It's my favourite time of year again, Standon Calling is back and better than ever. I was lucky enough to attend last year’s festival, and after having an incredible time, I knew it would be hard to top it this year. However, it did not disappoint, with a bustling atmosphere rivalling much larger events. Kicking off on the Friday, despite having its largest number of attendees ever, it still managed to retain its charm and original ethos of championing emerging artists. Standon Calling had an excellent set list this year, with Little Dragon, Dandy Warhols and Basement Jaxx headlining the festival. Basement Jaxx was my personal favourite, drawing the largest crowd on Sunday night with all ages singing along. Other musical highlights came from Prides, Saint Raymond and the incredible Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, who came all the way from Chicago to blow the audience away with their musical talent spanning all genres from hip-hop to jazz and rock. Ella Eyre was incredible, her vocals and perfromace really brought the whole of Standon together. The Cuban Brothers returned for another year, with hilariously crude jokes kicking off their energy filled performance, proving a crowd favourite. The BBC Introducing staged also hosted lots of musical talent, my particular favourite being Amber Run, who closed the show on Saturday night. They proved extremely popular, after their highly anticipated album '5am' released earlier this year.
However, Standon Calling offered up much more than just music, making this a festival that really does provide for all. Kids and adults alike participated in the annual dog show, with the usual humorous classes including 'waggy-est tail' and 'owner most like it's dog'. With over 30 participants, The Clock Tower became a bustling hive of activity filled with laughter and plenty of barking! The theme this year being 'Day and Night' provided festival goers with the perfect excuse to dress up, finalised by a parade out of which two lucky winners won tickets for next year. As always, the design team had done an amazing job to transform the fields into a set that resonated the theme. The trapeze proved extremely popular with adults and children alike, as did the swimming pool which was a perfect accompaniment to the hot weather. One of my highlights was the petting zoo, you could literally go and pick up a bearded dragon, learn all about them and then pick up a snake. It was fascinating and provided very popular over the weekend! For the revellers who wanted to dance the night away, the Cowshed with its incredible decoration stayed open until the early hours.
Food and drink weren't in short supply, with my personal favourite being the Mac and Cheese stand serving up 'The Kanye Western', their twist on the traditional recipe featuring smoked sausages, BBQ sauce and crispy onions. Barnaby Sykes Pie Maker's returned this year with their incredible goods; the chicken and ham pie with mash and gravy was phenomenal. Sweet treats were readily available at Kitty’s Cake Emporium, from blueberry, lemon and poppyseed cake to the gluten free orange sponge, all equally delicious. Refreshing cold ciders were plentiful at the Old Mout Cider bar, at which you could also sing karaoke and bounce on a trampoline whilst trying different flavours of cider; what a perfect combination! Ice cold cocktails and beers were also available, and with the cash free payment system, it made queuing and buying drinks much easier and faster.
Overall, I had an amazing time and cannot wait to return next year. I have never been to a festival like it, it's atmosphere is truly unique. I will be first in line for the early bird tickets when they become available, it is worth every penny.
BBC Radio 1’s dance music maestro Danny Howard has been added to what is already an incredible line up at this year’s We Are FSTVL. The UK tastemaker will bring his own brand of high energy big room house music to Upminster’s ‘Field Of Dreams’ – joining Sunday’s main stage gathering of Steve Angello, Knife Party, Steve Aoki, Amine Edge & DANCE, Heidi, Oliver Heldens and more – plus future talents Philip George, CamelPhat and As I Am also announced.
Currently touring on behalf of his very first brand, Nothing Else Matters, and influencing the listening habits of thousands of fans worldwide across his shows for BBC Radio 1, BPM and Sirius XM, Danny Howard is a bona fide UK dance music lynchpin. Juggling a residency at Pacha, a regular column in DJ Mag and the promotion of his already #1 BBC Radio 1 Dance Anthems compilation, Howard has somehow found time in recent years to produce tracks such as ‘Spire’, ‘MUG’ and ‘Apex’ on Spinnin’ Records, as well as collaborating with the legendary Paul Oakenfold. His production talents show no signs of stopping this year, with his remix of Dr Kucho! & Gregor Salto’s ‘Can’t Stop Playing (Makes Me High)’ being released imminently on Ministry Of Sound.
