kaleidoscope of the year and offered the best discoveries of 2025.

There are too many highlights to list – record stores selling incredible signed vinyl, talks from inspirational writers, or even the chance for a wild dip or paddle-board in the surrounding rivers or relax in the Sanctuary. You can take part in art therapy or yoga classes…or even the simple glory of finding some shade from the Dorset sun next to the rollerblade disco.

As previously mentioned, with over 100 artists across the weekend, there is something for all lovers of good music. There were so many discoveries which have been added to heavy rotation on Spotify playlists once returning home.

The appropriately named Lush Life stage offered artists – from the lesser known Fulu Muziki (an Afro-futurist music ensemble from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with an incredible rhythm section), to the well known A Guy Called Gerald. Hearing him on vinyl or in a bar is enjoyable, but seeing him live is truly where the magic happens and the only way to fully appreciate the man’s work.

Rhythm Corner is a mix of hay-bales and superstar DJ’s including Carl Craig, Josey Rebelle, Ben UFO and one of jungle scene’s most respected names, Roni Size.

Over on the main stage, there truly were some inspirational acts to discover. One highlight included Jalen Ngonda, who is such an incredible talent. Wearing flares and an incredible smile, Jalen will surely be a future headliner, not only at We Out Here but possibly Glastonbury – he’s that good. With an incredible soulful voice on par with John Legend, with touches of Marvin Gaye’s falsetto, it truly was a stunning performance.

On Sunday, the main stage opened with Kahil El Zabar – possibly the best jazz multi-instrumentalist you’ll see this year. At 70 years young, he’s a 5-time recipient of the Jazz Journalist Association’s Percussionist of the Year award and no wonder. Sublime. In the eloquent words displayed on stage during the set ‘we need to release the spirit within both as an act of resistance but more importantly as an act of love.’

The headliners this year certainly did not disappoint either, with such a diverse mix. Thursday offered the beautiful Noname, a Chicago rapper with boundless energy and charisma. Friday offered a treat with MJ Cole performing his album ‘Sincere’ in its entirety. Live it still sounds as good today as it did when it was released, the true test of a timeless classic.

In the words of Gilles Peterson ‘the Saturday headline felt like a perfect embodiment of everything I ever hoped WOH could stand for.’

The Rotary Collection 222 was truly mindblowing and such a privilege to experience. Celebrating the life work of Charles Stepney, who I’m ashamed to admit I was not familiar with before this festival, it was dazzling how many people have recorded his songs, or sampled his creative genius. From working with the beautiful Minnie Ripperton to Earth, Wind and Fire, he has also been sampled by the mighty Jay-Z and Kanye West.

No-one can sum up their performance better than Gilles himself – ‘Bringing together tradition, family, energy and a large community of musicians from disparate provenances to express the beauty of Charles’ compositions and arrangements with a packed field singing and swaying in the light of the moon was beyond anything I could have imagined. The goosebumps and tears were real – a true expression of what music can make us feel.’

© Photography by Sienna Lorraine Gray | Khroma Collective (www.instagram.com/khromacollective)

It was incredible to see, and be part of the crowd – the musicians truly appreciated the adulation from the audience also and responded to the love they richly deserved.

Unfortunately, Michael Kiwanuka had to cancel his remaining summer shows due to an ongoing illness, so we didn’t get to see him at We Out Here, or the upcoming Victorious festival over the bank holiday weekend.

But what a replacement the festival managed to secure at the last minute. Loyle Carner, having headlined The Other Stage at Glastonbury drew in the biggest crowd of the weekend. Such a young talent, it’s no wonder he won the Mercury Music Prize and will shortly embark on an arena tour throughout the UK. Clearly he loved the festival, saying simply : “This is the best festival I’ve ever been to in my entire life”.

We couldn’t argue with that. We Out Here truly was special.

Gilles Peterson brought proceedings to a fitting close in The Bowl with a celebratory, genre-spanning set. He finished an incredible weekend by summing it all up so well “I want to say thank you to everyone who’s come this weekend. Honestly, last night with Rotary Connection and bringing over Shirly Wahls was unbelievable. For me it was a career highlight. When I was there listening to 10,000 people singing the words to ‘Les Fleurs’ in a field in Dorset, in England, I couldn’t believe it. Thank you so much ‘cos that’s what it’s all about. The way we can mix the heritage music, the forward-thinking music, the UK DJ culture; there’s nothing like it anywhere in the world.”

We Out Here truly is a joyous festival and we can’t wait for it to return to Dorset next year.

This truly is one of the, if not THE best festival for discovering exciting new music in the UK.

Early Bird Access for next year will go on sale from Thursday 28th August 2025. Don’t miss out and sign up here https://weoutherefestival.com/sign-up-for-woh-2026/

WORDS: GRAHAM TARRANT

PHOTOS: PRESS / AS CREDITED.

Camp Bestival 2025 – REVIEW

August 14, 2025August 4, 2025 by Graham Tarrant

We’ve been coming to Camp Bestival for over ten years – and it remains, without a doubt, the best family festival in the UK.

The slogan of the festival is ‘We Are Family’ and it couldn’t be more appropriate. Rob Da Bank and his wife Josie host the ultimate holiday event with something for everyone, young and, well, young-at-heart.

Whether it’s top CBeebies entertainment from Mr Tumble with his confetti canons, Mister Maker and his shapes, or even the meet-and-greet with Bluey (and based on the queues, the Australian dog remains as popular as ever) – the young children were very well catered for.

Joe Marler reading a bedtime story © Graham Tarrant

Every year Camp Bestival has a theme and this year was a giant pyjama party. Joining in with the PJ fun was rugby legend Joe Marler, shortly to appear on BBC’s Celebrity Traitors.

