Arriving at the Birmingham O2 Academy, we were surprised by queues winding around the block, only to find that the venue is not only host to Twin Atlantic tonight, but also Rag ‘N’ Bone Man. There’s a marked difference in attire and style for the two crowds, but it’s really uplifting to see so many people out for live music on a frosty Sunday night in November.
Heading upstairs to Academy 2, I am instantly transported back into the gig nights of my youth. Sticky floors, a merch stand on a trestle-table in the corner with hand scribbled prices, and youths in patch jackets shuffling about. I like knowing that the tune might change but the feeling is still the same. If you don’t get that pang of excitement before a gig, I am truly sorry for you.
Daytime TV
First out of the gates is fellow Scottish band, Daytime TV – with enigmatic frontman Will Irvine practically bouncing onto the stage, in his black suit and stompy creeper shoes. Sitting somewhere in the rock/pop-punk sphere, but with a well-blended electronic sound; Daytime TV immediately pique my interest.
Songs ‘Fear’ and ‘Little Victories’ sport elements of indie alongside the clean rock edge, and it’s easy to get swept into the very singable lyrics early on. This is something I feel has been missing from mainstream rock for a while – an undeniable hook, and this band have it in spades. Yelling out “Make some noise Birmingham, thanks for coming down early to check us out tonight. This is a hometown gig for our Guitarist, he’s a Walsall boy!” Will elicits a huge cheer from the now dense crowd, before launching into the very fun ‘Domino’.
One thing I would really like to note about Daytime TV, is that they genuinely just look like they’re having a great time on stage. Dancing around, smiling and laughing through a stellar performance – closing song ‘Lost In Tokyo’ makes for a dynamic ending, and they’ve even managed to get the crowd clapping along – no easy feat for an opening band (especially on a Sunday night). I’d love to see them on some festival bills next year.
Twin Atlantic
Scotland for round two, tonight’s headliner Twin Atlantic hailing from Glasgow are preceded by the ethereal outpourings of… ahem… Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Just as the crowd is singing along (in a very Wayne’s World way, obviously) to the penultimate note, we are top-tier trolled into oblivion as the drop is interrupted by Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Boys Just Wanna Have Fun’. You’ve never heard a room full of people groan so loudly, I tell you.
As the band take to the stage in near darkness and enough smoke to power the entire Upside Down, frontman Sam McTrusty heads to the front to shout Hello to the Birmingham crowd – “Ohh it’s gonna be a good one, I can fuckin’ feel it”.
Starting off strong with ‘Meltdown’ from this year’s (their seventh) album, it’s instantly clear that tonight’s audience are not the casual gig-goer brand, these are all full force Twin Atlantic fans singing along to every word, and I’m here wondering why they haven’t been back on a Download festival bill since the Pandemic Pilot era.
Barry McKenna (keys, vocals) looking like a slightly cooler version of Nandor The Relentless (IYKYK), laughs along when Sam yells “This is our last show in your country this year we realised, so thanks for coming to the last one! So… Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!” and we are treated to the extremely Scottish twangy ‘Free’. I may not be to roll my R’s but you’re damn right I tried to join in anyway.
‘Barcelona’ is an absolute earworm of a song, it’s been on repeat on our car journeys and it’s not hard to see why – everyone is absolutely belting it out at the top of their lungs under the pulsing red lighting. I should mention here though, that it has been some of the worst lighting I’ve ever experienced in a small venue, there are no uplights on the band themselves and so much smoke that it’s hard to even see who’s on stage. Luckily the sound is banging to make up for it so we all shout back the refrain “I’m not invincible”.
“Is the the fatigue of Sunday setting in? You all good, you all where you wanna be? Sound, we’ll keep going then” they joke, before playing the gorgeously sentimental ‘I Couldn’t Miss You Much More’, as couples hug each other in the crowd. Ramping back up with ‘The Chaser’ and some intense strobe-lighting which further silhouettes the band into anonymity, and the heavier ‘No Sleep’ (my song of choice in the set) almost blows the roof off the O2. Again, I am left wondering why Twin Atlantic aren’t hitting more big festival bills.
‘Heart and Soul’ is another sing-along situation, but with minutes to spare Sam calls “Do we have time for one more?” and they sign off on the beautifully sombre ‘Crash Land’. “The last two weeks in England have been fuckin’ class” they lament, before (literally) bowing out. It might have been the smaller of tonight’s offerings at the O2 in Birmingham, but the actual Heart and Soul in tonight’s performance and the fact that this many people wanted to come out and pogo around on a Sunday night before work? Unquestionably awesome.
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.
Setting the tone in our Year of Colour, we are excited to announce even more amazing artists who will be joining The xx, A Tribe Called Quest, Pet Shop Boys, Jamie T, Kurupt FM, Justice, Dizzee Rascal and many more as we redefine escapism for the festival generation. With a host of live music, super fat sound systems and DJs heading to our brand new site, join us as we increase the peace this 7th – 10th September at the Lulworth Estate, Dorset.
