Music

Deichbrand Festival 2018 – Full Review!

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Deichband festival is a festival with a bit of a twist. Located just a few km from the coast of the North Sea, Deichbrand has branded itself as the festival ‘on the North Sea’. And while this is not completely true, it does do hourly trips to the sea, where punters are offered the chance to try paddle boarding and surfing. In previous years there’ also been the opportunity to fly over the festival in a helicopter, though they’ve had to cancel it this year for various reasons. Though a lot of people were upset, most of the punters I spoke to say they were glad they weren’t going to have to deal with a helicopter over their campsite every twenty minutes.

There’s a huge variety of food a drink across the main site and throughout the fields with the smaller stages. The food ranges from typical German fast food dönner (similar to our donner kebabs) through to a Pakistani company serving tradition food, the noodle place and of course the German favourites of ‘pommes & wurst’ (sausage and chips), burgers (including wild boar and rib burgers) and ‘pommes am stiel’ – chips on a stick. There’s also vegetarian options, and what’s more, there’s variety in that as well. There’s your standard pasta – in this case gnocci – but there’s also vegetarian kebab wraps with halloumi or vegan ones with falafel.

As with every German festival, Deichbrand supports ¡Viva Con Auga! A charity that improves the drinking water and supply in developing counties such as Cuba, Kenya and Nepal. To help with this almost all German festivals have a ‘pfand’ (deposit) of €2 for all the cups bought at the bars onsite. You then have a choice to return the cups to the bar and get your ‘pfand’ back – in which case, well done on cutting down on waste – or, you can give it to one of the many volunteers onsite who will then recycle it for you and get the ‘pfand’ for their charity. So it’s really a win – win for the environment and the charity. It’s an excellent idea, and though I’ve said it before it’s worth mentioning again, it should be implemented at UK festival in order to cut down on the waste that festivals always cause.

As well as the music, Deichbrand offers a number of workshops, which though common in UK festivals isn’t something I’ve seen much of abroad. There’s the classics, masseuse training, morning yoga and circus school, as well as a few more unusual act ivies like  beer yoga (like normal yoga but you’ve got a cold beer in your hands and you can’t spill it) rock-climbing and parkour sessions.

Deichbrand is a small festival, with four stages, two big ones (fire and water). The first act of the afternoon is double act the 257ers. And when I say double act I mean it in the comedic sense. The band have produced five albums, which pretty solidly consist of comedy songs. Their last album ‘Mikrokosmos’ (Micro-cosmos) reach number one in the German charts, with songs such as ‘holz’ – an entire song dedicated to how much they love wood. Not the kind of wood you’re thinking off right now, just normal wood. From trees. I know, they are a bit weird. But that’s why we love them. Their performance is littered with costume changes, including going from their Adidas shirts into their captain kit for their Pirate song (a weird sea-shanty type song) and into orange (Dutch) football tops. The costume changes do take a minute or two, and while they get changed we were entertained by their DJ who played an interesting mix of songs, from Whitney Huston to Crazy Frog back to Papa Roach back through to Beyoncé. He then got out from behind his decks and gave one end of a massive tube to the crowd, while he poured beer down his end, creating a kind of oversized beer straw for the people in the crowd. During the next song, the 257ers got down from the stage and sprayed a foam cannon out to the crowd, who were going wild and feeding off the energy that was being thrown from the stage. During one of the mosh pits they’d encouraged the audience to create they spotted a man in a knitted octopus mask, and shouted ‘Zoidberg! Three years!’ – Apparently this guy always goes to festivals with this mask on, and it’s paid off. 257ers noticed him, and they’ve even made note of how many times they’ve seen him. I think it was pretty cool that not only did they notice him but they also made a point of pointing him out.  They’ve also got songs like ‘Holland’ which is an ode to the country of its namesake, with lines like ‘Nobody’s aggro, everyone’s tripping, Holland is the boss, I think windmills are cool’ which, I mean. They’re just such good fun, both to listen to and to watch up on stage.

fri - 257ers - watermark-13_1

fri - 257ers - watermark-13_1

Friday evening was officially started by Scottish singer Amy Macdonald, who played a fantastic set. Though many of her songs are sung with an American accent, as soon as she spoke to the audience it was clear that she is Scottish through and through. The audience knew this, which was evident from the amount of St. Andrews’ crosses strewn across the crowd. Macdonald commented on the weather (and the dust) and how she couldn’t cope Scottish skin. During her set she tried to read a few signs in the audience, a classic ‘we love you’ sign that she comment on and thanked the people that wrote it, saying it ‘looked like it’d taken them ages to make’ and she saw a sign further back that she commented on but couldn’t read. Later in her set she spotted someone holding a sign and asked them ‘you’re asking to sing someone else’s song on stage? What would I get out of it? It’s not in my setlist’ – someone in the crowd had made a sign asking if they could sing Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in The Dark’. Macdonald then conceded, saying ‘alright then, get up here’ and this guy was brought up onto the stage. He was completely star struck, as you would be, Macdonald kept asking him his name and all he could do was gasp. Eventually, with some whispered encouragement from the guitarist, this guy manage to speak into the mic and tell us his name was Patrick. Macdonald then said they couldn’t do the whole song, but they could do a verse and a chorus. So, they started singing as Macdonald played along with her guitar, and it turned out that Patrick could sing. And I mean *sing*. He had an absolutely amazing voice, and what’s more is that it

harmonised perfectly with MacDonald’s. It’s not hard to imagine how WILD the crowd were going as soon they realised he could sing. It was evident he was still star struck, but the fact that he managed to not only sing, but sing well in front of an audience easily 5,000 strong. After they sang together Patrick was quickly ushered off the stage beaming and passed onto security backstage, where he was greeted with high-fives. Macdonald resumed the show and finished off her set with her chart topping single ‘This is the Life’.

 

Casper headlined on Friday night, and, unusually for him he came on stage full of colour. He was wearing a yellow jacket and seemed a bit livelier than in previous times. Whether this is a move away from his generally darker rap or just a blip, is still undecided. The amazing light show was the perfect ending for the energetic day that had been Friday.

Saturday

Saturday afternoon started off with London shanty punk band Skinny Lister jumping on to the stage and immediately energising everyone in the area. Skinny Lister have the ability to turn a gig, no matter the size, into a party where it feels like everyone’s been invited. A lot of the crowd clapped and swayed along in time to the music, but part of the crowd (arguably the better part) started dancing, jigging and stomping along to their hearts content. The jumping/dancing/jigging caused all the dust in on the ground (which I have decided is probably at least half of the entire world’s supply of dust) went up into the air, obscuring the band and pretty much everything else. They did comment on it, vocalist/guitarist/stomp-boxist Dan Heptinstall saying ‘we’re in the Deichbrand Dustbowl’ and vocalist Lorna Thomas later commented that they’ll be touring (though probably not until the new year when the next album is due to be released) and we could go and see them in a less dusty setting. As always, Skinny Lister provided the audience with refreshments in the form of a jug with a mysterious mixture of what one can only assume is just alcohol. The Jug (affectionately referred to as the 7th member of Skinny Lister) was passed around the audience as everyone took a sip on it, before being passed back up to the stage – now empty. The free alcohol is one of the bonuses of seeing Skinny Lister live, though the main draw is the amount of positive energy that comes pouring off the stage when the play. It’s also worth going just to watch double bassist Scott Milsom lift his double bass over his WHILE playing it. It’s a pretty amazing thing to watch.

sat - skinny lister - watermark-10

sat - skinny lister - watermark-10

The next act of the afternoon are indie pop band Von Wegen Lisbeth from Berlin. Von Wegen Lisbeth are a quirky pop act, using steel drums and xylophones in their music as well as the standard keyboards, guitars bass’ and drums. They had the stage covered in greenery, plastic leaves, vines and branches littered the set.  Behind them they had the letters ‘V’ ‘W’ and ‘L’ lit up on big squares – you’ve got to admit that’s a lot easier than spelling out their lengthy name.

