Last year, I had a great time spending a weekend at Bedford Park Concerts. It was certainly a weekend that I won’t likely forget. So, of course, I am very excited to be able to attend again this year. I also have no doubt that it will be another great weekend for all, jam packed with entertainment for all ages.
Friday 3rd August 2018
To begin the weekend’s event Bedford Park will be welcoming headline act, the legendary Billy Ocean. The legend himself has sold over 30 million records all over the world in his career to date.
Also on the first night of the weekend (Friday 3rd August 2018) Billy will also be joined on stage by supporting acts including:
Jaki Graham
A soul singer with a powerful voice who is known to put on quite a visual show. You can expect to hear hits “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love” and also “Round and Round”.
ASWAD
ASWAD has spent two decades on the music scene and have also released an impressive fifteen albums! They also remain to be one of the best love British Reggae bands and are known for their singles “Don’t Turn Around” and “Shine”.
Loose Ends ft Carl Mcintosh
They will get you moving and grooving with unique take on the British soul sound. They are expected to perform hits including “Hangin’ On A String” and “Slow Down”.
Last but not least of Fridays night’s support acts is The Christians. A band that stormed their way into the British pop scene in the 80s and early 90s with singles including “World”, “Born Again” and “When The Fingers Point”. Their version is “Harvest For The World” also raised millions for well known charity Unicef.
Saturday 4th August
This date is probably the most anticipated date of the entire weekend. Bedford Park Concerts have continued to provide us with another amazing line up to to reel us all in. The evening will see support acts including rising pop star Hannah Jane Lewis which will be a first for the singer. Also Sam Wills will be performing too.
But of course this night will focus on the evening’s well known acts Basement Jaxx and headline act, the almighty Jess Glynne!
Basement Jaxx
Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton aka Basement Jaxx began their career as underground producers and event promoters in back in 1995. The pair have seen huge success and have known sales of more than three million albums! Their infamous debut album “Remedy” and their collection “The Singles” took the world by storm. They also received a Grammy for their third album “Kish Kash” and are double BRIT award winners for the title of Best Dance Act. They are known for their huge hits “Where’s Your Head At?”, “Romeo” and the bonkers dance anthem “Red Alert”.Basement Jaxx are continuing to work on new projects for 2018 including working on music for a TV show which will feature on ITV. I have no doubt that their DJ set will get everyone in a great mood.
Jess Glynne
Glynne was introduced to the music world back in 2014 as she featured as a vocalist on Clean Bandit’s Grammy Award winning “Rather Be”. Since then she has given us hit after glorious hit! She has in her own right become one of the biggest female breakthrough artists of the UK in recent years. Other singles fans will recognise include “Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself”, “Right Here”, the more sombre “Take Me Home”. She is also now back in the charts once more while providing vocals for Rudimental’s newest single “These Days”. I personally guarantee you will be in for an amazing set from this artist. I have seen her perform live once before and she completely dominated the event she was playing at.
Sunday 5th August 2018
Sunday sees the return of the very popular Bedford Park Proms. This year’s event will feature the soloist known as the one and only English SopranoLesley Garrett. Not only is she an incredible musician but she is also known as a broadcaster and general media personality. Leslie has an impressive cross-over repertoire that stretches from Mozart to Meat Loaf while performing in numerous West End Musicals. Alongside Lesley will also be Tenor Jeff Stewert, his dramatic voice means that he is always in demand not only in opera but other musical platforms too. The Bedford Park Proms is self described as “an evening of pomp and patriotism that the whole family can enjoy”. With over 120 performers on stage this will surely be quite a magnificent event. We will also see the return of the extraordinary London Gala Orchestra who will be conducted by Stephen Bell as they take to the stage to perform pieces including Handel’s Zadok The Priest.
On this date the organisers encourage you to bring picnics and your own drinks along too. There is a VIP option available as well as general admission to the site. So dust off those candelabras and get out the best plastic silverware you can buy! Because it’s Proms night!
It's the ultimate family festival in the UK and The Sunday Mirror have labelled it as "Glastonbury for kids!" Yes, this review will feature the brilliant Geronimo Festival. For 2018 Geronimo was brought to ticket holders at two different locations. The first being at Cheshire's Arley Hall and the second being Knebworth Park in Hertfordshire. I was lucky enough to be able to attend the two day event at Knebworth Park on the weekend of 30th June – 1st July.
With Geronimo being the ultimate family festival, I made the most out of the event by taking my three year old son along with me. The line up was jam packed with well known CBeebies presenters, characters and many other recognisable faces that my son believes to be his idols, so there was no way I could leave him at home with the grandparents for this one.
The site was easy to find, although we did have to queue in a lot of heavy traffic outside of the park at the top end of Stevenage. I believe we sat in our car and waited for around 20 minutes. The organisers of the festival had hired traffic control teams and stationed them outside of the park to help to manage traffic levels in a more effective manner. On Saturday morning, the workers that were taking on this role, actually appeared to struggle with the amount of cars building up, as traffic could be seen queuing onto the A1. Although by Sunday the problems had been resolved and it was far easier to enter the site straight away without any problems at all.
Walking into the actual festival site was like walking into a wonderland. There was so much to see and do. At the entrance there were dancing trees, a clown on stilts, floating bubbles, balloons, brightly coloured flags, music and more. This was a festival that had it all. At the back of the site there was access to an inflatable village, a fun fair with a large Ferris wheel, Helter Skelters, smaller rides, traditional fairground stalls and games. There was also a climbing wall, a real life arcade where children and parents alike could be part of games like Whack-a-mole, giant Jenga and Tetris. It felt like everyone was able to be a character from the blockbuster Ready Player one. I won't forget to mention there were also plenty of access to toilet facilities, water stations, nappy changing and breastfeeding tents as well smaller live shows including stunts, imaginative plays and a brilliant live Dino show which my son watched numerous times. Children were asked to volunteer to meet a 'real' baby T-Rex, aptly named Rex in a fun and interactive segment.
The whole weekend was presented by former CBeebies presenter Alex Winters. What a brilliant choice. Not only did he introduce acts on stage, he also entertained the audiences in between set times, he was also casually walking around the site meeting everyone and would cover all of the site to promote other events going on around the site that weren't featured on the main (Castle) stage. As the weekend event fell in the middle of a heatwave, what was also great about Alex was that he was there to be an assistance to parents to advise children to put on their sun creams, wear protective clothing like hats and drink plenty of water. This worked very well. Also regarding the heatwave – Winters was often seen on stage throwing out water balloons and buckets of water to the crowds of people in front of the main stage to keep everyone cool, which actually was really helpful in the scorching temperatures.
There was also a great variety of food provided by vendors at the event. On offer were ice-creams, deluxe milkshakes (at a whopping £8 each!), stone baked pizzas, the traditional burgers and fries, sushi, vegan and oriental street food and plenty of sugary treats for the little ones.
Before I get to the performers that were featured at the weekend event, I would like to share with you all just how much there was to do on site. We never once got bored as there was always something else to take part in or see. My son was able to part in a wide variety of craft activities, which was actually really lovely as it meant taking something home. All craft activities were FREE, but were happy to receive donations should ticket holders want to offer to support their organisations. An example of just some of the crafts included making bug bling and pine cone insects by the lovely people from The Fairyland Trust, wicker craft which meant shaping and decorating either balloons, wings or baskets, wooden staff carving – so ideal to bring out your inner explorer or wizard. Also clay modelling, soap carving, ceramic tile decorating inside the Messy Kids workshop tent.
Over the weekend there were so many amazing performances including shows from Sohan Bollywood – pretty self explanatory, but it was a colourful, fun and interactive Bollywood dance show where parents and children were invited up onto the stage to dance along. Also Junior Frood – a teen dancer who has amazing talent at such a young age. He does all of his own choreography, has already danced alongside pop star Justin Bieber and is soon on his way to Hollywood to work with celebrity choreographer Brian Friedman. Other very amusing and interactive shows came from CBeebies presenters Sid & Rebecca (who are well known for their imaginative TV programme "Let's Play") and also the very funny and cheeky pirates Cook & Line from the very popular children's television programme "Swashbuckle".
