We’ve asked some of our writers to preview a few of this year’s festivals that they’re most looking forward to; to offer some idea of what the event is about, and to pick out a few bands and artists that they’re most excited about seeing perform. In this installment, we take a look at the End of the Road affiliated No Direction Home; the newly revamped Field Day and its sibling event The Apple Cart Festival; the inaugural Nova Festival, and Somerset’s Sunrise Celebration.

No Direction Home – by Nick Cowan

Website / Tickets

No Direction Home is a brand new festival from the makers of the much-loved End Of The Road (sadly, nothing to do with Boyz II Men). Expect everything that EOTR is renowned for – great acts, atmosphere and general all-round pleasantness, and all taking place on 8th–10th June in Sherwood Forest. There’s plenty to (friar) tuck into with highlights such as the multifaceted Andrew Bird, the folktastic Dirty Three, Richard Hawley, The Low Anthem and Veronica Falls, but the real draw is the promise of stress free festival-going. Like its sister festival, No Direction Home is that precious thing: a manageable size that makes discovering music an achievable treat, rather than the arduous chore it can seem when drudging round some of the bigger festivals. On top of all that, there’s a bunch of non-music stuff to do, including literature and comedy areas, a cinema and a host of fine foods and ales to sip by the campfire. Roll on summer.

Nova Festival – by Jimmy Blake

Website / Tickets

‘There has never been a worse time to start your own music festival,’ warns the blogosphere – and it’s probably right. But neither the collapse of established festivals nor an impending summer of ‘God save the Queens’ have stopped the intrepid organisers of new festival Nova from doing just that. With the South Downs as a backdrop, Nova promises a diverse range of performance from film and theatre to comedy and poetry all without even a hint of over crowding. Combine all this with hot tubs, an on onsite pub and musical highlights like Jessie Ware, Ghostpoet and tUnE-yArDs and its no surprise that early bird tickets have already sold out. Grab your wellies, because Nova is ready prove everybody wrong.

Field Day – by Sam Cleeve

Website / Tickets

This year’s Field Day should see the festival undergo something of a fresh start. Despite coming under heavy criticism in previous years for herding punters into a space the size of your nan’s backyard (perhaps unfairly – room has been restricted by the £8m Heritage Lottery refurbishment of Victoria Park), this year they’ve been able to expand the site once again. The lineup is as strong as ever – whistling polymath Andrew Bird and Balkan kingpins Beirut head up proceedings, while you can expect your buzz-band quote to be filled by Grimes and Theme Park, and the electronic side of things to be taken care of by the likes of Rustie and SBTRKT. With further enticement in the form of Scandinavian wunderkinds When Saints Go Machine and Brooklyn comic book sage Jeffrey Lewis, there’s little reason to stay away.

The Apple Cart Festival – by Russell Warfield

Website / Tickets

With Field Day having carved itself a robust reputation for providing incredible music in the heart of London one Saturday a year, it’s no wonder that it’s started to bleed into the Sunday as well. Although the park will be the same (albeit with a few empty plastic cups picked up, I’m imagining), The Apple Cart Festival does a great job of distinguishing itself from its sister event, cultivating a far more family-friendly atmosphere, and a much less music-orientated focus. Putting as much focus on the cabaret and the comedy as they do the musicians – featuring names like Sean Locke and Phil Jupitus – Apple Cart shapes up to be a very Sunday-ish Sunday festival indeed. Not that they’re scrimping on the music front, though – legendary acts like Billy Bragg sit on the line up alongside last year’s gut-punch provider Josh T. Pearson. There’s a narrower, more acoustic focus to Apple Cart compared to Field Day, but there’s no less eye for quality. And there’s loads of magicians too.

