So here we are for Beat-Herder number 11. How do you follow last years’ amazing 10th Birthday celebrations I wonder, surely there can’t be more naked camel riders? With more fireworks, new venues and a cracking line up featuring huge names from across the dance spectrum Claude Vonstroke, Booka Shade, Miike Snow, Todd Terje, Jesse Rose, Justin Martin, Marshall Jefferson and Riton to name but a few. This is my sixth time at this small but perfectly formed festival in the Lancashire Dales; you could say I’m huge fan of what the brothers do. BH is different to other festivals; there’s attention to detail and creativity everywhere you look, and sixteen unique stages dotted around the site provide something for everyone.
Friday
Friday greeted us with all-day rain, which turned the main arena into a mud fest as soon as the gates opened. Not that little bit of mud is going to deter the Beat Herder loyal posse. They have also been coming here for years too and have a tattoo to prove it.
A quick pitch of our tent and were off to go on a tour of the new site. There're a couple of new venues to take in. Bubba Gumma is a 60s Barbarella-esque, bubblegum disco box that you enter from a long dark bunker. The DJ spins rhythmic Afro disco beats, and the party gets going. Psychedelic hippy den Sunrise boasted a thumping sound system. The Illustrious Society is home to the good, the bad and the glitterati. You can only enter if you are suitable dressed. Steampunk, monocles, and Victorian cloth to be precise.
Avoiding the soupy mud and relentless rain we hide out at the undercover venues Trash Manor, BH&DWMSC (working men's club) and Maison D’etre until the evening.
On the main stage on Friday night we catch German duo Digitalism, Swedish band Miike Snow, who drew large crowds and James. Booth enters the stage and delights the crowds with the promise of a decidedly dancy set. He shouts ‘This is dance festival isn’t it.' They performed a number of songs from their new offering ‘Girl at the End of the World’ alongside classics ‘Come home’ and ‘Laid’.
On to Pratty’s ring and we catch A Skillz. The whole of the ring is erupting with his face-paced turntable trickery. The crowd was jumping and singing along. The rain pelted down again, and performances from Dirtybird founder Claud Vonstroke, and Radio one’s B-traits suffered smaller numbers than they should, save a few hardcore fans. We took shelter once again in the Parish Church and spent the night dancing away on the pews.
Saturday
Salvage came on Saturday morning in the form of the sun, a welcome relief from Friday’s heavy downpours. Trudging around in what now is a soupy smelly quagmire is quite a workout. It's times like this that I remind myself that this is exactly why I like small manageable festivals and couldn't deal with the trauma of glasto. We take a bit of respite in the only bit of green grass we can see. We were swooped on by the Samaritans who are keen to talk to anyone in trouble. That certainly wasn’t us, unless they could resolve the mud, we just needed somewhere to eat our yummy cheese Raclette. It’s reassuring to know that they are there for people who needed it over the weekend.
Scottish singer, songwriter Donovan took to the main stage Saturday afternoon, an older crowd waved their arms to ‘Mellow Yellow’. Not really my cup of tea and he seems oddly placed for a predominantly dance festival, but that’s the beauty of the Beat-Herder offering. They are plenty of curveballs from folk, gypsy, indie, reggae and downright weird.
Local lad Paul Taylor brings with him an array of followers, and it is heaving inside The Fortress as fans scrambled to get on shoulders. I do like DJ, who knows how to work the crowd, and this was mightily evident in his set.
As the late afternoon cracked on, we saw the annual fancy dress come into play. This year’s theme was the letter ‘R’. We caught glimpse of Ron Burgundy’s, Ronald McDonald's, the Red Arrows, and an abundance of rodents and robots. Groups of revellers played paint powder fights in the afternoon glow, covering me and my camera. It's all good fun and warm vibes and I join in the banter. Gentleman's Dub Club and the Easy All Stars provided a particularly bouncy evening on the main stage, bringing some much needed energy to the fatigued crowd.
We headed up to the Toiltrees to catch one of the most anticipated sets of the weekend, house legend Marshall Jefferson. He belted out house classics Peter Brown’s ‘Miracles’, Derrick May’s ‘Strings of Life’ and of course ‘Move your body’. He certainly didn’t disappoint and was one of my highlights of the weekend.
Firework cannons boomed before house veterans Booka Shade took to the stage. Despite playing their hit seminal hit 'Body Language’, it was a rather lack lustre set for a Saturday night headline act. Anyway onwards and upwards to Pratty’s Ring and the Fortress, which had a distinctly heavy bass and DnB feel to it. The evening sun played out and the parties across the site got dark and dirty.
Sunday
Sundays are for lie-ins, and we arose to the sounds of Mama Jerk and the Lady Fingers. The energy of jungle gypsy band Ushti Baba made us head to the main stage. Crowds started to gather and swing each other around to hypnotic trans-European melodies. There was an unmistakably chilled vibe to Sunday and everyone seemed smiley.
Next up was Essex folk singer Beans on Toast who opened his main stage set with apt track called ‘2016.' “It’s got a short shelf life” he claimed. The emotional song brought unexpected tears to my eyes. He recalled the unfathomable news that we have had to deal with this year; (Bowie, Prince, Paris, Victoria Wood, Lemmy, Turkey, Syria and the migrants, Brexit and our current state of political affairs). He jumped down into the crowd to get closer to the audience, pulling the leads behind him. He ran through an hours worth of his best from ‘Outlaws’, ‘The Chicken Song’ and ‘MDMA’. Like the 2pm slot at Glasto he drew the largest crowds. It was satirical commentary and storytelling at it’s best. Another festival highlight and surprisingly standout set that perfectly sums up the true spirit of festivals.
In somewhat of a tradition at BH, we head up to the Toil to catch the laid-back grooves of Mr Scruff, and have one last boogie in the church. There’s a nun in the pulpit kissing her cross, as she waves and raves. It’s gone all heavy hip hop and breakbeat as they blast out Ice Cubes’ ‘You can do it’. Back to the main stage, we catch London reggae singer Kiko Bun's, before heading to the Fortress Krafty Kuts is kicking up the mud with a storming set. Taking to the stage in the Toil is the man of the moment Riton. A favourite for many, and drawing a largely youthful crowd. His mega hit ‘Rinse and Repeat’ pounds out of the Toil Trees system.
It's difficult for any solo headliner to stand behind a desk of kit on their own, but Norwegian producer Todd Terje commands stage presence with ease. His set plays like one long soundtrack that undulates & bounces, with good visuals to boot. Girls get on shoulders for 'Delorean Dynamite', 'Disco Circus', 'Inspector Norse' and a superb mix of Stevie Nicks 'Stand Back' bleeds out into the night sky. At 12am dead on all the music across the site concludes and punters scurry off looking for sound systems across the camp area large enough to carry on the party. Many huddle round the fire not wanting it to end.
That’s it for another cracking Beat-Herder. Despite the mud, the organisers have done themselves proud and put on another party to remember. I hate that pang of sadness and a heavy heart that's it's all over you feel as you pull away from the site. You've had an incredible weekend, left the cares of the world at the door and entered into the spirit of abandonment. But soon enough it's back to reality, more politics and a Turkish coup. Take me back Beat Herder I don’t want to go home. See you 2017!
This weekend saw Truck Festival joined by more music-lovers than ever before and over 200 performers and DJs who basked in glorious sun rays amid the Oxfordshire countryside.
Recent years have seen a boom in the number of big festivals as well as an increase in the commercialisation of smaller festivals. Truck has always been proud to be an independent festival with a niche list of performers and a very intimate vibe.
While Truck stayed true to it’s roots as a smaller and less commercial festival, it has still been growing ever since it was established in 1997. This year saw a major expansion of Truck with increased tickets, an additional arena, a new entrance, and an extra day.
Truck prides itself on providing a platform for local and underground artists to showcase their talents alongside big, well-known artists such as 2016 Brit Award winners, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Manic Street Preachers, and Kodaline. Truck’s local connections run deeper than just the line-up however, with the local Rotary Club handling a large proportion of the food catering (although their importance is shrinking as more food stalls are being sourced to feed the growing audiences).
The music at Truck Festival is so diverse that there really is something for everyone. Each of the stages has it’s own style – The Truck Stage is most diverse with the headliners playing alongside a mixture of bands including Band App winners; The Market Stage is second in command and hosts some of the most popular bands of the weekend including Mystery Jets, SOAK, and Switch DJs into the early hours; the new Nest stage hosts the bands previously seen in the Barn (which continues to be a favourite for many) – with a more hard rock and punk vibe, such as NeckDeep and Mooseblood; the Saloon is famous for its ‘great western’ style; the Veteran and Virgins has a mixture of styles playing hosts to bands who have stuck by Truck for its 19 years and others using it for their first Truck experience; and finally, the Palm City and Horizon stage was a favourite by many teens for the DJ’s Roughion and club vibes.
