Guide

Elbow, Laura Marling and Tom Odell headline this year’s Mouth of the Tyne Festival

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Mouth of the Tyne Festival

6TH – 9TH JULY 2017

TYNEMOUTH PRIORY & CASTLE

North Tyneside Coast

Set in the beautiful, conservation status village of Tynemouth, The Mouth of Tyne Festival is set for its thirteenth annual edition. Headliners such as Elbow, Laura Marling and Tom Odell will perform at the Priory and Castle Arena, as well as other musical acts on the Sunday, and also other kinds of events at Playhouse Whitley Bay and the Surf Café as well as amazing, local craft beers. 

Tynemouth, eight miles east of Newcastle is one of England’s coastal jewels and the festival itself attracts around 100,000 people for a four-day celebration of live music, dance and arts by the sea. A blue plaque in the window of the village chippy is testament to the village’s charm, visited by none other than Jimi Hendrix, and well worth checking out. The village itself is welcoming, laid back, jovial and light-hearted.

There’s a heavy focus on art and music, particularly local and community art with hundreds of children from the area taught new skills in the weeks leading up to the event and they’ll be kicking things off with a parade. Later, ticketed live music concerts will be happening in the majestic grounds of the Tynemouth Priory and Castle – an English Heritage property. “Local street food pop-ups trade under festoon lighting whilst customers gather around shipping bobbins and on reclaimed driftwood seats” – this as well. At a nearby pub, looking over the sea, a jazz stage will fill the seaside air and a free programme of international street theatre will provide the entertainment. You can also take surf lessons on the sandy beach, or get stuck in with a spot of beach volleyball.

Here’s more from the organisers:

“There’s an innovative programme of dance and one-off attractions on the platforms of Grade II listed Tynemouth Station, as well as evening concerts at Playhouse Whitley Bay and Tynemouth’s Surf Café. As part of the festival, the 45 seater café played host to a BBC Introducing night, an intimate album performance from The Futureheads Barry Hyde and their fastest selling event ever – an acoustic night with Gomez’ Ben Ottewell – in 2016.”

On the beach next door is Riley's Fish Shack who will be providing food on site. Jay Raynor gave a 5/5 review and was featured last week on Michel Roux’s Hidden Restaurants. 

 

Wildfire Camp is back for its third instalment!

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Wildfire Camp is back for its third instalment. Set in an “an ideal summer hideout” in a Kentish heritage forest, it’s an immersing blend of adventure and music, perfect for a weekend away from the pressures and banality of modern life.

The idea is to spend the daytime tackling (or at least giving it a decent crack) any of the 80, enriching activities put on for all. There’s something for all abilities, tastes and passions, from bushcraft to adventure sports, arts, crafts and engineering, all included in the price and which can be booked in advance.

After an energising day packed full of fun and satisfaction, the setting sun brings a different side out of the camp; then comes the wildfire. The festival is transformed into a “a hedonistic utopia of live music, crazy fun and unabashed revelry.” The diverse array of music has been curated by the award-winning team behind LeeFest, especially for such a setting.

Be warned, Wildfire Camp operates a “analogue-only” policy, which means no smartphones, no tablets, no laptops, which in turn leaves idle scrolling, trashy selfies and work emails back in the real world where it belongs.

“Wildfire Camp is a challenge Only the Curious can meet.”

NEW ACTIVITIES FOR 2017: 

Extreme Hill Rolling (Zorbing):

“Ever wondered what it's like to be trapped inside a ball and flung at 30 miles an hour downhill?” Not really, but let’s do it anyway because it sounds like a laugh. For those in the know, this is “old fashioned rolling on a hill.. taken to the extreme.” Hang on. Before you get straight to buying tickets, there’s more. There’s even a competitive element. It sounds wacky as. I’m not even sure I fully get it but basically you have to roll over/into different targets to accumulate points and apparently you can get “splattered.”

Bow Battles:

Billed as “paintball but with bows and arrows.” This is starting to get wackier by the second. This is an “intense and exciting combat sport” in a deathmatch-type situation. Expert instructors are on hand to load you with the tricks and skills needed to survive; ducking, dodging and even plucking whizzing arrows from the air on the way to your face. 