As we wander towards the end of the evening the Fire Stage is hosting Brummie indie-rockers, The Editors. Their dark, synth-y sound and ambiguous lyrics do feel slightly out of place in the afternoon sun, it’s still 24℃. What’s more, is that they came on stage to Abba’s ‘gimme gimme gimme (a man after midnight)’ – again, a stark contrast from the broody and moody set they are known for. They opened their set with the first track of their new album ‘cold’. In fact, a lot of their set was taken from their new album, ‘violence’ as was the back-drop for the show, three naked and dirty people wrapped around each other. It’s very…Hannibal-esque, actually. But I guess that does fit with their image. They did of course play crowd favourites, including ‘Sugar’, ‘Munich’ and ‘Papillion’. They ended their set with Magazine, another one from their new album. It was a really good set, overall. It would have been nice to have a little bit more interaction with the crowd, but apart from that it was a nice, standard Editors show.

As the sun had finally set the crowd gathered around the fire stage for the final act of the night. The Killers. The band coming towards the end of their European tour – which this time around has included the festival circuit, playing at the Isle of Wight Festival as well as TRNSMT in Glasgow and Summer in the City in Dublin.

They opened with their newest track ‘The Man’ and the crowd due fully danced along, but once they’d finished, lead singer Brandon Flowers asked the audience if they were ready to party with the killers – all in German, which was pretty impressive. After the resounding ‘JA’ from the audience they went straight into ‘Somebody told me’ which had the entire crowd going absolutely mad. They followed it with ‘Space man’ and Flowers’ was dancing across the stage, in full glory with his gold and black shiny jacket. Clean shaven and boy-faced, he looks decades younger than his bandmates, all of whom are bearded and looking somewhat grizzled. As he danced around the stage the dust had been blown onto the stage and by the third song – – Midnight Show – (a throwback from the 2004 album Hot Fuss) Flowers’ had a facemask made entirely of dust and dirt. The set list was a good mix from all their albums, though after his attempt at German Flowers’ was lacking on the audience interaction. However, this was probably because he didn’t have much breath left what with all the singing and jumping and running the entire length of the stage for each song. Something should also be said for the visuals, the lights were great, as most big production shows are, with enough lasers and strobes to fill a boat. But what was really nice was the attention to detail. The confetti shot out of the cannons the second time round was in the German colours, which I thought was a nice touch. The first lot of confetti was pink, and I think it surprised everyone when it came out at the start of ‘somebody told me’. I don’t know what it is, but we in the crowd never seem to expect confetti at the start of a show. In the middle of the set they played ‘Runaways’ which bled seamlessly into ‘Read my mind’ which then again blended into ‘All these things that I’ve done’ which was not only incredibly interesting and pleasing to listen to, but also really quite impressive.

As well as the band on stage, they had three women doing the backing vocals, all of whom had absolutely stunning voices and really gave some depth to the whole show. They finished their set with ‘When you were young’ to 50,000 voices singing along, and fireworks coming down from the top of the stage. They thanked the audience as they walked off stage. No one left the arena, we all knew what we were waiting for. We couldn’t see The Killers and have them NOT play it. We waited, anticipation building, cries of ‘encore’ and ‘one more song’ erupting now and again from various pockets in the crowd. The screen on the stage went black. The large, orange words appeared on it. Three words. Are. We. Human? They came back on to cries and cheers and woops, as we knew they would. The first few notes were played, and though it wasn’t the song we’d waited for, the crowd still went mad, dancing and moshing and singing along. Once it was over there was barely a pause before Flowers’ started singing – with heavy auto-tune – ‘coming out of my cage and I’ve been doing just fine…’ and the this was it. This is what almost everyone there had come to see. The first verse was done with heavy auto-tune – it was a remix, what this effectively meant was that we got an extra verse. Once the auto-tune verse had finished, Flowers’ started singing without it, and ended the night in a spectacular way.  

Sunday

I wasn’t sure why Alligatoah was playing early on the Sunday morning. Well, early in the festival bubble, he was onstage at 12pm, and the first act of the day. I knew a couple of songs from him, and though he was performing an acoustic set, I still wasn’t convinced that he was the right person to start off Sunday afternoon. However, any doubts I had were quickly put to rest. He had an extensive set for an early afternoon act. The stage was set up like a building site and Alligatoah was wearing blue overalls and a builder’s hat. Throughout his set he clambered up and down the ladders and across his ‘building site’ and when he started singing ‘Willst Du’ – one of his more famous songs – he was singing it to a traffic cone in a very loving manner. His set was full of character in a very gentle way. He was friendly to the audience throughout his set, and the lazy Sunday morning vibe was helped by the fact the crowd in the first wave were all sitting on chairs that had been set up for them – presumably by the festival rather than the artist. Alligatoah also explained that he should have had a red balloon at the top of his building site set so it looked like something out of Stephen King’s IT, but it had blown away. Halfway through the set Alligatoah revealed that one of the bin bags that had been put on the stage around the building site set had been hiding a piano, which was actually a pretty cool reveal. I was impressed with the set and thought it was the perfect kick-off for the last day of the festival.

sun - alligatoah - watermark-27

sun - alligatoah - watermark-27

Not knowing any songs from Bosse, I was unsure what to expect from the singer. I’d heard that he was really good and was surprised at the range of people in the audience that came to see him. It seemed as if Bosse ws something that everyone was excited for. The crowd was a mixture of all ages and people from all walk of life. The sizable band came on stage, followed shortly by Axel Bosse, running onto stage. Wearing a ‘Refugee’s Welcome’ Shirt, he danced around on stage like a man possessed. He didn’t seem phased by the heat which I can only imagine was even more intense on the stage that it was off it, he ran from each side of the stage and onto the catwalk, all the time dancing and singing and not pausing to take a breath.     

SDP are a two-man band (not including the drummer and a dj of course) who have an astounding amount of energy on stage. The lyrics to the songs range from the heartfelt (Candlelight dönner) to the ridiculous (deine freundin) to the absurd (ne leiche). And of course no SDP set would be complete without stage antics, blow up sex dolls and fireworks and pyrotechnics. Honestly, it’s like giving over-grown children full control over their own birthday party.  Halfway through the set they brought out their sex doll (see what I mean) and tried (and failed) to perform CPR on it, before launching in to ‘Ne Leiche’ (literally – ‘a corpse’).  