Remember Monday backstage © Graham Tarrant

Music wise, the festival maintains an eclectic mix, ensuring that no matter what genre you love, there is something for you. Whether its Eurovision pop from Remember Monday with their feel-good hit of the summer ‘What The Hell Just Happened‘ , or Miss Americana and her stunning tribute to Taylor Swift – for those who missed out on her ERAS Tour, there were so many delights for those who wanted to Shake It Off in the sunshine.

Taylor Swift tribute act Miss Americana © Graham Tarrant

For those slightly older, Lightning Seeds displayed how many hits they have in their catalogue. Finishing with their anthem Three Lions, it did beg the question whether it needs to be reworded to celebrate the success of the England Women’s football team, rather than commiserate the men’s continued years of hurt (Ian Broudie now even changes the lyrics from ‘…40 years of hurt…’ in the original song, as it’s now closer to 60 since any success…)

Elsewhere The Zutons played their hit ‘Valerie’ made famous by the late great Amy Winehouse, before covering her song Back to Black.

Party starters Dub Pistols know how to celebrate and reminisced that they have been playing the festival since the early days when the festival started 17 years ago. Summer Festival Guide favourites The Cuban Brothers followed, with singer Miguelito Cubano seranading the crowd with ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’, before starting a giant conga in the crowd, while wearing a pair of motorcycle pants (…believe me they need to be seen to be believed, but then maybe, it’s best left to the imagination…)

This year, the headliners were the big draw and the best the festival has seen in many years. Friday night offered Sugababes. It was mesmerising how many pop hits they played, beginning with Overload, and finishing with their classic About You Now.

Saturday was arguably the best headliner the festival has offered in many years, with Basement Jaxx bringing their full band live extravaganza to Dorset. With a mix of laser bras, inflatable stars, and best of all, an invasion of gorillas during ‘Where’s Your Head At‘, this was a fantastic audio & visual experience for all ages.

The only debate as to whether Basement Jaxx was the best headliner the festival has hosted came on Sunday. Sir Tom Jones, at 85 years young, still knows how to put on a great show. It was reassuring to hear that his voice remains as powerful as ever with his Welsh baritone timbre beginning with a moving cover of ‘I’m Growing Old’.

Playing a mix of covers from his heroes including Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Cat Stevens, Dusty Springfield and The Waterboys, it was his own hits which received the biggest sing-alongs of the weekend. ‘Delilah‘ still sounds superb, ‘It’s Not Unusual‘ was given a samba twist, while ‘Sexbomb’ sounded slightly more uncomfortable in this day-and-age. Never one to leave fans disappointed, he also played his covers of ‘Kiss‘ by Prince and ‘You Can Leave Your Hat On‘, made timeless by the movie The Full Monty.

A special shout out must also go out to the incredible accessibility team at Camp Bestival. Unlike many festivals we cover, they clearly know that not every disability needs to be clearly visible. Many people live with conditions that are not immediately apparent to others and the festival understands the importance of understanding and accommodating the diverse needs of individuals.

One of the highlights of Camp Bestival is how it is welcoming and open, accessible, welcoming, and most of all, fun for all.

‘We Are Family’ has never been truer. We can’t wait to keep returning.

Early-bird tickets for next year are available at https://dorset.campbestival.net/weekend-tickets/

Words & Photos: Graham Tarrant

Neil Young / Yusuf (Cat Stevens): BST Hyde Park – Review

July 14, 2025 by Graham Tarrant

With legends such as Neil Young, Cat Stevens and Van Morrison all playing on the same day, it’s difficult to say which should be headlining.

At any other event, each would deserve the top-billing. That’s the power of the BST Hyde Park line-up. It’s like a whole festival of headliners – in one day.

On Friday at BST Hyde Park, on possibly the hottest day of the year, Neil Young was chosen to conclude the day on an impressive bill at the mighty Oak stage.

But that doesn’t take away from the incredible line up this day offered in the sweltering city.

Van Morrison was on first and the Northern Irishman appeared in good spirits. Wearing an impressive fedora, he began with the classic song ‘Into the Mystic.’ A man of few words, he was clearly impressed with the size of the crowd for his late-afternoon set. Playing a mix of jazz tunes in amongst his classics, including ‘If I Ever Needed Someone’, made famous by Mavis Staples, of The Staple Singers.

As is now customary, Van finished with his 1964 classic ‘Gloria’, spelling out the name repeatedly with the crowd echoing in unison. With no drama, he disappeared from the stage silently, leaving his impressive band to continue. Many people wanted more, but the best was yet to come.

Yusuf (Cat Stevens) followed, and what a privilege to see him perform on the Oak Stage. In recent years, he’s performed at Glastonbury in their now regular Sunday ‘legends’ slot, and he did not disappoint here. Many fans were clearly here just to see Yusuf alone, despite the mighty Neil Young yet to appear.

Launching into ‘Tea for the Tillerman‘, with animation and words appearing on the backdrop of the stage, it’s incredible to think this tune was allowed to be used on Ricky Gervais’ hilarious Extras tv programme as a theme song.

Following this timeless classic, Yusuf played the beautiful ‘The Wind‘ – if only there was a stronger breeze in Hyde Park! Shortly after, he announced that the crowd should know the next tune – the classic ‘The First Cut is The Deepest‘ – arguably made more famous when covered by another legend at this years Glastonbury, Mr Rod Stewart.

The setlist just showed how many beautiful songs Yusuf has written over his career, with ‘Father and Son‘ bringing possibly the largest sing-along of the day with its timeless words

It’s not time to make a change, Just sit down, take it slowly
You’re still young, that’s your fault, There’s so much you have to go through
Find a girl, settle down, If you want you can marry
Look at me, I am old but I am happy

He may now be older, but he did truly look happy up on stage.