Here is some information of some of the most standout performances of the weekend:
Andy and The Oddsocks – Saturday
Andy Day is probably one of, if not the most famous of the CBeebies presenters. He is easily recognisable for his height, big hair and his smiley, jolly nature. Andy is well known for his many adventures on CBeebies shows including "Andy's Wild Adventures", "Andy's dinosaur Adventures", "Andy's Prehistoric Adventures" and most recently his "Safari Adventures" on the pre-school aged television channel. Now he will be known for something completely different. For being in a band! Andy and The Oddsocks have recently recorded and released their debut album, titled "Who Invited This Lot?" which is solely aimed at young children. At the beginning of the set, we got to meet The Oddsocks (Blu, Moxy and Mac) first as they entered the main stage. Of course there was a big build up to introduce the main man himself (Andy Day) as band member Mac worked the audience to encourage everyone to chant "Andy! Andy! Andy!"
Day ran onto the stage to greet the crowds of screaming pre-schoolers and some very enthusiastic mothers. Haha! The set was highly energetic and involved a lot of audience participation including bouncing giant inflatable footballs around the arena. The band told the stories behind each one of their very catchy songs that they performed including:"Aliens", "Ninja Pig", "Groover Hoover" – which saw the introduction of Hetty The Highland Hoover, "Dinosaur Football Legend Mega Match" and the song with a heartfelt meaning "Unique".
I was also lucky enough to meet Andy Day backstage for a chat before they were due to grace the main stage to discuss more about Andy and The Oddsocks. He was just as everyone imagines him to be, so down to earth and just lovely. My son was also clearly very star struck when he got to meet his hero. Thank you to Andy for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me.
To find out what's next for Andy and The Oddsocks and to check out my interview with Andy click on the video link below:
Katy Ashworth – Saturday and Sunday
Katy is best known for her presenting role on children's television programmes "I Can Cook!" and "I Can Cook With You". The presenter is currently heavily pregnant, but this certainly wasn't going to hold her back from putting on some amazing shows. How she had that much energy I do not know. She is a role model for not only children but mothers alike. She sang a couple of traditional children's songs, one of them being the very popular "Wheels On The Bus" and also songs from "I Can Cook" which I even ended up singing along to, but there was a lot of amusing puns and innuendo within her show aimed at parents so that it was certainly something that we could all genuinely really enjoy too. I remember at one point she asked parents "Who out there eats the children's left overs?"many people admitted to this so she continued with "Oh yes, a lovely soggy fish finger on a Wednesday night after Brownies!" Katy also had the audience interacting by playing a giant game of "Fruit Bowl" which is a game where children, mums and dads all had to impersonate and represent a piece of fruit whenever she called out it's name. Towards the end of her segment she also invited three dads up onto the stage to help her 'cook' were they helped her make a banana milkshake and the winner was presented with a wooden spatula with her name on it and the runners up being given wooden spoons with the same inscription.
Mr Bloom & His Band – Sunday
Mr Bloom is a very popular CBeebies character played by Cornish actor Ben Faulks. He is a keen gardener and has been involved in programmes including "Mr Bloom's Nursery" and "Here And There" where he teaches children about nature, the importance of gardening and also goes on day trips with children (or as he calls them 'Tiddlers') and their families. The famous gardener strolled out onto a stage that was surrounded by giant inflatable fruit and vegetables as he introduced everyone to his band before shortly bursting into song while playing his ukulele as they performed the well known theme tune for his programme "Here And There". The show included a fruit and vegetable guessing game to which children in the audience won whatever food item Mr Bloom was showing on stage. I've never known young children to be so excited over a piece of fruit or a vegetable. Many families could do with their own Mr Bloom in their households at mealtimes if that's what it takes to get children to eat their 5-a-day. Like Katy Ashworth's set there was also a lot of innuendo filled humour for the grown ups too. Even a discussion about the possibility of the band playing music by Metallica.
Justin Fletcher – Sunday
Justin Fletcher, MBE, is the man behind many lovable children's characters. He is most famously known for his TV show "Something Special" where he appears as a clown like character named Mr Tumble. He teaches children how to use Makaton in their daily lives. This form of sign language makes Mr Tumble a firm favourite in many family households and he is held dear to the hearts of families with children who may have physical or learning difficulties. His show started in the most spectacular way possible, he was supported by backing dancers as he came out singing original single, the infectious "Just Party" while confetti cannons were released and filled the grounds in front of the Castle stage with bright colours. He soon went on to sing "Happy Birthday" in case anyone at the event were celebrating a birthday around the time of the festival. Fletcher also went on to announce that his TV show "Something Special" is 15 years old this year and that he has been in the business for an impressive 20 years! He followed the announcement with a huge thank you to everyone for their support over those years. There was also a further announcement that the presenter had to share with his fans, he told everyone that there will be a new series of "Gigglebiz" on it's way and that there's only 2 more weeks of filming. Exciting stuff. As "Gigglebiz" was mentioned he went on to bring some other well known characters of his to life including Arthur Sleep, Keith Fit and Gail Force. His show also included a the biggest "Hokey Cokey" with the whole arena getting involved and other songs including "Let's Go Fly A Kite", "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", and "Wibble and Wobble". There was also a chance for both parents and children to show him their Makaton skills before he closed his set by singing "The Goodbye Song". Justin Fletcher not only put on an amazing show, but he clearly had an amazing time himself too.
My little family had the best time at Geronimo Festival, it really is a festival like no other and is perfect for the whole family to enjoy. This is a festival that I highly recommend to everyone and one that I hope to return to in 2019. Some details for the 2019 weekend have already been put into place including the line up. For more information about what Geronimo has in store for all of the Geronimites in 2019 check out their website.
This weekend saw the return of Amp Rocks! The live music concert is part of the annual three day event, Ampthill Festival. Amp Rocks is known for taking ticket holders back in time to hear music that we may not have heard for decades. This year was no different. The organisers of the festival also have a tradition of supporting local music by inviting the latest local Battle Of The Bands winners to perform on stage to open the weekend event. The band that kicked off the event this year was The Kazoos. The battle of the bands winner took over the stage by performing covers of hits including Florence and The Machine's "Kiss With A Fist" and the hugely popular "Valerie" – made famous by the unforgettable, late Amy Winehouse.
After the performance from the local group there was a short interval, this gave me some time to take a wonder around the site.Just as the previous year had seen, there was plenty of facilities on the grounds. An abundance of port-a-loos, two bars and a lot of food vendors. When in the food court area, I could see burgers, fries, hot dogs, an ice-cream van, a sweet stall and stone baked pizzas. Although the range was good, I do have two little niggles regarding the food court. Firstly, which actually surprised me, there did not appear to be any vegan food options other than perhaps a portion of chips, which cost £5. One food vendor even decided to charge another £1.50 on top of that if you wanted sauce on those chips/fries so if you were in the mood for cheesy chips it would have cost you £6.50. Although, I have since been informed by one of the organisers of the event that there were indeed some vegan food options, including tacos . This may have just been something that may not have been advertised as loudly as it was expected to have been. Regarding food prices, I understand that the food vendors need to cover the cost of being at the event and they also need to make a profit, also food at events such as this one tend to be on the expensive side, but the prices these vendors were charging were verging on extortion. In this present time, Veganism is taking over the world. More and more people are choosing to live a vegan lifestyle, particularly when it comes to their diet. So having no vegan food options was quite unusual to see at a festival scene nowadays. The other problem that I had with the food court was where it was situated. Last year, food vendors were set up just behind the main stage. On level ground. This year, the carts, vans and stalls were set up at the top of a steep grassy hill with no ease of access for people who are less able. This meant that it was quite unlikely for someone who may be wheelchair bound to be able to buy food on site. There also appeared to be a lot of people wondering round the grounds on crutches, I saw one person on crutches struggling to climb up that hill.