Each of the headliners was distinct from the others and all graced the stage for a different reason. Catfish and the Bottlemen are very popular following their Brit Award win for Best Newcomers, and have been played by the likes of Channel 4’s Hollyoaks recently. This made them a hit with the younger audience as they played all of the most popular songs from their May 2016 release, ‘The Ride’.
The Welsh 80’s rock band, Manic Street Preachers, pulled in a strong Welsh fanbase for their set on Saturday evening and their ‘glam rock’ vibe was enjoyed by all, even though some of those attending with their parents clearly were not familiar with the songs.
The final headliner for Kodaline had a slightly quieter response as a small number of festival goers began to leave thoughout Sunday ready for Monday morning. Despite this, the whole of Arena 1 was rocking to the band, who were known as ’21 Demands’ until 2012. The Irish born band are known for their unique mix of ‘folk rock’ and they gave Sunday evening a very relaxed and content vibe – ending the weekend with confetti cannons and streamers being blasted into the crowd.
While the three-day event was a bargain (working out less than £30 per day), returning festival-goers may have been shocked at the increased charges once they were there. Truck Festival has always boasted a large “children’s tent” for the under 12’s, full of creative arts and crafts and some poets etc to entertain them. This year the children area had expanded but with everything charged at a minimum of £3, it was difficult to last out the morning without going bankrupt. There was plenty on offer – climbing frames, dream catcher workshops, jewellery workshops, rubber archery, etc. but everything was charged which was not mentioned prior to arrival and was unexpected for anyone who had attended previously. Prices for food had also increased dramatically at the Rotary Club stalls, with a bacon sandwich costing £4, and only a choice of 3 stalls for breakfast.
But this didn’t effect the overall vibe of the weekend which was completely laid back and inclusive, once again. It was in no way about wearing the right clothes or being seen, but rather about kicking back and enjoying the unique atmosphere while soaking up the festival sun. There was no fancy VIP area like you’ll find at other big festivals; backstage was purely functional. Instead, everyone mingles in the main arena – the artists roam the site, picking up beers at the bar just like everyone else. Truck is clearly about the music and people enjoying themselves, something that feels lacking at the bigger festivals which seem to be just money-spinning corporate beasts.
Organisation had also failed slightly this year when it came to the much-loved paint fight. I have been to the paint fight every year I’ve attended Truck – it is one of my personal highlights of the weekend. But this year I was one of many who missed out because it was advertised in the wrong arena. There were crowds of teens clad in all white waiting at 4 o’clock on Saturday in Arena 2, but when 4 o’clock came and went, cheers were heard coming from Arena 3, and paint covered bodies began walking passed. And that was that – we had missed what, for many of us, was something we’d been very much looking forward to.
With the fabulous line-up, a new site layout and even a new bridge across the stream, alongside the perfect festival weather, this was the festival you’ll be gutted to have missed.
You’ve all heard of Benidorm, I presume. That Spanish resort town, filled with sunburnt brits and head fuckers for breakfast, even with its own TV show about the life and times of its seasonal inhabitants.
For one week of the year, however, the brits are pre-occupied with a different kind of Beni, Festival Internacional de Benicassim. As a veteran fib goer myself (this year was the fourth) bringing along a backpack with an Argos tent, a Chromebook, a few different cameras plus their owner, the only clean clothes I had left, and flashbacks of Benicassim campsites and extreme heat, I felt well equipped and mentally prepared to tackle the biggest party of the summer, all in the name of journalism.
Benicassim itself is one of the friendliest experiences you will ever have. International is mentioned in the name because that is truly what it is. Though I felt there were considerably less Spanish goers (and noticeably a lot less Spanish acts) the multicultural vibe is definitely known, and with the gloom of Brexit still hovering over our heads there felt a definite subconscious need for camaraderie, which when you consider the amount of EU flags we saw dotted around and more often than not, wrapped around sleeping people, is a comforting thought.
The general atmosphere of Beni and it’s set up is really what makes it. Your ticket entitles you to 8 days of camping in their main area ‘campfest’ (you can also opt for glamping at a fairly reasonable price) and whilst alongside the various parties and events, the actual festival itself doesn’t start until 7pm, leaving you plenty of time to head to the beach, go into town, get your shopping done, and pregaming started, whilst not missing anything, and saving insane amounts of cash by raiding the Mercadona or the Lidl for the supplies you need to survive the night.
Financially, unlike British festivals, it won’t cost you a kidney and your first born child to enjoy Benicassim. Early Bird tickets start at 85 Euros, building to not more than 120, factor in the low, low cost of living out in the Spanish desert and even with a flight you’re still way ahead of the game, as long as you don’t mind inhaling 6 metric tonnes of dusk every time you wake up in the morning, and a hell of a lot of sun.
Musical Highlights
Although Benicassim has become almost a rite of passage, the reason we all keep flocking to this ant infested wonderland every summer is not only for its general atmosphere but for the music. Although fib tends to have a smaller lineup (spread over 5 stages) than the majority of British Festivals, its headliners alone have enough pulling power. I’ve found over the years that a lot of the Glastonbury lineup will make a few sneaky appearances, but you’ll have to take my anecdotal word for it.
Thursday /
The shortest of all music days, but what turned out to be one of the best, Thursday boasted sets from DJ Hannah Wants and Irish rapper Rejjie Snow, however, the two main acts of the night by far were grime music artist Skepta and electronic music entity Major Lazer. Skepta, who halfway through his set worshipped the crowd as individuals, claiming he ‘hated celebrities’ became the simultaneous shunner and bringer of hype. The energy in the crowd was electric, and the growth of the London grime scene became increasingly obvious from the gigantic, international crowd that flocked to see him. The first headline act of the long weekend extravaganza, however, was Major Lazer, which gave the newbies a taste for FIB life and veterans like me a heightened nostalgia of what it’s all about. Their set was planned to the millisecond and mixed in a haul of different samples from Eurotrash, bashment and dancehall, and of course starting with Pon de Floor, the absolute tune that filled me with nostalgia and brought me back to being a fifteen-year-old getting drunk on a bottle of Lambrini. Moving forward, they started the encore with their feelgood hit of last year, Lean On, which shows just how much their popularity has grown.
Friday /
Friday saw the likes of more bands take to the stages, including the British rapping, indie, all-round shabby Rat Boy, the lo-fi garage rock Spanish girl band Hinds, now increasingly veteran rockers The Vaccines, and an emotional set from the harder rock of Biffy Clyro. Hinds played the main stage fairly early in the day, and although they started out with a small crowd it had almost quadrupled by the end, obviously attracted to their dynamic and the energy oozing from all four of them. They seem to be drawing quite a following from their various performances around the globe the last couple of years, and I’m pretty sure next year their names will be way higher up the bill. Finishing with Davey Crockett, throwing in a couple of new songs and even a Dead Ghosts cover, Hinds were one of the highlights of my weekend.
Though Friday was technically a lot more band heavy, Jamie XX took over for a disco-heavy and grime influenced set later in the evening, and the heavyweights of electronic music and putting on a fantastic show The Chemical Brothers headlined that evening. Starting with Hey Boy, Hey Girl and finishing their set with a combination of Galvanise and Block Rockin Beats, the show itself boasted spectacular lights, visuals and sound that made pretty much everyone go nuts.
This year Benicassim decided to up the ante with the dance stage, turning their previous second stage into the South Beach area set up complete with a ‘pool party’ – basically borrowing some Ibiza vibes from the another well known Spanish turn-up. Though the pool got pretty dirty after day one, the area itself was a success and saw the likes of Dan Deacon and John Talabot tear it up on the Friday.
Saturday /
If you’re a Muse fan, Saturday night was what you were waiting for. They headlined the main stage with a show-stopping two-hour set, incredible lights, showmanship and Matt Bellamy’s vocals in full force. Bringing out all the classics such as Supermassive Black Hole, you really cannot fault this band for doing what they do, and doing it heart-stoppingly well.
But on the contrary, it wasn’t just the superband that got the crowd going on that day. Disclosure followed suit on the main stage, starting with White Noise and playing a mix of tracks from Settle and Caracal, the boys radiated buzz as they always do whenever they take to the stage.
For the earlier parts of Saturday, however, it seems the indie and rock bands were out in full force, with Irish rockers Walking on Cars taking the main stage with the sun still glaring. For relative newcomers, they gathered a lot of support from a ferocious fan base, which, given the amount of Irish melodic voices heard around the festival is quite unsurprising. Bloc Party also mesmerised the visa stage, back with a vengeance and a beautifully revised selection of their catalogue, after a hiatus left them with just Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack as the original members. A brief chat with Kele himself before the show lead me to believe we can expect some new music from the new lineup very soon, and the band is sure to go from strength to strength after the writing process gets well and truly underway.