Also billed on Sunday’s main stage is 21 year old newcomer Philip George – the man behind the huge record ‘Wish You Were Mine’ which peaked at number 2 in the UK chart. On the rise duo CamelPhat are also set to feature on Sunday’s Paravana stage, as well as As I Am who rounds off the latest additions.
Keep an eye out for further news on We Are FSTVL’s 2015 after party at Studio 338 which will be revealed shortly – with plenty more surprises in store before proceedings kick off on Saturday 30th May 2015.
Line Up Saturday 30th May Main Stage: Carl Cox, Gorgon City, Hot Since 82, Monki, Nic Fanciulli, Second City, Seth Troxler, Solomun Used and Abused: Loco Dice, Adam Beyer, Enzo Siragusa, Recondite (Live), Tale of Us, Yaya What Hannah Wants: Hannah Wants, Redlight, Cyril Hahn, Friend Within, GotSome, Kidnap Kid, My Nu Leng, Oneman, T Williams, Waze & Odyssey Defected In The House: Masters At Work, Andrea Oliva, Oliver Dollar, Cristoph, Noir, Sam Divine, Simon Dunmore, Sonny Fodera Toolroom Live: Mark Knight, Dennis Ferrer, Tensnake, Dosem, Purple Disco Machine, Shiba Shan, Tube & Berger, Wankelmut, Weiss, Mark Storie, Pete Griffiths Clockwork Orange: Tall Paul, Brandon Block & Alex P, Trevor Fung, Andy Manston, Tristan Ingram, Danny Clockwork & Keith Mac, 2 Good Souls, Tony Grimley Sunday 31st May Main Stage: Steve Angello, Knife Party, Steve Aoki, Amine Edge & DANCE, Heidi, Oliver Heldens, Danny Howard, One Bit, Route 94, The Martinez Brothers, Philip George
Cocoon: Sven Vath, Dixon, Ame, Ilario Alicante, Popof, Ricardo Villalobos, Ten Walls
St. Georges Hall has been transformed for tonight's event, the statues and pillars are hidden away with black curtains, the beautiful tiled floor is covered in artificial grass, and with the white picket fences in front of the stage, it has the feel of a rural village fete. Material is draped above the audience and glows with the magenta coloured lights. The wonderful original architecture and decor of the ceilings and stain glass just peak through.
Steve Levine was commissioned by Liverpool International Music Festival (LIMF) to produce this collaborative event, hand picking performers, including artists he's produced, Boy George and Natalie McCool,along with Mark King, Bernard Butler, Tim Burgess, Hollie Cook and Mary Epworth. Each would perform a mini set backed by the others, with the night being finished off with a headline set from Boy George.
First up was Level 42'sMark King who opted to go with a cover of the Cream song 'Sunshine of your Love' and didn't leave the mixed audience disappointed with the pensioners rocking along with skinny jeaned teens.
Natalie McCool, Liverpool Music Awards' female artist of the year and possibly the hardest working live performer on the local circuit was next, performing 'Thin Air', an obvious choice for tonight as Bernard Butler supplied additional guitar on the track from her brilliant debut album. Bernard and Natalie were then left alone on stage to perform a track he produced and co-wrote for Duffy, 'Syrup & Honey' was one of the highlights of the night and showed just what a great vocalist Natalie McCool is.
If the audience were happy with what they had seen so far then they were about to be blown away with a full on onslaught of stomping Rock from Mary Epworth performing another of the nights highlights 'Black Doe' with the addition of almost every performer along with a horn section.
Hollie Cook certainly has a good musical pedigree, her Mother being Culture Club vocalist Jeni Cook, her Father Paul Cook, was the drummer in that little punk band The Sex Pistols and her Godfather is none other than tonight's headliner. Following a stint doing backing vocals for the reformed Slits in the late 2000's, Cook went on to release her tropical pop sounding debut in 2011 and released her second album using PledgeMusic this year. Her performance tonight is a little change from the rest of the acts, infusing her unique blend of reggae and pop to great effect on tracks such as 'Postman'.