Final act of the evening – and the weekend – were German super band – Die Toten Hosen. Everyone in Germany (and Argentina for some reason) knows about Die Toten Hosen. Toten Hosen have been around for over 36 years, one of the bands that started the punk movement in Germany in the 80s during the latter years of the cold war. The band have been prolific since their creation in Düsseldorf, releasing albums every few years which means their back catalogue is impressively huge. Their set included the best songs from their discography, including old favourites like ‘Bonnie & Clyde’, ‘Pushed Again’ and ‘Paradies’ as well as classics from their early, un-polished days, like the show opener ‘Opel Gang’ and of course songs from their new album. They also played a number of covers that are new for this tour, most notably ACDC’s ‘T.N.T’ as well as Iggy Pop’s ‘The Passenger’. Toten Hosen frontman Campino has boundless energy – especially for a man his age – and routinely got up close and personal with the crowd. As you would expect with a band that size there was of course two encores, and the night was ended with two classic Toten Hosen songs, ‘Tage wie deise’ (this is the day) and a cover of the Liverpool FC anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, which might seem a bit odd to people not familiar with band, but there is a reason for this strange choice of song to finish off a weekend in Germany. Campino is and has always been a big fan of Liverpool FC, and they’ve been including it in their set for at least the last 20 years. It was a perfect ending to the festival, the entire crowd was singing along and we all got swept up in the moment as they finished the show and the festival.

Deichbrand is a great little festival that’s had a solid line up since it was founded in 2005, and this year didn’t disappoint. Everyone is so friendly during the festival and it is a festival that holds itself to an extremely high standard. I would recommend anyone that’s into rock, rap and pop should go and experience the only festival on the North Sea.

Coasts at Club 85-Hitchin-9th October 2017

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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.  

 

All photos by Kane Howie

For more photos click here!

 

The XX at Bestival 2017 – Reviewed!

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Well here we are, Friday night at Bestival’s new home of Lulworth Castle in Dorset. The arena is packed out, there’s a chill of anticipation in the air and we’re all praying the rain holds off for tonight’s main stage headliners – The XX. The band take to the stage to a huge roar from the crowd and it’s pretty much straight down to business with ‘Crystallised’ and ‘Say Something Loving’. The bands’ ear-drum thumping percussive and electronic sounds come courtesy of Jamie Smith, stood atop a platform filled with every imaginable thing you can hit, prod and poke to make noise, and he’s currently bathed in sea of smoke and warm orange light.

Meanwhile, at the back of the stage giant floor to ceiling mirror panels rotate to show colour changing LED strips along the sides and the light is reflected back onto the upturned faces in the crowd. Despite a small hiccup with the sound and a quick re-set – “er… Jamie? Where are we going from…?” asks guitarist Romy Madley Croft – they go from strength to strength with her ethereal breathy vocals and their laid back almost hypnotic style.

Calling out “I’ll tell you what, we’ve been looking forward to this show for such a long time… nothing makes me more excited or more nervous than being back home… it’s been five years since we played Bestival” bassist Oliver Sim reaps an arena-wide reply of approval for their efforts. It’s certainly something that is often remarked on by UK bands – as a country we always seem to be rooting for the underdog, but everyone knows Brits are natural moaners, if we didn’t like it, they’d probably know about it quick.

Instrumental ‘Islands’ has everyone swaying along and with the warm stage lights and the rising breaths of the crowd there’s something so… Bestival, about this moment. It’s like floating and the temptation to close your eyes and get lost in it is strong. Making light comment on current world affairs – “We can be unified… forgetting all the bullshit in the world… enjoy yourselves this weekend” it’s clear the feeling is translated. How powerful it is that music can flow from creator to listener and invoke a mutual understanding, even without words.

As huge nets of lasers criss-cross the sky, illuminating the flickering flags and polka-dotting the brightly lit castle behind, The XX play through with the likes of ‘I Dare You’, ‘Infinity’ and ‘Brave For You’ but it’s the trio of hits ‘Loud Places’, ‘On Hold’ and ‘Angels’ that sees the arena erupt in wild applause, so much so that it seems to overwhelm Croft entirely, and spurs her into screaming “I fucking love you Bestival!”. Following up with “I’m gonna say something that might sound a bit cringe but it comes from the heart… we’ve been all around the world… but to be back in the UK, and for you to show us this much love, it’s amazing.” along with a shout out to Rob Da Bank for having them back, it’s pretty obvious The XX have enjoyed tonight as much as we have.

All photographs © A. McHardy – Do not use without permission

Truck Festival 2017

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Truck festival is the self labelled “Godfather of the small festival scene” and is one of the longest running small festivals in the UK. The festival based in Steventon in Oxfordshire was founded by brothers Robin and Joe Bennett and originally began as a birthday celebration for Robin. The brothers then handed control of the event over to Matt Harrap and his team after facing financial difficulties in 2012.  Now in 2017 in it’s twentieth year, the festival is still going strong with a line up that gets bigger each year.
In past years the festival has been known to find talents from up and coming bands that are trying to find their way onto the music scene to become arena sell out artists with many of these artists making their festival debut’s at Truck. Past performances include Biffy Clyro, Mystery Jets, Foals, Catfish and the Bottlemen and many, many more.

This year, Truck has seen a big change to the layout of the festival site compared to previous years’ usual look. The large area provided festival goers with eight stages, each with their own style of performances. Over the weekend, the ever popular Truck Stage, which is the event’s main stage in the centre of the site provided a huge variety of bands and artists for us to see.  Secondary to the Truck stage was the Market Stage which brough us performances from popular artists including Honeyblood, Tom Grennan and Twin Atlantic. The other six stages included were The Nest-the third of the bigger stages, then the slightly smaller venues that included The Barn, The Saloon Bar-which is well known for its country style, Veterans and Virgins stage, and lastly, not forgetting The Temple, and The Ruins venues that could be found within the Palm City area of the site which mostly showcases DJ sets including an amazing set from none other than Hollywood actor Idris Elba!

Also on offer on site was an array of activities and stalls for all ages to enjoy. Even fairground rides and games. As this is a family friendly festival, Truck saw the return of Angel Gardens which is a dedicated team of enthusiastic people in a designated children and family area. This area was situated just  off of the main arena and provided activities from 10am until 6pm.  Their tipi was full of lots of things to keep little ones happy and content. They had planned activities that included arts and crafts, singing and music, dance and movement, sensory play, story telling, cooking classes, races and games and even circus skills performances. Angel Gardens also planned to provide a bath and bedtime hour each evening from 5pm until 6pm where children can wash and relax to get ready for bed. I thought this was a brilliant idea, especially as I took my two year old son with me.
Next to the children’s area was a cinema with a diverse range of films for both  children and adults. The listings included big Disney movies- Moana, Up!, Toy story 1, 2 and 3 and also films aimed at a more mature audience like Jurassic Park, The Mask, Jaws, The Wedding Singer and the multiple award winning La La Land.