Echo and the Bunnymen and The Coral also played incredible sets, giving us a little blast from the past. For E&TBM we came for The Killing Moon but ended up infatuated with the set list, and after a five year hiatus, old time rockers The Coral perfectly matched their classics Dreaming of You and In the Morning with the release of their new album, Distance In Between, including track Chasing the Tail of the Sun, which Skelly himself thinks is the best to get the crowd going.
Although Muse did steal the show on the main stage, whilst the heavyweight rockers were letting the crowd fall in love we did sneak away for a few songs at the Visa Stage, where The Kills created an atmosphere that was lively, dramatic and addictive, even though a major amount of their fan base was stolen away. They were definitely one of my surprising highlights of fib, and deserve a medal of musical adoration in my eyes.
Sunday /
Sunday finally came around, and although I was completely shattered after running around a festival in sweltering heat, sleeping on a dusty floor of a tent and getting accidently sunburnt with the most awful tan lines you ever did see, the nostalgia was creeping in and I didn’t really want to go home. The mix of genres on this day was pretty special, Jess Glyne took the visa stage, where a surprising collection of men found themselves bobbing along to classics Hold My Hand and Rather Be. She also did a solo rendition of My Love, the Route 94 song that helped propel her solo career, as well as a collection of her own material. Following on from Glyne, Mac Demarco and The 1975 also played the Visa Stage, Demarco drawing a sizable crowd, arguably just as crazy as him. Known for his antics and his love of crowd surfers, he let good old ‘Tony’ climb his way onto the stage for a spot of light conversation before prompting his guitarist to crowd surf himself. The topless boys definitely knew how to do a show, and hardcore fans were lapping up every second, in fact every time they play they look like they’re having the best time, which is first and foremost what you want from a performer. The 1975 followed suit, again drawing in a large crowd with a pretty serious fanbase.
The main stage saw the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen, who this year decided to make some festival appearances after cancelling a load of them last year. The northern rockers played a great show but I’m yet to be fully convinced of their staying power. Kendrick Lamar took the headline set that night, bringing in a gigantic crowd and a chilled vibe all across Benicassim. The setlist was perfect, with How Much a Dollar cost, B*tch Don’t Kill My Vibe, of course King Kunta and after a profound, heartfelt speech that referenced the attacks in Nice, Turkey, and the need to unite at the state of the world, Lamar ended his set with the notion that we’re all going to be Alright.
DJ’s Snakehips took to the South Beach stage later that night to help bring the festival down to a close, and although I would have perhaps liked to see Lamar play the friday alongside Skepta, especially seeing grime music start to crack america, I was more than content with the set up as it was. All in all, I ended up completely delirious with sleep deprivation, but it was so worth it just to be at fib again.
T IN THE PARK kicked off on the Friday with an absolute belter. The sun was shining, The Stone Roses were headlining and un characteristically there wasn’t a mud puddle in sight – of course that didn’t last. Of course it wouldn’t be T without its trademark mud and after dodging it on the Friday the patchy rain hit hard throughout the next couple of days – festival goers brushed it off as nothing and cracked on. Situated at Strathallan Castle close to Perth, it was the festivals second attempt in its new location and 26th year overall. The festival bill was a strong one, a splutter of genres merging together throughout the three days. Blending together the new, the old and the loved by all, every age group was covered with a stella line up.
With other headlining performances coming from Calvin Harris & Red Hot Chilli Peppers plus support acts including Major Lazer, LCD SoundSystem, Disclosure, Chase & Status, The 1975 and more, it was bound to be a good weekend of music.
The Stone Roses hit the main stage on the Friday. The bands merch floated around the festival site like nothing else and as the day progressed it began to get difficult to be difficult to spot anyone NOT in a signature bowl hat. The bands ‘second coming’ was surely seen as the whole weekends highlight. Performances by the Manchester group aren’t quite as sparse as they have been in the past with their reform back in 2011, but its impossible to ignore the effect the bands presence has on its crowds. The Stone Roses were bred for the festival set up – it is surely the definitive way to see the cult band. The band played a full set of tracks from their self titled debut album, favourites from the much under-rated second album ‘Second coming’ alongside a few new tracks including the new single ‘All for one’. The crowd followed every word of every song sung by Ian Brown, tambourine in hand, who finished the act by waving on the Scottish flag to applaud a fan base at T that he has become very accustomed to.
Disclosure opened up for The Stone Roses – a difficult transition however they easily held their own and as soon as the opening track ‘White noise’ was belted out, they had the audience in the palm of their hands. Disclosure are always capable of surprising people wherever they sit on the bill and if this set was anything to go by their headline act at Reading/Leeds festival could prove to be something huge.
Elsewhere on Friday, festival favourite whereever she goes, Annie Mac packed out the Radio 1 Dance stage with a typical fun and bouncing set. In contrast Rodrigo y Gabriela performed at the same time in the King Tuts Tent with a smaller crowd who enjoyed the spanish infused heavy guitar riff style of music they are most famous for.
Huge crowds swamped over to the main stage to watch Calvin Harris headline the Saturday. Quite the regular at T, Calvin is just behind Biffy Clyro for most appearances at the Scottish festival. Quite the transformation from the geeky looking artist of 2007 to the huge international DJ and producer that he is today. Its been a undeniably huge rise from the Scot who is now considered to be the face of modern dance music. He played a typically impressive set, reminding everyone just how many huge tracks he has notched up under his belt. Track after track of number one hits alongside new song Hype which included an appearance of fan favourite Dizzee Rascal.
Saturday's lineup also showcases Bastille, Jess Glynne, Tinie Tempah, Kaiser Chiefs and more. With health issues in the past year, Jess Glynne is one that I was very much looking forward to seeing. Her amazing soulful and powerful voice fills the main stage with hits like 'Dont Be So Hard on Yourself', 'Not Letting Go' & 'Right Here'. She sounds just as good live as she does on the radio, its a great performance to head into the evening. Prior to Jess Glynne, Tinie Tempah fresh off his new album knows how to get a crowd going. His music is perfect for the festival atmosphere and having seen him numerous times before, I know exactly what to expect. Hits like 'Mamacita', 'Pass Out', 'Written in the Stars' have the crowd singing throughout the entire performance.
Over on the Radio 1 stage, The 1975 close out the day as the rain dies down and the sun sets over Strathallan Castle. There is nothing fancy about this performance, just a great selection of tunes which have a die hard crowd singing along to almost every track they belt out whist competing with the echoes of Calvin Harris on the main stage. This isnt an energetic performance by all means, but its worthy of the headlining spot for this stage.
Red Hot Chilli Peppers topped off a superb weekend with a headline act reminiscent of their last 2006 headline appearance. Even strangely leaving hits, Californication and Dani California off the set list didn’t make for a disappointing show. The Chilli’s in full form played a huge set filled with crowd pleasers, new singles, Chad Smith solos and the occasional handstand back onto stage from Flea. The strong set was played with swagger from frontman Anthony Kiedis backed up by plenty of energy and gratitude towards the crowd from the rest of the band.
One of the most unfortunate festival appearances would have come from LCD Soundsystem who barley drew a crowd to the Radio 1 stage. Major Lazer however drew a huge crowd to the Radio 1 stage with their mix of dubstep, reggae and house music. With Diplo flying all over the stage mic in hand hyping the crowd up at every opportunity, its an entertaining set bringing all sorts of dance moves and hands in the air reactions. Comeback king of 2016 is surely Craig David, armed with a DJ Booth and mic in hand, this is a talented performance as he single handedly mixes the music and sings. Singing over tunes like Justin Bieber's 'Love Yourself' and mixing it with his skillful rapping, his set ensures the crowd is bouncing for the entirety.
Its fair to say that this years T in the Park was a marked improvement on last year. Most of the issues that were encountered have been resolved and the event is well oiled engine that ran smooth over the entire weekend. Regardless of the wet weather and the muddy grounds, the performances across the weekend leave us feeling satsified & happy. We look forward to another year at the castle in 2017!
UK Country Music duo The Shires held a secret launch party at Embankment One in London on Thursday July 14th.
The purpose of the event was to showcase new songs that will feature on The Shires second album MY UNIVERSE which is to be released October 7th.
Fans had to enter a contest to gain access to this event which held only a couple of hundred people. At 6pm doors opened and fans were lead up some stairs then down again to a standing area in front of a stage. The balcony was held for press and media outlets as well as family and friends including co writers to some of The Shires songs Nina Nesbitt and Twinnie Lee Moore and new country duo Darline. There were very many familiar faces amongst the fans, some of whom had been strong supporters of The Shires since the very beginning of their career back in 2014 when their first single Nashville Grey Skies was released.