Sunrise Celebration – by Sebastian O’Dowd

Website / Tickets

Another year passes and festival season is round the corner, which can only mean one thing: making my way down to Bruton in Somerset for Sunrise, known for its green eco-friendly identity. This eco-friendly vision of theirs is inspiring and the return of the Solar Dance Village which runs around the clock just goes to show how well they use this solar power. Kitted out with 6 arenas and 35 venues and stages, one would expect a hefty lineup indeed, and that’s exactly what you get. Mungo’s HIFI will feature Soom T and Mr Williamz, with their reggae riffs accompanied with deep dub, while Laid Blak from Bristol bring a diverse unique sound to the stage – also a must see. The ASBO disco is set up with style and a host of beats and tunes on tap to keep you up all night, and Goodgroove, who is very much one with the funk, also deserves a mention. With a dose of electronica such as The EGG and Gaudi it’s safe to say that if you are in pursuit of happiness and fun you may look no further: Sunrise is the place to be.

Dot to Dot 2012

By Paul Faller

Website / Tickets

It’s arguable that the UK is beginning to suffer from festival fatigue – even big names like Sonisphere have fallen victim to the tough financial climate. With that in mind, city-based festivals are looking like more and more of an attractive proposition, providing the opportunity to pick from a myriad of bands for a fraction of the price of larger events, and with the added bonus that you can worry less about the weather and don’t need to sleep in a tent. Since its inaugural year in 2005, Dot to Dot has expanded from its roots in Nottingham to include dates in Bristol (since 2007) and Manchester (since 2010), establishing itself as an excellent event to catch both up-and-coming bands and more established acts – and this year looks to be no exception. The festival’s three-day stint starts in Bristol on Saturday 2nd June, then the action moves to Nottingham on Sunday 3rd June before finishing up in Manchester on Monday 4th June.

The headliners for this year’s festival are Brooklyn indie-popsters The Drums and ever-exuberant Leeds rockers Pulled Apart By Horses. Elsewhere on the bill there’s the blissful, sunny pop of Summer Camp, much-talked-about Bombay Bicycle Club collaborator Lucy Rose, resurgent American indie-folk troubadour Willy Mason, kings of lo-fi slacker-rock Wavves, and ultra-hip New York collective Friends. Or perhaps you might be more partial to Aussie psych-rockers Pond, some face-obliterating rock from Turbowolf, or the minimalist acoustic soul stylings of Willis Earl Beal. Fans of Odd Future will be excited to hear that Syd Tha Kid and Matt Martians will playing some of their first UK shows as The Internet at Dot to Dot this year, and Manchester even gets a nice bonus in the form of the trippy electro-pop of Neon Indian.

If all that wasn’t enough, you’ll find plenty of up-and comers further down the bill to turn your attention towards. There’s smouldering female-fronted rock from 2:54 (not in Bristol though, sorry), intriguing electronic indie from Clock Opera, grandiose, emotional folk from Admiral Fallow, Futureheads side-project Hyde & Beast, and the atmospheric indie rock of Deaf Club. Fans of lo-fi punk will find much to love in Cloud Nothings and The Men, while those looking for something a bit off the wall would do well to check out the brilliantly bonkers Islet or the one-man looping/beatbox machine ThePetebox. Also nestled in the middle of the lineup is Jake Bugg, who may well be this year’s biggest “catch him before he’s massive” artist – his retro, bluesy tracks have already been hyped by the likes of Zane Lowe and Steve Lamacq, and he’s currently on tour with Michael Kiwanuka.

Even after that bevy of talent, there are still more acts to be announced. Some of these exciting extras have sneakily appeared on the various Facebook events for the festival, including London gloom-rockers O.Children, sublime NY electro-indie duo The Hundred In The Hands, and a DJ set from Olugbenga of Metronomy. The final line-up and details of venue splits and stage times will be up on the Dot To Dot website soon, so keep an eye out there for all the details. With tickets still going for a measly £20 (plus booking fees etc etc), Dot To Dot is shaping up to be a fine way to spend a day during the next bank holiday weekend.

