New York City-based record label and experiential series, Indo Warehouse, makes its Amsterdam Dance Event debut, bringing their captivating sound and authentic breed of South Asian-inspired house and techno to Melkweg on October 22. Label heads Kahani and Kunal Merchant will be joined by Harji and special guest Anish Kumar. Get your limited tickets for this much anticipated party now at indo-warehouse.com.
Indo Warehouse is the hottest new underground movement in the States with a rich cultural sound drawn from their South Asian heritage. They define and curate each experience with South Asian-inspired artifacts and textures, soundtracked with hypnotic, emotive, and percussive grooves.
This summer, the emerging label’s records have been in steady rotation across the globe – from parties in Ibiza to their recent 6-hour takeover of Diplo’s Revolution on Sirius XM. They recently completed an 11-date sold out North American club tour, with a homecoming show welcoming 4500 fans to The Brooklyn Mirage. Next, they hopped across the Atlantic for a sold out debut at London’s Outernet, with over 2000 fans in attendance.
The Indo Warehouse event during ADE week will offer a full showcase of the label’s sound and unique party ethos for an incredibly unique experience.
Art With Me Festival is an authentic and organic cultural experience and the world’s most immersive and transformative art offering, and this year it returns to Miami’s Historic Virginia Key Beach Park from 8 – 10 December 2023 during ART BASEL WEEK. For the first time, this edition will expand to three days with an even more rich offering of jaw-dropping installation art, a comprehensive wellness program and world renowned international talents including first wave names Underworld, Polo & Pan, Channel Tres (DJ Set), Lee Burridge presents All Day I Dream, LP Giobbi, Anthony Middleton (Audiofly), Francesca Lombardo, Jan Blomqvist, Apache, Elephant Heart, Gavlak, Isaiah Martin, Matt Caines, Murmusica Ensemble and more. Head to https://artwithme.org to secure your tickets now.
Art With Me strives to harness the power of the creative arts to spark positive impactful change inside and out. Founded by David Graziano in Tulum, Mexico as a not for profit organisation in 2018 and with past editions in Las Vegas and Turkey, it is renowned for its vital and varied celebration of creativity, sustainability, and community with the whole event built around the six core pillars of art, dance, breathe, eat, play, and care. It’s a place to connect with nature, with each other, with music, art and wellness with likeminded people.
Musically there is much to look forward to once more with full stage experience partners All Day I Dream and Soundtuary and headlines sets form first wave names such as legendary UK electronic duo Underworld, French pair Polo & Pan, a special DJ set from US rapper and singer Channel Tres, organic and uplifting deep house from Lee Burridge presents All Day I Dream, world rhythms and magical melodies from the breakout sensation that is LP Giobbi, stylish house from Anthony Middleton aka one half of the esteemed Audiofly, multi-genre fusions from the classy Francesca Lombardo plus more from Jan Blomqvist, Apache, Elephant Heart, Gavlak, Isaiah Martin, Matt Caines, and Murmusica Ensemble.
Art and creativity are guiding themes for Art With Me as the different pillars are all brought together across three magical days. An array of visual artists build jaw-dropping installations that spark important dialogues about the past, present and future of art and creativity workshops, talks, environmental design experiences and more making for a fantastic space for free thought, one-on-one interactions and open dialogue with the creators.
As well as this you can expect premium culinary experiences with juice bars, food truck vendors and concessions, a wellness program the offers everything from drum circles to yoga, from temazcales to plant medicine healing while children are catered for as Play With Me’s instructors create and oversee a curriculum that gives them an experience that will positively impact them throughout their lives.
Of course, the famous sites of Miami are also there for everyone to explore and enjoy, from its art to its beaches to its architecture, and Virginia Key itself is a stunning 863-acre barrier island in Miami, located in Biscayne Bay, south of Brickell and north of Key Biscayne. It is accessible from the mainland via the Rickenbacker Causeway and offers impressive ocean views and long sweeping beaches with unforgettable sunsets.
Embracing all forms of art from Burning Man large scale interactive pieces to kids art classes, digital to 3D, performance to restorative art, Art With Me breaks open boundaries and explores the unknown. Get ready to be inspired, enchanted, and forever changed as the final countdown to Art With Me Festival begins.
The last time I saw Hugo and Felix White was when they were in The Maccabees. Since splitting back in 2017 they have created a new band called 86TV’s with their brother Will who was in indie rock band Talk Taxis and made a few years appearance with The Maccabees and Jamie Morrison who is Stereophonics drummer. With years of musical experience this new band is sure to bring something amazing to the scene. On their first tour aspartof the Music Venue Trust they stopped off at the rock venue The Six Six bar in Cambridge. Its a small music venue with a capacity of 160. The venue is decorated with old NME covers ,a huge Beavertown mural at the back of the stage and a Motorhead shrine. There is a great selection of drinks and a vegan eatery called The Vegan Witch.