Bob Harris-Radio 2 DJ and Country Music fan who hosts a Country Radio hour every Thursday at 7pm – introduced the duo before they took to the stage. Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes who make up The Shires, then came on stage after their band played the intro to Nashville Grey Skies. The audience cheering and applauding their arrival set a great atmosphere. The fans sang along to every word with The Shires as they looked into the crowd smiling and waving to those they recognised.
Addressing the crowd and briefly talking about their career journey so far, The Shires introduced new song I’m not even drunk rightnow which was a fun up- beat track and I can see becoming a crowd pleaser at future shows. Beats To Your Rhythm was the next new song which was more of a repetitive song but a good fast paced song with a much more rocky sound than Shires fans are used to. Title track to new album My Universe seemed more of an anthem track with uplifting lyrics and a nice melody. As well as adding a more rocky sound to their material, The Shires have stayed true to their stylings, especially with their talent to always produce stunning ballads, so fans were left very emotional and entranced during the beautiful heart wrenching Daddy’s Little Girl, a song written by Crissie about her late Father.
Glad to have been able to get through the song wthout crying, Crissie thanked the audience as Ben took to the keyboard ready for next new song Naked followed by title song from the last album Brave, which is a fan favourite for many reasons as the lyrics mean so much to many people. Members from Crissie's Gospel choir joined them on stage for the song A Thousand Hallelujahs. Of course, there were not a thousand hallejuhas in the song as Ben too jokes. The gospel choir were flawless and gave the song that oomph to deliver a more powerful sound.
The set ended with Friday Night, another song from the debut album Brave. A typical sing a long song, everyone was singing every word as well as raising their glasses in the air as the lyrics chant put your glasses in the air.
The Shires said their goodbyes as they left the stage. After much crowd chanting, they returned to the stage with new song Desperate which Crissie tells us almost did not make the album but she insisted upon it being included.
After the show The Shires held a meet and greet for the fans which was in a photo booth and there were various props people could use to wear for fun. Unfortunately, due to time, I could not stay for this but I heard that it was great fun and that The Shires were very chatty and grateful to each and every fan.
Going by the songs that I have heard tonight, I can say with confidence that I think the new album My Universe is going to be spectacular. I am very much looking forward to it and have already pre ordered my copy.
The Shires new album My Universe will be released October 7th and they have also announced a Tour for the end of November and December. Please see the press release below for pre order details and pre sale ticket info:
BAND TO PLAY SHOWS ACROSS THE UK IN NOV/DEC NEW ALBUM ‘MY UNIVERSE’ RELEASED 7TH OCT – EXCLUSIVE TOUR PRE-SALE ACCESS WITH ALBUM PRE-ORDERS FOLLOWS SECRET ONE EMBANKMENT SHOW LAST NIGHT WHERE THE SHIRES WOWED FANS AND PREVIEWED NEW TRACKS
“Spearheading a British country boom” – Daily Mail “Voices entwine and musical magic ensues”- The Independent on Sunday
Fresh from a triumphant headline set on Glastonbury’s Acoustic Stage, UK country duo The Shires have just announced they will be touring the UK later this year. The tour will see the critically acclaimed pair play tracks from their forthcoming album, alongside fan favourites from their gold selling debut ‘Brave’ to gig goers up and down the country finishing at London’s prestigious O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Ben Earle stated: “It’s something magical to be on stage and sharing your songs and seeing the fans’ reaction. We’re particularly excited to share our new tracks with the fans on this tour.”
Last night, Crissie and Ben gave fans a chance to hear some of their new tracks when they played a secret album launch show at London’s One Embankment. Previewing songs from their forthcoming second album ‘My Universe’, which will be released on 7th October, The Shires showcased how recording in Music City: Nashville has further honed their songwriting craft for making clever and catchy Country-Pop that continues to push the genre into the UK mainstream. Last year, they were one of only a handful of British acts to see their debut release certified Gold alongside Jess Glynne, James Bay and Years & Years. The first UK country act ever to have a top 10 album in their home country, The Shires have been at the forefront of the British Country music movement which has seen a sea change in the opinion of the British public, who have embraced the genre and UK bands making music inspired by US country artists.
Eager fans can secure their tickets for the tour when they pre-order a special edition of the new album at HMV before midnight on Monday 18th July. The HMV exclusive edition of ‘My Universe’ includes exclusive artwork and two bonus tracks. Those who order the album before midnight Monday 18th July will receive a unique code to give them access to the tour ticket pre-sale from 9am Thursday 21st July before general on-sale at 9am Friday July 22nd.
pre order here http://www.hmv.com/music/the-shires-announce-new-album-my-universe-and-massive-uk-tour
On recording the new album in Nashville, The Shires said, ,“It was great to go back to Nashville. This time we had a different approach as we knew it better and we practically lived there. We have friends there now and for some reason when you write and record there you just feel more inspired. It definitely comes through in the new music.”
The band are already making Country the soundtrack to the summer performing at a series of high profile music festivals and events including Platform and Lakes Festivals this weekend and Bracknell, Lytham, Castle Roc, Cottingham and supporting Sir Tom Jones at Bedford Park still to come. This follows their headline debut at Glastonbury Festival last month and Cornbury Festival last weekend.
The live dates will follow an intense period of song writing for the Shires, who have been working on their new album in Music City: Nashville. Ben and Crissie co-wrote some tracks with top country music writers including Kip Moore and recorded their album at Sound Stage Studios, one of the most prestigious recording studios in Nashville, which has cut records for other country superstars such as Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw and Lady Antebellum. They also graced the stage at the famous Grand Ole Opry and can add their name to Dolly Parton, Hank Williams, Garth Brooks and a veritable who’s who of Country music who have played at the famous Nashville landmark venue.
Here’s where fans can catch The Shires on their UK tour later this year:
Henley Festival is a rather sophisticated 'black tie' event held over five nights on the river bank at Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire – notably most famous for its annual regatta. Henley Festival has been running for years with this year being its 34th year. The festival, limited to approx 5,000 tickets, offers live music, comedy, art and fashion as well as many marquees with fine dining, which have to be pre booked, as well as other food and drink outlets spread around the festival.
Henley Festival is more than just a festival, it is an excuse for a pleasant evening out with family and friends where you can dress up as extravagantly as you wish – you will only be looked upon admiringly – it is most certainly the place to be and is so spectacularly different from any other festival that, instead of wellies, you see designer shoes, instead of rowdy beer drinkers, people in deep conversation holding glasses of champagne or Pimms and the only smoking I saw were of cigars as ladies walked around the festival in old theatric Interval style over the shoulder holders selling them.
This year, the line up was one constantly talked about, especially with regard to Wednesday headliner Sir Elton John. Sir Elton’s night sold out in minutes, with the other nights featuring Elvis Costello, Bryn Terfel and the WNO Orchestra, Dame Shirley Bassey and Will Young following closely behind. Speaking to some of the guests, they informed me that the night Sir Elton played, the festival was over subscribed by approximately 2,000 extra ticket holders, making it impossible for guests to move freely and becoming quite a health and safety concern. This, I was told, took away the true essence of Henley Festival's charm and left many loyal attendees disappointed, angry and perplexed as to how this could be allowed to happen.
On Sunday night, the night I attended, was Will Young’s night and was, thankfully, quite a different story. Arriving promptly at 6pm, I took the short walk from the car park to the main entrance dressed up for the night as it is not everyday you get to attend a Black Tie event. The entrance had a beautiful pop up doorway, in blue with silver sparkly writing and with entrance staff dressed up just as smart as the guests.
As soon as I arrived I was drawn towards all the guests as they shone out as visually artistic shown by the range of outfits worn, the different styles, colours, hats, bags and even down to the shoes they were wearing. People really went out of their way to look the part and look the part they did. I loved the street performers who were dressed in their variety of spectacular costumes. There were performers dressed as Angels with large wings moving around on rollers, two men dressed as tall – small headed men with their actual heads being lower down making you wonder how they could see. Over the course of the other nights there were Gorilla costumes, tree costumes and various artists with painted faces and silver hair.
Oh and the toilets…the toilets were AMAZING…so clean and not your typical festival toilet, that is a reason alone to go to Henley Festival, ha!
Despite this being a relatively small festival, you couldn't get bored as there was something for everyone. Mini art galleries were dotted along the walkway to the main lawn area, overlooking the river. There were many boats moored in the middle of the Thames eagerly waiting to hear a night time of music from their decks.
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Bar had prime position at the far end providing a fairly similar look to the original bar in London, and was a round pop – up venue which had impressive décor both outside and in.
