Review: Butserfest 2016 // Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Petersfield // 10.09.16

A festival reaching 10 years old is a big occasion especially for a small festival, just this summer the critically acclaimed 2000Trees turned 10. Likewise Cardiff’s legendary Swn Festival turns 10 in October. However on a wet rainy Saturday in East Hampshire it was the turn of the UK’s largest alcohol and drug free music festival – Butserfest.

The One Hundred @ Butserfest

In 2006 Butserfest burst on to the scene preaching an alternative music festival for everyone - no drunk boisterousness and nutty youths with pupils so wide they don’t have an iris – but instead a community festival where everyone no matter age, gender or whatever can have a great time. It’s the festival where many 14 year olds have their first mosh pits, 10 year olds come to their first festival and now, with the festival in its 10th year, 20-somethings coming back to relive those glory days.

This year the festival, as usual, had a brilliant line up of up & coming bands in the alternative scene. Celebrating not just breakthrough acts but excellent local ones to. Flashfires – last year’s local introducing stage headliner – opened up the main stage with probably the most indie set of the whole day, bouncy and fun their sound translated brilliantly from the small stage to the large one. The other stand out local band - Our Hollow, Our Home – are almost festival regulars now having played the last 3 years on the trot, working their way further up the bill with each performance. Their hardcore style gracing the main stage for the second year running.

Creeper @ Butserfest

One of the best parts of Butserfest is that bands love it, they come back year after year to play a higher slot as their career progresses. For example last year’s headliners Don Broco first played after the release of their debut album over 3 years before they brought the festival to a close. Likewise with this year’s top two bands Mallory Knox & Young Guns. Both during their sets spoke extremely kindly of Butserfest and the impact it had on their careers. Both bands went on to play incredible sets and both hae albums on the way – certainly ones to look for in the near future.

Possibly the most interesting and anticipated set of the weekend was Creeper. In the midst of an elaborate publicity stunt with clues around the internet it is thought the band are sitting on an album. Not only that but the band are from half an hour down the road and they delivered a storming set to what seemed like a home festival crowd designed for them.

Despite a wet and cold day, the music and atmosphere of Butserfest brought a smile to everyone’s face and on it’s 10th birthday, it truly delivered as a festival.

-Luke

Mallory Knox @ Butserfest

Review: HUB Festival // Cardiff // 26-28.08.16

Fire Fences @ HUB festival

Sometimes a festival is more than just a collection of artists playing music. Occasionally they become a real experience  and the atmosphere at HUB festival caused it to become exactly that. A local showcase highlighting brilliant artists and promoters from Cardiff and South Wales, HUB festival is everything that is good about the Cardiff music scene. With variety and quality running right through the heart of the line up coupled with the atmosphere of a street party come carnival, HUB fest was really unmissable this year

Wetpainttt @ HUB festival

A great place to start looking for those brilliant local artists in the festival was the Moon Club stage. With part of the Saturday run by the local Young Promoters Network and Sunday's promoters including Luckyman Records the stage was packed with the best up and coming indie bands. At the moment this is the real highlight in the Cardiff scene. Welsh indie rock old timers like Stereophonics, Feeder and Manic Street Preachers still hold influence in this scene but with the rise of Catfish & The Bottlemen and Pretty Vicious there has been a subtle shift in welsh indie. Two brilliant examples of this over the two days were Himalayas and The Fused.

Crinkle Cuts @ HUB festival

Fresh off of their first headline show in July The Fused brought their usual energy to the festival. With catchy songs like 'Are You Ready For Dance?' and 'Buskers and Beggers' already in their arsenal they are quickly growing a reputation as one of the best local live bands in Cardiff.

Having released their EP midweek, Himalayas showed off their new material brilliantly live. Think rock and roll infused indie rock with slight punk influences and that's Himalayas. With a massive sound similar to that of Pretty Vicious the band, rightly so, carry a confidence and swagger comparable to a band that have been touring for years.

Mike Dennis @ HUB festival

However this festival isn't just about the mainstream and indie, its about the slightly obscure stuff you wouldn't otherwise see but are a pleasant surprise. One of the highlights in this area was Crinkle Cuts.

Playing late on the outside Courtyard stage, Crinkle Cuts and their blend of funk and ska had the late night crowd off their feat and jigging along, With a great energy and engaging onstage personality they had the Saturday night crowd wrapped around their fingers and baying for more. Their set finished with a cover of The White Stripes 'Seven Nation Army' in a ska style, Crinkle Cuts hit the nail on the head.