The show was completely sold out which was not surprising have these musical icons visiting. Supporting them was singer songwriter Blair Davie who is from Scotland writes slot of songs about bisexuality, loss and heartbreak but also about the beauty that life can offer. With just a guitar and their voice the audience are wowed. The sound was incredible and their voice was so passionate with every word that they sung. Blair is one who everyone should experience.
After Blairs set everyone was eagerly awaiting for 86TVs to come on stage. The room was getting very hot and sweaty. The room was filled with cheers as the band entered. Felix mentioned to the audience that they were really happy for be performing and that the best thing about playing songs that no one knows is that if they mess up no one will notice. The main vocals were shared between Will and Hugo. Sweat was pouring off the band and all they had to wipe down was a tea towel which Felix joked saying he’s used his 5th of the towel and that the others cant use that section. The whole band were thrilled and so happy to be playing to people after working so hard on their music. They played a total of nine songs with their last song being the single ‘Worn Out Buildings’ which everyone was clapping along too.
After the show the band stood chatting to the audience members and selling merchandise. Hugo said its nice to be starting at the bottom again and working their way up in the music scene again. Their debut album should hopefully be dropping next year which we are all eager to hear. These guys are going to explode onto the music scene and it was great to be part of one of their first shows.
Across two days and multiple stages in a new space in Beckenham, Soul Town Festival offered dancers, rides, attractions, face painting and so much more to thousands of happy people.
Mica Paris, Eban Brown from the Stylistics, UB40, Sister Sledge ft Kathy Sledge, Tunde Baiyewu (Lighthouse Family), Desmond Decker & The Aces and many more all played with high class production, a warm and friendly crowd and great vibes.
These pictures prove that it was the best year yet.
Sardinia’s Phi Beach in Arzachena closes down another superb season with a fantastic final party on September 9th 2023 featuring extra special guest Themba.
Themba is an Afro house kingpin and leader of the scene who has released global hits like ‘Who Is Themba?’ as well as a superb first album full of musical innovation, spiritual sounds and deep grooves. He serves up all that and more when in the DJ booth and off the back of another big summer he now plays a special set at Phi Beach.
The magical open-air Phi Beach is located on a stunning beach of rare beauty and charm on the Costa Smeralda. This summer it has hosted the likes of Claptone, Bob Sinclar, Jayda G, Black Coffee, DJ Tennis, Carl Cox, Bora Uzer, Folamour, Tale Of Us, Fideles, Themba, Peggy Gou, Purple Disco Machine, Bedouin, Diplo, Blond:ish, Fatboy Slim, Jamie Jones and many more.
Dancers have enjoyed dancing with sand between their toes, with hot sun beaming down or starry nights skies up above. It has an outdoor bar and plenty of places to enjoy the stunning sunsets each evening as you dance the afternoon away and into the night accompanied by breathtaking video mapping and visual effects.
Do not miss this final chance to dance at one of Europe’s best beach clubs.
MOGA Festival is an unmissable meeting place for lovers of electronic music and nomadic culture, and today it announces the second phase of its line-up for the 2023 edition which will be held from October 4-8th in Essaouira. The likes of Antal, Luca Saporito (Audiofly), Miss Monique, Viken Arman, Worakls, Stasi Sanlin, Deer Jade, Gerd Janson and others complete the IN program which will be held from Friday 6th to Sunday 8th at the Sofitel Mogador. This new wave of more than 30 artists comes on top of an already rich lineup which includes Jayda G, Shkoon (Live), Rhadoo, Dyed Soundorom, A Guy Called Gerald, Oceanvs Orientalis, Margaret Dygas and more.
Essaouira is the home of this cultural event which is more than just a music festival: MOGA offers an immersive experience with electronic music next to a rich array of Souiri cultures with a full OFF program. For five days, local experts will offer activities and events from surfing to yoga, cooking classes, writing workshops, mixing, an introduction to traditional Gnawa music, a pop market, musical brunch, kite show and much more with the complete OFF program revealed soon.
THE #MOGAESSA23 EXPERIENCE
MOGA OFF is five days of cultural activities and workshops in Essaouira as MOGA is not only a music festival but offers a global experience that combines cultural encounters, historic discoveries and local explorations in the heart of one of the jewels of an UNESCO World Heritage site across several venues. Think cooking, DJ sets, workshops, exhibitions, kite surfing, surfing lessons, conferences, concerts and much more, most of which will be free for MOGA pass holders.
MOGA HOTSPOTS
There are plenty of amazing places in Essaouira to explore during your stay and some establishments will offer special discounts to MOGA pass holders with all manner of bars, restaurants, cafes, shops, well being spots and activity centers offering quad biking, camel riding, spas, hammam, massages and more.