By the time Tim Burgess hit the stage the audience had already been treated to what felt like a real celebration of music both old and new. With his blonde bowl cut almost covering his eyes his 4 song set list was stripped down, acoustic and laid back which was slightly disappointing at this stage of the night, although it was well executed and probably more suited to this one off event. 'The Only One I Know' being the stand out track.
Following a short interval it was Boy George's time to step into the limelight for his headline slot. If the set list was picked to please an indifferent festival crowd then he certainly achieved it. Mixing old solo tracks with a few Culture Club bangers, along with his newest solo tracks such as 'My Star' and even classic rock covers in the form of 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' and T.Rex's 'Bang a Gong' a song he recently collaborated on with The Black Lips. He never left out the obvious, if you could pick one of your favourite Boy George songs then it probably made an appearance, whether it be 'Hare Krishna', 'Karma Chameleon' or 'Everything I Own'. Boy George kept the crowd thoroughly entertained throughout, ending by inviting the rest of the performers on stage for a final bow.
A little clunky at times which is expected at this type of event with little rehearsal time. It felt a little like a one off live T.V. special. Directed by Steve Levine, and presented by Radio 6 DJ Chris Hawkins, the event had everything, interviews between sets and also the recording of a track throughout the night with performers (and the audience acting as a choir) adding overdubs to a new version of Gerry Marsden's 'Ferry Across The Mersey' in Steve Levine's stage side studio. As far as collaborative one off, one night only live music spectaculars go, this was a massive success.
The New Forest was brought to life by Festibelly. Located in one of the most beautiful areas of the South, the breath taking scenery dotted with wildlife makes for a pleasant journey to Lymington. Taking place from the 11th to the 12th of July, this small-scale festival really does cater for all.
On arrival, the short queuing time and onsite camping made for a quick and easy start to the weekend. Once the tent was pitched, I explored the array of stalls. Festibelly offers something for everyone, with children’s entertainment including games and crafts. While the kids were occupied, adults could enjoy the music only a few meters away. However, this festival isn’t just for families, it caters for all ages.
The vibe was chilled on Friday, with musical highlights from Laurel, Amber Run and Lewis Floyd Henry. The atmosphere picked up as Skinny Lister took to the stage, with upbeat sing along songs that got the whole crowd involved. The Cuban Brothers headlined Friday night and had the whole crowd captivated with their dancing and humor. I didn’t know what to expect when watching them, but they defiantly entertained!
Saturday welcomed in more festival goers, with the crowds drawing in to watch Jus Now and DJ David Rodigan. Entertainment was also on offer at the Massive In China and Terrapin Station tents through out the day, with a variety of comedy, music and dance workshops to participate in. Although slightly limited in choice, the food on offer was delicious with produce being sourced or grown locally. Delicious Orange Rooms cocktails were also available to buy from their teepee.
The main stage showcased FEMME and Mausi, who brought the pop vibes to the festival with dance beats blasting out in the sun. Hudson Taylor was the perfect end to such a family friendly festival in a beautiful location. I’d highly recommended this festival to anyone!
Originating from the USA, Electric Daisy Carnival, or EDC as it is more widely known, made its second trip across the pond to the UK this weekend, transforming Milton Keynes outdoor National Bowl into an entertainment spectacle.
Riding on the success of last years London based event, EDC 2014 offered a who's who of chart-topping EDM, (electronic dance music) producers, best known for their knob-twiddling skills and dance music know how.
Aside from the music, one of EDC's unique selling points (persistently featured in the promo videos) was the scale of special effects on offer. Promising the UK's largest ever 360 degree LED light display, pyrotechnics and hundreds of weird and wonderful performers, the organisers clearly aimed to make their event just as visually appealing as the music itself.
Musically, this years EDC boasted a diverse line up of British and European producers, with EDM duo Bassjackers opening the main stage at midday before Avicii's headline set in the late evening, with chart hits 'You Make Me' and 'Wake Me Up' lighting up the bowl.