Each year the team at Truck festival has been known to provide ticket holders with a wide variety of food choices. Well this year there was even more! They had almost every corner of the food map covered. What was better is that because there was a much wider choice of foods this meant that people were spending a lot less time queueing for their grub. The food hall tent gave us pizzas, smoothies, indian cuisine, a hog roast, burgers, mac and cheese, tea and coffee and so much more. There was also many street cart food vendors on site around the arena which introduced us to greek street food, vegan and vegetarian cuisine, thai food, the list goes on and on. Feel good food stands were also donating all of their profits to many different charities which is a really nice idea. The one downside that I and many others noticed was the extortionate prices at the bar. I remember going to buy a bottle of water and being charged £2.50 to which I refused to pay, especially as I was able to buy the same amount of bottled water for just £1 at another food stall. Not only this, many people I had spoken to at the event were feeling a little cheated as they were being charged £5 per pint at the bar. And as there was a new no alcohol on return policy in place, this certainly rubbed a lot of people up the wrong way.

Speaking of grievances, If anyone reading this review has also read any other 2017 Truck festival related news, you will have undoubtedly seen a lot of negative articles about this weekend’s event. Here on behalf of myself and everyone at Summer Festival Guide, I do not intend to focus on the negatives that have appeared to over shadow many peoples opinions of this festival. Lets get the negativity out of the way. Firstly the weather was absolutely awful.  It rained, and rained and then rained some more. This of course turned the festival grounds into a giant muddy slip and slide and caused many campers tents to become flooded, including my own. No one is at fault for the very unpredicable weather conditions, but the security teams and production teams on site tried to help as much as they could by covering the worst effected parts of the ground with straw in an attempt to soak up the mud. Which worked to a certain extent.

While at the festival and since the event, I have spoken to many people as they were wanting to express their concerns to pretty much anyone who would listen as unfortunately the organisers of Truck festival haven’t appeared to be overly co operative. It appeared that the layout of the camping areas were not as well thought out as they maybe should have been.  There were five campsite areas which surrounded the arena, one of which was for the production team. The rest included general camping, the glamping and Zodiac camping areas which were priced higher than general camping as it provided extra facilities such as showers and larger tents and lastly the family camping area.  Family camping was the furthest away from the arena to which I can only assume was an attempt to keep it quieter for families with younger children which in therory is a good idea. Although in order to get the the festival arena, families were expected to walk through the general camping area which in my opinion and in the opinion of many others wasn’t such a good idea. Especially as it required walking down a hill that was turned into a giant mud slide after the heavy rainfall.  Not only that, it also was not ideal for young children to be walking through a campsite full of other festival goers that had a lot of alcohol and even recreational drugs on them which also left the general admission campsite in a bit of a state.  There is a very strict no drugs on site policy in place so clearly there would have been further security issues there too. Further issues with campsites included broken showers in the glamping and Zodiac camping areas. Ticket holders in these areas had paid over £30 extra to be able to use these shower facilities only to discover that they weren’t always able to. Lastly regarding complaints and unfortunate situations, over thirty reports were made to the organisers about items being stolen from tents, not only while the tents were empty but also when occupied while people were sleeping. Even though many people are left confused as to what is being done about these reports, it does appear that reports of stolen goods are still being dealt with. In all honesty it looks like the organisers at Truck festival will have a lot to think about while preparing for next year’s event.

Who’s ready for the fun stuff? The music highlights! The weekend provided us with an amazing line-up with so many great acts to see. It was so hard to pick which acts to go and see as many of “the ones to watch” had timing clashes so it mean’t a lot of running around for myself and our photographer. But totally worth it, no matter how much mud we may have been covered in. There are so many artitsts that I would love to include in this review but I have narrowed it down to just a few. One of the performaces that really stood out for me was the set from South London band Arcane Roots.  If you enjoy music from Biffy Clyro then these guys will be right up your alley. The band who have recently been raved about by DJ Annie Mac, attracted a lot of fans into the tent, which was eventually full to capacity. Just after perforfming their latest release, titled “Off The Floor” which in itself is a great head bopper, they then went on to sing a small segment of the massive  Linkin Park hit “Crawling”, which I have no doubt was a touching tribute to the band’s front man Chester Bennington who has recently passed away.  This was definitely a stand out moment for me and clearly many others in the room as it was met with applause.

An act that is defintly worth a mention is the unforgettable and high energy four piece, Yonaka. The band’s first appearance at Truck was in 2016 and they were named as one of the best sets of the weekend’s event.  This year they had returned to find themselves performing  on the main stage. With striking vocals from Theresa Jarvis and her very theatrical movements they had an amazing stage presence and captivated the audience. The band performed some of their singles including “Wouldn’t Wanna Be Ya”, “Ignorance” “Bubblegum” and the intense “All In My Head” to which they encouraged the crowds of people to sing along with them. If you get the chance to see them perform live, don’t miss out!

Saturday lunchtime brought us the very energetic Truck festival veteran that was the one and only Mr Motivator. This was certainly a segment to help festival goers get up onto their feet to shake off their friday night hangovers. With great music, funky moves and inspiring words during his half an hour time slot Mr Motivator really did bring out the inner sunshine in all of us during a very damp weekend.

Sunday evening saw probably one of the best acts of the weekend at the Market stage. Scottish alternative rock band Twin Atlantic. The quartet who formed in 2007 completly packed out their venue at Truck.  Not only was the Market stage bursting at the seems being at full capacity but they area surrounding was jam packed too. The band performed well known singles “Brothers & Sisters”, “Heart and Soul” and had blown the roof off of the venue during big hit “No Sleep!”.  Clearly these four lads would have been better suited to the festival’s main stage.  I really hope they will return to make this happen.

Lastly I cannot forget to mention the awesome headline acts! Truck organisers did not disappoint with these big names. Friday night concluded with the chart topping Franz Ferdinand.  The glasgow based indie rockers opened their impressive set with the very familiar “Matinee”. They also performed hits “Walk Away” and the massive “Take Me Out”.

Saturday night’s headline act was The Libertines. The band ushered on to the music scene in the early noughties with their debut single “What A Waster” competing with the likes of The Strokes and Doves. Following a hiatus in the mid noughties the band then reunited for gigs at the ever popular Leeds and Reading festivals in 2010. At truck crowds of fans saw them perform hits such as “Time For Heroes” and “What Katie Did”.

The biggest and probably most anticipated performance of the weekend was also the one that brought the weekend to a close. This came from huge British band The Vaccines! These guys had drawn in thousands of people to the main stage (even England footballer Stuart Pierce!) while they performed many of their greatest hits which included “If You Wanna”, “Post Break-up Sex”, “Melody Calling”, “Norgaard” and even sampled some new music from their forthcoming album. Their set ended with a spectacular firework display which left the entire site reeling in feel good vibes

To me, Truck festival 2017 was a success. I really enjoyed my time there and I would absolutely love to go again. Yes there were a few hiccups this year that can be improved upon, which the organisers need to take into consideration when planning the 2018 event, but I won’t let it dampen (pardon the pun) my view of a well rounded family friendly festival.