The intervals between acts were fairly short, so for the rest of the evening, I was stationed right in front of the stage to make sure I had a great view of the artists. By this point the arena was becoming a little densely populated as more attendees filled the stage area to see the next act perform. That of course was British indie rockers, Reef. The band are well known for their hit "Place Your Hands" and were a big deal in the 90s music scene. They have also previously played gigs at the almighty Glastonbury and Reading Festivals. Reef are back and are currently on tour to promote their fifth studio album, titled "Revelation" which was released back in May this year. The band were known to be rather energetic on stage in their classic years and nothing is any different now. They still have plenty of energy and charisma while performing live. Front man Gary Stringer, along with his fellow band members performed classic Reef singles including "Consideration", well known anthem "Place Your Hands" and a little preview of their new music from their current album including the titular song "Revelation" and new single "My Sweet Love".
For me and I'm sure many other people that attended Amp Rocks on Friday evening, the night's next act was by far the biggest set of the entire gig. That set was brought to us by Example & DJ Wire. The London rapper and DJ pair have played for audiences all over the world and wowed them all! They have previously played at the infamous Glastonbury Festival with singles including "Changed The Way You Kissed Me" and "Stay Awake". This set provided ticket holders with plenty of anticipation as DJ Wire first took to the stage alone to take his place at the decks. While going 'solo' he mixed a variety of well known releases including "Sweet Dreams" by The Eurythmics, Skrillex's "Bangarang", The Prodigy's bonkers "Firestarter" and Bastille's huge hit "Pompeii". People in front of the stage, including myself loved every minute of this extended and nostalgic intro. There were hands in the air, people up on the shoulders of their friends and relatives and a lot of dodgy dance moves. Around 10 minutes in, on walked British rapper Example. As he walked to the front of the stage he was singing the lyrics to his single "Say Nothing" which of course everyone else was also singing along to also. He then went on to perform another single "Stay With Me" before then bringing the show to a brief pause to introduce himself by going on to say "Hi, I'm Example and I'm an up and coming artist from London". Yea sure, he's not already famous at all. Haha! The bonkers set continued with performances of other well known singles including "We'll Be Coming Back" which was a Calvin Harris hit that he had featured on, also "Kickstarts" and his debut hit "Changed The Way You Kissed Me". DJ Wire and Example put on one of the best live performances that I've seen to date. Despite Example looking a little tired (understandably) half way through his performance, he still gave us 110% to wow us all right until the close of the set. There were a lot of people there that evening all agreeing on one thing. DJ Wire and Example should have been the night's headline act.
The evening's headline act was female 80s pop trio Bananarama. This is the first time that the band's original line up of Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodwood has been seen performing live since the 1980s. So this really was quite something to see. Their performance at Amp Rocks was a first for the three ladies of the band as they have never performed live at a festival event before. The band are very well known for their hit "Venus"
Before the ladies made their appearance, the stage was filled with warm lighting, pink and red in colour. The band were given a lengthy instrumental intro by the musicians who also accompanied them on the stage. The Bananarama ladies all looked stunning in their fitted black sequinned attire. Their set really was a giant step back in time. With a performance that included their classic catchy pop hits "Cruel Summer", "Rough Justice" and "Robert De Niro's Waiting". During their show, the ladies were so perfectly in sync with their moves. While showcasing vintage choreography, it was like watching an Olympic synchronised swimming team, so easily breezing through their segment. As much as I enjoy listening to the old Bananarama pop songs and they always put me in a great mood, but I must admit, the ladies are actually far better live and worth a watch.
On multiple occasions throughout the evening, there were random outbursts of people going into full on karaoke mode to sing the infamous "Three Lions" in homage to the current football world cup event. Both, Example and Bananarama sang along with crowds to show their support for England. It was quite the memorable moment during both sets.
The organisers of Ampthill Festival have once again, put on an amazing Amp Rocks for us all. I had a great night there. I cannot wait to see what they will have in store for us next year.
The self acclaimed 'Godfather of the small festival scene' is back! This annual music festival takes place in Steventon, Oxfordshire and with 2018 being the festival's 21st year it plans to dominate with yet another cracking line up. For the first time, organisers have introduced an early entry ticket for Thursday the19th July before the main festival weekend begins. Upon purchasing early entry admission, ticketholders will be able to see performances from bands and artists including Peace, Jaws, Kandia and Little Brother Eli to kickstart the weekeend.
As always there will also be a wide variety of food to cater for all and also family friendly activities for those with children.
This years lineup includes headliners: Friendly Fires on Friday, George Ezra on Saturday and The Courteeners on closing night which will be Sunday 22nd July.
Also featured, will be performances from Everything Everything, Circa Waves, Jake Bugg and many more. There are several stages on site with a huge selection of all genres of bands and artists. Here are just a handful of acts that are worth checking out
Hellions – A hard core punk band from Sydney,Australia. Their music can be likened to that of American pop-punk band Good Charlotte. They will be on stage at The Nest on Friday.
Goldrush – An English 5 piece rock band. Band members Robin and Joe aka The Bennett brothers are also the founders Truck Festival and will be performing in their band for an exclusive one off set. What better way to pay homage to the people that made this awesome festival a reality. This special set can be seen at the Veterans and Virgins stage on Friday.
Anteros – This dream-pop band quartet from London have previously played alongside Two Door Cinema Club, White Lies and Blaenavon (who are also playing at Truck this year) Anteros also played sets at Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds. Their single "Breakfast" is quite a catchy, happy go lucky kind of pop song. These will be seen on the Main Stage on Saturday. ]
Lady Bird – The trio can easily be likened to last year's performers Slaves. Their music style is heavy rock with agressive riffs, their songs also have a literary vibe to them while narrating stories with their straight to the point lyrics. We will be seeing them at The Nest on Saturday.
Hey Charlie – a three piece all girl pop punk band. Their vibe overflows with girl power while playing their sugary pop songs. They have previously been on tour with All Time Low. These punktastic ladies will be performing on the Market Stage on Sunday.
So whether you fancy riding "Shotgun" with George Ezra or want to enjoy "Junk Food Forever" with The Amazons, Truck Festival will no doubt keep you entertained all weekend long!
Over the years, Cambridge Junction has played host to many great artists. On Tuesday 3rd April the venue welcomed English rock band, Lower Than Atlantis. The quartet, who are originally from Watford in Hertfordshire, first formed in 2007. They released their first EP in 2008 and then went on to release their first full album "Far Q" back in 2010.
The live music gig was being held in the main stage room at the venue. Upon arrival, the room was covered in a blanket of dim blue lighting and was quickly filling up with a relatively young crowd. With drinks and chatter flowing nicely the audience was soon introduced to the other acts that would be joining the guys from Watford.
For the evening, Lower Than Atlantis were joined by support acts The Faim and Milk Teeth.
The Faim were the first of the night's acts to take to the stage. With an excited crowd of people in front of them, they jumped straight into their first song of their set, titled "My Heart Needs To Breathe" before then introducing themselves.
This four piece pop/alternative band first formed on the 20th November 2014. The band members themselves have stated that their music has been influenced by artists including, 5 Seconds of Summer, Blink 182, and Fall Out Boy. I will also mention that their debut single "Saints of the Sinners" was also co-written by Pete Wentz, also known as the lead vocalist of rock band, Fall Out Boy. The first thought that came to my head upon hearing them perform was "they sound just like Fall Out Boy". And now I know why after doing my research.