In a moment on poignancy and reflecting in the 30 year anniversary of the dreadful Srebrenica Massacre, Yusuf played the incredibly moving song ‘Little Ones‘ he wrote. Hauntingly, he told the story of how young children were killed mercilessly, while still having smiles on their innocent faces. Despite the 30 year gap between Srebrenica and the Ukraine senseless killings, it made an impact on the huge crowd. Many in the crowd also voiced concerns about the slaughter of innocent civilians also taking place in Gaza.

On a more hopeful note, Yusuf cheekily said he would overrun slightly after asking the crowd if they wanted one song or two songs to be played. Of course the answer was two. After all, people had travelled far-and-wide to see his performance. He delighted with his classic ‘Wild World‘, before finishing with his magical timeless ‘Peace Train‘.

Not many people would dare follow such an incredible set. Arguably Yusuf / Cat Stevens could have been the headliner based on the size of the crowd and the vast amount of people singing along.

But arguably the best was saved for last – having seen the likes of other rock gods including Bruce Springsteen delight crowds at Hyde Park, Neil Young’s set was possibly the most impressive this stage has seen.

Despite the huge Oak Stage on offer, Neil Young condensed the stage down to somehow make it appear that he was playing a small gig at a local venue. The singer, bass and guitar mics were all positioned in close proximity, with the sound mixer moved extremely close – the backdrop echoed the sentiment of the times, with ‘Love Earth‘ emblazoned across.

It’s no wonder Neil Young is known as the Godfather of Grunge, as without this legend, it’s debatable whether we would have seen the likes of Nirvana. More on that a little later…

Beginning in his classic inimitable style, Neil Young emerged on the magically shrunken stage with a battered acoustic guitar and a harmonica and performed his classic ‘Ambulance Blues’.

After watching his headline performance on Saturday night at Glastonbury which felt a little flat, this was much more impressive, as clearly the crowd were full of fans who loved this man’s vast catalogue of work, unlike the huge Somerset festival which attracts audiences before the headliners are known.

He was clearly enjoying himself more here and that energy came across, particularly when Neil stated ‘Thank you, folks, I really appreciate you being here’

He demonstrated from one song to another all the different musical styles he has mastered. From the rocking ‘Be The Rain’ to the solo performance of ‘The Needle And The Damage Done‘.

There was some confusion when he began ‘Hey Hey, My My’ as it appeared the rest of the band thought he was going to play Like A Hurricane.

The line “it’s better to burn out than to fade away” was included in Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain‘s suicide note in 1994. After Cobain’s death, Young vowed never to perform the song again, but reversed his stance at the request of the surviving members of Nirvana. It’s great we are still able to hear it despite the tragic connotations.

As if planned (or by magic again), when the sun began to set, Neil Young played arguably his greatest, most beautiful classic ‘Harvest Moon‘.

After a short encore, he returned with his Chrome Hearts bandmates for his classic ‘Rocking In The Free World.’

Cheekily, his band conducted a few sneaky false-finishes and continued the song for over ten minutes. Each time they appeared to wind the track to a conclusion, they began playing in-earnest again, clearly showing how much fun and enjoyment they were all having. It appeared as if it was a jam session – rather than a concert in the city centre to 60,000 lucky fans.

Due to the prime city centre location, and strict 10.30pm curfew, as happened with Bruce Springsteen a few years earlier, the plug was pulled – no one was surprised as the band were teasing for this to happen.

We cannot wait to see what legends BST Hyde Park books for 2026.

Without doubt this was one of the best, most diverse set of artists this year to grace to various stages.

Words: Graham Tarrant & Samantha Middleton

Sabrina Carpenter – BST Hyde Park: REVIEW

July 7, 2025 by Graham Tarrant

What an exciting weekend of events in the UK.

Oasis reformed for their first gig in 16 years at Cardiff. Ozzy Osbourne bid farewell with Black Sabbath and a star-studded programme of metal in Birmingham. But Summer Festival Guide chose to spend the weekend at the beautiful Oak Stage in Hyde Park to watch the one of the most exciting talents in the world today – princess of pop – Sabrina Carpenter.

Having previously supported South Korean girl group BlackPink at BST Hyde Park, Sabrina has truly earned her place to headline two epic nights at London’s ultimate outdoor venue. She sold out two nights to her loving 65,000 fans, many adorned with her trademark ‘kiss’ lipstick.

Sabrina showed her love of her support artists during her set, including one of her dearest friends, Amber Mark. It’s always encouraging to see such a strong line-up of female artists and both days over the weekend did not disappoint.

Following Amber Mark on the impressive Oak Stage was Beebadoobee. Dressed in an over-fitted pink sweater with SEX emblazoned on the front, the young lady demonstrated why she’s supported the likes of Taylor Swift and The 1975 on their impressive shows. Mixing songs from her first three albums, including her number one album ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’, she certainly wasn’t starstruck and deserved her place at the prestigious event.

Elsewhere, Summer Festival Guide’s favourites The Cuban Brothers delighted fans in-between sets over at the garage, with fans of all ages singing ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ – with singer Miguelito toning down his language slightly due to the younger fans in the audience.

Clairo followed, for her debut Hyde Park performance, and we’re sure this isn’t the last we see of her. Wearing her trademark pair of headphones throughout her terrific performance and enjoying a large glass of wine in between songs, Clairo delighted fans with her songs including Glasses, Softly and Flaming Hot. It’s no wonder she was nominated for a prestigious grammy award with such impressive style.

Onto the main event everyone had travelled far-and-wide to see. Sabrina Carpenter.