Rob da Bank says: “Bestival’s formula is pretty simple – we like you guys having fun, exploring new ideas and listening to amazing bands and DJs in a massive field or forest or both at the same time whilst dressed as a multi-coloured gherkin. If you like the sound of that you’re on board already, but if you need any more persuasion, we are proud to announce some mega new acts for Besti, repping the best in grime with Wiley, AJ Tracey and 67, through indie and rock with Blossoms and Twin Atlantic, all topped off with some good old fashioned rave with DJs from Heidi to Bjarki, Monki to the Ragga Twins and a massive garage takeover. Step up people, step the **** up!”
The Lulworth Estate will be rocking to even more amazing live music from the likes of grime godfather Wiley, indie powerhouse Blossoms, slick rhymer Loyle Carner, UK hip-hop hero Roots Manuva, Scottish rockers Twin Atlantic, folk troubadour Nick Mulvey, grime MC AJ Tracey, legendary hype man Fatman Scoop, Ninja Tune cut n paste maverick Romare and funk machine Sinkane. Plus, there will be appearances Tash Sultana, Alma, Cakes da Killa, 67, House Gospel Choir, London African Gospel Choir performing Graceland, Skinny Girl Diet, Smerz, Brushy One String, Hackney Colliery Band, The Greasy Slicks, Park Hotel, The Rhythm Method, Zoee, The Smiths Ltd, Disney Rascal, and the Rajasthan Heritage Brass Band.
We’ll have plenty of new sound system action keeping the floors lit all weekend long, with celebratory behaviour from Andy C presenting 25 years of RAM featuring Andy C, Calyx & Teebee, Culture Shock, DC Breaks and MCs Tonn Piper, and Carasel & 2Shy. Bestival lifetime resident David Rodigan presents Ram Jam with Preditah, Conducta & MC Creed, Venum Sound and a very special guest still to be announced. And there will be footwork frenzy for the Teklife Showcase with sets from DJ Spinn, DJ Taye, DJ Paypal & Teklife Dancers.
The Garage Pool Party will be rinsing some classic beats with garage playas Heartless Crew, DJ Luck & MC Neat and Oxide & Neutrino all dropping enough two-step love to keep HMS Bestival rocking. Ensuring the subs are red hot right across the site we’ll have turntable tear ups from the Raindance crew featuring Rat Pack, Slipmatt, Billy Daniel Bunter and Uncle Dugs, Jungle Fever, with Brockie & MC Det, Jumping Jack Frost, Ragga Twins, Funky Flirt, Shockin B, Eastman Sound, and Ruddy Ranks and Nice Up! presents Daddy G, Kiko Bun, StarOne, Riddim Punks, Ghost Writerz, Shepdog, Serocee, Red Eye Hifi, Mr Benn, Cut La Vis, Jamie Rodigan, Origin One & AAA Badboy.
And as if that weren’t enough, there will be even more deck-based brilliance from Mad Professor, Heidi, Bjarki, Monki, Melé, Nightwave, Willow, Anna Wall, Jem Haynes, Reggae Roast & MC Natty Campbell, Tayo, Martha and DJ Dapper Dan.
Added to the already incredible line up for 2016 is Sigma (live), Pendulum (DJ Set), Jess Glynne, Busted, The Corrs, Gutterdämmerung, SIXX:AM,Twin Atlantic, Half Moon Run, The Family Rain, Reverend and the Makers,Gabrielle Aplin, Lissie and The Wonder Stuff. The new acts will all join Queen + Adam Lambert, Stereophonics,Faithless and a whole host of punk acts including Iggy Pop and Adam Ant to perform over the weekend.
Internationally, multi-platinum selling DJ duo Sigma (aka Cameron Edwards and Joe Lenzie) were the only group in 2014 to have back-to-back UK Number One singles in the form of ‘Nobody To Love’ and ‘Changing’ (featuring Paloma Faith). Sigma will be filling the gap for all those drum ‘n’ bass heads on the island over the weekend.
Drum ’n’ bass connoisseurs Pendulum emerged from Perth in 2002 to create a sound they felt was missing from dance music. Their 2005 debut album ‘Hold Your Colour’ sold in excess of 300,000 copies and spawned their first Top 30 hit in the shape of the single ‘Slam/Out Here’. Pendulum will be joining their DJ counterparts Sigma to bring their electric live show to the crowds.
Gracing the stage this year will be the mega-selling, double-BRIT winning pop-rock trio Busted as they make their welcome return. After four Number One singles, two albums, five million record sales and a run of 12 sold-out Wembley shows, James Bourne, Matt Willis and Charlie Simpson are together again, older, wiser and excited about what the new Busted might be.