The Faim are a band that have a great stage presence with high energy and know how to work the crowds well, an example of this was asking the audience to jump along with them during their performance. They are a really likeable band and when performing live it is clear to see that the four lads are very passionate about their music. As the stage is flooded with blue and green lighting, the band performed songs including "A Million stars", "Midland Line" and "Infamous". They brought their set to a close with a performance of their single "Saints of the Sinners" which is not only (as mentioned previously) their debut single release but is also about "making their mark in the world". What's worth mentioning is that the down to earth band members were also seated at their own merchandise stall at the back of the room after their set, with their family members. Who doesn't love a good family support network?
After a short break the second of the evening's acts graced the stage.
Milk Teeth, a punk rock band from Stroud in Gloucstershire, are full of energy and clearly enjoy making interesting facial expressions when performing. The band are Becky on vocals and bass, Billy and Chris on guitars and Oli on drums. Unusually, just like fellow support act The Faim the drummers were set up front alongside their fellow band mates for this gig. The band's guitar players were great at rallying the excitement from the crowd of fans in front of them. The band members also encouraged the audience to shine lights from their phones during their set. They performed their original songs including "Nearby Catfight" – which was also the song they entered the stage to, they also showcased "Stabbed" and "Swear Jar".
After an energetic set from Milk Teeth, along came another short interval as we stood waiting for the night's main act! During this break the venue did continue to play music into the sound system as we chatted amongst ourselves. Some rather unusual releases featured on the venues 'interval playlist'. What stood out for many people there was the moment when Aha's Take on Me came blaring through the speakers. It was like being at a gig in the 80s. The whole room sang along and was filled with buzzing energy. Continuing with their vintage playlist, we were then treated to Uptown Girl which was originally made famous by Billy Joel back in 1983! The well known single got as far as the end of the intro before being turned off to welcome the night's main act. This did not go down well with ticket holders as the room was then filled with Boos and sighs of disappointment. Although these negative emotions were soon forgotten about when the band members of Lower Than Atlantis walked onto the stage.
The band's drummer, Eddy Thrower was the first to take his place. He sat at his drum kit and began to build the atmosphere with a small drum solo which was accompanied by synchronised strobe lighting. He was quickly joined by fellow band mates Declan Hart on bass, Ben Sanson on guitar and then lastly the band's front man and vocalist Mike Duce. And what strong entrance they made! They started their set with their amazing single "Had Enough".
Further into their set, vocalist Duce had requested the audience to run and mosh in front of him, before he then came down into the viewing area to begin crowd surfing with his fans. After being carried back to the stage the band continued to play more of their music until once again their front man returned to the middle of the crowds of people. He stood in the middle of the room with his guitar to play an acoustic version of their song "Another Sad Song". The atmosphere was so relaxed and calm, with people sitting crossed legged on the floor in a circle around him. Not something you'd typically expect to see at a rock band's gig. It could have been likened to sitting around a bonfire singing campfire songs.
This was one band that certainly knew how to work a crowd! It is clear to see how much their value their fans after seeing them live. The band's lead singer asked the audience "if anyone's got a beer then raise it up!" he then encouraged drinkers to consume their beverage of choice while all members of the band and fans chanted "CHUG CHUG CHUG" and when they played "Beech Like The Tree" they managed to encourage plenty of people to crowd surf.
As the majority of musicians that perform live, Lower Than Atlantis' set appeared to come to an end after finishing their song "Words", which of course, wasn't their last song of the evening. The band members exited the stage for a very short space of time before returning for once more for an encore. They all thanked their fans for all of the support they have received over the past 11 years and then stated "otherwise we would be working in Morrisons, although there's nothing wrong with working in Morrisons". Nice cover up lads!
The gig came to a close with the band's last two performances of the night which were "English Kids" and my personal favourite of theirs "Here We Go".
Lower Than Atlantis is a band that is undoubtedly worth seeing live, they offer familiarity with their hit singles and also something completely different when interacting with their fans! Our photographer and I are now new fans of The Faim. All three bands are continuing to tour this year with tickets still available.
On the 8th February 2018, well known venue, Cambridge Junction, opened it's doors to ticket holders filled with excitement to see English rock band, The Amazons, take to the stage. With an entry fee of just £17 for fantastic performances and ample parking around the local leisure complex, the venue did not disappoint. Doors opened around an hour before the gig was planned to start. Within the venue there are three separate stages J1, J2, and J3 (Junctions 1, 2 and 3). But for this night, it was all about the acts on the J1 stage.
The Amazons are a Reading-based quartet that formed back in 2014. Since then the band had been shortlisted for the BBC's sound of 2017, nominated for Q’s Best Breakthrough Act and have even made an appearance on MTV’s Brand New 2017 list. The band have also caught the attention of many radio DJ's including Radio 1's Clara Amfo, Annie Mac, Huw Stephens, Nick Grimshaw and Greg James. The lads have even found a big fan in Zane Lowe. The awesome foursome (cheesy I know) are also produced by the Grammy nominated Catherine Marks (Wolf Alice and Foals). It looks like The Amazons are hotly tipped to make it big in 2018! The band's self-titled debut album is also out now!
Supporting and touring with The Amazons, are Brighton based group, Yonaka. The band themselves describe their music as "dark alternate pop with heavy riffs." Yonaka's band members are Theresa Jarvis – Vocals, George Edwards – Guitar, Alex Crosby – Bass/Keys and Robert Mason on Drums.
In a darkened room filled with screams and cheers and after a short musical intro, the four members of Yonaka entered the stage to start their set with a performance of their single "Ignorance", to which I and many individuals within the room were putting on our very best karaoke voices to sing along to. During the high energy set, featuring fast paced lighting and stunning vocals from the band's vocalist Theresa Jarvis, they continued on to perform other singles including "Gods and Lovers", "WWBY (Wouldn't Wanna Be Ya)", the very intense and somber "All In My Head". We were also introduced to a new song titled "F**king With The Boss" – a song to which caused a tiny mosh pit form in the centre of the room. The foursome kindly thanked their fans for "turning up" and continued on to promote the night's main act The Amazons and referring to them as "f**king amazing!"
As expected they finished their set with their most popular hit to date, "Bubblegum" to which the audience were asked to contribute with vocals along with the band on stage. "Bubblegum" is a song that will be playing on loop in your head for a while. I've often found myself humming it to myself after seeing Yonaka perform for the first time at Truck Festival in 2017. I really liked them back then and love them now! I am definitely looking forward to hearing more of their material in the future. If you get a chance to see them live, then please do. They are not an act that you would want to miss live. With lots of energy, great interaction with their audience and catchy pop/rock/alternative tracks, they are everything you'd expect from a band of their genre.
After the excitement from the support act's performance, the majority of room was ramped up and ready for the main act of the evening to take centre stage. Around 9pm teenage girls flocked to the front of the room clinging to the security barrier filled with excitement, fans repeatedly chanting "Am-A-Zons, Am-A-Zons!" and clearly a row of parents at the back of the room with their ecstatic teenagers in front them and their backs against the wall, that looked like they had been dragged to the venue against their will, with folded arms and yawns a plenty.
As the chanting for the main act continued (and got considerably louder), eventually after a short wait, the band began to take their place on the stage under dim red and white lighting to perform their first song of the night "Stay With Me", which had almost the entire room bathed in strobe lighting and fans singing along too. There were also head boppers and foot tappers as far as the eye could see. Not including the poor bored and tired parents at the back of the room. Oh dear indeed. The four piece continued on to perform their second and third tracks of the evening – "Ultraviolet" (which has featured heavily on BBC Radio 1) and "Raindrops" before then speaking to their fans in the audience for the first time. Did they announce the title of their next song? Or perhaps thank everyone for coming to their show? Nope. They simply opened with "Hello, we are The Sherlocks!" Just Brilliant!