Mimicking a 50s news broadcast in the style of Wanda-Vision (Sabrina-Vision if you like), the Hollywood Disney pop princess emerged onstage behind a brilliant white ‘SC’.

She was at her cheeky best during the greatest hit setlist, wearing a glittering red leotard and mixing winks with her impressive 12-strong dance posse. Some of the songs were a little risky, but that’s what her fans have come to see and love.

Prior to launching into her new song ‘Bed Chem‘ where she romped with two of her dancers, a prominent ‘Parental Discretion‘ was displayed, but many of her fans have probably seen worse on display than here. At the end, her two male dancers embraced in a kiss with themselves rather than our star, much to cheers from the crowd.

Hey, it was Pride day in London after all and we are now mid-way through the 2020s!

Although there were no special guests, as have adorned the other star-studded line up at Hyde Park this year, Sabrina was the star of the show and the crowd couldn’t have wanted more.

Taking to a cherry-picker crane for her penultimate song ‘Don’t Smile’, she looked visibly moved by the huge crowd who had filled central London to see her. “Damn nobody showed up,” she exclaimed with visible tears of joy in her eyes, while blowing kisses to her adoring fans.

There was only one song she could finish with.

With over one billion (yes not a typo, one billion) streams on YouTube, she finished with her delectable mega-hit ‘Espresso.’ She proclaimed ‘the louder you scream, the more I drink’ – its improbable she could have drunk enough to keep up with all the delighted screams coming her way.

As if we didn’t know, she finished proclaimed ‘My name’s Sabrina. Thanks for coming.’

If anyone in the crowd didn’t know her name at the start, they certainly did by the end of her incredible show. Please, Please, Please, can you come back one day.

Words: Graham Tarrant and Samantha Middleton

Tickets for additional events on sale now

www.bst-hydepark.com | @bsthydepark

Isle of Wight Festival 2025 – REVIEW!

June 27, 2025June 27, 2025 by Graham Tarrant

The Isle of Wight festival is one of the UK’s largest, oldest, and without a doubt, most prestigious events.

Under John Giddings expert leadership, the festival has gone from strength-to-strength. It is always tough to follow in the footsteps of previous events, especially when it’s seen legendary performances from rock royalty including Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan or even The Who grace the island – but each year the festival gets bigger and better.

2025 is no exception and it can easily be said that this year, it has attracted a true superstar. Whereas the mighty Glastonbury opens this weekend and is attracting artists who have played the IOW festival in previous years, such as the Prodigy, the island attracted exclusive headliners who can rival performances from the glory days – including the self titled Prince of Pop – Justin Timberlake.

Justin even said himself on stage “I’ve been trying to get to Isle Of Wight for years and years and years and it’s everything I thought it was”‘.

Thursday was previously a day to set up tents, but now it’s a full-on four day festival, offering a diverse mix of 80s and 90s nostalgia, singalong indie and award-winning rap.

The festival began in the warm Big Top with The Smiths tribute band The Smyths – they are arguably more enjoyable to watch than Morrissey these days due to his questionable ramblings, so a tribute band is preferable. Their set included all the classic 80s tunes including ‘Ask‘, ‘Panic‘, ‘This Charming Man‘, and finishing with ‘There Is a Light That Never Goes Out‘, with the darkly-comic lyrics

“...if a double-decker bus, crashes into us
To die by your side, Is such a heavenly way to die…“

If only Morrissey would still play these timeless classic songs himself.

The party really started afterwards with Rhythm Of The 90s playing classic dance-anthem after dance-anthem and getting the crowd singing and swaying in the sweltering heat of the Big Top. Charming indie-rock from The Pigeon Detectives followed with an energetic set, before Thursday night headliner Example lept on to the stage with his heartfelt hits, including ‘Kickstarts‘ and ‘Change The Way You Kiss Me.‘ What a great opening evening, with so much more to come.

Friday began on the main stage with The Lottery Winners – one of Summer Festival Guide’s favourite festival highlights – singer Thom Rylance always entertains and makes the crowd laugh with warm stories and good humour between songs.

With both the main stage and Big Top in full flow on Friday (as well as a handful of other stages across the huge festival site), it’s impossible to see everything on offer. The Corrs family returned after a few years absence with their charming singalong moments including the classic ‘Breathless.’ It’s great to have them back and impossible not to enjoy them on a beautiful day.

Sting followed and displayed what an impressive musician and songwriter he is. Mixing his solo material with classics from The Police, including Message In A Bottle, Roxanne, Englishman In New York, and of course, Every Breath You Take. He is currently embarking on a world tour entitled Sting 3.0, and this new revival as a tight three-piece was electric.

It would seem impossible to follow Sting and many festivals across the UK would draw to a close after such a performance, but Faithless brought more glamour to the main stage. Sister Bliss performed with their full live band and impressive light show, concluding of course with the impressive Insomnia – how anyone could get to sleep after all that is a mystery.

After a strong Friday, things stepped up even further on Saturday.

Eurovision entry Mae Muller began proceedings on the main stage, playing her new song Hello Kitty for the first time. It was good to have her back on stage.

Irish charmers The Saw Doctors jigged with endless charisma and are a must-see for anyone who loves good old fashioned folk and beaming smiles – there was zero pretensions in their performance. It truly shows how eclectic the mix at the festival is that it can seamlessly mix pop classics, with these timeless singalongs from County Galway.

Razorlight followed and it was impressive quite how many well known songs Johnny Borrell has written. Arriving on the indie music scene at the same time as The Killers in the early 2000s, it’s amazing these guys aren’t bigger, with fan favourites including America, Golden Touch, In The Morning, and Somewhere Else.