What a year it’s been for Jess Glynne who will also be joining the line up for 2016. Jess broke through in early 2014 for providing vocals on Route 94’s Number One single ‘My Love’ and featuring on the most streamed song of 2014, Clean Bandit’s ‘Rather Be’, which was also nominated for a BRIT Award as ‘Best Single’. This, of course culminated in a Number One album in ‘I Cry When I Laugh’ released earlier in August.
Off the back of their new album ‘White Light’ which was released last month, The Corrs are added to The Isle of Wight Festival’s 2016 lineup. The successful Irish quartet have released five studio albums to date along with numerous singles including ‘Runaway’, ‘Dreams’ and ‘Breathless’, and will be touring the UK in January.
Glasgow rockers Twin Atlantic have a knack for instantly catchy choruses and aloft anthems. Over the years, the band have earned their way to support the likes of Smashing Pumpkins, Biffy Clyro and Blink 182 and have become renowned for their ferocious live shows, as well as achieving Top Ten with their latest album ‘The Great Divide’.
Also sounding out the future over the weekend is Half Moon Run. The Montreal based four-piece have a reputation for their heavy use of percussion and playing multiple instruments during live performance. They’ll be performing tracks from their impressive second studio album ‘Sun Leads Me On’.
Three brothers from Bath, The Family Rain, fuse blues and rock with the close-knit energy and intricacy that runs through brotherly bonds. The sound of their debut album ‘Under The Volcano’ is not short of iron riffs, innovative percussion, clever wordplay and insidious melodies. They exude a noise and intensity that could only be produced by three brothers who know each other inside out.
Sheffield indie rockers Reverend and the Makers will also be bringing their acclaimed live performance over the weekend. UK Top Ten single ‘Heavyweight Champion of the World’ bought them into the limelight in 2007 before supporting the likes of Oasis on their final tour playing venues such as Wembley Stadium. They will also be playing tracks from their fourth studio album ‘Thirty Two’ which was released in 2014.
After gaining popularity from posting acoustic covers of her songs on her YouTube channel, Gabrielle Aplin signed a record deal with Parlophone. She gained further mainstream attention after she was selected to soundtrack a John Lewis advert with her cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s ‘The Power Of Love’, which charted Number One in the UK singles chart. Since then, she’s released her second album ‘Light Up The Dark’, which was released in September this year.
Returning to The Isle of Wight Festival 2016 is American folk rock maverick Lissie. Having reached Top 20 status in the UK with her two previous albums ‘Catching a Tiger’ and ‘Back Forever’, her songs have been licensed for countless films and TV shows, topped numerous ‘Best Of’ polls whilst ‘The Longest Road,’ a song she wrote with DJ Morgan Page, was subsequently remixed by Deadmau5 and nominated for a ‘Best Remixed Record’ Grammy.
Gutterdämmerung is ‘the loudest silent movie on earth’, conceptualised by Belgian-Swedish visual artist Bjorn Tagemose. Part rock show, part immersive cinema, the project features some of the world’s biggest names in rock, and The Isle of Wight Festival performance on the Big Top stage will see a full live band including Henry Rollins. SIXX:AM, comprising of Nikki Sixx, DJ Ashba and James Michael released their debut album ‘The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack’ in 2007 based on Sixx’s autobiography, and have since followed this with two more studio releases including 2014’s ‘Modern Vintage’. The band will be touring Europe next summer and will be bringing the riffs to Seaclose Park.
Celebrating their 30th anniversary as a band, The Wonder Stuff will be bringing their indie anthems to the festival next year. With Top Ten singles including ‘The Size of a Cow’, ‘Welcome to The Cheap Seats’ and ‘On The Ropes’, as well as their No. 1 smash ‘Dizzy’ with Vic Reeves, the band released their seventh studio album two years ago with a new album expected in 2016.
Leeds Festival kicked off on Thursday night with the introduction of comedy acts to a growing line up. These guys were around last year as well so it was nothing new for the Leeds fest veterans to warm up the weekend with some giggles. I felt there was something a little lack luster about squeezing into a tent to watch comedy at a music festival so opted for some camp fire drinks instead. Once feeling merry there was no option but to hit the relentless stage, firmly squeezed between the trees of red and orange camp. Dj’s were set to headline there all weekend and Thursday was no exception with electronic music duo Bondax gracing us with a glorious welcome set.
With dreary eyes and achey legs it was up and adam for Friday, when the festival really begins. It was a much needed lie in on Friday morning before heading out in the – fairly sunny – weather to the BBC 1Xtra stage. Lady Leshurr made famous by her straight to point musical stylings almost filled out the tent and had everyone in good spirits when she handed out toothbrushes during her famous ‘Queens Speech Episode 4’. Then it was off for some food before Jamie T’s main stage set.