For those of you that don't already know, both artists, The Amazons and The Sherlocks have recently been involved in some rather amusing shenanigans on social media. Recently, the line up for Y Not Festival had been announced, and both acts are confirmed to perform at this popular event. Yorkshire band, The Sherlocks were shown to appear on the fourth tier on the festival's poster. However, The Amazons are shown on the third tier of the promotional image. When The Sherlocks posted the image of the festival's line up on their social media feed the two acts had been swapped – rumour has it that the band photoshopped the original image to place themselves higher up in the third tier to replace The Amazons. Whether the two bands are actually just enjoying some friendly banter or they genuinely don't get on, I don't know. But it certainly has caught the attention of the press and has had many people both perplexed and entertained. After all, entertainment is their game!
During their show, the guys also pulled out a few surprises. Including an incredible percussion solo from drummer Joe Emmett. Honestly, I didn't want it to end. It was that impressive! He was applauded with a huge roar of appreciation from the entire room of people. Also, they included an awesome cover of T-Rex's 70's hit, "20th Century Boy". The last unexpected addition to their set was a clever move to introduce Theresa Jarvis, (vocalist in support act Yonaka) back onto the stage to perform "In My Mind" with the group. The joining of the two acts was a brilliant idea, and worked to their advantage, creating excellent musical balance.
Throughout the evening ticket holders were in constant admiration for the band on stage. There were moments when the room was filled with people jumping and head banging. There were also times where all I could see was slow hands, phones and even a lighter (not really very safe, but oh well) in the air during tamer segments of The Amazons' set. After performing their latest single "Black Magic", the guys left the stage and we were left once more in a darkened room. Like earlier in the evening, the chanting started again "Am-A-Zons! Am-A-Zons!". The foursome did return to the stage after around 3 minutes to finish their show with an encore performance of "Palace" and the hit that I, and most likely many others, were excited to see performed live. Their well known track "Junk Food Forever", which even encouraged a crowd surfer to come out of the centre of the room. During the their encore at the end of the night, one of the band members even stated "don't take this the wrong way, but I didn't think this was going to be this f**king amazing! Thank you".
As much as I like The Amazons' music when hearing it recorded, I much preferred hearing it live. Their music inspires a great atmosphere when they are physically seen performing. It will be interesting to see them perform on a bigger stage and in front of a bigger audience too.
Both The Amazons and Yonaka have a busy year ahead. The Amazons will also have a very busy festival season this year while appearing at events including Y Not Festival and Truck Festival in the summer months. Yonaka are also due to play at The Garage in Islington on 28th February 2018. Everyone, grab your tickets now!
On Monday evening (9th October 2017) the small town of Hitchin saw the anticipated return of the band, Coasts. A band that is well known to the local area as they also headlined the BBC Introducing stage at the town's own Rhythms of the World Festival a few years ago. The band were very well recieved by the locals at the time so it was awesome to have the band back once again. The band were hosted this time by the small, but awesome venue Club 85 with colourful neon decor within the all black loft sized room. The venue also has a small bar and merchendise stalls at either side of the stage. Something else to be excited about was the evening's warm up act, Misfires.
Misfires are a young, all male indie rock band from Swindon, UK. The band formed in February 2016 and began their musical journey playing for house parties which then led onto sell out gigs in local venues. In other media the four lads have often been compared to the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen and The Libertines. Some have even called the band the lovechild of the two big names mentioned. Misfires are currently on a month long tour with this being their first time visiting the town of Hitchin in Hertfordshire. They have also recently supported The Sherlocks on their tour playing at three of their tour venues which they admitted they had a great time performing to the larger crowds. In the short time on stage at Club 85 the band members who were all dressed in black casual clothing totally nailed it! The four guys performed their singles '22', most recent release 'Do You Wanna?' and 'Indie Kid' which the band themselves said is likely to be their next single. During the performance of their song '22' there even appeared to be a tiny mosh pit of adolescent fans jumping around. Throughout their set the band were often interacting with a group of teens at the front of the room, just laughing and joking which was great to see. They were definitly well liked by ticketholders.
I also briefly managed to chat to the four lads just after their performance to congratulate them on a great set, along with our phototographer. These lads are so down to earth and fun. They even mentioned that for them its not all about the stereotypical "rock and roll" lifestyle when it comes to being part of a band. They had also expressed how much they enjoyed being on tour and stated that they've performed alongside other bands who don't necessarily prioritise interaction with their fans which is why they expressed how important it is to them to remember that it's always good to make time for fans of their music. I would highly recommend that you see Misfires live if you should get the chance. I would be very surprised if they didn't make it big in the music industry.
After a short break to make some changes to the stage set up the main band of the night walked in and introduced themselves. Of course this band was Coasts.
Indie pop band Coasts oringinally formed in Bristol back in 2011 and have had great success ever since. Over the years they have recieved a lot of airplay especially via BBC Radio 1 with the support from well known DJs Greg James, Huw Stevens and Fearne Cotton. Due to the support from Radio 1, the band also performed for the radio stations 'Big Weekend' festival like event in Glasgow back in 2014. They also played at Reading and Leeds festival in the following year. The guy's self titled album was released back in January 2016.
During their time on stage at the Hitchin venue we saw them perform singles "Rush Of Blood", "Modern Love" as well as other album tracks including "Paradise" and "White Noise". The room may not have been large but an electric atmosphere filled the room and flooded out of the doors. Almost everyone was up on their feet dancing to the satisfying sounds. The five piece group also sampled some music from their new album that they are working on. "Heart Starts Beating" is just one of the tracks from their upcoming release and if it all sounds like that we should expect more great things from them. After an energetic set leaving what looked like an exhausted drummer as he leant back onto the screens at the back of the stage we were treated to a great performance to see the evening out. The band played their biggest hit to date "Oceans" which was great to leave us all reeling with excitement from a great evening. The performers asked people to meet them afterwards at the merch stall for a chat and some photo opportunities. It was great to see two acts this evening that were very happy to chat to fans of their music.
Keep your eyes peeled for more from both of these brilliant artists! Coasts have announced that they will be back on tour in April 2018 which will be in a London venue.
It's September 2017 and Wilkestock Festival is back! With an amazing line up organised and booked by Juicebox Live and The horn, this year the festival celebrated its 10th birthday. The festival began as a party for family and friends and was organised by brothers Tom and Olly Wilkes. Years later it became a charity music festival with all profits going to Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and also Keswick Mountain Rescue. Despite being a small festival, Wilkestock has grown bigger in popularity year after year. It was announced that this year saw the festival's biggest event they have ever known, as over two thousand people were in attendance to celebrate it's milestone birthday.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Wilkestock, it is a small festival based at Frogmore Hill which is just outside of Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The festival provides ticket holders with a choice of artists and bands spread throughout it's five stages (Main stage, Bella stage, Rock up and Rinse, Bangorang and The Doghouse). Main stage and Bella stage were the most prominent of the weekend event and the others showcased DJ sets and a silent disco. There was even a secret stage which was basically a converted bathroom trailer.
As the festival is a family friendly weekend event, organisers provided a seperate children's area full of large inflatables and crazy golf. There was also a small white tent filled with large cushions, which served as a cinema showcasing classic Disney films such as 'The Jungle Book', 'Oliver and Company' and 'The Lion King'. Wilkestock also had a good variety of food available to us. There wasn't many vendors in the small food court area, but the variety of food was quite diverse. There were stone baked pizzas, the sauage company cooking lots of gourmet sausages and hot dogs, an ice-cream van, indian cuisine, greek style street food such as kebabs and halloumi salads and lastly a smoothie stall making lots of delicious and healthy beverages. Of course there were also the return of the log cabin bar. The main arena looked quite a sight! Due to it's 'Hippie' themed weekend, there was an abundance of beautiful coloured flowers, peace symbols and glitter all around. Just like last year, the main arena was furnished with recycled sofas, logs and straw bales to encourage a relaxed atmosphere.