Earlier in the day, Calvin Harris played a mid-afternoon set, including recent number ones 'Summer' and 'Under Control', with the majority of the crowd on each other's shoulders early on. It was a busy day for Harris, who hurried off to play a main stage set at T in the Park where he was joined and introduced by Will Smith! Not a bad day for Calvin, who achieved eight top-ten hits from his 2012 album, '18 Months'.
Meanwhile, over on the Cosmic Meadow stage, house music was the order of the day if EDM drops became too much for some. Route 94, who scored a number one earlier this year with his piano house track 'My Love' featuring vocals from Jess Glynne, opened the stage at 1pm with a well received set. Later on, Leeds success story Hot Since 82, real name Daley Padley, performed an evening set of deep house drawing on tracks from his album 'Little Black Book'.
Back at the Kinetic Field main stage, 19-year-old Dutch producer Martin Garrix, who topped the chart with the inescapably catchy 'Animals', which is given an outing today, as well as follow-up top-ten track 'Wizard and a remix of Empire of the Sun's 'Alive' drew a large crowd. Mixing Naughty Boy and Sam Smith's number one 'La La La' with his own new single 'Tremor', the chorus bass drops team with confetti and smoke machines going off in unison.
Next up was Steve Aoki, who is currently hosting his Aoki Play House residency in Ibiza, here making a rare UK appearance, dropping bass heavy tracks, 'Boneless' and a new collaboration with Afrojack, before scaling the grand DJ podium set up. While stood high, he threw numerous cakes at the crowd, something which has become synonymous with the 'Beat Down' producers energetic sets.
For only it's second visit to the UK, it's safe to say that Electric Daisy Carnival is here to stay, fulfilling a gap in the British festival market and offering a world class line-up! Next year's event can't come quicker!
Temperamental wet weather didn’t dampen the spirits of 70,000 festival goers at last weekend’s sold-out Parklife Festival, which now in its fourth year, saw Snoop Dogg, A$AP Rocky, Disclosure and Sam Smith prove to be essential highlights.
Arriving at around 1pm, SFG headed straight to the Hospitality tent for some early afternoon drum & bass with flashing strobes, courtesy of Logistics and later, Camo & Krooked.
Heading to the main stage for Kiesza, who is accompanied by two male dancers, her 90’s influenced choreography and funk tracks prove an early treat. Giant In My Heart fuses disco and funk perfectly, before the Canadian ex-navy recruit takes to the piano for a stripped down cover of Haddaway’s, What Is Love, showcasing her powerful vocal range. Ending with number one track, Hideaway, she lifts everyone’s spirits despite the grey clouds looming up above. Catchy “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” and house-y beats provide the first sing-a-long of the weekend (with many more to come), before the track is mixed into Gorgon City’s deep-house edit. Now recording her debut album, expect another catchy chart-bothering track to go viral in the coming months.
Spending around 20 minutes struggling to find the Colonnade presents: Drop the Mustard stage, where the majority of the main house draws performed, SFG caught some of Hot Natured’s, Lee Foss’ Ibiza-cum-Manchester house set at the hilltop Kaluki stage. Eventually, finding the Greek coliseum-like Colonnade stage, SFG caught house duo Waze & Odyssey’s set, including their now infamous house remix of R Kelly’s timeless classic, Bump & Grind as well as a remix of Robin S’, Show Me Love. Later at the Colonnade, it was Route 94’s turn on the decks. Performing a mostly obscure but impressive house set, with the exception of Defected Records releases, Fly 4 Life and Tell You Why, the young London-based producer drew a large crowd, with one fan feeling the need to scale a tree, receiving a smile from the producer and applause from the audience below. But it was number one house crossover hit, My Love, which saw everyone take out their iPhone’s to record the sing-a-long moment before 94 imminently takes his sound to Ibiza for the summer.
Pacing back to the opposite end of the site, to the Red Bull Academy Presents stage, Gold Panda’s hotly-anticipated set proved essential for the eyes and ears. Synth-led electronics impressed the large crowd during cutting-edge debut album offerings, Vanilla Sky, Snow & Taxis and early track Marriage before a chopped up reinvention of fan favorite, You, with its pitch-shifted vocals circling around the tent.