The food at Leeds fest this year left a lot to be desired, you were much better off money wise and sometimes quality wise if you bought a disposable BBQ and kicked it back at your campsite. Although I must commend noodle king for providing 10 spring rolls for £3, that was the stuff dreams are made of.
So back to the music and it was the turn of Jamie T, an act I had been eagerly anticipating before arriving at Leeds fest, and I must say I was a little on the disappointed side. It wasn’t Jamie himself, he went for it singing classics like Sheila, and If you got the money, but I couldn’t help thinking his set would have worked better on a smaller stage. The sound wasn’t amazing and you couldn’t see him unless you were more or less on the stage with him, his name deserves the main stage but his set needed something more intimate.
After that it was the turn of Kendrick Lamar, who brought in a huge crowd and got everyone at the front going mosh pit crazy. Kendrick sung his big hits ‘I love bad Bitches’ and ‘King Kunta’ and pressed on about how so many of his fans had been there from the start and he was so pleased to see them in the crowd. I’m not entirely sure how many of his true fans he could really see in the crowd but he killed it nevertheless and I’m sure nobody left feeling disappointed.
Then onto the Friday night headliner – The Libertines. The Libertines are now onto their second reform as a band and was it for the best, I’m still on the fence about that one. Pete Doherty has been through the wars and it showed on his face and in his voice, I didn’t feel like they had the power for the main stage and clearly neither did the audience as the area was nowhere near as full as it should have been for a headline act.
With the Libertines lack luster performance dampening my mood a little it was time to up the anti and head back to the 1Xtra stage for Boy Better Know. The main trio made up of Skepta, Jme and Wiley filled out the tent and sent the crowd into a wild frenzy that perfectly finished off Friday night.
Onto Saturday and it was the main stage hosting all the action. A wonderful set by Leeds veterans Panic at the Disco who broke out into an impromptu version of Bohemian Rhapsody to get the whole crowd on their feet. They were followed up by Baltimore pop punk band All Time Low, who dragged members of the crowd onto stage to go crazy with them and joked about the wonders of tent sex. All Time Low brought a brilliant vibe to the main stage with hits like ‘Weightless’ and ‘Dear Maria’.
Then it was Bastille's turn, and they rocked up with one of the biggest crowds of the festival, everyone eager to sing along to their easy to please hits. A nice cheery set from them that could be enjoyed while sitting on the grass mellowing down with some food. Many Leeds goers seemed to be a celebrating GCSE age and that was clear from the audience range at Bastille especially when they played hits from their first album including ‘Bad Blood’ and ‘Pompeii’. It was then on to Leeds formed electronic band Alt J who reminisced about their time at Leeds Uni and the pleasure of being back home again. Their set was filed with jazzy lights and the screens showed edgy video editing of their faces as they played hits like ‘Fitzpleasure’ and ‘Breezeblocks’.
Saturdays headline act was the mighty Mumford and Sons, who played a mix of songs from their first and second albums which the crowd definitely appreciated. It’s often tough to watch a headliner who you don’t know so well when they just sing new music nobody has heard yet. They went in with the crowd pleasing claiming we were better than Reading Festival and northerner’s were prettier, it seemed to work as they drew in one of the biggest crowds of the weekend with plenty of couples drunkenly swaying in each other’s arms to tunes such as ‘I will wait for you’ and ‘Little lion man’.
I cut the Mumford and Sons set short as we dived over to watch Knife Party close the day in the NME Stage. The set was interrupted by a girl who climbed up one of the metal poles holding the tent up, and Knife Party claiming they would halt all the music until she climbed down. But that didn’t dampen the spirits of the partygoers who chanted at her to climb down and carried on going when she did.
Onto the final day and the Foals managed to sneak in a secret set in the NME stage, I sadly wasn’t even out of my tent at the time of their performance but I imagine it was as magical as they always are. The first act of the day for me was a bit later on with Tempa T in the 1 Xtra stage, it was a good start to the day and plenty of other people seemed to enjoy it as well. Then it was back across to the NME stage for Manchester based band Everything Everything who did not disappoint with a set that made you want to skip around and sing into the night. They played hits like ‘Regret’ and ‘Distant past’ and didn’t even flinch when lead singer Jonathan Higgs ‘effed up the words’.
It was then back to the 1 Xtra tent for Miss Dynamite – who doesn’t look a day over 22 by the way – her set was not up there with the greats as she was continually talking and chanting throughout and barely sung anything but there were come catchy covers in there and she brought some random kids on stage which is always fun.
Next up it was back to the NME stage again for my festival highlight –Twin Atlantic. They are a lovely bunch of Scottish guys who out performed anyone else that weekend for me. With big strings of confetti and multi-coloured beach balls they sung out the crowd with ‘Heart and Soul’ and claimed they were so glad they got to sing out the festival and were thankful to everyone who had stuck by them in their 5 year Leeds fest battle to get a bigger stage. Twin Atlantic I love you, and I’m sorry that was my first time watching you, I swear it won’t be my last.