In the centre of the main lawn area were six large boards raising awareness for the charity The Children’s Society who the festival were working in partnership with. The boards all carried a statement from Young carers telling of their aspirations in life whereas their reality was far different. Very moving to read, it tugged at your heart strings to discover that so many children become young carers for their siblings or parents from such a young age. The charity is a very important part of Henley Festival. The Children’s Society is a national charity that runs local services, helping children and young people when they are at their most vulnerable, and have nowhere left to turn. They also campaign for changes to laws affecting children and young people, to stop the mistakes of the past being repeated in the future. Their supporters around the country fund their services and join their campaigns to show children and young people they are on their side. More information on the charity can be found here : http://www.henley-festival.co.uk/support-henley-festival/henley-festival-trust/The-Childrens-Society
And here: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk
With various stages scattered around the festival, I started at Ronnie Scott's as The Ronnie Scott's Story began. The Jazz Band took centre stage and played a beautiful set of Jazz music which was both relaxing and mesmerising. I did not stay for the duration as I wanted to take a look at the other stages before Will Young commenced. Just outside the main entrance stood The Pizza ExpressLive stage, with 90’s pop Jazz band Shakatak. I was not aware of this band prior to this event but they certainly pulled a crowd and really knew how to put on a show. With the female lead singer being a Jazz powerhouse and a band really comfortable with knowing how to fully play their instruments and playing a very impressive set, they certainly knew how to entertain a crowd.
I quickly moved on to The Comedy Stage, expecting to see comedy. I was pleasantly surprised to catch the end of Shlomo. Shlomo is a British beatboxing artist, technologist, composer and teacher. I only caught his last two tracks which left me gutted that I hadn't watched the entire performance. His audience absolutely loved him and, being a young beatboxer, I was surprised by the amount of older people really getting into his set. Multi-talented, I would love to see this artist on a bigger stage one day. He had great original material and had so much energy running all over the stage singing, beatboxing and mixing. I did miss out on buying a cd he was selling afterwards as he had a long line of fans and I had to get to my seat for Will Young but Shlomo, I want one, so I hope there is somewhere I can purchase one?
Now to the main event of the evening. Will Young, who was closing the evening and the entire festival. Will was performing on TheFloating Stage which is so named because the stage was built mostly on the actual river with the audience on the river bank. The seated areas were either on the lawn in front of the stage or the grandstand, the grandstand being the most expensive ticket. I obviously knew who Will Young was as I had watched Pop Idol together with most people my age and his song Leave Right Now was one of the most played songs the year it was released. But I had never really sat down and paid full attention to his other music. So…prior to this night, I binged listened to Will Young without barely coming up for air so that I knew what to expect. Well..Will had a lot more songs I knew than I had realised and his new album 85% Proof was very impressive. I could not find a bad song on there, no fillers at all, so this made me especially excited for his show.
From the minute his band arrived on stage the crowd were cheering. Running to the microphone, he started with the song Joy. The audience sang along whilst large beach balls were floating on the stage. Love Revolution, one of my favourites, was the next song and most people stood up during this, which was hardly surprising with it being such an upbeat song. Will addressed the audience telling them how happy he was to be back at Henley Festival, his home town, and how his father lives on the other side of the river. Will has such a great, fun personality with a typical British sense of humour, so had the audience howling throughout, myself included. Stories about his dad walking around the festival with him debating whether some lady was wearing knickers or not and later texting Will at midnight to say “ You know, I don’t think she was wearing knickers.” Hilariously, Will’s mother had been banned for life from Henley Regatta for purposefully jumping in a puddle to ruin a lady's white dress back in her youth. With many other funny stories, Will entertained the crowd the entire evening and even sang Happy Birthday to a fan in the front row.
Will’s vocals are just as perfect as they sound on his studio recordings. His tone is so unique and beautiful that he was a joy to listen to. He made use of his stage with little dance moves and he waved to the audience throughout – giving a shout out too to ticket holders who were stood at the side of the lawn area. Will’s band and backing singers were also amazing, giving us a flawless performance in a perfect summer evening setting. It was lovely to see people on their boats dancing and there were crowds of people over the other side of the river too. At one point in the evening, Will asked everyone to get their phones out to shine them and making them sway them in the air, side to side, up and down and all around. Even the people on the boats and other side of the river had their phones shining which I doubt he knew and it was truly spectacular to witness.
The set list was a lovely mix of his big hits as well as album tracks. We were treated with probably, most peoples' favourite songs and, as the night went on, people got merrier and more confident to get up and dance. Everyone sang along to songs such as Light My Fire, Leave Right Now and Jealousy with Will often holding the microphone to the crowd to hear them sing. We were also treated with a rendition of Evergreen which was Will’s winning song on Pop Idol and was not originally on the set list. The encore saw Will returning to stage on a mobility scooter with a fixed keyboard doing a cover version of David Bowie’sLet’s Dance.
I simply could not fault Will's performance and am so glad that I went. As someone who was neither a fan, or not a fan prior to this show, I can most certainly say that I am now a Will Young fan and would definitely go to see him perform live again. I even overheard a guest saying that she had attended all five nights of the festival and that Will Young was the best performer by far.
His show was certainly not average, I don’t think you could ever call that average!
The night closed with a spectacular show of Fireworks over the river followed by a performance from comedian The Boy With TapeOn His Face on The Comedy Stage who I sadly had to miss due to travel commitments but I hear he is fantastic.
Set List
Joy Love Revolution Runaway Light My Fire (The Doors cover) Thank You Changes Who Am I You and I Grace Switch It On Leave Right Now
Encore:
Let's Dance (David Bowie cover) Your Game Jealousy All Time Love Evergreen
Its Thursday night and the Summer Festival Guide crew is in the sunny White Isle otherwise more commonly known as Ibiza!
We immediately notice this morning that our hotel is much more busier than it was earlier this week which makes me think that Ibiza is going to be busy tonight. With so many amazing clubs here, there is one club and event that we would definitely not miss. Tonight internationally renowned Amnesia hosts global super clubbing brand Cream, this happens every Thursday during the summer months and brings together some of the biggest artists on the planet.
This year you will find the likes of Paul Van Dyk, Markus Schultz, Above & Beyond, Armin Van Buuren, Fatboy Slim, Steve Aoki, Knife Party, Laidback Luke, Pete Tong and many more gracing the decks at this award winning club which has been around since 1976!
This evening's lineup reads like something out of a music festival with Armin Van Buuren, Fatboy Slim, Aly & Fila, John O'Callaghan, Amine Edge & Dance and more providing the beats that the crowd are here to dance to.
Driving to Amnesia just as the doors are about to open (around midnight) we get a tingling sensation knowing that we are about to experience something we never have before. The bright lighting from the sign and floodlights immediately signal we are in on the right course and jumping out of the car and into the queue there is already music blaring out of the doors. You can just feel the energy from everyone around you as you start to walk into the main room with Ruben De Ronde already getting the crowd well warmed up with some banging trance.
We walk across to the Terrace, Anton Powers has a crowd grooving to some house beats. The VIP section is located on the floor above both dance floors with immense views of the crowd on the main and terrace dance floors. With our bearings all sorted we get settled into the main room with Australian artist Marlo given the job of setting up for trance master and A State of Trance (ASOT) head honcho Armin Van Buuren. Marlo's set is incredibly energetic and by the time 2.30am rolls around the main room is packed to the rim! Armin wastes no time getting into the groove as he kicks into top gear bringing his notorious trance sound to the hot and sweaty crowd. With CO2 cannons, incredible visuals and lasers in the mix, Anmesia really does live up to its name and reputation as one of the worlds best clubs.
Having already danced my feet off for over 2 hours in the main room, I head to the Terrace to catch the infamous Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim. As with the main room, the terrace is also packed right to the back bar but there is still plenty of room to have an enjoyable dance. As the lights go down, the vocals of Praise You kick in with a huge applause and cheers from the crowd. The room glows yellow and Fatboy Slim pops up behind the decks. Immediately we are hit with the synths of Eat Sleep Rave Repeat and you can feel that Fatboy Slim is teasing the crowd, as soon as the bass kicks in, the CO2 cannons erupt and bodies are jumping all around the dance floor. I get a feeling this is going to be quite the workout if this is anything to go by.
Fatboy Slim's two hour set is fun and enjoyable, one of the best I have heard for a long time, full of tunes from his enormous back catalog including Renegade Master, Star 69, Praise You, Rockafella Skank and more.
As I head out the doors in the early hours with a huge smile on my face, I am massively happy that I came to Amnesia to witness the Cream experience. For anyone heading to the sunny shores of Ibiza, Amnesia and especially Cream is a night you should book into your schedule. Warning, bring your best dancing shoes because its guaranteed you will not move off that dance floor from the moment you enter those doors!