Bring on Truck 2018!

Photos by Kane Howie

For more photos click HERE!

To purchase your 2018 Truck Festival tickets click HERE!

Slam Dunk Festival Midlands 2017 – Review

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SlamDunk Festival 2017’s lineup promised to pack a punch and after spending the day at the NEC Arena watching one great band after another, the festival proved itself successful in delivery. 

Attending both as photographers and a music fan's, we shot and watched the likes of Blackpool derived ‘Boston Manor’, to Texas natives, ‘Waterparks’ and we was not disappointed.

I began my day with ‘Crossfaith’ who unleashed their energy across the Jagermeister stage; with great anticipation from the crowd and an epic countdown intro it only added to the hype. Kenta Kole (Lead singer) came onto stage waving a large flag and beckoned everyone to jump up and down before going into XENO.

Jagerbomb was the third song from their set and the crowd opened up and bodies flew forward keeping the security on their toes.

Crossfaith

Photo: Sophie Jones | Love And Light Images

They also encourage participants of their show to ‘put their middle fingers up’ in salute during the ending of their set. Overall from the start their set packed a punch and was full of engery and if you didn’t get to see these guys you really did miss out.

Setlist:

XENO

MONOLITH

JÄGERBOMB

KILL

OMEN

HELL

LEVIATHAN

 

VUKOVI

Photo: Sophie Jones | Love And Light Images

Vukovi were one of the new exciting acts gracing the smaller stages around the venue and what a treat it was for those that caught their set. The band have made themselves unavoidable after dropping their riotous debut album earlier this year; making quite a racket on the music scene. Armed with their heavy riffs, super-charged tempo they had the crowd singing and dancing along to each track they played. Front woman Janine Shilstone’s came out singing “La Di Da” and played well into the camera’s creating some great shots for the photographers who were down there.

 

Boston Manor

Photo: Hollie Turner | HollieVFilm

As previously mentioned Blackpool lads, ‘Boston Manor’ made full use of their slot during the festival over on The Key Club stage. They proved themselves to be tough contenders for the main stages sometime soon, after they pummelled themselves through their set, much to the crowd surfers delight.

Bury Tomorrow

Photo: Hollie Turner | HollieVFilm

‘Bury Tomorrow’ played the Jagermeister stage in their usual style. Screaming and growling for photographers, and telling the audience to crowd surf as much as possible during their set. 

 

Don Broco

Photo: Hollie Turner | HollieVFilm

‘Don Broco’ also playing the Jagermeister stage encouraged their fans to ‘get the fuck down’ before then telling them to jump back up from the arena floor as the music kicked in. 

Cute Is What We Aim For

Photo: Hollie Turner | HollieVFilm

‘Cute Is What We Aimed For’ provided fans with a much needed throwback, to their old teen favourites including ‘The Curse of Curves’. Happy fans even got to meet lead singer Shaant Hacikyan who was very grateful and humble to his long time loyal fans.

Deaf Havana

Photo: Hollie Turner | HollieVFilm

Deaf Havana were also lucky enough to score a slot on one of this years main stages, playing their set as the night began in a run up to the headline acts. 

 

Madina Lake

Photo: Sophie Jones | Love And Light Images

After a four-year hiatus Madina Lake return to play the Impericon stage at SDF17.The crowd waited with anticipation and one by one each member came out before quickly dropping into their first track but it wasn’t long before Nathan Leone flew over the top of the photographers heads landing in the crowd and he did this more than once. It was a comeback performance that everyone should of seen and Nathan made it a very up close and personal experience for those who attended their set.

Enter Shikari

Photo: Hollie Turner | HollieVFilm

Enter Shikari finished up the festival on the Jagermeister stage with a bang. Lead singer Rou Reynolds, flailed his arms about in an 80’s style conservative outfit. This band were definitely the band of the festival for me. They exploded with instruments, energy, and a colourful, laser themed set that was like electricity to be a part of. 

Shikari’s summed up how I and thousands of other gig goers felt about this years Slam Dunk in one lyric ‘this is all I need to feel alive…’ 

“ I thought the queuing system was better this year; faster and the bags check were more thorough so I felt a lot safer considering recent events in Manchester. The performances were good and the sound, lighting etc were good; although on a couple of stages due to technical issues it resulted in sets being shorter. Also the atmosphere was great and I felt safe the whole time, which is important in my opinion, the staff working at the venue were friendly and helpful! Only thing id complain about is I’d like to have had a map like previous years with the stage times on the back which weren’t given out like before” – Freya

“ Once again Slam Dunk didn’t disappoint this year; It’s the only place where you can bump into people you’ve just seen or will be seeing on the stages, its so laid back and causal. The loyalty and passion of the crowds is always a warm sight from hardcore fans in the pits to newcomers searching for a new sound or act to listen too. Acts like Crossfaith that are building a huge fan base due to their wild style and high energy its easy to see why people turn up every year. Acts like I Prevail, Madina Lake and Enter Shikari who are legends in the industry are the types of diversity a festival needs and Slam Dunk give you that and is a perfect introduction to a festival if your just starting out” – Sam

“ Getting into the festival and security was so much faster and efficient this year and the lay out the venue was good and easier to get around given last year stages were far apart; Only part of the layout I didn’t like was at the main stage it was only accessible from the one side. Some acts were late on stage and I think their needs to be more people helping between sets to strip and set up the gear. I think some acts needed bigger stages like I Prevail as it was there first time in the UK. Also I wish there was more food options next year as there wasn’t much choice.

The staff were very friendly and helpful given what has happened recently; I felt very safe and I even twisted my foot at the show and the second I fell down everybody helped me back up and made sure I got out safely; when I got checked out they were kind and helpful so big up to the staff. Overall id give a 9/10" – Jak

 

Review: Sophie Jones And Hollie Turner
Photographers: Sophie Jones And Hollie Turner

Boardmasters 2016 Review

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BOARDMASTERS 2016.

 

Boardmasters is undoubtably Cornwall’s biggest festival. Much like it’s partner, Nass, Boardmasters thrives off its love for music and sport. This year I had the pleasure to head down to the beautiful coastline of Newquay to soak in the sun, the surf and the music.

For anyone who has yet to go to the festival, it is located over two main beaches, Fistral Beach and Watergate Bay. Surfing competitions including Men’s and Women’s Open and Men’s and Women’s Longboard (LQS1000) located at Fistral and the music located at Watergate, with this year’s headliners being Chase & Status, Deadmau5 and James Bay. Other sports include BMX and Skateboarding which took place over the course of the weekend at Fistral as well as music ranging from Eliza & The Bear to Rat Boy at Watergate.