MOGA IN is three days of pure celebration with dive stages and more than 70 artists at the Sofitel Mogador. The IN program includes not only DJ Sets and live performances, but also musical surprises, wellness activities, catering spaces, art installations, designer markets, workshops and much more.
FINAL LINE-UP ADDITIONS
Antal is the Amsterdam DJ behind one of the most influential labels in Europe: Rush Hour. Luca Saporito is half of the legendary deep house duo Audiofly with a 20-year career. Miss Monique is a Ukrainian DJ producer,and perhaps the most recognized female progressive house DJ in Europe. Viken Arman has a unique fusion of electronic beats and acoustic compositions with jazz, house, minimal and hip-hop influences. Classically trained DJ/composer Worakls plays and produces organic electro, Stasi Sanlin is one of the leading DJs in the Middle East who mixes powerful melodic techno with hypnotic afro rhythms and Deer Jade’s melodic music takes you on a mystical journey, while Running Back boss Gerd Janson is one of the most respected house and techno DJs in the underground.
FULL LINE-UP (A-Z)
A GUY CALLED GERALD (live) – ADAM DIRK’HEIM – AMNAYE – ANJA SUGAR b2b EDDIE MEGRAOUI – ANTAL – ANTHÖNY – ASTRAL WAYNE – ATLASSI – AY:YU – BALOO – BASSAM – CARUAN – CHAOU B – CORTEGA – DAOX – DEER JADE – DYED SOUNDOROM – FIONA – FUMIYA TANAKA – GENE ON EARTH – GERD JANSON – GUEDRA GUEDRA – HI JANE – JARNI – JAYDA G – JULIAN PRINCE – KALABRESE – KHALID SANSI – LEA KDOCH – LEUZ ZARAK – LILYA MANDRE – LUCA SAPORITO (AUDIOFLY) – LUXE – MAAYAN NIDAM – MAGUPI – MALIKA – MARGARET DYGAS – MAURICE FULTON – MISS MONIQUE – MISTY – MOLLY – MONILE – NDRK – NORDIKS – NUNO LOPES – OCEANVS ORIENTALIS (live) – ODRIK – ONY – OSENS – PASO DOBLE – PEACH – PORTABLE (Live) – PRINS THOMAS – QABOO – QUEST – RHADOO – RITA NAS – SAFAR – SASSON – SHADO – SHIMON – SHKOON (live) – SHUGI – SOFTI – STASI SANLIN – SXTO – TAYLAH ELAINE – TEKI LATEX B2B GLITTER55 – tINI – VIKEN ARMAN – WORAKLS – YAYA (ma) – YOU SHTAK! – ZAKARIA
Soul Town Festival is one of the UK’s foremost soul, disco, Motown and reggae celebrations. It welcomed over 10000 people this year to an all new festival site in Beckenham, specifically Croydon Recreation Ground, which was a lush green space converted with multi stages and a great array of extras to keep people of all ages entertained.
We were there for the second day of fun on September 3rd, a Sunday, which came alive to music from legends like UB40, jazz-funk greats Incognito, pop prince Peter Andre, Odyssey and so many more. Teh sound systems were great throughout – everything came nice and loud and clear, while extra production added even more levels of fun. The sun was beating down too which really made it extra special.
As we live in a social media age this is a great festival that bears that in mind with its huge sparkling Soultown sign for Instagrammable photos, plus lots of brightly coloured flags, and entertainers walking around on stilts and dressed in bold outfits. This means the whole thing felt very colourful and glamorous as the likes of Peter Andre soundtracked these good times with some of his most lovable sounds.
Aside from the main music you could enjoy a whole host of fun, some laid back, more high energy, from rides, attractions and live steel bands, to face painting, glitter stalls, hair braiding, fashion and craft stalls and so much more. It meant there were lots of happy faces around the festival, which was well organised and easy to get around – from drinks to food nothing was a hassle which is always a bonus at any event.
With 40 outlets to choose from, the food options were as fun as the music with pizzas, Greek Gyros, vegan wings, Caribbean food, desserts and sweets all available. Prices were reasonable too and we also filled up on Aperol Spritz as one should do in summer before the main draw – UB40. They played plenty of classics old and new and got the mixed age crowd all revved up and dancin. If you haven’t been to Soul Town Festival there is no excuse not to – it is a perfectly immersive mix of sights, sounds and scenes across two days in the great British countryside.
In true bank holiday fashion, we have arrived to rain at the one festival that really requires sunshine to portray the appropriate Western ranch vibe. Sigh. Regardless, this location and this festival are just as beautiful as I remember from last year.
The grounds of Stanford Hall in Leicestershire are now the 4 time home to The Long Road festival and while it is funny to see Americana showcased on the lawn of a very English manor house, the team have done a spectacular job of injecting county fair vibes all over the site. The signage is a particular favourite of mine, all handmade wooden and gorgeously retro, there are plenty of backdrops to take your festival photo at here – but especially the TLR sign itself which is emblazoned with the words “Welcome home, old friend”.