Busted followed on from McFly’s great performance at the festival last year in 2024 with a high energy leaping performance, refusing to grow older gracefully with their teen angst anthem Year 3000, Air Hostess and What I Go To School For (oddly for 40 something Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis to be singing, but when it’s this entertaining, who cares…)

Over in the Big Top, Pale Waves dazzled a huge overflowing tent with their indie-pop and impressive goth imagery before English Teacher demonstrated why they confidently won the Mercury Music Prize for their debut album ‘This Could Be Texas’. Definitely ones to watch and surely they’ll be gracing the main stage in the coming years.

Paul Heaton played an incredible collection of songs from his solo work, as well as many of his tunes from The Housemartins (Happy Hour, Caravan of Love) and The Beautiful South (Rotterdam, A Little Time, Song For Whoever.) With his tour billed as Heatongrad, he’s lost none of his fight for the working man and good causes.

The Script drew one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, having played the festival four times previously according to singer Danny O’Donoghue. The band confessed they did not understand their mass appeal, but upon concluding with their huge hit ‘Hall of Fame‘, it was clear many of the audience had bought their tickets purely on the basis of this band, with both male and female sexes singing every word back to the band. A truly magical moment.

It’s hard to believe after all that on Saturday that there were still two legendary bands to come (well even more if you’re a faster walker than the author…)

Legendary Welsh rockers Stereophonics returned to the Isle of Wight festival stage with a stomping version of ‘Vegas Two Times‘. before playing a greatest hits setlist, finishing with masses of ticker-tape and their song ‘Dakota’ with the beautiful line ‘You made me feel like the one‘, emblazoned on many t-shirts throughout the festival site.

Supergrass concluded the evening in style over in the Big Top, playing their classic album ‘I Should Coco‘ in full, before launching into many of their other greatest hits. It’s 30 years ago since this reviewer saw them at Glastonbury in 1995, and although both the band and the writer have grown older, the songs immediately transport back to the Britpop glory days. Hey, Gaz Coombes must have a picture of Dorian Gray in his loft as he still sounds the same, even when booming out “We Are Young…and feel Alright“

Sunday began a little jaded but with possibly the most impressive back-to-back day of music the festival has seen in many years. There was truly something on offer for everyone.

Bjorn Again began with the most impressive Abba tribute act, before Ella Eyre impressively flicked her incredible locks of hair around the newly erected runway platform with such an energetic performance. Despite confessing on her own Instagram posts that she felt so nervous before taking to the stage to a festival crowd for the first time in almost 10 years she didn’t let it break her and was a pure joy to watch.

Also making great use of the expanded stage on Sunday was Olly Murs. He’s come such a long way from his X-Factor trials, and gave the crowd some impressive moves and singalong pop tunes. With millions of views of his hits on YouTube, it could be argued he was even more impressive than his Soccer Aid friend Robbie Williams who headlined this huge festival in 2023. He’s a natural born performer and entertainer.

Texas followed and singer Sharleen Spiteri was a true professional. Joking that she was delayed getting to her dressing room as she had to wait for Olly Murs entourage to clear backstage, she clearly showed her years of experience, and Scottish charm. Dressed all in black with a beautiful lime green guitar, she played songs from her extensive catalogue including ‘Halo‘ and ‘Say What You Want‘ – we really did adore her.

In the Big Top, another Eurovision band Remember Monday graced the line-up. Although newcomers to this writers ears, it’s clear the band’s all female lineup had plenty of experience of performing, including appearances in the west end in Matilda, Mary Poppins and even Les Miserables. Of course they couldn’t leave without performing their biggest hit ‘What The Hell Just Happened‘.

What an impressive lineup. The artists listed above would be sufficient and surpass the bill of most events in the UK, even the mighty Glastonbury this weekend.

But the biggest name to grace the festival was still to arrive on stage.

Justin Timberlake. The prince of pop is a born entertainer and he did not disappoint. Prowling every inch of the stage from the left/right hand side, down the runway/walkway, and even leaving the stage to greet his adoring fans, he didn’t leave a single inch of the arena untouched.

It was clear what separates Justin from the average performer, and his band, The Tennessee Kids were equally sublime. Every move, every beat and each and every note was choreographed and executed down to the wire.

The hits flowed, with ‘Cry Me a River’, ‘Rock Your Body’, ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’ and ‘SexyBack‘ amassing over a billion (yes one billion) views on YouTube alone.

The only tough part of the set was that Summer Festival Guide favourites James were billed at pretty much the same time within the Big Top. I guess that meant that the crowd for Justin wasn’t as diverse as it could have been, but meant there was something for everyone, particularly those who wanted to ‘Sit Down‘ after such a busy weekend at the festival.

Justin said himself “You made a Tennessee boy’s dreams come true”. He’s not the only one who loved it.

All in all, this is the best Isle of Wight festival that Summer Festival Guide have attended. The artists, the music, the ambience, the weather, but most importantly the crowd all appeared to be having the time of their lives.

Roll on 2026. Next year Glastonbury is taking a year off, so hopefully it’ll be clear to more people what the best festival in the UK now is…and it’s not on the mainland.

Early bird tickets for 2026 have already gone on sale and are available at:

https://isleofwightfestival.com/info/tickets

Review and photos: Graham Tarrant

Please do not use photos without permission.

Stevie Wonder at BST Hyde Park – Preview

June 18, 2025 by Graham Tarrant

The support acts for headliner Stevie Wonder’s concert at BST Hyde Park on 12 July have been announced and they are not to be missed. Many could be headlining themselves in the near future.

Announced are Mercury Prize winners Ezra Collective, along with Thee Sacred Souls, Elmiene and the sublime Corinne Bailey Rae.