Cream comes to Amnesia every Thursday until the 15th September 2016.
Have you heard about a club called Space in Ibiza and bloke by the name of Carl Cox? Well if not then you must be living in a bubble because these two things go hand in hand and are synonymous with club goers all around the world. Having come into its current form in 1989, Space has grown a reputation for one of the best clubs on the planet. With its uber famous outdoor terrace blearing out tunes with planes flying overhead during the fantastic nights put on, it's a shame that this will be the final year we get to enjoy this unique setting.
Space will be shutting it's doors for good come the end of the 2016 summer season and hence we have come to Ibiza to witness personally one of my favourite artists Carl Cox complete his legacy at his Music is Revolution night which takes place every Tuesday.
Walking up to Space you can't miss the blue neon lighted signs for Cox's night. Called the Music is Revolution: The Final Chapter, Carl is sending Space out in style by bringing together some of the biggest electronic music artists in the world like Masters at Work, Sasha, John Digweed, Fatboy Slim and many more! You really do have to wonder how they can replace an icon like Space and a night that has been growing from strength to strength for 15 years, I am not sure they can.
Lucky enough we are here on the 5th July and treated to a pretty special lineup with Adam Bayer B2B Ida Endburg and Nic Fanciulli B2B Carl Cox in the Discoteca area whilst Andy C and more perform on the terrace.
Kicking off the start of the night, Adam and Ida quickly shift into the gears and before you know it the room is rammed with bodies warming up before the main event. Adam and Ida work great together going back to back, treating the crowd with driving baselines and spine tingling breakdowns complete with CO2 cannons and a mind blowing light and lazer display. Their 3 hour set concludes with the room at pretty much full capacity, it's hot and sweaty, but what else would you expect from a night where you have thousands of people dancing away for hours on end.
The crowd ruptures into cheers and claps as Carl and Nic take their positions. With a intro video kicking off their set, Carl Cox's famous deep banging bass line style kicks in and the crowd goes absolutely insane. With the CO2 Cannons and lights and lazers doing their thing, you can tell we are in for a good few solid hours of dancing and plenty of fist pumping hands in the air opportunities. The one thing that I love about Carl Cox is the energy he brings to every set. Having seen him for the first time circa 2001 out in New Zealand, his persona behind the decks is what makes him an extraordinary artist and performer. You can tell Carl loves what he does and the passion shows through his bouncing around and interacting with the crowd in every set he does. Team this up with another talented performer in Nic Fanciulli, and you got an amazing group of people performing for this crowd behind the decks.
The set is exactly what I expect from these guys, driving baselines, sick drops and breakdowns and the type of music to keep you grooving all night into the early hours. Combined with an extrodinary visual setup hovering above the decks, an up for it crowd, and the fact that we are in the legendary Space Ibiza venue, it makes for quite an emotional experience that many have yet and will ever get to experience in this lifetime.
It was an absolute pleasure to witness Carl Cox playing at Space in his "Final Chapter" and if you have yet to see him here then I highly suggest you book your flights to Ibiza and tickets to Space for one of the upcoming Music is Revolution nights which take place every Tuesday.
You can’t deny it, something out there really has it in for Download Festival. It’s the same story every year – burnt for the first two days camping and then incessantly soaked for the rest, it’s like… metal is the music of the devil… or something…
Campers have been steadily pouring in since Wednesday, setting up epic tent-collectives with all manner of décor (bra-bunting is a particular favourite of mine) and it’s set to be a belter of a weekend, even though we’re probably all going home with trench foot and hypothermia. The Village, the hub of the camping area, is home to weird and wonderful acts such as The Wall of Death, The Inflatable Church, The Circus of Horrors, Zorbing and the fire-wielding Area 51. Oh and hilariously British pursuits like Bogan Bingo, a quiz and five-a-side football, if that’s more your speed. Head over there at night for after-hours bands, DJ’s and even catch a movie in the Cinema or laugh your arse off in The Side Splitter comedy tent.
It’s clear Download’s commitment to becoming a bit more of a well-rounded festival is working, the out of hours entertainment, things to do and see and the much improved food options mean a nicer festival experience for all, without taking the emphasis off the music at all. With the now extensive shopping and food outlets you’d better have cash on you this weekend, as despite last years’ ‘breakthrough’ technology claiming to take all the hassle out of on-site payments (which of course did not go to plan) Download have well and truly ditched the idea of RFID tags and have gone over to… er… all normal methods that you can do in the real world.
FRIDAY
Friday sees a dry start and Alien Ant Farm are failing to get anyone interested in anything other than Smooth Criminal, and Babymetal (half an hour late) draw a massive crowd for their J-Pop inspired metal, which is frankly just about the oddest thing ever. They’ve stuck to their goth-loli look and eardrum piercingly high vocals for Gimme Chocolate but actually the new album tracks seem a bit more developed and musically interesting rather than gimmicky. We do wish Herman Lee could have popped up for Road of Resistance, but the two girls down the front who have made a massive effort to dress like the band seem to be loving it, alongside some very big bearded men who appear to know ALL the words.
On the Encore stage, Christian rock band Skillet are killinit (see what I did there?) but the Lemmy/Motorhead tribute video on the main stage is in all honestly a bit lame. We all know Lemmy partied hard, but is it really necessary for people to recount exactly what variety of drug he offered them? Only Brian May appears to talk about him in a painfully honest way, saying “I miss him very badly”. Apart from a stage naming and a tshirt on the merch stand, it’s weirdly unspoken for the most part… maybe it’s all a bit soon for most of the bands.
Grabbing possibly the most English food available for lunch (Duck fat roast potatoes with gravy, followed by apple crumble…) we hit up the absolutely packed Maverick stage for Geordie rockers The Wildhearts who have everyone jumping to I Wanna Go Where The People Go. Over on the main stage we’re treated to a dose of Jonathon Davis’ chicken dance (hold mic, flap arms) as Korn blast out the likes of Coming Undone and Freak On A Leash. The rain is absolutely hammering down now and it kinda fits the grungy nu-metal feel, the arena is full of swamp-people whipping their hair everywhere. Amidst the seriousness of purpose that Korn portray, it’s hard not to giggle at the Lebowski-esque rug that has been laid down to stop Davis stacking it in front of everyone.
Finally it’s on to the main event, and the bedraggled but excited masses have gathered for the ever sinister yet playful German powerhouse that is Rammstein. Running through scores of hits like Sonne, Du Hast, Ich Will and Feuer frei there’s nothing missing from this incredible set. The expected but always insane pyrotechnics just keep coming, with fire breathing face-cages, firework body suits and a giant pair of angel wings, there’s just nothing these guys won’t do for a show.
Entering the arena today it’s obvious some effort has been made in the way of soaking up the sludge, using a ton of hay and woodchips, there’s a much boggier/safer quality to the underfoot feel, but it probably won’t last.
Over in The Kennels area, a queue is already forming for new addition WWE NXT stage, live wrestling shows hosted by Triple H, whilst self-proclaimed Swedish circus freaks Avatar are bringing some life to the main stage. Wearing what I can only describe as resplendent outfits inspired by the Vatican Guard and yelling “Bang your heads English men!” they put on a rowdy first set of the day, and gain a few more followers with their tight riffs and synchronized hairwhipping.
Beartooth’s punky tones soar across the arena to a decent sized crowd for In Between and Black Peaks are totally smashing the Maverick stage. Turbowolf take the baton next yelling “For the next half an hour, this is our home” before tumbling headlong into the likes of Rabbit’s Foot and Solid Gold.
Danko Jones starts out with classic Play The Blues which actually gets kind of a cold reception from the crowd, but soon he’s telling us “…everybody at Download gets to call me… delicious” and saying “I am a whore for that sound you make with your hands” everything starts to get lively. A fan in the front row passes up a flag requesting Sex Change Shake but Danko goes on to play Cadillac instead citing “…it’s the same three chord structure anyway… so this is like, Shake Change Sex”. There is something ridiculously fun about Danko Jones, in an overwhelmingly cheesy way. They are so uncool they’re cool. They’re the Fonz of rock.
Lawmower Deth however, are exactly the kind of godawful rubbish we should (and do) love, this time with an added Brucey Bonus of being joined by… and I can’t believe I’m writing this… Kim Wilde for Kids in America. It could not be more bonkers and everyone LOVED it.