So, music, who performed? Who was good? Who wasn't so good? After attending this awesome festival last year and loving the artists that the organisers had booked in 2016, I was somewhat a skeptical about this year's line up just not comparing at all to the brilliance of last year. In all honesty that is how I felt. I was totally wrong! And I am glad that I was proven wrong. Wilkestock really out done themselves to celebrate their big birthday. Not only did they have amazing headline acts to close each night, but they also had many acts returning from last year and some new bands and artists that I hadn't heard of before that really impressed me. DJs Adam O and and Matt Crawley also owned the decks throughout the entire weekend!
FRIDAY Let's start with all of the musical goodness from Friday. The main stage was opened by four piece male indie rock band Mono 01. Although only three of the band's members had turned up. The guys performed singles including 'Lost Dreams' and 'Get Out Of My Face'. Other bands that played on Friday included indie rock band Arcadian from St. Albans who played their hits 'Mandy', 'Talk Slow' and also an amazing cover of Kanye West's 'Stronger'.
We also saw Alternate pop rock female duo Rews. These two ladies from London and Belfast totally owned the stage while performing singles''For The Broken Hearted', 'Violins' 'Miss You In The Dark' and new single 'Shine'. Their debut album is due to be released in November this year.
The first of the returning acts from last year were Bedford based band The Scruff. In 2016 the band played and completly packed out the Bella/BBC Introducing stage. This year the lads had been promoted to the main stage for a bigger set. I will be honest. When I saw this band perform last year, I thought that they were a good band but not really a band for me. This year they did a complete flip reverse on me. They were one of my highlights for Friday! The Scruff played a variety of music, both old and new. What really changed my opinion of their music was when they performed their newest single titled 'Her' a song about being kind to your mother, it is also dedicated to one of the band member's late mother. A beatifully written and very emotial song which completely tugged at my heartstrings. One feeling I didn't expect to feel while watching this band perform. They are definitly worth a listen to so check them out.
An act that appeared to entice a lot of people were rock band Blackwaters. Our photographer especiallly. While headbanging and owning the stage the band performed their singles 'Let The Good Times Roll', 'Help Me', a pretty awesome cover of Britney Spears hit 'Toxic' and the very memorable 'F**k Yeah!' (I'll let you fill in the gaps haha). The band's lead vocalist was quite the showman, dressed in fitted black trousers and what I can only describe as a mariarchi style shirt. Not only did he rock the stage and interact well with the audience but he also jumped down from the stage to rock out in the arena with the fans watching too. For some reason a lot of very young children appeared to like this set too. There must have been around five children under the age of three sporting their ear protector headphones and bopping to this band's music. It was rather amusing. Perhaps a new generation of rockstars emerging, who knows?
Friday's warm up act for the headliner were British indie/alternative band The Sherlocks. The band brought in quite the crowd which gathered at the front of the main stage arena. I'd heard many people talk about their excitment to see this band on stage. The lads have just released their debut album titled 'Live For The Moment' and are currently touring all over the globe. Their single 'Heart Of Gold' has recieved air play from BBC Radio 1 DJs Annie Mac, Huw Stevens and Greg James. They also played at Reading and Leeds festivals last year (2016) before then supporting the Libertines on their arena tour. They performed hits for us including 'Chasing Shadows', 'Blue', 'Last Night' and 'Candlelight' before then exiting the stage to make way for the evening's headline act. Carl Barat and the Jackals. What a lovely tie in to The Libertines there! With people flooding in from all corners of the grounds to see this set, it was heaving! Carl Barat is best known for being co-front man alongside Pete Doherty in The Libertines. In 2014 Barat had set out to to search for a new band online via popular social media site Facebook. He had recieved well over 1000 applications before he then chose members to then form The Jackals. The collaboration works really well and their music is something that many peope enjoy. They are on tour and their current EP 'Harder They Fall' is out now.
SATURDAY Saturday was a big day for the festival, not only was it fancy dress day with a hippie theme but it was also the day that the festivals birthday celebrations took place. Throughout the day announcements were made on the main stage in regarding the 10th birthday of the festival. Including a heartfelt speech from the festival's founders Tom and Olly Wilkes. While thanking friends, family, press and production for their support over the years a cake was brought on stage as we were all encouraged to sing happy birthday. For the rest of the afternoon free birthday cake was available at the log cabin bar. And you can't go wrong with free cake! The day even saw a live proposal on the main stage. Congratulations to the happy couple!
Some of the best sets of the day came from artists including Honeylung, a male rock band that are fresh from the BBC Introducing stage at Reading and Leeds festivals 2017 with their grunge like apparel. A band that I thought were a tad different was Haunt The Woods. I can only describe their music as rock/eerie. The guys from Cornwall put on a great set with their singles 'Beautiful Catastrophe', the very haunting sounding 'Twisted' and 'Red Wood' which the band members themselves named a folk song.
We also saw a very girly punk rock set from female trio Hey Charlie who had packed out the tent at the Bella Stage. The fiesty girls (Lizz, Sophie and Lauren), who play their own instruments also played at the British Summertime Festival in Hyde park earlier this year. I had a lot of fun watching these three. I loved their music! Their song 'Cheer UpPrincess' is a brilliant upbeat punky pop song that got everyone up on their feet and left us singing the lyrics throughout the day.
Saturday like Friday night also had a warm up act before the big headliner. Saturday evening brought us the very energetic and amusing band Vant. These lads are absolutely brilliant live! Their music has had a lot of air play, particularly on BBC Radio 1 lately and are really starting to make a name for themselves. I only saw this band just over a month ago at Truck Festival and I loved their set there too. It seems that they like to introduce themselves by saying "Hey we are Vant from planet Earth!" Early on in their half an hour set one of the band members burst into song to sing the Spice Girls hit '2 Become 1' which of course set off a kareoke like chorus from everyone else in the arena. This was hilarious! The band even stopped half way through perfomorming their single 'Do You Know Me By Now?' to pass comment on a security issue that was being dealt with in front of the main stage. The front vocalist shouted out to the security team "security! Have you not been to a punk rock show!, Let the man stay at the front, I will keep an eye on him". This absolutely ticked myself and many other people there. The band just seem so down to earth and have a great connection with their audience. The guys continued afterwards to play a number of songs including their popular hit 'Karma Seeker'.
Just before the headline act graced the stage, one of the DJs played a number of songs over the speaker system to keep us all entertained in the meantime. Whoever that DJ was did a great job! They just kept throwing out hit after hit which really got the crowds of people dancing and singing along. Especially when 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' (Originally by Nirvana) was blasted out. I've never known so many people to jump around and go wild. There were even middle aged people acting like the teenagers that they once were. It was really quite something to see. It just showed how much fun can be had at this festival and it brought everyone together.
Saturday's headline act was the one performer that everyone was talking about, even the other artists on stage. Razorlight! I had loved them in my late teens, so I was quite excited to see them perform myself. They did not dissapoint. The opened their set with a quick "hello" before going straight into their first song of their set, the well known 'In TheMorning'. the band took many of us on a trip down memory lane with a variety of hit singles accompanied by an array of laser and strobe lighting. All in all they showcased a total of eighteen hits in their alotted time slot at the end of the night. They rounded off not only their set but also the evening by performing probably their biggest hit 'America' to which the production team also set of huge confetti cannons that filled the grounds and the air, leaving us all reeling from excitement.
SUNDAY Lastly, Sunday was a shorter day at the three day event but to be honest it was my favourite of the three days. The music was a lot more diverse rather than mainly rock bands throughout the day. As much as I like rock music it was nice to see some tamer styles of music. My highlights of the weekend were mostly acts from the last day of Wilkestock. On the list of stagetimes it showed that at lunchtime we were to see another of the returning bands from last year My Little Empire. When they took to the stage this was quite different. I say they, but only lead singer and guitarist Rob from the band took centre stage alone. As only he attended this enabled him to perform a slightly different set to what was originally planned. One man and his guitar often means one thing. A relaxed acoustic set. Yep, the band's front man performed their singles 'Solitude', 'Letting Go' and a really good cover of Ocean Colour Scene's 'Robin Hood' which he had said was an iconic song to him growing up. As it was to many of us too. This would have been the band's 7th year playing at his festival. But Rob certainly managed to pull it off all by himself.