Another exercise in the diversity in the festival came on Sunday night with the City Arms stage headlined by Mike Dennis. One man, a loop machine and a violin is apparently all you need now to create a brilliant and different sound. Occasionally political hip-hop styled rapping contrasted the technical and layered violin while somehow working brilliantly.

Himalayas @ HUB festival

This was the real story of HUB fest. From the street party filled with freestyle MC's and DJ's to the venues packed with every weird and wonderful genre - HUB fest celebrates diversity and once a year creates a little blissful bubble in the heart of the capital.

Preview: 2000Trees Festival, Cheltenham // 7th-9th July

In 4 weeks time I'm going to be heading to 2000Trees festival for the first time. It's a much talked about festival and one highly respected as a place to find some of the top up & coming talent. Based in Cheltenham the festival is in it's 10th year and previously had the likes of Frank Turner, Guillemots, Frightened Rabbit & Deaf Havana headline. This year Scottish indie band Twin Atlantic and punk legends Refused headline and it's a year not to be missed.

We're going to do this preview a little differently (as I'm going to the festival) and I'm going to share with you the bands I'll be seeing each day.

Thursday:

• Max Raptor // The Cave
• Oxygen Theif // Axiom
• Milk Teeth // The Cave
• Black Peaks // The Cave
• We Were Promised Jetpacks // The Cave
• Beans On Toast // Axiom
• *Special Guest* // Axiom

Max Raptor are the first band on over the weekend and they are definitely one of my favourites. Having released their 3rd album this year (Stereo Brain rating: 7.5/10) and with a slowly growing fan base they'll bring some of Britains best punk to the festival. Milk Teeth, aswell, will be bringing some of the UK's best early on in the festival. Compared to the likes of Nirvana and early Weezer their debut album Vile Child brought a modern take on 90's grunge to the excellent list of music released this year.

Black Peaks are another band ruffling feathers this year, their debut album Statues received amazing reviews from critics far and wide (Stereo Brain rating: 8.5/10) and was featured heavily on iTunes. Tipped for big things they will be one to watch at this years festival.

Possibly my favourite Scottish band from the line-up We Were Promised Jetpacks also grace The Cave stage this year. Their brilliant blend of indie rock will certainly something to look forward to with the added bonus of possibly hearing some new material with a 4th album supposedly on the way.

Most interestingly, however, for the Thursday is the 'Special Guest' headlining the Axiom stage which will be taken over by Xtra Mile Recordings for the day - a label most famously known through their success with Frank Turner.....

Friday:

• Vant // Main Stage
• Press To Meco // Axiom
• The Smith Street Band // Main Stage
• Moose Blood (Acoustic) // Forest Stage
• Kagoule // Axiom
• Will Varley // The Croft
• Neck Deep // Main Stage
• Basement // The Cave
• Twin Atlantic // Main Stage

Opening the main stage on Friday are the brilliant Vant who will bring their brilliant brand of fast paced indie-punk and possibly be one of the best smaller bands of the weekend. Also taking to the main stage on Friday are Australian pop punky band The Smith Street Band who having released 3 albums have a slowly growing fan base in the UK.

Press To Meco and Kagoule will be punking-up the Axiom stage, both bands have a cult following and Kagoule's debut album 'Urth' even breached the UK vinyl top ten last year!

Will Varley is another addition to the lineup from Xtra Mile Recordings, his funny and often initmate live shows should translate brilliantly to a festival of this size and will be one you don't want to miss.

Closing off the day on the main stage are generic pop punkers Neck Deep and scottish indie-rockers Twin Atlantic. Don't be fooled by Neck Deep's teenage following their show will be raucous and full of mayhem. Twin Atlantic, headlining the festival for the first time, will put on one hell of a show and have the whole festival up & off their feet. With a new album on the way too there may be a chance for fans to get a glimpse of the new material.

Saturday:

• Itch (of King Blues) // Forest Stage
• Creeper // Main Stage
• Black Foxxes // The Axiom
• Arcane Roots // Main Stage
• The King Blues // Main Stage
• Tigercub // The Croft
• Black Honey // The Croft
• Refused // Main Stage

Refused, the fathers of modern punk, will close off the festival on the Saturday with a raucous and messy show. However there are many acts to catch before them on that day.