Back at the main stage, Grammy –winner, Foxes, attracted a large crowd with tracks from her debut album Glorious, including Youth and recent single, Let Go For Tonight, while another Hot Natured label-mate, Richy Ahmed, continued the Amnesia Ibiza-ready house vibe with 808 hi-hats and drum machines aplenty during his mid-afternoon Kaluki stage set.
Later, the sun shined while Radio One DJ Annie Mac drew the biggest crowd so far with a house orientated set including Ten Walls’ new track, Walking With Elephants and Gorgon City’s collaboration with Laura Welsh, Here For You as well as Second Citys’ I Wanna Feel which rocketed to number one two weeks ago. Later, before Sigma’s, Nobody To Love, she tells the crowd to, “grab your friend, boyfriend, or a total stranger”. Its sets like these, demonstrating which tunes to play to get thousands of people dancing, which stand testament to why she is such a hot DJ commodity.
Rudimental, who, trumpets included, perform album tracks, Spoons and Baby, show a softer side to the Black Butter Records collective. Dedicating Not Givin’ In, to his son, DJ Locksmith pulls on the crowds heartstrings before the drum & bass beats kick in, but are soon cut off due to a technical problem. It’s all back to normal though after the crowd chant “Rudimental, Rudimental, Rudimental” to give them the support to carry on, which they do oh so professionally, continuing with album tracks, Free, and later, Feel The Love.
It’s A$AP Rocky however, who delivers the best and most charismatic performance of the weekend, as a more than deserving replacement to Kendrick Lamar, who cancelled his slot. Weed promotion, referring to women as “hoes” and a whole lot of swearing, but what else would you expect from song’s titled, Hella Hoes and Fuckin’ Problems which are performed with a fifteen-man-strong A$AP Mob watching him from the side of the stage. Bassier and rowdier than on record, Palace and Wassup take the Now Wave tent to Rocky’s hometown, Harlem, New York City. “Put your hands up if you smoke fucking weed ‘cos that’s what I stand for”, demands Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, before Purple Swag where he toys with the crowd saying, “are you people ready to get turnt up or what?” New A$AP Mob track, Hella Hoes, results in a mosh pit before taking it to a “whole new mother fucking level” during Skrillex-produced Wild For The Night and Lana Del Rey-featuring Hands On The Wheel. Thanking the audience for getting him so far, he exclaims, “I can’t wait to get on them rides tonight” before a quick run through of his part in final track, Fuckin’ Problems. If you ever get the chance to see A$AP Rocky live, TAKE IT. You won’t be disappointed.
Weaving back into the middle of the main stage crowd for Saturday headliner, SFG didn’t know what to expect from the legendary Snoop Dogg’s headline set. “Who’s getting blazed in the house tonight?” asks Snoop’s DJ during a ten minute prelude to the iconic rapper coming onstage. Dressed in a USA stars and stripes jumper and yellow shades, Snoop stalks the stage with everyone taking his picture. He dedicates Supa Dupa Fly to “all the girls in the house” before rapping his part on Justin Timberlake collaboration, Signs, and his brief part on Katy Perry’s, California Girls. The only thing he could be blamed for, is looking relatively bored and indifferent, but it is Snoop Dogg after all, why should he be bothered?
Ending the night back at Kaluki in Marc Kinchen provided early evening house, in his number one remix of Storm Queens, Look Right Through, which is quickly followed by his Medicine remix of Shadow Child's, Friday and his edit of Hot Natured’s, Reverse Skydiving.
Sunday would prove to be better weather on the whole, aside from one insane downpour during Warpaint’s set which saw everyone flock to the nearest tent.
Opening the Disclosure Presents: Wildlife stage, Kanye West-collaborator Pusha T, performed tracks from his acclaimed debut album, My Name Is My Name as well as his part on the aforementioned Kanye hit, Mercy. Stalking the stage, which looks like brown lego bricks stacked high, Pusha runs through the trap beats of King Push and Nostalgia. Promising a new album in the not-so-distant-future, he continues with Numbers on the Board, seeing arms in the air pulling back and forward – an impressive debut at Parklife for the hotly-tipped ex-Clipse rapper.