Another Wilkestock veteran returning from last year were St. Albans based indie/rock band Alexis Kings. I loved them last year and to be honest I was quite enthusiastic about seeing them again over this weekend. The all male musicians had a slightly more grown up look after recently returning to the UK as they have been busy touring Asia. They played at the Summer Sonic festival in Shanghai alongside the likes of The Kooks and Sum 41. We heard some familiar songs from them such as their most popular single 'Squire' and a personal favourite of mine 'Strawberry Blonde'. They also sampled their newest masterpiece, 'Magic Mind' which they admitted they've only performed live a handful of times. This single is set to be their next release in around two months time. Watch out for it, it's a really great tune and I will be surprised if it doesn't do well.
To be honest I think the most popular performance of the day came from electro/pop group Club Drive. This set was a particularly important one to the band members as four became three. This was their bass player's last gig alongside the other lads as he is moving on to bigger things in his life outside of the band. Club Drive are becoming more and more popular with each single they release. The musicians from hertfordshire put on an amazing show for all ages. Everyone was up on their feet enjoying the music from their set. There was tons of energy on stage too. Their music is very upbeat and infectious. They certainly bring the party with them.
Sunday evening and the festival weekend was brought to a close by the cheeky chaps from Padding Needed. I had spoken to one of the band members in the afternoon before their set and he informed me of the antics that the band get up to while they are performing on stage. They had spent their afternoon handing out flyers inviting everyone to their pillow fight in the tent they were playing in. The band member that I spoke to had told me that the reason why they provide lots of pillows and encourage a huge pillowfight at all of their gigs is due to their single 'Pillow Fight'. They thought it was something unique and very fitting to promote their single. Ever since then, they have had giant pillow fights at every single gig they have played. This weekend we saw not only their famous pillow fight, but balloons being thrown into the crowds which packed out the tent completely and also what appeared to be sparklers on the ends of their guitars. They really do put on a gig like no other. The band that are based in the Milton Keynes/Northampton area are currently gigging all over the place and they even have their own festival planned for December called Pillow Fest! Which sounds like a massive fun party. If you get the chance to see these guys live then do so, you don't want to miss out on this much fun at a gig. Great music and laughs, what more could you possibly ask for?
So now this brings my rather lengthy review to a close. Wilkestock really upped the ante for this year's event. I'm so glad I've been able to go for the last two years as its a great family weekend out. Tickets for next year have already gone on sale and they will probably sell out fast so get them while you can. Thank you Tom and Olly for having us share your festival fun once again!
For more photos by Kane Howie click on day links below.
Wilkestock 2017 is the 10th Anniversary for the small independant festival located in Hertfordshire running 1st-3rd September. It may be small and compact, but it has a lot to offer. You can lay back and relax on recyled sofas at the main stage arena or find hidden stages through the straw bale walkways. With previous years showcasing some amazing bands such as The Subways, Mystery Jets, Bastille, Dub Pistols and many more. This year has a 'hippie theme' with a fancy dress competition on the Saturday. The line up has been organised by Juicebox live who put on many bands in surrounding areas. Headlining the weekend is Carl Barat and the Jacks, Razorlight and a secret headline guest for Sunday.
Some of the artists that we think are worth checking out include:
Alexis Kings who are are a rock band from St Albans, last year they played the BBC introducing stage and had great success with their performance. They will be playing on the main stage on sunday this year.
Vant who are a London based punk rock band who have had numerous singles named as Annie Mac's Hottest Record In The World. They have played with Royal Blood, Biffy Clyro and Catfish and the Bottlemen. These guys recently rocked the main stage at Oxford's Truck Festival and we have no doubt they will do exactly the same at Wilkestock.
http://www.wearevant.com/
Club Drive is a 4 peice guitar funk pop band from Hertrfordshire. With similar sounds of Maroon 5. The band have already caught attention of the BBC Radio 1 introcuding team and they have also sold out national and international headlining shows. They are definitly a band to watch out for!
The festival is also a family festival event. Organisers will be providing a secret cinema, facepainting, bouncy castles and crazy golf within their family area. Plus if the festival is anything like last year's event then it will also have a great selection of cuisines to choose from too. We had great fun at last year's event, so we cannot wait to go again in a few weeks time!
For more information check out Wilkestock's website HERE!
August 2017 saw the town of Bedford celebrating its 21st year of putting on its brilliant Park Concerts. With everyone still reeling from the success of last year's event, which saw performances from rapper Dizzee Rascal and the one and only welsh legend Tom Jones, organisers really had to step up to top that for this year's concert weekend. Boy did they certainly do that!
The weekend provided three nights of amazing performers. Friday night (4th August) took us back in time to the 80s and 90s for the ultimate party that was oozing with cheesy pop goodness. The evening got off to a great start with performaces from 90s Zambian solo artist Rozalla who was most famously known for releasing the track "Everybody's Free" and singer/songwriter Nik Kershaw. Kershaw not only saw fame as a solo artist but also wrote big hits for other artists. Including Chesney Hawkes infamous "The One And only" which Nik also performed himself this weekend dedicating the song to Hawkes. Friday night also gave us the lovely and rather sparkly Baby D who performed three tracks, one of which was the amazing club classic, "Let Me Be Your Fantasy". One act of the night that was getting people talking was 80s english pop band Go West. The Duo enjoyed their peak of popularity between the mid 80s and onto the early 90s with hits including "We Close Our Eyes" and the iconic song written by the band for 1990 film realease "Pretty Woman" which was indeed the unforgettable "King Of Wishful Thiking". We were lucky to see both of these being performed on friday night also. Friday's biggest performances came from 80s pop hunk Jason Donovan, Livin' Joy and DJ Dave Pearce. Shortly after 8pm, the pit area of the arena was filled with middle aged women anxiously awaiting the arrival of their favourite 80s hearthrob. Donovan still looked great, and performed famous hits of his including "Sealed With A Kiss", "Nothing Can Divide Us", "Especially For You" which he sang with a guest female soloist for Kylie Minogue's segments of the single, the amazing "Any Dream Will Do" from the infamous musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat" and he finished his energetic set with fan favourite "Too Many Broken Hearts". In My opinion, Aussie favourite Jason Donovan has certainly still got it! His stage presence was charismatic, cheeky and comical. During sets for Livin' Joy and Dave Pearce we were treated to many 90s club classics and heavy bass beats while watching an amazing laser light show from the stage which filled the grounds.
Saturday evening (5th August) Bedford featured artists including, London based band Victoria, Bedford town boys The Wholls, 90s indie band Feeder and headliners KaiserChiefs! In amoungst thousands of people eating pizzas, mexican cuisine and drinking rather large quanitities of Pimms, I could feel how electric the atmosphere within the park really was. Chatter of people so excitedly waiting to see their favourite bands of the evening, including the performers families and friends. Rock/indie, Bedford boys The Wholls drew in a younger audience while performing original songs "Give It Up", "Perfect Waste Of Time" and "Roll It Out". The local lads are quickly climbing up the music fame ladder after recently signing to big recording label Sony. If you like new up and coming bands, you should definitly check them out. Their debut album is out now.