Walking into the festival arena on Friday, it was clear that it was something special. With the main stage to my right and the never ending sea on the horizon to my left, the atmosphere and energy was a completely different level to that of a city based festival. The air was fresh, the sun was out and the music was loud. With a buzz of people heading down from all over the country to go and embrace the popular festival, the diversity of families, students and children meant this festival was welcoming for all. One of the first acts which caught my attention was Nahko and Medicine for the People who really captured the alternative melodic music scene which is ever increasing down in Cornwall. Having played London’s KOKO in Camden a few days prior, the Oregon-native and percussion heavy artist drew a surprisingly huge crowd for such an early time slot.
Another up and coming band which caught my attention were the blues rock ’n’ roll trio Smokin’ Durrys. All three bands members spent their university lives down in Cornwall and where brought together by their love of classic rock and blues music. After their performance at Boardmasters, they are hoping that because of the positive reaction from their set that they are in the hopes of securing a slot in next years Truck, Y Not and 2000 Trees Festival.
As the day drew on all I could hear around the arena was the anticipation for Catfish and The Botttlemen. Having played Truck and Y Not Festival this year, they have definitely been one of my favourite acts of the summer and their crowds do not disappoint. Having been announced for Lollapalooza, Berlin as well as touring USA with Mumford & Sons, it is clear that they could easily be headlining festivals next year.
Chase & Status however proved that they deserved that headline slot. Drawing the biggest crowd of the day making the perfect end to the first day of the festival by playing some of their most classic and popular tunes.

I headed down to Fistral Beach for the majority of Saturday to witness the Surfing Men’s Open competition. As you walk down to the beach the paths are crowded with stalls selling all kinds of food and surf related clothing and merchandise. The sun and the clear blue sky, the clear water and the plan trees made Newquay look like California.
The beach was packed with spectators, photographers, and families, all soaking up the beautiful weather proving why Cornwall is one of my favourite places in the UK. The men’s open consisted of over 50 surfers battling it out for the grand prize. The semi-final consisted of Heat 1 between Shane Campbell and Tomas Fernandes and Heat 2 between Angelo Bonomelli and Bruce Mackie. With 0.57 difference Bonomelli managed to take lead in his heat taking him to the final alongside Campbell. However when it came to the final, an interference on Bonomelli’s second wave meant that Shane Campbell with a final score of 13.50 took the winning title of Boardmasters Men’s Open 2016. All scores from the other surfing events as well as video highlights from the 5 days at Fistral can be found on the official Boardmasters website. (http://www.boardmasters.co.uk/surfing/results)

 

By the evening I had made it back to the arena at Watergate to continue with the music, starting with Gabrielle Aplin. Famous for her feature in the 2012 John Lewis advert with her Frankie Goes to Hollywood cover of ‘The Power Of Love’. Her music is a lot more relaxed than the rock headliners of the Land of Saints stage, Maximo Park, but none the less her music brought a beautiful innocence and relaxation to the festival. Her voice so pure and strong for a 23 year old, drawing a huge crowd and performing songs for her first 2012 EP Home and her 2015 Album Light up the Dark.
Kaiser Chiefs undoubtably had a staggering, if not bigger crowd than Chase & Status. They are a band who have been around for many years but have proven they can bounce back with strong force. Bringing all kinds of characters together to enjoy the classic Brit-pop band, they played songs such as Ruby which drove the crowd wild.
Headlining on the Saturday of Boardmasters was Deadmau5. (I have never heard so many people pronounce his name incorrectly at a festival). His electronic dance music brought a beach rave element to the Newquay Festival. Having been a fan of his music for a long time, his set did not disappoint with a spectacular light show which took you into a trance with his melodic tracks. With many waiting impatiently for Craig David’s set after, it was much to his disappointment that he had to cancel his appearance due to a flight cancellation which left his fans upset. Nevertheless, Example performed his heart out to make up for this over at the Land of Saints stage.

 

 

 

Boardmasters had a range of different stages including Unleashed which centred around DJ and dance music, The View which turned an old metal camper into an acoustic stage and the forever famous Keg and Pasty Stage, which essentially summed up the Cornish atmosphere brilliantly.
The final day of the festival had a more rock and alternative lineup with Primal Scream performing main stage and James Bay finishing the night. With the previous headliners bringing electronic music to festival, having the folk-pop style of James Bay on the final night proved to be an excellent finale. Boardmasters is one of the most beautifully located festivals in the UK, and it is definitely worth the travel to far ends of the UK to visit.

 

 

 

Leefest Presented The Neverland, and it was awesome. Review 2016

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The Neverland, Leefest

 

The last weekend of July, deep in the woodlands of Kent, after taking the second star to the right and straight on till morning, Neverland itself appeared for a brief window, boasting a three-day escapade of music, madness, and absolute magic. Surrounded by Pirates, Mermaids and mischievous lost boys, you would be forgiven for truly believing you were in the middle of a fantasy world, but in fact, this was Leefest, 2016.

 

Small, sweet and charmingly rebellious, the story of Leefest almost writes itself – spawned from a classic act of teenage rebellion, the festival started in Lee’s back garden. Under strict instructions not to have a house party, Lee and a few of his friends built a stage, gathered some bands, got in some food, some booze, and started the adventure of a lifetime.

 

Map of the Neverland

 

It may be 10 years old, and have substantially grown in size from its original gathering, but it still boasts that friendly, backyard vibe that many flock from all around to be a part of. It’s still small, it only has a 5000 person capacity – but it has enough life to surpass anyone’s expectations. Lee, masquerading as Peter Pan himself, can often be found floating around the ‘Neverland’ – smiling, cheerful and just generally warm, his refusal to grow up has resulted in an incredibly organic experience that can only be described as Secret Garden Party meets your local village fete.

 

The site itself is quite small, there’s one large campsite for punters, and the arena is stretched out over three different ‘realms’ yet would probably take about 5 minutes to cross completely, yet it’s littleness gives off a more collective, cosy feel than a cramped one. The three realms are focused around the peoples of Neverland. The Lost Boys rule the roost, the main stage is placed bang in the middle, with tree houses, ropes and various bushcraft surrounding the stage, often with the lost boys and woodland creatures perched in their nooks and crannies. The Pirates rule Skull Ridge, substituting Hook for Captain Morgan, most of the heavier bands played the little garage-like venue Hooks Rock and dirty DJ’s heading the Gold Mine, an alleged old bomb crater that was kitted out to look like a true pirate quarry, complete with a wooden structure complete with a platform and dancing pirates. Heading over the other side, you’ll find Mermaid’s Lagoon, where colourful sea creatures will greet you to the colourful, eclectic 50’s retro style area, with an airstream cocktail bar, the Wondersands beach where Neptune will keep you moving, hot tubs and the Rainbow Rooms. Alongside the realms are those who control it; the mermaids are glamorous and fabulous, and mainly mind their own business, which is a good idea when the Lost Boys pull their own pranks and the Pirates are the chaotic havoc wreckers who are meant to terrorise everyone, but in reality are happy to give you a sip of their rum, or a gold coin if you pledge allegiance.

 

 

The Pirates of Skull Ridge

 

Though there are performers and punters alike going a little crazy, the festival is incredibly family friendly. Throughout the day, the place is awash with kids, there are tonnes of activities from face-painting, to swing dance lessons, and water fights between pirates and lost boys to keep the little ones occupied. As the night gets on, you see fewer kids, but the good-natured attitude doesn’t change.