The King Blues recently returned from what was thought to be a final split to release a new EP 'Off With Their Heads', we saw them support Enter Shikari in Cardiff and will definitely be high up our list to see on a packed Saturday.

Despite being headlined by one of the oldest bands at the Festival, Saturday is about the youth. Excellent young bands like Tigercub, Black Honey, Creeper and Black Foxxes all take the stage. Black Foxxes long awaited debut is out soon and both Black Honey and Creeper are hotly tipped to make waves wherever they go. DO NOT MISS THEM!

Sunday:

There isn't any music on the Sunday. This is pack up, leave and nurse your hangover day.

2000Trees is one of the best festivals out there for new and upcoming acts and we can not wait to hit it up!

If it tickles your fancy, tickets are available HERE

Preview: HOYfest // The Gate Arts Centre, Cardiff // 18 - 19.11.16

Cardiff festival HOYfest is taking place in November this year and even with only 11 bands announced at this early stage HOYfest 2016 is looking like must for any Cardiff-based music fans this November.

Cwmbran based A/M/B/E/R and Cardiff based Himalayas bring the local youth to the lower end of the line up with Himalayas recently gracing top local venue Clwb Ifor Bach as part of the line up for Xpresstival. Bringing cracking bass-lines and stunning indie rock to the ground floor of the venue, there's no doubt they'll tear apart the stage at HOYfest too.

Cardiff band Tibet headlined Xpresstival on the same day and are also appearing at HOYfest and with a EP ready to launch and upcoming dates which include supporting Kaiser Chiefs, they're a band ready to just take off.

More welsh talent comes in the forms of Bandicoot and Rainbow Maniac, both bringing their own very different sounds to the stage. Bandicoot's distinctive vocals add substance to a well travelled indie sound and could be compared to Swindon based Nudybronque. Swansea band Rainbow Maniac bring some thumping blues rock to the festival, with funky riffs and dancy tunes, they'll have the whole festival off their feet.

The Cradles bring a melancholy indie rock that echoes of bands such as The Big Moon; certainly a style which is popular in the current musical climate. The band have a highly anticipated single out later this year and it'll definitely be one to catch on the stage of HOYfest.

Judas from London bring chilled-out indie to the stage and are definitely for fans of bands like Coasts and Catfish & The Bottlemen. Along the same lines we have Cupid who released catchy single 'Kickin' In' in March and will be another act not to miss in November.

The Bulletproof Bomb are a Sutton based band that reek of indie bands old and new combining a mish mash of sounds. Imagine somewhere between The Clash and The Courteeners and you'll arrive at The Bulletproof Bomb. With such a big sound, they deserve a place high up the line up and will grace the main stage at HOYfest just below the headliners.

Friday Headliners - The Milk

The Milk are the Friday headliners for HOYfest and it's a seriously good capture. Their second album 'Favourite Worry' was released in 2015 to high critical acclaim including being runner up in Stereo Brain's Album of 2015 award as well as being chosen as one of BBC Radio 6 Music's albums of the year.

Their funky, soulful style incorporates catchy hooks and pop beats as well as excellent song writing and indie elements. While being excellent on record, The Milk also have a formidable live reputation which means they are a must see in November.

Small Bands at Big Festivals // Download 2016

Main Stage
Alien Ant Farm
Beartooth
The Temperance Movement

Encore Stage
The Ammity Afliction
TesseracT
Bury Tomorrow

The Temperance Movement @ Y Plas, Cardiff

3rd Stage
Black Peaks
Turbowolf
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
Attila

Black Peaks are playing the 3rd Stage at Download

4th Stage
Palisades
Milk Teeth
Slaves (US)
Dead!

More Small Bands At Big Festivals HERE

Small Bands At Big Festivals // Reading 2016

Main Stage
Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
Sundara Karma
Slaves (UK)
State Champs

Frank Turner @ The Railway Inn, Winchester

Radio 1/NME Stage
Hinds
Sunset Sons
Blossoms
Black Foxxes
Spring King
Rat Boy
Tonight Alive

The Pit/ Lock Up Stage
Creeper
Hacktivist
Dead!
Milk Teeth
ROAM
Modern Baseball
The King Blues

The King Blues @ The Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff

Festival Republic Stage
The Sherlocks
VANT
The Hunna
Tibet

VANT @ Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff

More Small Bands At Big Festivals HERE

Dim Sŵn // Cardiff // 09.04.16

"Sŵn is pronounced soon and is welsh for sound" read the T-shirts of those working at the well known local multi-venue Cardiff festival. Dim Sŵn is the smaller one-day cousin of the bigger Sŵn Festival that takes place in the Autumn of every year and this year it will do for the 10th time.