The first of the most anticipated acts of saturday night were met with a rather loud roar of excitement from the crowds of people in front of the stage. Of course this excitement was when 90s welsh rock band Feeder stepped on stage. The band formed in Newport in 1992 and were originally named Reel. The band found fame with the name feeder later on in their career. They are said to have been inspired by Nirvana, The Police and The Smashing pumpkins. Feeder gained much more media attention in 2001 during the release of their third album which featured lead track "Buck Rogers". Now some time on are now looking very different, but can still play an amazing live gig. Over the weekend we saw them perform a variety of hit singles including the chart topping "Buck Rogers", "Feeling A Moment", "Just A Day" and the very mellow "Just The Way I'm Feeling" which caused the arena to become filled with fans gently waving their mobile phones with torches on in the air. Lead vocalist Grant Nicholas also revealed that they will be releasing a best of album in September 2017. This album will feature all the favourite hits and also debut nine new tracks. During the final song of Feeder's set a flare was lit in the crowd which to be perfectly honest looked quite spectaluar with its yellow glow and smoke filling the pit area. Despite looking rather awesome, this was a big hazard which could have caused harm and this was dealt with very swiftly by the security team looking after everyone over the weekend.
Onto Saturday night's headline act! English rock band Kaiser Chiefs! The park was filled with screams and excitement when members of the band stepped on stage. Even more so for front man Ricky Wilson. The band was formed in Leeds in the year 2000 under the name Parva and released just one studio album which was titled '22' in 2003 before then establishing themselves as Kaiser Chiefs. With six studio album releases under their belts they are still going strong and continue to make great new music. The five piece opened their exciting set with the ever popular "Everyday I Love You Less And Less" to which at the end of the song singer Ricky Wilson came to the very edge of the stage to encourage ticketholders to be louder and dance. Over the course of the evening we saw them perform hits including "Never Miss A Beat", "Modern Way", "The Angry Mob" which we saw Ricky teaching lyrics to the audience to sing along with him, "Ruby", the massive "I Predict A Riot" and a favourite of Wilson's from their latest album "Hole In My Soul". Their latest singles from the 2016 album 'Stay Together' are quite different from the slightly heavier rock style that we are used to hearing from Kaiser Chiefs, they have a bit more of a slight pop/indie sound with catchy lyrics and more mellow rythms. During their set the very energetic front man was continuously playing up to cameras and playing one side of the audience off against the other during tracks. We were even asked by the band to sing "Happy birthday" as a birthday cake was brought out filled with candles on stage to celebrate the birthdays of a member of their sound crew and also drummer Vijay. After filling the park with music, strobe lighting and fans jumping around like caged animals the lads left the stage leaving us all shouting for "More, More, More" The rather tired looking band members returned to the stage once more to perform not one, but two more hits for us. They played "Misery Company" and then ended their set with the brilliant "Oh My God" I can honestly say Kaiser Chiefs have to be the best band that I have ever seen live! I am still feeling the buzz since seeing them on saturday night. And I'm pretty sure I will be for a very long time. Before this weekend I had enjoyed them, but now I love them!
Still reeling from the night before, we then attended Sunday's Bedford Park Proms. A much more relaxed kind of day with a lovely calm yet excitable atmosphere. This year's theme was Bedford Proms Goes To The Movies. Upon entering the grounds we were greeted by a replica of the famous Delorean from "Back To The Future", which looked amazing with twinkling lights and its doors up in the air so that we could see some fun movie props from the films. All that was missing was Doc Brown and Marty Mcfly. On the far side of the stage we could also see a huge inflatable of Staypuft from the Ghostbusters films and a birds of prey meet and greet tent inspired by the enchanting Harry potter film franchaise. The Proms really was an event for all of the family to enjoy. The grounds were filled with people equipped with tables, chairs and fancy food spreads. We even spotted someone that brought their own drinks bar with them. While some were sitting in their fold up chairs, covered with blankets just soaking in the ambiance, others were chatting with friends and relatives while dining on some rather exquisite meals which even included snacking on lobster! Very elegant stuff indeed. A popular and clever food choice taken by many ticketholders was large quantities of watermelon. Have you guessed why? It was a little reference to the iconic film "Dirty Dancing".
To get the musical evening off to a start we saw the young, talented and very brave children of the Pilgrim School Choir enter the stage with their teacher. All smartly dressed in their school uniform sporting lovely green blazers the children began to sing some of their favourite classics from the movies. Their time slot gave them the chance to perform well known songs from musicals and feature films including "A Whole New World" from Disney classic Aladdin, "When I Grow Up" featured in Matilda, "Do-Re-Me" from the timeless film and stage show The Sound Of Music and popular Mary Poppins track "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" which was made famous originally by Dame Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. The small choir sang beautifully and were very professional on stage during their performance. It was very lovely to watch as the primary school children smiled at their families who were sitting in front of them in the pit area with cameras and tears of joy feeling immensely proud of their little ones for such an amazing achievement.
Shortly after a small interval entered the next act of the evening. The students from The Redford School of Speech and Drama. The teens looked flawless as they were elegantly dressed in tuxedos and ball gowns as they walked onto the stage to take their places. The teenagers began their set with their rendition of the chart topping single "Skyfall" which was the title track originally made famous by popstar Adele from the James Bond film Skyfall. With gentle harmonies their version was just beautiful and soothing. The Choir then went on to perform Journey's "Don't Stop Believin" which was also featured in hit TV musical show Glee. The choir featured a male and female soloist during their version of the peppy pop song with the rest of the group performing in an accapella style. One memorable part of the performance from this group of talented people, was a female soloist coming forward to sing latest disney release "How Far I'll Go" which happens to be the lead track on the soundtrack to Disney's Moana. The single was originally performed by Auli'i Cravalho who also voice's the lovely Moana in the animated feature film. The young blonde vocalist in the school choir sounded remarkably like the original voice actor while performing this song. She had the most beautiful and delicate voice, her rendition literally gave me goosebumps. The group performed a medley of music from feature films to finish their set, which again featured acapella vocals. During the medley the choir performed tracks which included "Part Of Your World" from The Little Mermaid originally sang by Jodi Benson, the "Star Wars Main theme", "Rule The World" originally performed by Take That for the film Stardust, "The Circle Of Life" from The Lion King, "The Time Of My Life" from Dirty Dancing, and an amazing leg slapping routine to "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone" which was used in the film Pitch Perfect and was performed by actress and singer Anna Kendrick. During this amazing medley of memorable soundtracks the group also performed approproate theatrics on stage to accompany each hit that they sang. These young people had amazling talent and really could go far in the music industry.
For the main concert, which started around 7.30pm our ears were treated to the sounds of the London Gala Orchestra who also introduced the Bedford choral society and west end stars Joanna Forrest, Daniel Koek, and opera vocalist Alison Buchanan. Daniel had performed "Born Free" and also sang "The Prayer" alongside Joanna. AlisonBuchanan performed the ever wonderful "Ave Maria" with the orchestra also. During the concert we heard many well known soundtrack releases from feature films being performed by the London Gala Orchestra which also heavily focused on the amazing compositions of the award winning John Williams to which they played some of his most memorable pieces such as the "Star Wars Main Theme", "The Imperial March" also from Star wars, the "Jaws theme" from the movie of the same name, the "Superman Theme", the "Jurassic Park Theme", the theme from the whiptastic "Indiana Jones" and many many more. At the end of the night the orchestra brought their time to a close by playing the patriotic "Rule, Britannia" and "The Land Of Hope And Glory" as they were joined on stage by all three vocalists wearing great britain attire. The grounds was a sea of Union Jack flags waving in the wind. They then performed famous music from the James Bond film franchaise during a spectacular firework display, which also saw the organisers set off what I can only explain as mushroom cloud flame throwers which were situated in the pit area of the park. Sunday was definitly the most enjoyable night of the three for me (minus the Kaiser Chiefs on Saturday evening). There was no rushing around, no being trampled on by people trying to see their favourite acts. Just good old fashioned patriotic fun.
My weekend at Bedford Park Concerts was certainly a busy one. But nevertheless a very enjoyable one. I loved my time there as did our photographer and our 2 year old son.
I wonder how Bedford will be able to top this next year? I can't wait to find out what they will have in store for their 2018 weekend!