Friday kicks off in the arena around 3pm making this a kinda, two-and-a-half day festival which leaves a nice space for a lazy morning in your camper with friends. Heading into the arena we are greeted so warmly by the gate staff (I have nothing but nice things to say about all of the staff this weekend, they were all friendly and helpful) and we head into the High Falloutin’ VIP area to take a look around. Sadly this year they’ve done away with those awesome wooden recliner/porch chairs along the front of the railings but the fancy covered sofa areas remain, along with a new bar serving fine wines and cheese platters – very bougie.
After a quick tour we head over to the Front Porch stage, which is just as pretty as ever – truly one of my favourite stage designs of all time. The chimney stack is smoking and despite the rain a decent crowd has assembled on the arced haybales and grassy area to catch some sweet early sets. Lil Possum County across the way doesn’t look to be up and running just yet, but kids have descended on the woodland walkway area in the trees instead. The O’Donnell moonshine bar looks like it’s already doing a roaring trade, and we grab some Cajun blackened shrimp from the Bayou outlet before taking a walk around the shopping area.
I nearly caved and bought some wellies disguised as cowboy boots. Then I nearly caved and bought some cowboy boots. In the end we settled for a cowboy boot ornament for our Christmas tree to represent TLR, but honestly I could spend a lot of money here if I went un-monitored.
Heading over to the Interstate stage we catch Jim Lauderdale & The Game Changers’ soft bluesy country set, “This is a dream for me, I’ve always wanted to bring this overseas” Jim says to the applause of a packed tent. It’s a pretty tight stage for that many musicians but they make it work, and before long the whole house is dancing along with them. Following up, First Time Flyers with a more modern pop country sound but an equally full stage presence bring the party up a notch, but we head off in search of a fire to warm ourselves by and a sweet treat.
Something I do really rate about this festival is the inclusion of sympathetic sponsors – the kind that actually are applicable to the theme and feel of the festival. This year we have the brilliant SoloStove brand who have put up their cylindrical stoves around the site (alongside the traditional firepits the TLR always have), but the real MVP goes to them for also providing toasting forks and all the ingredients to make s’mores. This is campfire Americana at it’s most stereotypical and I am so here for it. Now that the rain has gone, and we’re sitting on logs around a crackling fire eating strings of marshmallow and chatting to complete strangers in Stetsons and cowboy boots…
Returning brand Yeti have once again brought with them an array of corral games like cornhole, lasso challenges and swing-hook challenges, along with a massive store front selling every imaginable cooler and drinks cup in the world. It’s fair to say I think, that TLR’s clientele crossover with the campervan/camping/outdoorsy community is large, and this was a great partnership last year BUT this year they have truly excelled themselves and brought a laser-cutter inside a horsebox. You heard me.
Two extremely friendly Americans in Stetsons are on hand to engrave whatever you want on your Yeti cups… for free! They even put stuff on our existing Yeti cups from last year, and very kindly engraved a mini SoloStove for us for a Christmas gift, true gentlemen – and the definition of coherent brand integration at a festival which honestly is kinda rare.
Birmingham duo Gasoline and Matches over at the Front Porch have drawn a massive crowd now that the rain has stopped, and their set is absolutely brilliant and funny. “Let’s play never have I ever, you can buy us a drink” they joke, and end with a countrified Fresh Prince of Bel Air intro and the line “I’d like to take a minute just sit right there, I’ll tell you how I became the Princess of a town called… Lutterworth”,which really makes me giggle.
Canadian country queen Tenille Townes is lighting up the Interstate stage wearing the most extra snakeskin trousers and swishing her long dark hair. She’s such a bright powerful performer, and the tent is overflowing with people as she shouts “…this is a safe place to dance and sing, what I’m learning about the UK is… you guys know all the words! I appreciate you!”. We love the set, and the Alanis Morisette ‘Ironic’ singalong, but her song ‘The Last Time’ really got us in the feels tonight.
Taking it easy today due to the extremely heavy morning rainfall, we opt for strolling around and taking in the atmosphere a bit in between downpours and hiding under shelter. Luckily the weather breaks and we get to see Tenille Arts hit the main stage, singing the very catchy ‘Wildfire & Whiskey’ in her folded denim boots. The juxtaposition of cuteness vs. power in her vocals makes for a great show, and once again I have to hail to the covers but who doesn’t want to hear country versions of ‘Oops I did It Again’ and ‘Party in the USA’?
We take a beat to indulge in the extremely silly but very good £25 cheese platter I mentioned earlier. It easily fed two adults and a toddler (who actually scoffed about half the cheese before we even got to it) so it’s not a bad price considering, but it did feel like quite a ridiculous choice. So to even things up and get back to our normal lane, we head over to The Showground to watch the Hot Dog Eating competition.