DIm Sŵn, while being smaller, still has the same excellent quality of up and coming acts as Sŵn. Ispent my day finding some exciting and interesting but lesser know acts around the festival.

Bryony Sier // Undertone

Being the first act on at the festival Bryony was treated to a packed venue who all listened keenly to her refreshing country/folk style. A style and song-writing that wouldn't go out of place in Nashville, Tennessee.

HVNTER // Undertone

More than slightly different to the first act, HVNTER echoes the stye of music from the likes of Jack Garratt. With a series of original songs and a mash up of Justin Beiber and Drake, their act was very warmly received.

Grace Petrie  10 Feet Tall

Political and acoustic are the two words you need to describe Grace Petrie. With rant like songs about the politics of today and the future she was a refreshing listen not only musically but in her message. Much of the time her style reminded me to that of The Homeless Gospel Choir and Beans On Toast not only in the song content but the way she conducted herself on stage.

Orla Gartland // 10 Feet Tall

Quiet, acoustic and thoughtful, Orla Gartland pulled a large crowd to the cosy upstairs of 10 Feet Tall. With a brilliant voice and lyrically beautiful songs, she's a must listen for fans of Gabrielle Aplin and Lucy Rose.

LUK // Undertone

LUK are something a bit different, they incorporate deep house sounds with a distinctive singing style to create a dark, unpolished but interesting sound.

Benedict Benjamin // 10 Feet Tall

Having recently released his debut album Benedict Benjamin took to the stage at Dim Sŵn to perform his newest material. Melancholy and depressing in the extreme, his lyrics and sound is like a miserable lullaby but a brilliant and beautiful one at that.

Island // Four Bars at Dempsey's

Some more chilled out indie awaited upstairs in Four Bars. Island's chilled out guitar twangs and echoey sound filled the room brining bliss and relaxation to everyone in the room. The band from London have a lovely sound and style and may be one to look for in the future.

Ofelia // Undertone

Ofelia - a sex piece alt-folk band from South Wales - were a great edition to the Young Promoters stage in Undertone. Great fun and with an enjoyable folk style that makes you want to jig in the middle of the dance floor.

CaStLeS // Four Bars at Dempsey's

Welsh psychedelic indie rock band CaStLeS took to the upstairs stage to an almost packed venue. They say their songs are inspired by the wilderness of their studio but there sound is nothing but empty, interesting and full it sounds similar to that of Black Honey.

Upbeat Sneakers // Undertone

Undertone closed the night with 8-piece ska band Upbeat Sneakers, a band seriously not be missed. The group, from Merthyr, Wales, are going on to support the one and only Madness in July alongside hotly tipped Pretty Vicious. You can really see why though, exciting and energetic with catchy songs and many layers of sound in their music, they are an excellent live experience and a handful for any soundman!

The Big Moon // Clwb Ifor Bach

The Big Moon are an all female alternative four piece from London. Tipped for big things they headlined the stage upstairs in Clwb Ifor Bach and they had an almost full room bouncing to every note.

Dim Sŵn has a very special feel about it with nothing but smiles and excitement from punters and workers alike, it is a wonderful festival. For those of you who missed it, make it to the main event this Autumn - Sŵn Festival!

2016 Festivals Not Miss That Cost a Bit Less

Everyone like a good festival, nothing better than a weekend filled with mud, drink and good music. These are the ones that, if you can, you should go to!

Hevy Fest (Derbyshire)

With a stellar line up of metal and alternative bands and Enter Shikari confirmed as Saturday headliners as well as the likes of Refused, La Dispute, Hacktivist, Arcane Roots and Max Raptor All of which are stereo brain favourites) it's definitely one not to miss and an absolute snip for under £100!

2000Trees Festival (Cheltenham)

Another cheap festival where you'll get more than your money's worth. Twin Atlantic and Refused are joined by more Stereo Brain favourites in the form of The Smith Street Band, Kagoule, Max Raptor and Jim Lockey. It promises to be an incredible weekend.