Rival Sons bluesy cali rock has the arena up and dancing with their beers, soaring vocals and a stellar set – we loved closer Keep On Swinging. On the Encore stage Juliette and the Licks hit hard with Hot Kiss and Credence Clearwater Revival cover Proud Mary, J-Lew is just as enigmatic on stage as on screen. Megadeth are joined on stage by Nikki Sixx for Anarchy in the UK before Nikki steps out with his own band Sixx: AM for a completely different sound. It’s a strong set and a hell of a lot of people have come out to watch. Despite the sea of hair and black tshirts this weekend, it’s clear the pop-punk kids have been hiding in plain sight as the hoarde heads towards the Maverick stage for rowdy Welsh band Neck Deep, but they aren’t even going to win Taffy of the day with Skindred tearing it up over on the Encore stage. Despite the now constant rain, Skindred have drawn a huge crowd for their completely-weird-but-totally-works reggae-metal and the whole crowd is getting down and dirty for Doom Riff and Pressure. With an unsolicited play of Bieber’s ‘Sorry’ mixed into Trouble, they’ve singlehandedly outlined exactly which people we should push in the mud later, but not to worry as there’s an epic and extremely wet swirling of tshirts for Warning. We love a bit of a Newport Helicopter we do.
The rain is now unashamedly heavy and regardless of the plastic ponchos, raincoats and really fucking annoying golf umbrellas, pretty much everyone is soaked through. The crowd is built right up the main stage hill and the anticipation is palpable. Fan or not, there’s no denying that seeing Black Sabbath on their last ever tour (no really, it will be the last this time… right?) is pretty special and important. Though it’s clear throughout the set that Ozzy’s voice isn’t the best (was it ever?) the songs are heavy and hit the nerve of nostalgia so hard. Snowblind, War Pigs, Iron Man and Paranoid are obvious highlights, but no less great because of it. With the downpour drastically thinning the crowd, the views are spectacular and it’s the kind of closing show you hope for – full of hits, none of the new stuff. They will be missed.
With the early morning news that GHOST have cancelled their set today and nightmarish state of the main arena (seriously, it’s the kind of goop bodies arise from in the Walking Dead) today’s bands have to compete with the drowned-rat temperament of all those who’ve camped. Luckily there’s crepes for breakfast, a champagne tent and… hold up, what? I’m down with crumble but there’s no place for Moët in Metal. Come on.
Looking about as country as you can get, Whiskey Myers ease us in gently with Early Morning Shakes on the Encore stage before Amon Amarth give us growly Viking battle tunes from their dragon longship style stage set-up and giant fire canons. It’s even more awesome than it sounds, honestly. Whiplash back to bluesy rock with an inexplicably American sound for Glasgow vocalist Phil Campbell and The Temperance Movement. It’s an unrelentingly great set with a few tracks from the new album but finishing up with Ain’t No Telling from their first, we’re glad to see them back at Download.
On the Maverick stage, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes are, well, doing what they do. There’s a huge mosh pit and lots of people seem to be enjoying themselves, but lots of other people seem to be screwing their noses up and walking away. So we head on over to the main stage for the eponymous Halestorm who have grabbed a massive crowd and are belting out Amen, I Am The Fire and I Miss The Misery. There’s no doubting Lzzy Hale’s vocal prowess but there’s something very Nickelback about them, massively produced and clean, it’s hard to put your finger on it.
Shinedown have that crowd-participation approach that we Brits love to hate, like panto – they want us to jump, so at first we do it sarcastically… then again to reinforce the joke… before you know it everyone is pogoing like a complete tosspot to a band they don’t even really like. Either we’re a very very susceptible nation, or Shinedown are actually doing a good job. I’ve no idea at this point. Delain on the Encore stage have drawn all the raven haired goth girls for a good old headbang but there’s a bit of power missing behind it all. On the Maverick stage Electric Wizard are heavy in a way that makes your stomach drop but it's Gojira who really make our skin crawl, in the best kind of way.
Disturbed are actually forcing joy out of otherwise non-fans today with the likes of Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence – a stalwart of their tour repertoire. In an epic hit-to-hit continuous play we get; U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For with Lzzy Hale, The Who’s Baba O’Riley with Blaze Bayley and RATM’s Killing In The Name with Benjamin Burnley of Breaking Benjamin. Where else are you gonna see that kind of mash up? Let’s be honest though, we’re all waiting for Down With The Sickness, and Disturbed give it to us with a cry of “I think it’s apparent the entire United Kingdom has been infected with sickness…”
Nightwish are plagued from the off with the heaviest downpour of the weekend but that’s never done anything to quiet this truly epic band before. Lords of the symphonic circuit, Nightwish have been the subject of more drama than any other band, public shamings and bootings aside – they seem to have bounced back each time. In Floor Jansen they’ve found a vocalist capable of traversing Tarja Turunen’s operatic realm and the rock sound they’ve been moving steadily towards over the last few albums, and she hits the stage dressed like a Valkyrie, which I guess, is the point really. With giant bursts of fire from stage canons, Nightwish (and the now extraordinarily drenched fans) power through some of the strongest numbers of the entire weekend. Nemo’s the one everyone has been waiting for, and though it will never quite be the same without Tarja, it packs a punch and remains a fan favourite. It seems Download loves Nightwish, no matter who’s fronting. Especially that dude vogue-ing the shit out of it at the back.
Headlining the Maverick stage Saxon get more than they bargained for – the tent is bursting at its seams with the soggy and groggy, warming themselves up for Maiden with the Yorkshire boys. 747 (Strangers in the Night) is melodic-shreddingly amazing, And The Bands Played On is the perfect description of what Saxon seem to intend to do… forever… and Wheels of Steel has every single person singing along. Biff’s voice and determination is as strong as ever.
As is typical of Sunday headliners at Download, there is very little crossover of other stages, and Iron Maiden also joining us a little later than intended means the arena is absolutely COVERED in bodies. Thankfully the rain has stopped just in time for the screens to switch over to Eddie TV and Bruce Dickinson to emerge from centre stage for If Eternity Should Fail. Through a Book Of Souls heavy set we are well and truly smacked with the fact that Bruce’s throat cancer surgery has done nothing to dull his vocals or his enthusiasm, he races the stage with the same wild abandon he has always had. In the wake of Black Sabbath’s ending, it’s sort of comforting to know that Maiden have no plans to quit any time soon. Hell, they just got a new plane.
Old favorites The Trooper, Hallowed Be Thy Name and Fear Of The Dark are every bit as heart-stoppingly brilliant as we’ve come to expect, the stage sets and animatronics just can’t be rivaled. With an epic encore of The Number Of The Beast, Blood Brothers and Wasted Years, Maiden came, saw, conquered. With a long speech regarding this weekend’s tragic events in Orlando, an incredible set and more energy than any one of us can muster after three days in a field – Bruce may as well have done an actual mic drop.
So what to make of Download 2016? As always controversy over headliners is rife for this sort of festival. With a genre so diverse, with arguably warring factions – there’s always going to be something you love, and something you hate. That’s kind of the point right? If you loved the whole lineup everything would clash. If you hated the whole lineup, you wouldn’t buy a ticket. This year, Download seemed to have secured bands from a whole heap of genres without one heavily dominating the others and let’s be honest – seeing Rammstein, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden on the same bill is really pretty incredible when you think about it. But who the hell is going to top this? Roll on DL2017’s announcements and the ensuing forum arguments we will inevitably be part of…
Bags ready tent purchased and we were ready to hit the road for an epic weekend of random antics, filled with laughter, good friends and live music, a line-up so large, that no one could contain their excitement.
Thursday evening has arrived tents up and its time to see what the Isle of Wight Festival 2016 has to offer. The 'Big Top' stage opens up with performances from 'The dolls', 'Maxi Jazz and the E-Type Boys' and 'The Cast', who were getting the audience ready for the headliners of the evening 'Status Quo'.
'Status Quo' hit the stage at 9:30 to perform to the festival goers, filling out the 'Big Top', and leaving fans to listen from the sidelines, filling the area around the Big top, creating some members of the audience to suggest they should have opened up on the main stage as the sound was distorted by the carnival in the background. 'Status Quo' performed songs such as ‘Down, Down’, ‘Caroline’, 'In the army now’ and 'Rocking all over the world’ Starting the festive antics with a powerful and electric performance, the audience roared in excitement which created a great atmosphere that thrived over the weekend at Isle of Wight Festival 2016; lining the stomach for the acts that will be hitting the stage in the days to come.
Friday was the first official opening of the main stage with performances from bands such as 'Reverend and the makers', 'Busted' and 'Everything Everything'. Just many of a great line up.
Photo courtesy of Isle of Wight Festival
Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis share a joke as Busted perform on the main stage on Friday 'Busted' took us back the noughties performing hits such as ‘what I go to school for’, 'Air hostess’, 'Crashed the wedding’, and ending the performance with ‘Year 3000’. This was a nostalgic performance, creating a great atmosphere through the field as people interacted with the band and danced like no one was watching.