‘Brendan with the ginger beard’ is stuffing his buns into the water Joey Chestnut style while he scarfs the dawgs, one guy is wearing recklessly tight shorts for this kind of affair, and a small child has been enlisted into carrying a sick-bucket around “just in case”. The sun has come out, there’s a huge crowd, and even the disappointment of 2/10 being the winning number of consumed dogs can’t make this event any less fun to me. Wish they’d done a second round of tshirts this year, I’d have bought another one.
Josh Abbot Band are heating things up on the Rhinestone stage, the hazy crowd reflected in his mirrored aviators as he sings ‘The Luckiest’. It’s classic country, the lead guitarist has the coolest gold mosaic covered guitar and there are plenty of people up and dancing – this is what The Long Road is about. Having said that, The Colour Me Country takeover on the Front Porch is totally where the party is at today; Michael B Whit is absolutely smashing his set to a crowd who are quite literally hootin’ and hollerin’ along with him. It’s the most fun performance I’ve seen yet, and I love that The Front Porch stage allows everyone to actually just boogie with him like a party.
At the Showground there’s a Line-Dancing workshop in operation, through the woodland walkway Buddy’s Bar is the place for grabbing a drink and a sit down at the picnic tables (something else TLR do really well – offering heaps of seating), but we are heading back to the main stage for Margo Price.
Slightly late to the stage, Margo wows in a long fringed red leotard with white fringed cowboy boots and flowing blonde hair. Every bit the performer she whirls about the stage singing and laughing with her band-mates, and we love opener ‘Been To The Mountain’ and ‘Change of Heart’. I will also always appreciate a random cowbell solo, just sayin.
Blackberry Smoke are tonight’s main stage headliner, and are a band I first came across at Download Festival, so I’m excited to see them again in a very different arena. Starting out strong with ‘Fire In The Hole’ and ‘Good One Comin’ On’ this is pure sunset country, route 66 drive-time sort of music, and I absolutely love it. Their 70’s style purple and yellow backdrop billows in the soft breeze of the evening and the arena is full of people, those at the back just sitting and enjoying the music.
Other festivals I rate the standing crowd size comparable to the enjoyment of the set, but The Long Road is a different, more chilled out situation, and people are genuinely just relaxing and having a damn good time. “Thank you Leicestershire- did I pronounce that correctly?” laughs frontman Charlie Starr, before launching into the very catchy ‘Living In The Song’. In case you’re wondering, yeah he did actually do a pretty good job of saying Leicestershire, he’d obviously had a practice.
Through the solos, the “Hey baby, hey mama” crowd participation and jamming, there runs a humble thread which is at the heart of this type of music I think, “The first time we played here was to about fifty people in Camden. If you were there, this one is for you” they reminisce. Playing through some of their hits like ‘Waiting for the Thunder’ and ‘Ain’t Got The Blues’ it’s clear they’ve been a great pick for the TLR headline slot, and the applause for encore tracks ‘Old Enough to Know’ and ‘Ain’t Much Left of Me’ absolutely seal the deal – what a fantastic night of music from Blackberry Smoke.
Today feels very Sunday-ish, and the temptation to lounge around has hit us hard. The weather is looking a lot less suspect this morning so we drag ourselves up and out, and catch early opener Alana Springsteen on the main stage. She’s wearing black leather trousers, looks like a supermodel and is singing hilarious stuff about her exes. I may love her. ‘You Don’t Deserve a Country Song’ is a personal fave, but her cover of Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ is also great.
Over at The Showground we join in with the hula-hooping workshop which is fairly chaotic but really good fun, another little thing that just pushes TLR into that category of thoughtful and experience-led rather than bog-standard music festival. We take a walk around The Lucky Dice Car and Bike Show, which is once again an absolutely brilliant part of this festival, it’s really fun to get to look at all these cars in person instead of in movies and TV shows.
Megan Moroney hits the main stage in a bright white bubble-dress, shivering “I underestimated the weather here, I can’t feel my fingers”. Megan’s songs are classic country in sound, but she’s a more modern lyricist, and her songs really make me laugh in a good way – her spiel on how she was up at 2am and saw her ex’s new girlfriend accidentally like one of her Instagram posts, had me rolling. The fact that she wrote a whole song about it is the ultimate petty crime and I sincerely love that energy, “I see you girl” she side-eyes, and the whole crowd roar with laughter.
“I’m from a small town in Georgia… at the salon everyone talks… you know, which preachers son is smoking weed or selling it, we hear it all” she says before dropping into another brilliantly funny track ‘Hair Salon’. Megan’s set is plagued with bad feedback throughout but she takes it in her stride, and jokes “The last festival I was at, I didn’t play this song. A girl DM me afterwards and said I ruined her whole weekend. We can’t have that again” so we also get the apparently hotly touted ‘Why Johnny’, putting Megan firmly in my festival highlights category.
