Bears Den - Summer Festival Guide

London based band Bears Den stopped off on their ‘So That You Might Hear Me’ tour at the legendary venue Sheperd’s Bush Empire, in which is a very important place for them as noted during the show as one member was formerly an employee at a local pub just along the same road as the venue. Both London shows were sold out and it was their last UK show before jetting off to play all over Europe.

Arriving at the venue with a capacity of 2000, the room is filled with excitement from the crowd. Whilst patiently waiting for the first act Tusks to arrive on stage, people were sipping at their beverages , chatting amongst themselves with many also observing the merch stall.

The stage was lit with blue lighting with a gentle haze of smoke while two vintage styled rugs were seen covering the floor. Around 8:00pm, the lights began to dim and support act Tusks took to the stage. Tusks is actually the stage name for performer Emily Underhill. Her style of music is most suited to an electronic indie pop genre. Her sound can be likened to that of London Grammar. The artist expressed that she was very grateful to be supporting Bears Den and especially for two consecutive nights as it is a venue she has always dreamed of performing in. Her set showcased a total of six songs including the single ‘Be Mine’, which is featured on her new album that is due for release in June. She was well received with the crowd who were now really looking forward to the headliners.

The stage was cleared quite quickly and was all set up for Bears Den. With guitars all ready and also a little wooden piano. As the lights dimmed they had the most nostalgic sci-fi style intro as the Terminator theme tune played them in. The duo walked on with four supporting musicians. It was still pretty dark with just a few white lights that focused on the band from below as they played their first song ‘Fuel On The Fire’. Shortly after, their second song of the evening saw singer Andrew Davie said how great it was to play the venue again and that we do have more songs to play.
The crowd swayed and danced during the performance. When playing ‘Sophie’ the band turned off all equipment and came to the front of the stage and asked for complete silence and kept it simple with an acoustic rendition of the song. They also performed an unplugged song in the crowd later on in the show which was ‘Blankets Of Sorrow’.

When performing, ticket holders enjoyed singing the lyrics along with the band. Bears Den played a wide range of new and classic songs which included music from their latest album which was only released this month (April 2019). The album is due for release just a few short days after this gig at Sheperd’s Bush. Band member Andrew toasted the show with a shot and expressed a huge thank you to everyone who has supported them over the years.

At the end of the evening the band brought their show to a close with probably one of their biggest hits to date. ‘Agape’. It was the perfect way to end the evening.
You can catch the band on their European tour and also at Citadel Festival in London on 14th July 2019.

Review and Photos by Kane Howie

Enigmatic Australians The Cat Empire have a reputation for buoyant live shows and are always a big draw when they visit the UK. Their mash up of Cuban salsa, ska, reggae and pop becomes something joyous and truly original whenever they take to the stage. Angus and Julia Stone are also Australians; a brother/sister duo whose heartfelt and textural folk/blues is beginning to make big waves in Europe. Their recent self-titled album co-produced with the legendary Rick Rubin is the highest-charting by the duo to date, reaching the top 10 in several countries including France, Germany, the Netherlands and New Zealand. Public Service Broadcasting are more familiar to UK festival goers. They made quite an impact on their debut, combining a wonderful mix of electronics, guitars with vintage public service information samples. Their brand new follow-up album, The Race for Space, takes as its theme the exciting late ‘60’s American-Soviet exploration contest, mingling evocative archive footage with harmonizing electronic soundscapes.

Merriment and Participation

The Secret Garden Party is all about a magical immersive experience and everything a for 2015’s event nods to this year’s arts & expressions theme ‘Childish Things.’ Content includes:

Giant Parades – Visual Spectaculars – Boating Lake – 24 Hour Woodland Parties – 14 Live Music Stages & 6 DJ Stages – Goat Racing – Aerial Displays – Toys & Games – Art Installations – Mud Wrestling – Revelries & Merrymaking – Fire Walking – Sanctuary & Hot Tubs – Massage Area – Guerilla Science – Floating Dance Floors – Wild Swimming – Little Gay Brother Bar – Paint Fights –24 Hour Toad Hall Bar – Live Theatre & Comedy – Organic Food Stalls – Intellectual Exchange & Mart Dialogues – Camp Fire Tales – Dance-Offs – Poetry Slams & Spoken Word – Kids’ Area – Fine Dining

Full lineup announcement:

THE CAT EMPIRE

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING – ANGUS AND JULIA STONE

TEMPLES – BEARS DEN – BERNHOFT – PALMA VIOLETS – IBEYI – SAY LOU LOU DARWIN DEEZ ROOTS MANUVA – THE ACID – HINDS – CHARLOTTE OC HÆLOS – GENTLEMANS DUB CLUB – 8:58 (ORBITAL’S PAUL HARTNOLL) – ZOLA BLOOD – YAK – EKKAH

THE MAGIC GANG – LAUREL – KIKI BUN – LITTLE BARRIE – FURS – FICKLE FRIENDS BEATY HEART PLUTO SHERVINGTON – EAVES – MEANWHILE – KAWEHI – LUSTS VESSELS – BLACK HONEY – THE MOON LOLA COLT – BEANS ON TOAST

WILL AND THE PEOPLE – GULF – BEN UFO/JOY ORBISON – RICHY AHMED

They will join as previously announced; JUNGLE – KATE TEMPEST – CARAVAN PALACE – JACK GARRATT – MARIKA HACKMAN – JAGAARA FLYTE – ELDER ISLAND – MENACE BEACH –and IYES

Bears Den @ Shepherds Bush Empire 24/04/2019 Review

More artists announced for Secret Garden Party 2015