Finally The Wombats ended the evening with a superb crowd pleasing set of their biggest hits, they filled out the rather mini festival republic stage and were truly a wonderful way to end.
As for the evenings after the music was over when the festival revellers were let loose on the campsite there was only one place to get your night properly started – Cocktail Cocktail. The now infamous cocktail bar had its first appearance at Leeds fest this year and did not let us down with DJ Jamie Hartley taking the decks each night pumping out classics till 3am. The relentless trees were great as well and we can’t forget Piccadilly party taking everyone in till the light hours of the morning.
Leeds Fest you were amazing and I will see you again next year x
Although the ground was soggy, the air stayed clear for the majority of T in the Park, Scotland's biggest music festival. There had been a lot of anticipation with the change in venue from the usual Balado sight in Kinross. However it seems with a few “teething problems” set aside, Strathallan did not disappoint. With a promising line up of artists from Avicii to Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds set to headline, there was a very diverse weekend of music in store for Scotalnd’s festival goers.
The Cribs and The Wombats were the first to take to the main stage on Friday, offering a punk-rock vibe to get the crowd warmed up with their infectious energy. Tord Øverland Knudsen from the Wombats living up to his usual playful, crowd pleasing self. Meanwhile acts such as Blossoms and Indiana were pulling out all the stops in the BBC introducing and T Break stage.
Later on Annie Mac took to the Main Stage and had everyone up dancing for her first of two performances over the weekend. After her followed Hozier, performing his debut Album with hit song Take Me To Church amongst the set.
As Rudimental hit the main stage the crowd multiplied. Well known for their high energy live performances, drum and base group Rudimental put on a spectacular show, opening with Not Giving In. DJ Locksmith could not stop moving and his infection energy really rubbed off on the crowd. The DJ also pulled on the crowds heart-strings by dedicating a song to his son. Waiting All Night was a huge crowd pleaser and had everyone dancing and singing along.
When Sam Smith took to the main stage, you could hear a pin drop over at the BBC introducing stage. The crowd were hung on his every word. He delivered a very sincere performance and stated how happy he is now he creates music true to himself. He thanked the crowd for helping this happen. Some reckon they even seen Sam Smith shed a tear during his performance.
Kasabian wrapped things up on Friday night headlining the main stage. As the countdown clock displayed on stage got lower and lower the energy in the crowd lifted higher and higher. With Bumblebee and Underdog being amongst the opening songs the atmosphere was electric from the beginning of the set right through to the end. Songs from Kasabian’s No.1 UK album Empire went down a treat and it was clear to see both the crowd and the band were having a great time. People headed back to their tents with Kasabian's bass line resinating in their bones.
There were a number of early risers on Saturday morning who turned out to see acts such as The Lafontaines and The Strypes play. Later on pop-rock group Lawson took to the stage, getting the whole crowd singing along to songs such as When She Was Mine.
Jungle were a real crowd pleaser in King Tut’s Wah Wah Tent. A young boy took to the stage mid set and break danced which had the crowd going wild. Also performing in King Tut’s was St Vincent who delivered an intense and captivating performances. The set was accompanied by some spectacular lighting to add to the intensity of the performance. After St Vincent came Scotland’s pride and joy, The Proclaimers who attracted the widest age range. Delivering hits such as Letter From America and 500 Miles the Tent was full of good vibes and nostalgia.
A lot of young excited festival goers gathered to watch The Script on the Main Stage on Saturday Night. Well known for his tendency to leave the stage and come down to the crowd, Danny O'Donoghue did not disappoint the die hard front row spectators. Girls were screaming and crying and doing everything they could just to touch the Irishman’s leather coat. Danny stated he loved to play gigs in Scotland as it was close to home and had the Celts in the audience raise their hand. Performing all of the classics alongside the more recent hits, The Script attracted an enthusiastic crowd.
The Libertines, the first of the headliners to be announced when T in The Park released 2015’s line up, took over the main stage. The Libertines attracted a slightly different crowd, many excited to see the band play for the first time after their reformation. The band opened with hits such as Time For Heroes and Can’t Stand Me Now and played an encore including Up the Bracket and closing with Don’t Look Back Into The Sun. There seemed to be a great relationship between Pete Doherty and Carl Barât throughout the set which pleased the crowd.
Some of Scotland’s finest talent was on display throughout the weekend with acts like The Proclaimers, Admiral Fallow and headliners Twin Atlantic playing across the stages. Many people faced a tough decision on Saturday with Avicii and Twin Atlantic playing at the same time on separate stages. However it was safe to say whichever act was chosen would not have disappointed. Both acts offered an energetic, all singing, all dancing performance that not even the rain could hinder. The Swedish DJ, Avicii, offered a visually captivating performance with smoke, streamers and a spectacular lighting display. There was a rave taking place in Strathallan with people dancing and singing along to hit songs Hey Brother and Wake Me Up.