Hemp Ice Cream Making:

“It's all about making your own ice cream from hemp,” to paraphrase just a little. All the hemp is grown in the forest. This place is like The Beach. 

Wild Obstacle Course:

Wet and wild obstacle style. “Test your skill and strength or simply flail wildly through it in a fit of laughter,” depending on your personality, and get caked in shit in the process.

Hammer Horror Mud Run:

Another mud-mad bit of deathmatch shenanigans this time escaping famous monsters of Western culture, trying to grab your tags (three in total, representing your heart, lungs and brain, as many as two of which are wackily expendable). If you fail to keep hold of your tags, uh oh, better get a mask on and join the other side!

Wild Game Cooking:

“Grill wild venison on our open campfire under the guidance of our survival experts whilst listening to some seriously extreme adventurers tell their treacherous tales of travel.”

And there’s all these old chestnuts thrown in as well: High Wire Rope Course, Leap of Faith, Bee Keeping, Scavenger Hunt, Archery, Extreme Water Slide, Stand-up Paddle Boarding, Sign Language, Wood Fired Hot Tubs, Survival Skills, Rifle & Pistol shooting, Swing Dancing, Jewellery Making, Meditation and Mindfulness, Pioneering,  Aerial Circus, Macramé and Nipple Tassel Making!  And much much more. 

For a full list of activities: www.campwildfire.co.uk/adventure

Tickets are available now at: www.campwildfire.co.uk/tickets  .

Wildfire Camp is a challenge Only the Curious can meet.

‘This is utopia’ – Noisey/Vice

Slam Dunk Festival 2014 Review

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All American Rejects set the fans in to a world wind of cheers, screams as they hit the main stage in the civic hall yesterday. They came out playing all the classics like, Dirty Little Secret, Move Along and Gives you hell. Tyson Ritter had such a stage presence, throughout the whole set keeping banter with the fans and even taking a trip into the crowd when he got down off the stage and walked around the barrier into the screaming fans while still singing away.

Gracing the Main stage as well was pop rockers We Are The In Crowd, I was really psyched to see this band after hearing good reviews before hand and the build up various publications were producing, but I couldn’t help notice that Tay Jardine voice sounded a bit “Horse” and after speaking to a few fans they thought the same. That aside they had a good set that got fans singing along.

Here’s what some fans had to say.

Steve Brand Said: I enjoyed seeing We Are In The Crowd, Downside for me was that the stage lighting was crap, It was mainly shining it into the crowd which really ruined the view because you could barley see.

Viktoria Kohajdova: The festival has been fun and I loved seeing We The Kings and The All American Rejects overall I really enjoyed them the most. I got to go to a few signings too, but it was a shame that we the kings didn't do one but I did get to meet Tyson Ritter from TAAR and that really made my day.

The Monster stage had a lot happening and it was definitely the place to be with some killer bands they had performing on it.

Headlining band Bury Tomorrow came out to the stage with a huge amount of fans waiting for them.  They played there newest track Man On Fire off the new album RUNES which dropped that day, they played plenty of older tracks including scepters which set the fans surfing and even had a couple of fans climbing up a tree and hanging off it screaming lyrics back at the band.

Also on the Monster stage were I Killed The Prom Queen they came out with big choruses and even bigger breakdowns, playing a mixture of old school tracks as well as new material from beloved. The Devil Wears Prada blew me away with the sheer number of people that had turned up to see them play. The band’s set was tight with elegant clean vocals and guitar parts blending together with the aggressive vocals.

Over at the UPRAWR DJ stage MC Lars was ready and waiting for Chunk! No Captain Chunk to finish their set on the Monster stage. While waiting a good size crowd started to grow turning up in merchandise, you could tell these were big fans of his work. As soon as Chunk! No Captain Chunk finished seamlessly MC Lars started his set playing tracks, Download This Song, Space Game.  The crowd grew and everyone starting to dance and really vibe off the set, he was definitely one of my favorites of the night.

Before finishing up I spoke to one last visitor to the festival who had this say.

Amanda Fry: This was my first time at Slam Dunk and it was great, I'm already contemplating for next years line up". I enjoyed seeing We The kings, We Are The In Crowd and All American rejects. I didn’t like that Roaring S#!T.