 

The Mermaids at Mermaid Lodge

 

Leefest is pretty famous for discovering bands before they blow up, and a lot of the past performers are now incredibly popular. The bands themselves can quite often be seen wandering around the festival and stopping in on all the various artists, the crowds are just incredibly accepting. The beautiful thing about Leefest that I found was the complete lack of celebrity culture. Everyone just seems to accept each other for who they are, people for people, and just genuinely excited to be there. Maybe that’s even due to Lee himself, who never without a smile, is often wondering around the grounds, happy to stay and chat to people, or jump on wherever necessary, in fact on the Saturday he jumped behind a busy bar to serve me a couple of beers.  

 

Though the crowds aren’t big, they’re lively and loving, and this passes into the acts themselves, many putting so much energy into performances. A lot of bands that play Leefest blow up in the months and years to follow and this is certainly to be the case for a large amount of the artists there. Saturday Headliner Lianne La Havas serenaded an entire festival with her melodic, soulful voice and faultless charming personality. Genuinely humble about the headline slot, and overwhelmed by the love and support of the crowd, her multi-instrumental set was a glorious end to the three-day gathering.

 

Lianne La Havas at Leefest

 

In terms of the rest of the music, there is not one artist I could even begin to fault. Leefest is a little different in the way it's a Thursday, Friday, Saturday lineup, which mixes up the whole ‘sunday feeling’ kind of vibe, but it works the way it does. Thursday was a fairly quiet day, everyone was just getting into the swing of it, and performances by Everything Everything and Ghostpoet paved the way for what was to come. Everything Everything were on the bill as special guests, but their impeccable energy and infamous stage presence gave the crowd a perfect start. A contrast, but equally spellbinding performance by Ghostpoet left the festival goers content and blissful as they headed back to the campsite ready for an earlier start on the Friday.

 

Everything Everything at Leefest

 

Friday saw an incredible mixture of artists, me myself discovering new bands and artists to fall in love with. Peluche kicked off the main stage, followed by the melodic compilations of Corey Fox-Fardell. Roots Manuva played a brilliant but short sub-headline set, followed by the Liverpudlian indie rockers Circa Waves. In terms of the main stage however, I was most impressed with Lil Simz, the North London, grime-esque artist that completely took over the energy of the crowd, and I fully expect to see her take over the scene in the coming year.

 

Lil Simz on the main stage

 

Over the other stages, the growth garage/grunge rock movement and Lo-Fi sound was increasingly obvious, much to my delight, with bands Beaty Heart, Get Inuit and Spring Kings gaining hype and support and playing amazing sets. Otherkin are another of those bands I expect to see blow up in the next year; in the middle of a European tour and set to play the Festival Republic stage at Reading and Leeds this year, the band are a mix of punky pop meets grunge rock and have a live show that’s one of the most ferocious I've ever seen, the band themselves heading into the crowd, complete with mics and instruments, and oozing a carefree attitude, which was easily caught up by the crowd. Inviting the crowd on-stage for the last song, the boys really brought it all, and I'm converted a few more fans than just me.

 

The crowds at Leefest

 

As Leefest closes on Saturday, that sloppy Sunday feeling got a bit mixed up, as the latest, busiest night was also the last. Acoustic, Ellie Goulding inspired pop artist Hannah Trigwell took the main stage following her Sofar Sounds set earlier in the day, wooing the crowds with her catchy melodies, a perfect precursor for Lianne La Havas, the soulstress herself and beautiful human to play as the main headliner. Pop punk indie band We Are Scientists also took the main stage, themselves fascinated with the various tribes of Leefest, as did Shura, whose mass popularity after the release of her first album really showed as fans were wowed by her performance. Saturday was also definitely one for strong female artists, with The Big Moon, Skinny Girl Diet, King Kwong, She Drew The Gun and GIRLI playing amazing sets. Vant also hit up the circus tent, with their politically fueled music proving a hit on the Leefest crowds.

 

Frank Carter and the Rattlesnacks

 

Though all good things must come to an end, the festival does not stop when the music does, with the pub-like structure on site hosting Electric Swing and DJs Madame Barducci and the fierce Rumpsteppers, plus still serving drinks until the beginning of the sunrise at 5am.

 

Skull Ridge, Leefest

 

Honestly, there aren’t even enough words to truly describe how beautiful this little festival is. I don’t know what I was expecting but whatever it was, was truly blown out of the water.

Fire Dancing Pirates, Leefest

Wondersands at the Mermaid's Lodge

All photos supplied by official Leefest Photographers

Full Final Bill for FIB – Benicassim!

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Not long now til we, you and a stellar line up of the biggest bands in the world head to the coast in Spain for the 22nd edition of FIB Benicàssim.

The amazing 2016 line up is now complete and includes exclusive shows from some of the biggest and best names in rock, pop, electronica, hip hop, indie and beyond.

Your  only chance in Spain this summer to see very special festival headline shows from Muse and The Chemical Brothers, to witness the biggest rap act in the world right now, Kendrick Lamar live, to dance to the massive hits of Disclosure and Major Lazer or to check out the legendary Massive Attack.

Beyond these, there’s the some of the greatest new acts around like The 1975 &  Catfish And The Bottlemen, indie tunesmiths like The Vaccines and the Maccabees, the best in electronica from Jamie XX, John Talabot (Dj Set) and more. Pop? Jess Glynne. Grime? Skepta

Something for everyone including some of our favourite Spanish acts, Hinds, Dorian, La Habitación Roja…

FIB Benicàssim 2016 – 100 acts and four days and nights you’ll never forget. The greatest bands in the world and YOU at the festival of the year!

 

For ticket info and the timetable of acts, check out their website. 

Bugged Out Weekender 2016 Review

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What do you get if you throw 50 of the biggest names in house, techno, garage and grime into Butlins with thousands of other party hungry ravers from across the country that are beyond fed up of the January blues? The biggest party this side of winter, that’s what. Who ever thought up the idea of getting DJ's to play at what is usually a relaxed, child-friendly family holiday resort is, unquestionably, a genius. Because it works unbelievably well…

BOW2016 - Luke Dyson - 83 - summerfestivalguide - Flickr

After resurrecting Floorfillers Club Classics from a dusty glovebox early on during our Friday afternoon journey, it proves the perfect soundtrack to get us in the mood for a weekend at Butlins.

As soon as we've checked in we head to Spar for some essentials. Though, instead of the usual mum-friendly songs on its radio, it's a Bugged Out Weekender takeover as Skream's ‘Midnight Request Line' subtly makes itself heard. And it's not just the corner shop with an unusual soundtrack. The lifts, too, reject their usual music as Artwork preaches, "What comes up must come down" and "don't forget to eat before the pool party" as just two of the cheeky remarks to guide everyone along…

BOW2016 - Luke Dyson - 3 - summerfestivalguide - Flickr

Heading into the main pavilion we’ve no idea what to expect. Greeted by a man in full Star Wars attire, we zoom past retro arcade games to check out DJ Barely Legal's grime and bass-heavy set. Not much later and we’re running into Reds – 'the home of the Redcoats' – as B Traits drops Barnt's face-melting techno thumper, 'Chappell' … everyone’s practically forgotten we're in Butlins by now. 