On the Radio One Stage, Twin Atlantic were offering heart filled seventh T in the Park performance. Amongst speaking of the honour and emotion the band were feeling to be headlining on a Saturday night, lead vocalist sam McTrusty also had the crowd sit on the ground and on his count stand up and go wild. With a wide range of new and old songs from what What is Light? Where is Laughter? to I Am An Animal, Twin Atlantic invested their hear and soul in the performance and had the audience captivated from start to finish.
The third and final day of T in the Park was kicked off by acts such as Saint Raymond, The Parsonage Choir and Ella Eyre. The View followed James Bay, whose good looks and great tunes both attracted many goey eyed females. It was great to see the amount of people out to see the opening acts on the final morning of the festival.
The Main Stage and Radio 1 Stage were both displaying tough competition on Sunday evening. Catfish And The Bottlemen, Kodaline and Jamie T all offered an indie/alternative rock performance Radio 1 Stage. In tandem on the Main Stage there was a slightly different vibe, with the soul singing group Alabama Shakes giving a spectacular performance and had people in the crowed shouting ‘We love you Brittany!’.
The crowd were extatic to watch Paloma Faith perform. She played a variety of songs, from her first ever single, Stone Cold Sober to the more recent chart topping single Changing. Although there was much controversy over Paloma’s revealing outfit, the singer-songwriter put on a great visual performance with her quirky stage set up, opposed to the black back drop the crowd had gotten used to across the weekend. This performance was not the first time the crowd has got a glimpse of Paloma. The brit appeared at the front of the stage the previous day to watch her “idol” Labrinth play and later stated he made her cry “actual tears”.
Stereophonics opened with Catacomb and a small flame display and continued to wow the crowd with all-time favourites such as Graffiti On The Train, Mr Writer and Maybe Tomorrow. Stereophonic are no strangers to T in the Park and have developed a reputation that is certain to attract a large crowd every time. Just when it seemed the energy could not be elevated any higher, Stereophonic kicked it up a notch and played finished the set with 2005 No.1 hit, Dakota.
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds were the grand finale on Sunday night. The band’s own songs got the crowd going, however it was the old Oasis classics that got the crowd going wild. People of all ages showed up to absorb the atmosphere and sing their hearts out. There was many an emotional Oasis T-shirt wearer when they played songs such as Champagne Supernova and The Masterplan. Noel communicated with the audience throughout the set and offered a more sincere performance many may be used to. The band closed with Don’t Look Back in Anger. A very fitting end to both the set and T in The Park, 2015.
No strangers to T in the Park, Twin Atlantic took to the stage for the seventh time on Saturday night. It is a well established fact that the band will never disappoint with their performance.However, Twin Atlantic take it in their stride to up their game every time. From BBC introducing, to the Main Stage, the band have grown with T in the Park and now represent everything the festival stands for. With Avicii on the main stage as a tough competitor, it was incredible to see the sheer mass of people that turned up in the pouring rain to watch Sam, Barry, Ross and Craig. The band started with a bang, firing canons of confetti into the crowd and opened with Edit Me.
Being local Glasgow lads, Twin Atlantic could empathise with the crowd enduring the heavy rain. Lead vocalist Sam McTrusty expressed his gratitude that so many people had showed up to watch the band play and shouted to the crowd "We’re from Scotland, the rain doesn’t faze us, bring on the snow!"
Sam then decided, whilst performing I Am An Animal, that given everybody was already wet with the rain and dirty with mud he encouraged the crowd to sit on the ground and on his count, stand up and ‘go wild’. When this happened more confetti and streamers were blasted into the arena and the atmosphere in the crowd was one like no other.
After an energetic start with songs such as Make A Beast of Myself, Fall into the Party and Free, Twin Atlantic slowed tempo. Addressing the crowd, Sam spoke of the "honour” it was to headline the Radio 1 Stage on a Saturday night at T in the Park. He told the crowd he felt “so emotional” and thanked everyone for making the band feel as though they belong and for making T in the Park a “second home”. Tears were streaming in the crowd as they begun to play Crash Land.
The band then picked up the pace playing old classics such as What Is Light? Where Is Laughter? – a song they performed for the first time at T in the park. The energy carried on to the end of the set and the atmosphere was electric. The band finished on the recent hit, Heart and Soul. It would be fair to say that the heart and soul of both Twin Atlantic and the Saturday night crowd was invested in the performance from start to finish.
With only four months to go until August Bank Holiday Weekend, Reading & Leeds Festivals are excited to add over 60 new acts to an already incredible bill headlined by Mumford & Sons, Metallica and The Libertines.