Blissfields (Winchester)

This small festival in a tiny field in Winchester have nailed themselves an awesome line up this year. Headliners Dizzee Rascal and Everything Everything will be joined by some of our favourite bands! To name a few: Spring King, Dub Pistols, Sundara Karma, Beans On Toast, Will Varley and one of our favourite bands of 2015 MOK are all fantastic!

Victorious Festival (Portsmouth)

Not much announced for this one yet but the line-up already looks great with Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Manic Street Preachers, The Levellers, Jack Savoretti and Echo & The Bunnymen all taking to the stages by the sea.

Y Not Festival (Derbyshire)

Another festival with Noel Gallagher taking a headline spot, accompanied by fantastic bands like Catfish & The Bottlemen, Everything Everything and Circa Waves as well as up and coming Uk talent int the form of Rat Boy, Pretty Viscious and New Desert Blues, this another festival which is an absolute steal for the price

2015 Review

Between the 26th February to the 23rd December I saw 100 bands, safe to say 2015 has been a good year, here are my highlights.

New Bands

The best thing about seeing so many bands is that some you may never had heard before. Bands like Slaves (who I saw on a whim in May), Nothing But Thieves, Pretty Vicious, Wonk Unit and Arcane Roots. All fantastic, but for me 2 small, maybe unrecognised bands stood out above the rest: The Lion & The Wolf and MOK.

I saw both for the first time at Blissfields (full review here) and they were both incrdible. MOK are a genre breaking band with elements of electronic, hip hop and rock all mashed together, a live spectacle and all round pleasing to the ears. Having featured on local BBC introducing radio shows I'm hoping 2016 will be a good year for them because they are a fantastic band.
The Lion and The Wolf are very different for MOK, I saw lead singer Tom (also at blissfields) do a solo performance in a tiny acoustic tent. It was a beautiful set incorporating songs from his first album 'Symptoms' and new material as well as a cover of Death Cab For Cutie's 'I Will Follow You Into The Dark' which reduced my friend to tears. With a new album coming out this year again I'm hoping this artist has a great year,

The Lion and The Wolf @ Blissfields

MOK @ Blissifelds

Incredible Shows

This last year I've some absolutely incredible shows... Foals' secret at Reading Festival, Frank Turner at the tiny The Railway Inn in Winchester, a raucous Southampton show from Modern Baseball, the list goes on. By far my favourite, however, was the first of the three times I saw Slaves.

For the whole of April my friend had been bugging me to go to a gig with him, I'd never heard of the band before but I agreed to it, bought my ticket and the night on looked them up on youtube. I was blown away, Slaves blew me away. I spent all the next day buzzing for the gig, having bought the two singles I could find they'd released - "The Hunter" and "Where's Your Car Debbie" - I spent all day with them on repeat and boy did they deliver a show. To this day every time I think about this show, even as I'm writing this now, I get goosebumps. What a show, what a band and what a 2015 they've had.

Slaves @ Cardiff Students Union Great Hall

Frank Turner @ The Railway Inn

Amazing Festivals

This year I managed 5 Festival; Blissfields, Wickham Festival, Reading Festival, Butserfest and Dials Festival. All of which where incredible and I definitely plan on attending in 2016 as well as hopefully more!

But a special shoutout goes to Dials Festival, a small multi-venue festival in Portsmouth. A fantastic line-up with up and coming bands like Kagoule, Black Honey and Hooton Tennis Club and well deserving of their ULX festival award for Best Non-Camping Festival. (full review here)

FlashFires @ Dials Festival

Kagoule @ Dials Festival

Stunning Albums

Not only has this year been an amazing year for live music for me there have been some amazing, o many I had real trouble picking our shortlist let alone the winner! Here's our nominated acts:

Our Album Of The Year Selection

2016...

I am really looking forward to 2016! I have bands to see like the Temperance Movement, Neck Deep, Will Varley, The Algorithm, Front Bottoms and Wolf Alice to name but a few. As well as many festivals to go to.
Not only that we should have some mega albums this year with LCD Soundsystem, Kings Of Leon, Frightened Rabbit, Modern Baseball, Two Door Cinema Club and Moose Blood all in the studio or with albums ready to release. 2016 should be an amazing year for music.