The legendary Stevie Wonder will appear as part of the LOVE, LIGHT & SONG UK 2025 performances, having twice previously wowed Hyde Park audiences. Stevie Wonder is one of the most celebrated and prominent figures in popular music who, at the age of 12, was the youngest recording artist to have achieved a #1 single with “Fingertips Part 2”, and subsequently the first to simultaneously reach #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, R&B Singles and Album Charts.

To date he has amassed 49 Top Forty singles, 32 #1 singles and worldwide sales of over 100 million units. Stevie has won 25 Grammy Awards, the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. Stevie’s iconic album, Songs In The Key of Life, is archived in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, for its cultural, historic and aesthetic significance.

Ezra Collective became the first UK Jazz band to win a BRIT Award (‘Group of the Year’), having been nominated for four awards

Dance, No One’s Watching – Ezra Collective’s 2024 album – is an ode to the sacred, yet joyous act of dancing, an album that musically guides you through a night out in the city, from the opening of possibilities as a new evening spans out ahead, to dawn’s final hours as the night comes to a close. Written during a blistering 2023 which saw Ezra Collective tour the world, and become the first jazz act to win the Mercury Prize, Dance, No One’s Watching is a documentation of the many dance floors they encountered. From London to Chicago, Lagos to Australia, dance and rhythm connect us. The songs are a testament to that spirit.

TIn February, Ezra Collective released their track ‘Body Language’ with Sasha Keable. Bandleader Femi Koleoso said: “The language of the body is dancing and this song is a celebration of this.”

Thee Sacred Souls returned last year with Got A Story To Tell, the highly anticipated follow-up to their breakout 2022 self-titled debut. The US soul group has attracted 9 million monthly listeners and celebrity fans like SZA, Alicia Keys, and Kylie Jenner – and an NPR Tiny Desk performance won over thousands of fans online. Described by Uncut as a “San Diego trio crafting classic soul with a defiant lyrical edge”, Thee Sacred Souls released new single ‘We Don’t Have To Be Alone’ last month – with CLASH describing it as “a moment of soulful grace”.

Oxford-raised singer Elmiene made the Brits Rising Star list and was picked out by none other than Elton John as “one of Britain’s great new artists”. His songs have a freeform sound, touching on R&B, soul and classical music. In December the Guardian wrote that the new EP For the Deported speaks to the current humanitarian crisis in Sudan, “distilling the singer’s hopes, anxieties and fears into song without blunting the reality of the stories at its core”.

R&B singer Corinne Bailey Rae made a remarkable comeback in 2023 with what the Guardian described as an “extraordinary new sound”, writing “Rock, jazz, Afrofuturism… the British singer-songwriter is transformed on this record inspired by Chicago’s archive of Black art”. Black Rainbows was the songwriter’s first album in seven years and picked up a Mercury Prize nomination and rave reviews in the likes of Uncut, Mojo and Record Collector. NME wrote that the album “swings from crunching glam-punk to skronking experimental jazz”, adding: “There are left turns, and then there’s this.”.

Stevie Wonder joins previously announced headliners for 2025; Olivia Rodrigo (27 June), Zach Bryan (28 & 29 June), Noah Kahan (4 July), Sabrina Carpenter (5 & 6 July) and Jeff Lynne’s ELO (13 July). Expect more incredible announcements soon, for the 2025 edition of the UK’s most anticipated summer event.

Read our previous reviews of P!NK, Andrea Bocelli and Robbie Williams below:

P!NK – British Summer Time (BST) Review: Saturday 24 June

ANDREA BOCELLI – American Express presents BST Hyde Park

ROBBIE WILLIAMS – American Express presents BST Hyde Park

www.bst-hydepark.com | @bsthydepark

Victorious Festival 2024 – Review

August 27, 2024 by Graham Tarrant

The biggest festival on the South coast (and arguably the best) returned to the stunning seaside location of Southsea this weekend.

Victorious Festival welcomed 80,000 people over the bank holiday weekend, with something for everyone.

Whether it was headline performances from the likes of superstar DJ Fatboy Slim, indie royalty Pixies or Scottish rock legends Biffy Clyro, or laughs in the comedy tent from performers such as Al Murray, Frankie Boyle and Russell Howard, this was an incredible weekend.

The beauty of Victorious Festival is that each day, they open up proceedings with a huge artist, designed to bring the large crowds into the festival gates early.

This year was no exception with Razorlight opening on Friday lunchtime – frontman Johnny Borrell wasted no time blasting through their biggest hits – “Golden Touch”, “Somewhere Else”, “In The Morning” and the number-one anthem “America”.

Keeping the pace going early-on and drawing one of the biggest crowds of the weekend was former One Direction star Louis Tomlinson. This was his first UK festival performance and he certainly didn’t disappoint – the crowd went wild for every tune, whether it was his own solo material, or the 1D classics such as ‘Drag Me Down.’

Bristol’s finest post-punk IDLES followed with an interesting change of pace and total change of genre from Louis – frontman Joe Talbot celebrated his birthday the same day, not that you could tell from the rage and anger as he spat his anti-fascist mantras across the stage. Creating arguable the largest mosh-pit of the weekend, here’s hoping the Louis Tomlinson fans escaped before the carnage and dust flew.

With possibly the ultimate crowd sing-along tunes, Snow Patrol were up next. To the delight of fans, they played their anthem ‘Chasing Cars’ with the huge audience all singing

‘If I lay here

If I just lay here

Would you lie with me and just forget the world?’

Quite a special, moving goose-bump moment!

As usual, at such a large festival as this, there was a clash of sensational headliners. The original funk-soul brother Fatboy Slim dazzled crowds at the main Common Stage with his rockafeller skank, fireworks, confetti canons and light show, while pop-royalty Jess Glynne returned with a stunning show on the Castle Stage, concluding with her huge hits ‘Rather Be’ and ‘Hold My Hand’ – in her own words, there’s no place I’d rather be!