Stomachs rumbling we join the food queues for smokehouse delights, and witness one of the most devastating events of the summer – a while side of pork-butt dropped on the floor out of the smoker. After a cheeky ask, one very lucky Sheltie named Oscar (because dogs are welcomed at TLR) is getting the most decadent lunch of his life.
In Lil Possum County, the kids activity area, a huge space hopper race is in action. Bigger kids have to hop backwards (which turns out to be nearly impossible and results in dire consequences) so the whole thing is a squealing melee of silly fun. Back at the main stage it’s the Colour Me Country takeover, with artists coming up to perform a song one after another or jamming together, and it is truly one of the best sets I’ve seen all weekend.
“Colour Me Country started as a show, it is now a non-profit, all the artists have been given a grant from us. We’re here to start a movement, because country is for everyone!” shouts host and founder Rissi Palmer, before we are treated to excellent music from the likes of Gabe Lee, Michael B Whit, Lady Nade, Sacha and the phenomenal Chapel Hart. Finishing up with country historical classic ‘Let The Circle Be Unbroken’ with a side of backstory about it’s African-American origins with Lesley Riddle, it strikes me that the work Colour Me Country is doing has a much bigger impact than just giving black artists a platform – it is reaching into the depths of history to educate a much wider, and let’s face it, a much whiter audience. I really appreciate them being front and centre on the TLR bill.
Up next it’s Caylee Hammack, stunning in a bohemian flowing red dress and her long red hair. Leaning right into it she shouts “Y’all got a few more redheads here than in the states, so here’s a song about redheads!” and careens about the stage. Taking a sideways glance at Stanford Hall she giggles “Wow you sure know how to party in nice places… we don’t have buildings like that at the county fair back home” before singing ‘Only Good Things’ which she wrote during Covid when “…not a lot of good things were happening in the world” as she puts it.
At The Showground things are hotting up with the Hot Wings challenge. Random names are pulled from a Stetson to see who gets to compete, and it’s an interesting line up – mainly because one very shocked looking man tells us that he actually didn’t enter, and that his cheeky mates seem to have thrown his name in as a prank.
With 5 spice levels to get through, and a rule that the wing must first be rubbed onto the lips of the contestant, this could get spicy. Kid with sick bucket in place, the victims dive in, and two wings down one has already reached for the milk and… ahem… chickened out. Sorry. To everyone’s surprise the other contestants actually make it through all 5 levels and have to have their fate decided by a milk chugging challenge instead, so I put it to you TLR – these wings are sincerely NOT hot enough and need to be upgraded for next year.
On the main stage, hailing from New Jersey we have Breland – bouncing onto the stage wearing a ranch-print double denim outfit that I would sincerely like to own. He is so full of energy and joy that it radiates to everyone in the absolutely huge crowd that has gathered to see him – “This is my favourite country to play you know, y’all are so much fun” he grins. ‘High Horse’ and ‘Thick’ have everyone absolutely captivated, so it’s just the icing on the cake when he brings out first Alana Springsteen and later Kezia Gill for some epic duets.
After a quick trip to the cake truck for a truly decadent cookie cup thing, Eli Young Band take to the stage with the confirmed earworm ‘Saltwater Gospel’, shouting out that TLR has “…been on [their] bucket list for a long time now”. Once again there is a huge crowd (thankfully) bathed in sunshine just enjoying the music, and it’s a gorgeous sight, it feels like the last hurrah of summer, especially when they give us a huge Walk The Moon ‘Shut Up and Dance’.
Now, in place of hastily cancelled headliner (a week out) Jon Pardi which left a lot of diehard fans very upset, we are instead in for a night of country powerhouse singer-songwriter Cam. After the forum fallout of Jon Pardi’s cancellation, on the back of last year’s similar circumstances with a Long Road headliner, the announcement that Cam would be replacing was met with absolute delight, so however Baylen and team managed this, absolute kudos to them.
With a huge white draped curtain across the back of the stage, and a mini podium set up, you could be forgiven for feeling like we were heading to church this evening, and Cam comes onto the stage dressed all in angelic white herself. It’s 20’s flapper meets zoot suit, with a rhinestone bralette and she looks sensational, but when she opens her mouth to sing the first lines of ‘Redwood Tree’ she could have turned up in a bin bag for all I care. What a damn incredible voice.
It’s a cloudless and cool night, definitely the cusp of Autumn and Cam is practically radiating sparks. Shouting out “I said yes to this before I even knew if my band were free, because I just love how you guy are. I hear y’all were in a pickle, that’s what friends do right? If you call me, I’ll be there” she elicits a massive cheer from the appreciative crowd in front of her, spanning the depths of the main stage area. This is truly every single person on site at this point.