Instead, we could be at any of the country's best clubs. With an unexpectedly strong sound-system, a good-sized stage, expansive dance-floor and incredibly on-point strobe lighting set up – Reds is where we spend most of our nighttimes…

Groove Armada put in a set full of euphoria, dropping 'You've Got The Love' to arms-in-the-air effect. There's almost a Bestival vibe to the night so far; one group of lads sport homemade ‘to dare is to disco’ printed t-shirts. Everyone’s just high on happiness.

BOW2016 - Luke Dyson - 15 - summerfestivalguide - Flickr

Meanwhile, in the more intimate Escape setting Erol Alkan is delivering the perfect electro set, and DJ EZ takes a packed Centre Stage crowd on a one-hour journey of past, present and future hits.

Grime, house, pop and garage – you name it EZ's playing it. From Bieber ('Where R U Now') to Stormzy ('Shut Up') to AJ Tracey ('Naila') to Chase & Status ('Hypest Hype') and even a weird-but-it-works edit of The Clash ('Should I Stay Or Should I Go?') …it's a bit like being at Oceana on a Saturday night. 

BOW2016 - Luke Dyson - 24 - summerfestivalguide - Flickr

Saturday afternoon rolls round too quickly and before we know it it's time to start drinking again – plans to explore Bognor’s beauty are fast disappearing…

Armand Van Helden, following Eats Everything’s energetic house and techno, plays a 90's throwback set – attracting one of the Weekender's biggest crowds and a whole lot of confetti. It’s all about unashamed fun as Mouse T’s ‘Horny’ is met with two guys waving their half-eaten carrot and cucumber in the air like glow-sticks. Completely ridiculous, it seems we are at Butlins after all. 

This is all going on whilst Mumdance takes a smaller but focused crowd through a hard-hittIng ear-punishing soundscape of electronic bleeps and bass in The Escape; whilst back on the Centre Stage, Skream and Jackmaster are preparing for Bigger Than JESuS with Armand and Eats, who see us through the rest of the night perfectly. 

With Jackmaster behind the decks, Skream adds a new string to his bow, acting as a sort of hype-man by coming crowd level to encourage a clap along; at Bugged Out Weekender the fun never stops…

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With it being the last day at Butlins, it’d be shameful not to check out a pool party. Inflatable’s, slides, wave machines, a lazy river, hot tub and dozens of dinghy's are just the tip of the iceberg – because it’s soundtracked by house and disco purveyors Bicep, a duo who’s 2015 was nothing short of amazing. As Sunday afternoon's go, this one takes the crown.

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Come midnight we're straight down the front for Glaswegian star-in-the-making Jasper James's brilliant house and techno set. There’s not one track that misfires throughout Jackmaster’s housemate’s 90-minute set. We even watch man on his own, at least 70-years-old, throwing some crazy shapes; whilst a group of guys physically bow down in front of Jasper.

With the whole crowd applauding and having the time of there lives, there's an energy from the constantly on-point track selection – highlights: Emmanuel Jal ‘Kuar’ (Henrik Schwarz Remix) and Lil Louis and the World ‘I Called U (The Conversation)’ – that's been, so far, unmatched…

That is the case … until The Black Madonna puts in an effortlessly show-stealing performance. Most artists would struggle to follow a great set like Jasper’s, but Marea Stamper takes the pressure completely in her stride. Having played a show in Istanbul on Friday, it wouldn’t be wrong to expect she’d be just a bit tired, but no. Contrastingly, it’s rare to see a DJ getting as involved as The Black Madonna does. She looks completely at home behind the decks, putting in the most eclectic – and easily the best – set of the weekend.

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From driving, vocal house to heavy, relentless techno, via personal highlights: Green Velvet and Harvard Bass’s sonically blinding 'Laser Beams' and Jimmy Edgar's ground-shattering 'Let Me Tell You' – The Black Madonna keeps the audience dancing like it’s their final night on earth.

It's clear from her hand claps, hair flicks and exuberant moves that she's up for a proper party. I could carry on with how great it was – especially the tribute to Bowie near the end – but The Black Madonna summed it up perfectly on Twitter: “I was maniac raving out here! … I literally don't know if I've ever danced as hard as I did on these last two shoes”. We couldn't have put it better…

Closing out Reds for another year, Bicep take the reigns for a set that ends up extended by an hour – because it was so good. Opting for Hubie Davison's brilliant 'Sanctified' to open, they don’t put a foot wrong from thereon. House music legend Kerri Chandler, meanwhile, provides the perfect send off at Centre Stage with a New York classics set full of soul and piano chords aplenty. Veering from a rapturously received ‘You’re In My System’ to ‘Lost In Music’, there’s no age limit. 

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“I’ve been raving since 1986,” explains a middle-aged man dressed in a flowing metallic cape with a neon pink flashing cupcake attached to his head. “It’s real music,” he gushes. “I do struggle to keep up these days, but I manage … somehow!” And that’s what the Bugged Out Weekender is all about. Offering fun for everyone, it doesn’t matter who you are or how old you are, when you get to Butlins all your inhibitions are forgotten. As the banner inside Reds reads …

‘IT’S JUST A BIG DISCO!’

SlamDunk Festival Lineup – First Wave

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Celebrating its ten year anniversary, the ever growing festival known as SlamDunk has released the first wave of bands. With only a month from the holidays it seems Slamdunk knows what we all want for Christmas.

Topping the bill is Brendon Urie's Las Vagas rock band PANIC! AT THE DISCO. After absolutely smashing the main stage slot at England's infamous Reading and Leeds festival earlier this year, it seems they are set and ready to take SlamDunk by storm with relentlessly releasing new material and their new album 'Death Of A Bachelor' on the horizon. It's no wonder they've hit the top spot for celebrating a decade of SlamDunk!

Joining Panic! in the first wave of bands is one of Orange County's finest metalcore bands, OF MICE & MEN. After not long completing their full circle earlier in 2015 it seems the five piece can't get enough of the UK. Their appearance at next year's SlamDunk leaves us anticipating some new material.

A band with little need for introduction joining the lineup is Pop Punk classic New found glory.

Not only known for the heroic beards, most probably sharing a stage with New Found is another one of Pop Punk's finest, Four Year Strong. After releasing their self titled album in June, it seems they have some fresh material the UK is ever excited to hear!

Every Time I Die – after completing their UK tour in October it seems like the boys from Dallas can't get enough of the English soil and are once again heading back in May.
Also joining the lineup from across the pond, Memphis may fire, Issues and last but certainly not least, Dan Lambton's five piece Real Friends.
As you can imagine here at Summer Festival Guide we are completely stoked for next summer with these incredible bands hitting the lineup so early on, it's a wonder what SlamDunk have in store for us.

Tickets are now on sale from slamdunkmusic.com. Don’t miss out with a further forty bands to be announced across seven stages keep posted for another amazing announcement to come over the next few months.

The dates and venues for SlamDunk 2016 are as follows:

May
28 Leeds City Centre
29 Birmingham The NEC
30 Hertfordshire Hatfield Forum