The dreaded UK rain returned Saturday morning, but it did not dampen spirits. Again, the day began with not one but two huge artists.

Tom Walker demonstrated his incredible voice on the Castle Stage, while the Common Stage welcomed a surprise special guest. Last year, McFly delighted fans with their antics, while this year, their supergroup friends Busted took the heralded spot.

Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, professionally known as CMAT came to Portsmouth for the first time and delighted crowds with her Irish charm shortly afterwards, encouraging all the crowds to line-dance before she played her song ‘I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby’ and dedicating her Brit nominated hit ‘Ah Shoot’ to her love of wine! She’s a must-see if you get the chance.

Fresh from supporting Taylor Swift on her legendary ERAs tour, Holly Humberstone followed, before The Lathums, Courteeners and The Amazons all brought their indie music to Victorious.

There’s not many bands which wear the crown as one of David Bowie’s favourites, but the influential Pixies topped the bill on the Castle Stage. Singer Frank Black (or Black Francis if you prefer) still has an incredible voice despite shouting and screaming his way through their impressive back catalogue – fortunately there weren’t too many new songs and they stuck to the classics.

The final day again began with an impressive band who could have easily headlined many lesser events – The Kooks, before Natasha Bedingfield delighted fans with her hits ‘Unwritten‘ and ‘These Words‘.

Northern scallies Yard Act, gave echoes of LCD Soundsystem mixed with Jarvis Cocker – very entertaining, although their set was a little short as singer James Smith advised they had to be back home in Leeds by midnight to be tucked up in bed…

Up next was James Bay who not only had to Hold Back The River, but also hold onto his hat in the strong south-coast winds.

A couple of years ago, Becky Hill was booked to play the smaller Castle Stage, and the crowd size was so large, many people had to be turned away. This year she was back, better than ever on the main Common Stage.

Dressed in an improperly tight mini-dress, Becky focused her set mainly on her new album with its drum’n’bass focus, before concluding with her crowd pleasers ‘Wish You Well’ and ‘Remember’ In her own words, Becky summed up the evening well by saying ‘Massive thank you to the festival organisers for asking me to come back and putting me on this big old stage! You are all amazing!’

Concluding the weekend were two heavyweights.- the mighty Biffy Clyro rocked the Common Stage, with impressive booming anthems, while the new sensation which is Isle of Wight’s finest Wet Leg delighted fans on the Castle Stage. Possibly playing their singalong ‘Chaise Longue’ for the final time, it was a fitting end to their world wind tour – hopefully we can expect a new album if their current roster are to be retired.

James Ralls, Festival Director summed up the weekend well by saying: “It’s been another unforgettable year on the seafront. From huge cruise ships and the return of the Seaside Stage plus incredible headline sets from Fatboy Slim, Jamie T and Biffy Clyro we’ve had it all and it’s great to see so many people enjoying live music, family entertainment and comedy whilst making memories to last a lifetime! We’re sad it’s ended but we’re already excited to welcome everyone back in 2025 for another memorable weekend.”

Tickets are now available at: https://www.victoriousfestival.co.uk

Don’t miss out on this great weekend in 2025.

PHOTOS: GRAHAM TARRANT

WORDS: SAMANTHA MIDDLETON & GRAHAM TARRANT

We Out Here festival – 2024 review

August 19, 2024 by Graham Tarrant

Curated by Gilles Peterson, We Out Here festival is a kaleidoscope with truly something for everyone.

Embracing so many genres, cultures and arts, We Out Here is a beautiful melting pot of a festival with no boundaries.

It’s impossible to paint all the colourful experiences this event offers, but it’s easy to see why it’s won many awards in its short lifespan. We Out Here is certainly the highlight of our festival calendar this year.

The festival makes great use of its beautiful woodland surroundings in Dorset. You could avoid the main stages all weekend and chose to partake in so many activities ~ possibly go for a wild dip in the rivers; walk through the Dorset countryside; try paddle-boarding or relax in the Sanctuary and partake in yoga-sessions; art therapy; or chill-out at gong-baths. There’s even a free roller-skating rink for those willing, DJ’d at times by Mr Peterson himself – just steer clear of the cider tents before zipping up those boots!

With over 100 artists across the weekend, there is something for all lovers of good music, whether it’s laid back jazz, soul, electronic, hip-hop or even flute playing by Andre 3000 – more on that later.

There is a magic walking around the festival, with so many different sounds emanating from the stages – the appropriately named Lush Life offers the likes of the legendary Loose Ends (the first British R&B band to have a No.1 gold album in the US), while Rhythm Corner is a mix of hay-bales and superstar DJ’s including Laurent Garnier and Zero 7 bringing the large crowds and deep-beats. The crowd favourite area The Bowl returned with the likes of Mr Scruff and Hacienda legend DJ Paulette.

We were blown away by some of the performances and it’s such a joy to discover some of our new favourite artists this weekend. We’ll certainly be out there shopping in the local,and not so local, online stores for those hidden vinyl gems. The beauty of having a renowned DJ such as Gilles Peterson with his 40-year career curate the lineup is that you know there will be incredible discoveries.

Personally, and maybe ashamedly, I’d never listened to Dee Dee Bridgewater prior to heading to the festival – but now she is on heavy rotation on the AirPods and soon the turntable. Her mix of disco, jazz and soul along with her infectious smile made it clear there’s nowhere else anyone would want to be.

Elsewhere on the main stage, other discoveries included Ebo Taylor and the Family Band. Celebrating over five decades in the industry, they had more funk in their little fingers than Mark Ronson could handle.