Next up, are classical-cum-electronic Cambridge graduates Clean Bandit, who remained at the top of the charts for a month earlier this year with their single Rather Be. An early afternoon set time doesn’t seem to affect the eager crowd, growing by the minute. Arriving onstage to classical music alongside two guest vocalists, the quartet open with older track, A&E, before Dust Clears, with Jack Patterson leading the vocals over a synth-y beat. Tracks from their debut album New Eyes soon follow. Up Again, begins as a hand-swaying, blissed-out production before drum beats and classical chords intrude, culminating in a full on drum and bass climax while Come Over hears cellist Grace Chatto’s sweet vocals soar over a Caribbean, almost reggae beat. Mid-set, it’s clear that new single Extraordinary could become their second number one judging from the crowd’s reaction. Heart on Fire, featuring vocals from Elizabeth Troy is dedicated to “all the garage heads” before the lyrics of Mozart’s House ask, “so you think electronic music is boring?” Following this genre-crossing set, they’ve proved that that their sound is far from boring. Nightingale is then mixed into Gorgon City’s deep-house edit before feel-good festival anthem, Rather Be, which stayed at number one for a month, ends their set with the crowd on each other’s shoulders singing along word perfect.
Unexpected pop star Sam Smith, arrives for his 5pm slot to screams of excitement. Opening with Nirvana, he shows his powerful voice off straight away before Disclosure collaboration Together, complete with Chic-esque funky bass guitar lines. Leave Your Lover slows the set to a mellower, emotional halt, with some female fans starting to tear up, before further winning them over by telling the crowd that Manchester is his favorite place. Before new track, Restart, Smith informs the audience that he’s filming the music video right now, and of course everyone is more than happy to clap and sing-a-long for it. An unexpected cover of Arctic Monkey’s track, Do I Wanna Know breaks up the set with a unique take on the indie hit. Money On My Mind and Lay Me Down follow with emotional lyrics, while the heavens fittingly starting to open, before ending with recent number one single, Stay With Me. It’s obvious that Smith is providing the definitive sound of 2014, after his vocal talent was first discovered by the mainstream on another Disclosure collaboration, Latch, which is given a flawless acoustic rendition.
Later, over in the Heidi Presents: The Jackathon tent, Hot Since 82 brings deep house and techno beats to a sweaty strobe light flashing tent, delivering arguably the best bass orientated set of the weekend.
Over in the Sounds of the Near Future tent, SBTRKT gives an astonishing live set. Opener, Pharaos, gets the packed tent going before the masked man says, "It's so good to be back. It's been like two years since we've been here.” New lasers and synths track Temporary View, which went up on Soundcloud just two days ago, receives a great reaction as a taster of what to expect from the impending second album. Debut album tracks, Never Ever, Trials of the Past and Wildfire follow with tribal drum beats and feature Drake-collaborating, Sampha’s recorded vocals and Little Dragon’s in the latter, which echo around the at-capacity tent.
Pacing back to the Wildlife stage to catch headliners Disclosure, it was shockingly easy for SFG to get near the front – probably because Oxford indie-types, Foals, were headlining over on the main stage. The wunderkind production duo of house revivalists, Guy and Howard, open with synth led F For You featuring on record vocals courtesy of Mary J Blige. Preacher lyrics and simplistic house beats follow in When a Fire Starts to Burn and newer Friend Within collaboration, The Mechanism, with the background screens showing the duo playing in real time while Guy picks up the bass guitar to play the funky chords in the former, while pyrotechnics shoot from the top of the stage. Checking with the crowd that they are okay to play some older material, they bounce into older E.P tracks, Boiling, Tenderly and Flow before inviting guest vocalist, Sasha Keable, onstage during album track Voices and later Sam Smith to join them for the song which started it all off, Latch.
It’s only in its fourth year, but soon enough Blur’s iconic single won’t be the only thing which comes to mind when thinking of Parklife. Providing a great line up, the organisers delivered great variety at an affordable price, SFG cannot wait until next year!