‘Half Broke Heart’ and ‘Slow Down’ are oozing with all the charm and summer warmth that I think romanticises country music for us Brits, it speaks of scenes we can imagine rather than those we’ve experienced, and there’s something quite escapist in that. “Here’s one for the lovers, who’s in love right now?” she says to a chorus of excited whoops, “Aww cute, just when you think the world sucks” she giggles. “This one goes out to my California brother who couldn’t be here tonight… I want him to experience what I’m experiencing tonight” she calls out before going into a cover of Jon Pardi’s ‘Head Over Boots’, which I think is a really nice thoughtful touch to the set-list.
We also get a cover of ‘Palace’ the song she wrote with/for Sam Smith in all it’s synthy-glory, which is a bit of an unexpected sound for The Long Road, but it works. However, it seems the one everyone has been waiting for is ‘Diane’ as Cam picks up a guitar, and the echo of thousands of people singing along hums across the site.
Patti Smith Group cover ‘Because The Night’ is kitschy fun, and encore acts ‘Mayday’ and ‘My Mistake’ are unmistakably beloved by this crowd. I truly believe this is one of the best accidental switches that could have been made because Cam was the perfect ending to this year’s Long Road festival, embodying the truest spirit of family and the sentiment ‘Welcome home, old friend’.
All around site there are still fires burning, country-oke playing and friends still laughing, the night is still young but we are heading home. It feels like the true end of the high summer, that we got one last bout of sunshine and carefree days. Until next year, Long Road, you’ll be missed.
The newly launched imprint debuts with single titled ‘Universe’ from celebrated Serbian artist Space Motion and JES Teaser Video | Pre-Save Link(s) EXIT, a multiple European festival champion and one of the leading brands in the global festival industry, launches Music & Talent Office – EXIT Echosystem, with the aim of providing comprehensive support and opportunities to promising and talented musicians from all around the world to develop successful global careers! As part of this platform, EXIT has also rolled out its own record label, EXIT Soundscape that now presents its debut track. The fantastic single “Universe,” recorded by one of the most successful electronic music producer with Serbian origin, Space Motion marks the EXIT Soundscape’s grand entry into the global music arena. This single also features internationally renowned artist JES, best known for her collaborations with global electronic music giants like Tiesto, Paul van Dyk, and her three times Grammy Award nominations. The “Universe” and its great collaboration has caught a lot of attention even before its release as it was already played by Like Mike at Tomorrowland and Armin van Buuren in his famous podcast “ASOT”.
“EXIT has an exceptionally high reputation in the global music industry and close relationships with leading music agencies and global stars. These relationships are not just professional, but genuine friendships. We want to utilize these relationships to open the door for the development of international careers for young musical talents that are often left under the radar” says Dušan Kovačević, Founder and Director of EXIT festival and adds “We are proud of the success Space Motion has achieved over the years in the global music scene in competition with the leading global producers. As someone who exists as a top tier festival for more than two decades, we know how challenging it is and how much devotion it requires.”
Space Motion’s success is best reflected in the fact that he reached the first place on Beatport’s Top 100 chart! On top of that, last year he ranked a high second place on Beatport’s list of top artists in one of the most popular music genres, melodic techno! Exceeded only by the duo Artbat, while leaving behind many giants like Solomun’s label Diynamic, Space Motion also achieved a high third place in the same list in the Afro-House genre.
Space Motion shares a unique bond with the EXIT festival, a relationship cultivated over many years. In light of this connection, the track’s title draws inspiration from this year’s festival theme, while the “Universe” music video” itself was shot at the colossal Dance Arena during the festival. The single is now available on all digital streaming platforms (Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Beatport, Traxsource and JunoDownload).
“I’m thrilled that my latest release is also the inaugural one for EXIT’s label, EXIT Soundscape. The fact that both the festival and I come from Novi Sad adds a special touch to this collaboration – something that seemed almost destined. The overwhelming response from fans and peers in the music industry assures me that this release will leave a long lasting impact,” said Space Motion.
The EXIT Soundscape record label has also formed a strategic partnership with global digital distributor Paradise Worldwide. This collaboration spans music distribution, digital strategy, and publishing, joining hands with numerous artists and record labels around the world.
With so many festivals over the bank holiday weekend, it could be difficult to chose which to attend.
Without doubt, the best festival in August was Victorious Festival in Southsea.
To emphasis the strength of the line-up, many of those artists who were booked to top the bill at lesser festivals often appeared lower down the schedule at Victorious.
As a classic example, Blossoms began proceedings on the south coast on Friday at 1pm, despite headlining many other events this summer. The singer joked that he’d played the same park where the main Common Stage was, when his dad was in the navy at the nearby dockyards.
Billy Nomates followed, fresh from her controversial performance at Glastonbury, where she personally asked for her set to be removed from BBC iPlayer, following unjust abuse and backlash. Although she didn’t have a backing band, she made up for it in style, charisma and talent. Definitely one to keep an eye on and watch out for in the future.