Created with flickr slideshow.

Slam Dunk Festival More Announcements

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Just when we thought all the artists and guests had been annouced Slam Dunk knock out other surprise with Sean Smith from The Blackout who will be making an appearance as a guest DJ and the main stage compere!

Slam Dunk have also announced their annual T-shirt design competition. Basically, you could be in the running of designing the official shirt that will be sold across this year’s festivals! Not only will you get your design idea produced, but the winner will also bag 4 tickets to the festival of their choice! So why not give it a try get your creative juices flowing and get designing! More details can be found on the poster below:

Tickets still available here 
http://www.slamdunkmusic.com

Wychwood, Beer, Cheer and Bubbles.

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This is the 9th Wychwood festival to take place, which is a tragedy for me as it means I have missed 8 years of this fun filled, family friendly, yet modest event, that gently launches you into the summer festival period.  Set in the grounds of Cheltenham race course and overlooked by the Cotswold Hills, this venue is used to horseplay of a four-legged nature, but with neigh a nag in sight, Prestbury Park comes alive with a wide spectrum of characters.

The first days sound track set the pace for what would shape up to be quite the eclectic mix.  Early evening The Beat proved how they secured their rightful place high up the Ska tree. With Rankin Roger & Son getting the crowd stomping to the ever popular Ska beats. Toploader followed with their breezy, sing a long songs, that keep the crowd on a high.  Friday night headliners Soul II Soul with their blend of R&B, Soul and Electronica, surprised many who thought them a one song band (Back to life). With each song played you couldn’t help regret not paying more attention 25 years ago. But better late than never!! They exit the stage, leaving the crowd craving for more.

Saturday sees the music shift to a broader range. Unfortunately the delectable Kate Nash pulls out poorly. The Wedding Present are a crowd pleaser as they work through some of their phenomenal body of work. A French twist next from festival favourites The Caravan Palace, who’s zany Gypsy Jazz, Electro swing, is a sight and sound to behold, a big band wall of music fronted by the mesmerising stage presence that is Zoé Colotis a must see. The night’s headliners are 80’s Electro New Wave sensation The Human League and with a catalogue of hits, the crowd were on their feet from the opening “Mirror Man” to the ever popular “Don’t You Want Me” ending another great night with “Together in Electric Dreams”. The set and backdrop pay homage to the futuristic approach of the 80’s, that seem just as futuristic and relevant today, Little wonder so many artists since, have voiced this Flamboyant and eccentric group as an influence.

Sunday becomes a field of laughter with the humorous yet skilful take on classical and popular songs by the Ukele Orchestra of Great Britain.  Smiles a plenty but with admiration from this musically talented troop.  The laughter continues as Bill Bailey and his side splitting comedy take over.  Nobody being prepared for the music, jokes and insanity of this middle-aged madman. This massive force could have easily have been the finale for the main stage, but the organisers decided to bring the evening to a close by treating an appreciative crowd to the Dub Powerhouse that is Dreadzone.  This reggae tinged set was the perfect end to a fabulous weekend, having the crowd bounce and groove out the evening.

 A couple of standout performances on the smaller but no lesser stages included Becky Rose, with her one gal, synth based beats and Craig Charles funk and soul show, where the crowd were whipped up in to a frenzy to match that of the energetic, multi-talented showman.

When the main attractions have finished and the majority of the crowd have turned in for the night, one stage is determined to party on regardless. As I approach the big top tent with strobes escaping from the entrance I can’t help but think that there is something missing?   Upon entry I am handed a pair of wireless headphones and as I walk on through to a sea of crazy revellers it is apparent that I have entered a nut house.  This is the silent disco, a room full of clubbers and two DJ’s but no music through the loud speakers.  I put the headphones on and find myself instantly condemned to the madhouse as I flick between the two DJ’s and adjust my dancing style accordingly.

Music for all genres means that young or old you will at some point find your dancing shoes and at the very least discover new and exciting sounds.  There are over 100 workshops to choose from, complimented with cuisine from the four corners of the world.

A lasting memory of the festival will be that of a  man releasing  another wave of bubbles they glisten like the northern lights as they pass over the light filled stage.  Wychwood really captures the essence of what a festival is about with a great energy and atmosphere.