All American Rejects set the fans in to a world wind of cheers, screams as they hit the main stage in the civic hall yesterday. They came out playing all the classics like, Dirty Little Secret, Move Along and Gives you hell. Tyson Ritter had such a stage presence, throughout the whole set keeping banter with the fans and even taking a trip into the crowd when he got down off the stage and walked around the barrier into the screaming fans while still singing away.
Gracing the Main stage as well was pop rockers We Are The In Crowd, I was really psyched to see this band after hearing good reviews before hand and the build up various publications were producing, but I couldn’t help notice that Tay Jardine voice sounded a bit “Horse” and after speaking to a few fans they thought the same. That aside they had a good set that got fans singing along.
Here’s what some fans had to say.
Steve Brand Said: I enjoyed seeing We Are In The Crowd, Downside for me was that the stage lighting was crap, It was mainly shining it into the crowd which really ruined the view because you could barley see.
Viktoria Kohajdova: The festival has been fun and I loved seeing We The Kings and The All American Rejects overall I really enjoyed them the most. I got to go to a few signings too, but it was a shame that we the kings didn't do one but I did get to meet Tyson Ritter from TAAR and that really made my day.
The Monster stage had a lot happening and it was definitely the place to be with some killer bands they had performing on it.
Headlining band Bury Tomorrow came out to the stage with a huge amount of fans waiting for them. They played there newest track Man On Fire off the new album RUNES which dropped that day, they played plenty of older tracks including scepters which set the fans surfing and even had a couple of fans climbing up a tree and hanging off it screaming lyrics back at the band.
Also on the Monster stage were I Killed The Prom Queen they came out with big choruses and even bigger breakdowns, playing a mixture of old school tracks as well as new material from beloved. The Devil Wears Prada blew me away with the sheer number of people that had turned up to see them play. The band’s set was tight with elegant clean vocals and guitar parts blending together with the aggressive vocals.
Over at the UPRAWR DJ stage MC Lars was ready and waiting for Chunk! No Captain Chunk to finish their set on the Monster stage. While waiting a good size crowd started to grow turning up in merchandise, you could tell these were big fans of his work. As soon as Chunk! No Captain Chunk finished seamlessly MC Lars started his set playing tracks, Download This Song, Space Game. The crowd grew and everyone starting to dance and really vibe off the set, he was definitely one of my favorites of the night.
Before finishing up I spoke to one last visitor to the festival who had this say.
Amanda Fry: This was my first time at Slam Dunk and it was great, I'm already contemplating for next years line up". I enjoyed seeing We The kings, We Are The In Crowd and All American rejects. I didn’t like that Roaring S#!T.
Just when we thought all the artists and guests had been annouced Slam Dunk knock out other surprise with Sean Smith from The Blackout who will be making an appearance as a guest DJ and the main stage compere!
Slam Dunk have also announced their annual T-shirt design competition. Basically, you could be in the running of designing the official shirt that will be sold across this year’s festivals! Not only will you get your design idea produced, but the winner will also bag 4 tickets to the festival of their choice! So why not give it a try get your creative juices flowing and get designing! More details can be found on the poster below:
Leicester's very own inner city festival is back for its second year, with a recent announcement for the Handmade Festival, seeing Dry The River amongst others, revealed to be playing.
Dry The River take to the stage to play on Sunday May 4, with And So I Watch You From Afar the must-see act on Friday May 2 and long-running Japanese trio Shonen Knife topping the bill on Saturday May 3.
The aim is to bring an eclectic mix of music and the arts to fill the bars, venues and cathedrals (yes you read right), full of the best musicians, comedians and pieces of art going, alongside raw local talent, with applications being accepted from around the region.
2013's edition of the festival saw Rolo Tomassi, Dutch Uncles and Nine Black Alps amongst others feature on the bill, and with more acts promised for this year, the festival is looking to surpass its debut year.
Tickets for the full weekend are currently priced at £30 or £15 for a day ticket, with the wristband gaining access to a number of venues across the East Midlands city.
It's the beginning of a good year for Leicester, with the massive homecoming gig at Victoria Park for Kasabian in June, a new music festival pencilled in for Welford Road in late July and the annual Strawberry Fields, held in rural Leicestershire to come in August.