Mancunian legends The Charlatans followed, with a melting pot of their absolute classics – including Weirdo, North Country Boy, One to Another, and of course, The Only One I Know. Singer Tim Burgess was clearly enjoying himself, taking selfies and videos on his iPhone of the huge crowd. Check out both his and The Charlatans Instagram for full coverage and scope of the enormous crowd from his viewpoint.
Following a clash between Friendly Fires and Katy B on the Castle stage, independent singer RAYE followed on the Common stage. She played many songs from her debut album ‘21st Century Blues‘, which she referred affectionately to as her first born baby which she was rightfully extremely proud of. It certainly had an Amy Winehouse vibe. New song ‘Ice Cream Man‘ was particularly powerful with a raw exploration of her life after sexual assault. She finished with more upbeat number one song ‘Escapism‘ which had the crowd singing along.
Jamiroquai was a UK festival exclusive performance for Victorious festival. Joking himself that he was a little thinner and lighter in the 90s successful years, singer Jay Kay still has the space cowboy moves, even if he did ask for the spotlights to be turned down to prevent his cataracts needing replacing….or possibly to stop the crowd getting such a sight of his less nimble physique.
Saturday began with not one, but two special guests. While Australian singer and former Neighbours star Natalie Imbruglia shone on the main stage at 1pm, McFly were secret special guests over at the Castle Stage. Fans were truly torn (excuse the pun) on which to see. Recently celebrating their 20th anniversary, McFly still have the energy and moves to kick start any event and draw in a huge crowd…constantly leaping in the air and showing their choreographed moves. It was impossible not to enjoy their show and easy to understand their continued popularity.
Pale Waves followed, adorning a ‘My Mind Makes Noise‘ tattoo – hopefully that noise is as good in their head as it sounded to the crowd, before the long forgotten The Divine Comedy returned, with their good humour. Walking on stage with a glass of red wine, singer Neil Hannon seemed dazzled by the size of the crowd, before appropriately raising the glass to sing ‘Here’s to You‘. Despite complaining of first-world problems that his plectrums were too thin, they played all their classic tunes from the 90s, including ‘National Express‘ and ‘Something For The Weekend‘. Alas their theme from Father Ted and My Lovely Horse were missing (maybe ask your dad if you missed out the first time.)
Scottish legends Belle and Sebastian followed, asking the crowd what the sign-language for Boris Johnson could possibly be…it appeared to be V signs and definitely not ‘V for Victory’. As is customary for a Belle and Sebastian set, they asked many of the crowd to join them onstage for their biggest hit ‘The Boy With The Arab Strap‘ – much to the dismay of the security guards who were sure how the usher everyone offstage afterwards.
The same crowd questioned why Kaiser Chiefs were not booked as headliners. With so many classic hits and singalongs, it’s testament to the strength of the bill that they were lower down the bill. They never missed a beat and when playing ‘I Predict A Riot‘ mid-set, singer Ricky Wilson climbed up the side of the stage scaffolding, to add to the traumatic day the security team were having.
Kasabian were booked as headliners, but arguably had less singalong songs as the aforementioned Kaiser Chiefs. As well as their own hits, to make up for this, they mixed in classics from Daft Punk (One More Time), Beastie Boys (Intergalactic) and Fatboy Slim (Praise You), before finishing with their own anthem ‘Fire’.
As usual with Victorious festival, Sunday morning began with a big crowd-pleaser name, and another blast-from-the past. DJ Annie Mac began proceedings over on the Castle Stage, while forgotten stars of CCTV Hard-Fi returned for their first show in over 10 years and another festival exclusive for Victorious.
Summer Festival Guide favourite Dylan followed, asking if there were any Harry Styles fans in the crowd, before playing her song based on the One Direction singer which gave rise to her own fame on Tik-Tok.
Norwegian Sigrid followed, fresh from headlining Big Feastival earlier in the weekend. Unfortunately her guitar player Liva Svaeren was forced to sit during the entire set after trying to re-enact her inner Gene Simmons from Kiss and injuring her ankle. This was Sigrid’s last set in the UK before returning home to her native land, but hopefully it won’t be long until she returns to our shores.
Ellie Goulding was fortunate to escape without serious injury after a firework onstage flew backwards into her face. She managed to continue with her set despite the scare, but it remained an emotional performance after she revealed prior that she was splitting from her husband on social-media.
Mumford & Sons concluded the main Common Stage on Sunday night, while legendary guitar player Johnny Marr headlined the Castle Stage. Playing songs from his illustrious career Johnny Marr arguably is now a better singer than his Smiths frontman Morrissey, giving the crowd what they wanted with classic versions of ‘This Charming Man‘, ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’ and of course, his epic guitar riff ‘How Soon Is Now‘.
Early bird tickets are already available for Victorious 2024 and if the past few years are anything to go by, it’s a safe bet that there will be another incredible line up again next year.