Leading the charge are indie rock heroes and all round band of the moment alt-J. Last seen headlining the NME/BBC Radio 1 Stage at the Festivals, the band’s sophomore album ‘This Is All Yours’ has established them as one of Britain’s brightest and biggest bands, who will deservedly step up to an evening set on the Main Stage in 2015.
Gus Unger-Hamilton says: "We're really over the moon to be returning to Reading & Leeds. It'll be our third time playing, and we always have the best time."
Joining alt-J on the Main Stage on Friday at Reading / Saturday at Leeds, Palma Violets will be treating revelers to cuts from their upcoming ‘Danger In The Club’. Their garage rock clatter is sure to get the crowd going, whilst Drenge graduate to Main Stage status with their extremely loud brand of grunge.
Fusing dubstep and rock to create a sound that is entirely their own, London’s Modestep step up to the plate on Saturday at Reading / Sunday at Leeds, joined on the bill by raucous LA skate punks FIDLAR and Japanese metal idol stars Babymetal, who will be opening the stage.
Sunday at Reading / Friday at Leeds will see the return of Festival favourites The Gaslight Anthem, whose signature heartfelt punk rock is sure to provide one of the afternoon’s biggest singalongs. Lead by the iconic Laura Jane Grace the passionate, dynamic punk of Against Me! will cause a similar stir whilst British hardcore titans Feed The Rhino will be providing a suitably noisy start to the day.
NME / BBC RADIO 1 STAGE
Joining the NME/BBC Radio 1 Stage line-up on Friday at Reading / Saturday at Leeds are energetic Brooklyn indie-punks Parquet Courts and LA indie-poppers Echosmith.
After storming the stage last year Scottish chart-smashing rockers Twin Atlantic will return to the bill on Saturday at Reading / Sunday at Leeds, celebrating a huge year with a characteristically anthemic evening set. London indie favourites Spector and up and coming rock newcomers Nothing But Thieves return to the Festival. British soul and R&B singer Kwabs, AWOLNATION, Ghostpoet and The Skints are added to the bill on Sunday at Reading / Friday at Leeds.
BBC RADIO 1 DANCE STAGE
Getting the BBC Radio 1 Dance tent moving on Friday at Reading / Saturday at Leeds will be Jacob Plant, Maribou State, LANY and All We Are, while dance-icon MK will be bringing his stunning show to close the stage on Saturday at Reading / Sunday at Leeds. Oliver Dollar is added to the bill at Reading only, while Kevin Saunderson will fill this slot with an exclusive set at Leeds.
After a stunning 2014, pop provocateur Charli XCX also joins the Radio 1 Dance Tent line-up, a highly anticipated performance in the wake of her critically acclaimed new album Sucker and a sold-out UK tour. Secondcity,Dimension x Kove and Elliphant will join an amazing line-up on Saturday at Reading / Sunday at Leeds, whileBlonde Live, Rustie, Evian Christ, Snakehips, TCTS and 99 Souls are set to entertain the BBC Radio 1 Dance Stage audience on Sunday at Reading / Friday at Leeds.
THE LOCK UP / THE PIT
Joining an already huge line-up on the Lock Up, on Friday at Reading / Saturday at Leeds will be Modern Baseball, The Bots, The Smith Street Band and Youth Man.
The Pit will feature a of line-up of gargantuan established acts and fresh emerging talent including iconic metalcore group Atreyu, PVRIS, And So I Watch You From Afar, Black Peaks, Ho99o9 and The One Hundredon Saturday at Reading / Sunday at Leeds.
On Sunday at Reading / Friday at Leeds, American metalcore five piece Beartooth are added to the bill, and former Gallows frontman Frank Carter will be bringing his new band Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes, whileriff-tastic Bristol rockers Turbowolf, Moose Blood, Queen Kwong, Hawk Eyes, Single Mothers, Black Foxxesand Fort Hope are also now revealed for the stage.
FESTIVAL REPUBLIC STAGE
Fresh indie talent has been added to the line-up for the much-loved Festival Republic Stage, with Saint Raymond set to bring his joyous indie pop to the masses on Friday at Reading / Saturday at Leeds. Bombastic Scottish trio Prides, Bear’s Den, Vaults, Joywave, Eliza And The Bear and Hunter & The Bear are also revealed for the bill.
With new single ‘Our Eyes’ currently receiving huge radio support and fast-amassing buzz for her forthcoming second album, Lucy Rose will play second on the bill on Saturday at Reading / Sunday at Leeds, with Blossoms and Bad Breeding also added to the line-up.
Geordie heroes Little Comets will take to the stage on Sunday at Reading / Friday at Leeds, along with Mini Mansions, Gengahr, Hippo Campus, Sundara Karma, Black Honey and The Sherlocks.