On Friday, Sampha was a pure delight with a soulful performance, including a solo intimate performance of his hit ‘No One Know Me Like The Piano’, sending goosebumps on goosebumps throughout the warm crowd. Possibly one of the most underrated artists we have – hopefully he will get more recognition after this.

Sampha at ‘We Out Here’ festival © Graham Tarrant

Talking of powerful performances, we have to dedicate some space to call out Kae Tempest and his emotional performance. Coming on stage clearly appreciative of the love from the crowd, Kae delivered one of the most moving powerful shows we’ve ever seen.

It truly appeared that Kae has found an inner happiness, and this was defined in his lyrics that he is no longer going around in circles following a change in pronouns. Finishing with the hopeful poem ‘Peoples Faces’, I’m not ashamed to say I wasn’t the only one who shed a few tears of joy after following him throughout his career.

Thank you Kae for speaking out with such honesty, authority and sincerity in front of the crowd – you deservedly won so many new fans today.

We’ve barely scratched the surface of all the music on offer – you could comfortably see 17 different acts each day. There was so much more it would be impossible to cover all the festival had to offer.

Corinne Bailey Rae demonstrated her mature song writing, bringing her album Black Rainbows to life on the main stage, before delivering an astute conversation for over an hour in the appropriately named Talk Tent.

Corinne Bailey Rae in conversation at the Talking Tent © Graham Tarrant

As previously mentioned, Andre 3000, one half of hip-hop legends Outkast, played a collection of flutes alongside his backing band, reproducing much of his album ‘New Blue Sun‘ – many other festivals have had Andre 3000 headlining and it shows the strength of this event that he played early on the sunny Sunday afternoon. Essential powerful poet Aja Monet also played the main stage on Sunday and she is a must-see if you get the chance.

For those who wanted something a little darker, 2024 Brit award winning artist CASISDEAD, the UK’s most mysterious rapper, brought the grime and dystopian future to the Lush Life stage – he’s going to be huge and possibly should have been on the main stage, based on the size of the crowd flocking to hear his razor sharp lyrics.

As if that wasn’t enough, there was a heady mix of electronic beats from Floating Points, Mount Kimbie, Joy Orbison and Loraine James across the weekend.

There was such a strong sense of community at this festival – it’s difficult to paint with words. To help illustrate the good karma, the festival also introduced a Charity Donation Token Scheme – similar to those offered by supermarkets. Every Little Helps after-all.

Each ticket received a £1 donation and attendees could chose one of eight great local causes for part of their entrance fee to go to – whether it’s Dorset Wildlife Trust, Black Lives in Music, who address the current inequality of opportunities which exist for ethnically diverse people, or the Amos Trust who challenge injustice and build hope for those less-fortunate than ourselves. Take note other events – this is creating positive change.

Founder & curator Gilles Peterson commented: “I can’t express how much I appreciate this crowd and everyone coming together once again. This weekend was a truly unique and magical blend of love, support, and pure joy. This is what We Out Here is all about, and I’m so proud to see it growing year on year! A celebration of club culture, live music with the communities that bond it all together. Massive shout out to a growing number coming in from all around the world. Thank you.”

We Out Here truly is a joyous festival and we can’t wait for it to return to Dorset in 2025.

WORDS: GRAHAM TARRANT

MAIN PHOTO: JAKE DAVIS | KHROMA COLLECTIVE

End of the Road festival – less than 100 tickets remaining

August 13, 2024 by Graham Tarrant

Less than 100 tickets remain for End of the Road festival this year – you do not want to miss out on this incredible line up, headlined by:

BONNIE ‘PRINCE’ BILLY

IDLES

SLOWDIVE

FEVER RAY

ALONGSIDE 50+ WORLD-CLASS ARTISTS

TY SEGALL | EVERYTHING EVERYTHING | THE REYTONS

New additions to the lineup also include Stereolab frontwoman Lætitia Sadier, Brighton trio Lambrini Girls, poetic rock from Joe Gideon, minimalist noise from Ex-Easter Island Head and Baroque-electronic fusion from newcomers The Orchestra (For Now)

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE NOW!

End of the Road – Line up announcement

August 13, 2024August 1, 2024 by Graham Tarrant

End of the Road festival is back this year from 29 August to 1 September 2024.

2024’s headline acts are bigger than ever and make the award winning festival at Larmer Tree Gardens essential for music lovers.

BONNIE ‘PRINCE’ BILLY

IDLES

SLOWDIVE

FEVER RAY

ALONGSIDE 50+ WORLD-CLASS ARTISTS

TY SEGALL | EVERYTHING EVERYTHING | THE REYTONS

IDLES return to End of the Road after triumphant performances at Glastonbury and Truckfest earlier this summer.

Cult favourite Bonnie “Prince” Billy returns with his beautiful songs of darkness, while folk legend Richard Dawson will kick things off on Thursday.

Shoegaze legends Slowdive go head-to-head with Richard Hawley in an impressive clash on Saturday night, followed by incredible after-hours acts you must not miss. The joyous John Talabot comes over from Barcelona for what will be a must-see DJ set. Also, Casisdead will surely demonstrate why he defied expectations and came away with a Brit Award earlier this year.

Fever Ray brings the Woods stage to a close on Sunday, while the beautiful Garden Stage concludes with the mighty Yo La Tengo.

It’s not only the music to enjoy at End of the Road. An impressive comedy lineup includes the unique Stewart Lee (the 41st best stand-up according to his own routine), Taskmaster favourite Fern Brady, and Josie Long, winner of the Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe all those years ago.

There’s also an outstanding cinema line-up, including Blur’s new documentary ‘To The End‘, following by a Q&A with director Toby L, while celebrated filmmaker Andrea Arnold curates the full cinema lineup on Sunday.

If you’re lucky, you may still be able to get a ticket at www.endoftheroadfestival.com