They were followed by 'Jess Glynne' a British female artist, Who took the crowd on a powerful journey opening up with ‘don’t be so hard on yourself’, and performing hits from her latest album such as ‘Hold my hand’, 'Real love' and ‘Take me home’ her vocals were flawless and her performance created a stamp on how the evening would continue.
Photo courtesy of Isle of Wight Festival
For me the performers of the night were ‘Stereophonics', the crowd were waiting in anticipation as the welsh boys were getting ready to come on and perform to thousands of fans across the isle of wight, the weather was holding out and the sky was drawing in and they arrived, the crowd went wild and the anticipation was over, 'Kelly Jones' has such stage presence that captured and got the crowd to their feet, performing songs such as ‘Handbags and Gladrags’, 'Have a nice day’, 'local boy in a photograph’ and ‘A thousand trees’ hit after hit just blaring from the stage, getting better and better and each song bringing the audience to life. They ended with 'Dakota' getting the crowd to join in and get crazy for one last hit of the night before introducing their co-headliners 'Faithless'.
'Faithless' closed the night with and electric performance, performing hit such as ‘God is a DJ', ‘insomnia’ and ‘Fatty Boo’ just closing the night in the right way, Lights, good music and dancing all you needed was the glow sticks and you were set, this got the crowd ready for the rest of the weekend, for the acts to follow.
Photo courtesy of Isle of Wight Festival
Saturday brought many artists to ‘The Big Top’ and ‘The Main Stage’ the festival was picking up and the bands were getting ready to perform for the many crowds surrounding them today.
The ‘Big Top’ seen many artists such as the ‘Simon Townsend’, ‘The Damned’ and ‘Pendulum’ perform throughout the day, Two artists stood out for me the most ‘Bang Bang Romeo’ and ‘Adam Ant’.'Bang Bang Romeo’ performed at the Isle of wight 2015 on the 'Jack Rocks Stage', they were invited back and given a space on the 'Big Top'stage for 2016, they gave a dynamic and creative performance, the Vocals were powerful and edgy, which created the atmosphere of their music and got the audience supporting the Yorkshire based band, performing songs such as ‘Chemical’, ‘Johannesburg’ and their new release ‘Invitation’.
The legendary ‘Adam Ant’ gave an eccentric performance, performing songs such as ‘Kings or the wild frontier’, ‘Dog eat Dog’, ‘Stand and Deliver’ and ‘Goody two shoes’. He bought the eighties to the festival, giving the crowd quirky and stand alone performance. To Help bring awareness Spandau Ballets 'Gary Kemp' and The Corrs 'Andrea Corr', performed 'Starman’ in a touching tribute to the late 'David Bowie’ for Stand up for cancer who are raising awareness and supporting those who have been affected by cancer. At 3:45 there was a short video celebrating 'David Bowie's’ Life and capturing hundreds of fans, bringing awareness for the course, by wearing 'David Bowie’ masks and posing for a picture on the MainStage.
Photo courtesy of Isle of Wight Festival
The MainStage gave the crowd artists from ‘The Kills’,‘Turin Brakes’, ‘Alabama 3’ and ‘Polly Money’ warming up the audience for the headliners of the evening ‘The Who”. Before 'The Who’ we had some amazing acts perform ‘Iggy Pop’ hit the stage his character larger than life and his movements creating an interesting view as he performed hits such as 'Wild Thing’,‘Sweet 16’ and ‘Passenger’ the audience joined through the performance creating an atmosphere that leads on to the next performer to grace us with his presenc 'Richard Ashcroft’ performed songs from his album ‘Urban Hymns’ performing songs such as ‘Out of my body’, ‘Breaking the night with colour’ and two new ones ‘Hold on’ and ‘This is how it feels’ whilst performing classic such as ‘The drugs don’t work' and ending with the classic ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ the audience went crazy for this and it was an amazing way to introduce ‘The Who’.
'The Who’ headlined the isle of wight on Saturday night performing to a verity of individuals, people who have been following them since the sixties and the younger generation who has been influenced by their music from their parents of even their grandparents. ‘Peter Townsend’ and 'Roger Daltery’ performed for over 2 hours, performing hits such as ‘My generation’, ‘Behind blue eyes’,‘The Kids are alright’ and ‘Pinball Wizard’. They opened up the show with “who are you’ getting the crowd worked up and ready for the night ahead. After 5 decades of being together they still can put together a great live performance, even though at times there were moments of strain In ‘Roger Daltery’s’ voice but this overcame by the commitment to the performance, by showing that he still could hit those high notes in the song 'love reign O'er me’, put those moments of strain behind the crowd the ended a night with a high.
Photo courtesy of Isle of Wight Festival
Sunday was the Day to celebrate the Queens 90th Birthday but not only celebrate one 'Queen', but to celebrate legend we know as ‘Queen’ the one and only 'Freddie Mercury’. With 'Queen with Adam Lambert' Headlining the final show of the weekend. The show everyone has been waiting for.
Photo courtesy of Isle of Wight Festival
On the Sunday 'The big Top’ welcomed artists such as ‘The Novatones’, ‘The Carnaby's’,‘Reef' and ‘The Second Sons’. The Big Top was closed by the Welsh band known as‘Feeder' after 'Queen' had closed the MainStage, ‘Feeder' performed songs such as ‘Buck Rogers’, ‘Just the way I am feeling’ and ‘Just a day’ bringing the audience that was already buzzing to their feet, dancing and bouncing around the tent intertwining and celebrating the end of an amazing festival. Their performance was electrifying, loud and on point. A fab close to a fantastic day. The Main Stage was warming up and bring the sunshine out, acts such as ‘Twin Atlantic’, ‘Half Moon Run’ and ‘The Cribs’ performed alongside Former ‘Genesis''Mike Rutherford’
With the band ‘Mike and the Mechanics’ performing some of the classics from ‘Genesis’‘I can’t dance’ and 'Land of confusion’ bringing the sun out with every song, the crowd building up and joining the band on a sunny but yet cloudy day. This was a great way to start the Sunday line up for me. 'Ocean Colour Scene’ set of the evening with ‘Hundred Mile High City’ bringing the audience to their feet, one hit after another ‘The RiverboatSong’, ‘The day we caught the train’ and ‘You’ve got it bad’ this got people pumping and ready, even with the rain this did not stop the crowd from jumping up and down and enjoying themselves at the Isle of wight festival.
Now that we were warmed up, rained on and waiting in anticipation…. 'Queen' was about to come on, the music starts and the crowd roars, the field was packed to the edges, from everyone finding their perfect spot, so they could enjoy the celebrate the life and legend of 'Freddie Mercury'captured through the Vocals of 'Adam Lambert'. This is the closest we will ever get to seeing Queen as a whole, 'Brian May', 'Roger Taylor' and the flamboyant singer 'Mr Lambert'. 'Lambert' from the start made it known that he was not there to replace 'Freddie Mercury' as no-one could, but to bring the songs that were once created and performed by a legend to life, and to honour and celebrate his life. With Rock Legends 'May' and 'Taylor'.'Lambert' captivated the audience with his outgoing and eccentric performance, starting the night off with ‘One Vision’ and from their belting out hit after hit such as, ‘Fat Bottom Girls’, ‘Another One bites the dust’, ‘I want to break free’ ‘Don’t stop me now’ and ‘Somebody to Love’. Whilst Performing ‘Lambert’ dedicated a song to the Victims of the Orlando shooting and anyone affected by acts of terrorism, he performed a beautiful and heart warming version of ‘Who wants to live forever’. 'Brian May’ Performs ‘Love of my life’ asking the audience to join in, dedicating this song to the late 'Freddie Mercury', at the end of the performance a video Clip of ‘Freddie Mercury’ finishing the song to the audience is introduced. This is closest that we would come to witnessing the Legend Perform. This was used in one more song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ using ‘Lambert’ and Clips of ‘Mercury’ to perform parts of the song to the crowd. This was done just right, not overdone but capturing the man that helped to build such great Anthems. The crowd joined in for every song and captured every moment together ‘Radio Ga Ga’ was a highlight of my evening everyone in the audience clapping and creating that moment When they sing “Radio Ga Ga ( Two Claps) Radio Go Go" and the audience clap in the middle , that for me was epic and immense, it is something I have always wanted to be involved in and now I can tick this moment of my bucket list. They Finished the show with such power and energy that we were still buzzing even when they were no longer on, They performed ‘We Will Rock you’ and ‘We are the Champions’ Everyone joined in sang their hearts out and enjoyed the show-stopping, breathtaking band of the weekend, they truly finished with a Bang.
A Show turning event for the Isle of Wight festival 2016!