BBC 1XTRA STAGE
One of the most exciting stages at the Festival, the BBC 1XTRA Stage sees British legend Ms Dynamite announced for Saturday at Reading / Sunday at Leeds, joined by visceral Tempa T, Loyle Carner, and Kiko Bun.
Dope D.O.D., Fekky, Siobhan Bell and Isaiah Dreads are revealed for the line-up on Sunday at Reading / Friday at Leeds, joining a bill which features some of the best urban talent the world has to offer.
The Summer Festival Guide is excited to announce a mammoth addition of fifty artists to the Reading and Leeds lineup for this summer.
This year sees one of the most spectacular Main Stage line-ups ever! Undisputed modern rock godsQueens Of The Stone Age and pop-rock superstars Paramore share headline duties alongside the completely inimitable Arctic Monkeys and pop-punk legends Blink-182.
With a supporting cast including Vampire Weekend, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, You Me At Six, Jake Bugg, Imagine Dragons, Foster The People and Deaf Havana there are now even more names set to tear up the Main Stage. Completing the line-up for the Main Stage are Brighton indie-punk duo Blood Red Shoes, Japanese metallers Crossfaith, Dry the River, Leeds boys Pulled Apart By Horses, punk trioGnarwolves, nu-metal luminaries Papa Roach, UK rock kings Young Guns and pop punk champions Tonight Alive and The Story So Far.
Over on the NME/Radio 1 Stage alongside headliners Courteeners, Bombay Bicycle Club and Disclosure will be UK anthemic rockers Twin Atlantic and last year’s Main Stage openers Mallory Knox. Also appearing are fellow newcomers Lonely The Brave, shoegazer, post punk festival veterans The Horrors, multidirectional TheKooks and Brooklyn based musician Twin Shadow.
Reading & Leeds continue to bring the best in electronic music and dance to the BBC Radio 1 Dance Stage with an exclusive performance from special guest Duke Dumont Live, AlunaGeorge,Gesaffelstein, The Glitch Mob,Borgore, Adventure Club, Snakehips and Electric Youth taking to the stage along with headliners Netsky Live, Pendulum DJ Set and Flume.
The unique sounds of Gypsy-punks Gogol Bordello and emotional rock heroes Jimmy Eat World will act as the perfect Lock Up Stage headliners, along with Brody Dalle, Möngöl Hörde and Architects.
Elsewhere, the headliners have been revealed for the Festival Republic Stage and they will be the riff-heavy Southampton group Band Of Skulls, garage rockers Palma Violets and the energetic Augustines.
Also appearing across the Festivals’ stages over the weekend will be A Wilhelm Scream, Baby Godzilla, Bear Hands,Bipolar Sunshine, Catfish And The Bottlemen, Darlia, Dave Hause, Every Time I Die,Hudson Taylor, Marika Hackman, Mayday Parade, Meridian Dan, P Money,PUP,Slaves, The Districts, The Flatliners, The Front Bottoms, The Orwells, The Skints,The Wonder Years, Touché Amoré and Wovenwar.
Hard Rock Calling today announced a further eight additions to this years lineup including Twin Atlantic, The Twang and Gaz Coombes. They join headliners Kasabian and Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band plus a host of other top acts. Hard Rock Calling takes place at a brand new home, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 June. Tickets are available but selling fast – get yours now by visiting www.hardrockcalling.co.uk.
Hard Rock Rising winners, The Carnaby’s, are also added to the lineup. The band fought their way to the top spot of the festival’s global search for the next big thing and won the chance to support Bruce Springsteen on the main stage.
Hard Rock Calling will kick off what will be the first show at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park since the London 2012 Games. The brand new venue offers festival goers a chance to see some of the world’s biggest names on stage at one of London’s iconic locations.
HARD ROCK CALLING FESTIVAL LINEUP SO FAR:
SATURDAY 29 JUNE 2013:
KASABIAN, PAUL WELLER, MILES KANE, TWIN ATLANTIC, KODALINE, THE WEEKS, THE CRIBS, KLAXONS, TRIBES, THE VIEW, THE TWANG, TWIN FORKS, DARK HORSES, NO, VUVU VOLTURES, GAZ COOMBES, ELIZA AND THE BEAR, SYD ARTHUR, MY PRESERVER, STEVE CRADDOCK, YELLOWIRE, CHINA RATS
SUNDAY 30 JUNE 2013:
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND, THE BLACK CROWES, ALABAMA SHAKES, DEAF HAVANA, THE CARNABY’S, LISSIE, LAWSON, FLAMIN GROOVIES, MAYER HAWTORNE, TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT, LONELY THE BRAVE, NEGRAMARO, JOSH DOYLE, CODY CHESNUTT, JOSH RECORD, BRUNO MAJOR, CROWNS
Many more acts and details still to be unveiled. For further information please visit www.hardrockcalling.co.uk.