By Nick Levine (@nicklevine)

When planning the itinerary for last weekend’s festival of music and culture, it is surprising that despite being a resident of Camden, I have not heard of a number of participating venues taking place at the Crawl.

The journey on Saturday starts late in the afternoon at the Electric Ballroom to see Denmark’s The Rumour Said Fire. Playing to a sparse but gradually filling up room, the band zip through songs from their debut album The Arrogant. Vocalist Søren Lilholt has something of Chris Martin about him due to his designer stubble, chord jacket, thinning hairline and battered acoustic guitar. Musically, The Rumour Said Fire are proponents with a pleasingly sound similar to that of Fleet Foxes, which may yet become camp fire sing-alongs in the future.

Next up, after a short stroll to the Monarch, Echo Lake have the crowd worshipping at the feet of their sonic cathedral. Rolling back the years to the early ninties with their shoegazing sound, they may be revivalists but when the songs are this good it doesn’t really matter. Former single ‘Another Day’ is a particular stand out, and features soaring Nico-esque vocals across a reverb heavy sound.

Echo Lake

Over at Camden Rock, Jehst are working a pretty rambunctious crowd. If anything, they prove the naysayers wrong in their claims that the Crawl is only about indie music. With their unique blend of social dissatisfaction and Brit Hop, they are the heir to Plan B’s voice of the working class. Meanwhile, Icona Pop, the act which follows have a bratty pop sound which harks back to Mel & Kim. Despite a mixed set, future single ‘I Love It’ is a huge electro pop anthem in waiting for drunken dancefloors the land over. The night ends at The Enterprise to see the much vaunted Bastille. Squeezed into a humid and huddled venue, the band have an indie electro sound, and alongside their original material play a couple of covers of nineties Euro pop songs.

Sunday starts at The Lock Tavern to see new Wall Of Sound signing Echoes. Their big electro ballads go down with the punters as well as the Sunday roasts being served up. Heartbeat is a genuine anthem in waiting, and should be considered as a future candidate for England’s Eurovision entry. After a short stroll to St Michael’s church, we find Toy ripping through a set of prog influenced numbers. The setting is apt for them as their huge sound is complimented by the acoustics of the venue.

Bastille

The Colonel Fawcett is one of the newer venues  in Camden and on Sunday was hosted by Back To The Future Music. Highlights included the baggy stylings of Matter People, as well as Spacefight, a band at a very nascent stage but with their rock reggae sound definitely marking them out as an act to keep tabs on. The final stop of the evening was Micachu at the Jazz Café. Despite a very experimental sound, the room was packed to the rafters with a diverse audience. Cutting an androgynous figure, Micachu and her band played a set based on her debut Jewellery and forthcoming longplayer Nothing. Gaz Coombes at the Cuban was a show too far. All gigged out but satisfied, the only option was to return home for a much needed sleep.

Global Gathering

WIN! We’ve a pair of weekend tickets to this year’s Global Gathering to give away. To enter, simply ‘like’ us on Facebook, and answer the question in the comments below today’s post over there.

Winner will be chosen at random on Friday 6th July, and informed via Facebook. Entrants must be over 18 and will need to provide ID. More information about this year’s event after the jump.

GlobalGathering – the UK’s most diverse and progressive electronic music festival returns to Long Marston Airfield, Stratford Upon Avon on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th July featuring headline performances from Tinie Tempah, Chase & Status, Armin van Buuren, Skrillex, Friendly Fires, Chase and Status, Nero, Annie Mac, Sub Focus, Magnetic Man, Boy Better Know and many more promising to make the 2012 festival the highlight of the summer for dance music fans.

2012 boasts the festival’s most exciting line-up to date, with numerous spectacular live acts and DJs that span the entire electronic music spectrum, as well as a series of brand new arenas from some of the world’s most exciting promoters. From stadium straddling stars to industry insiders’ tips and the latest breaking acts, the festival team promise more live shows, epic productions, and groundbreaking arenas than ever before.

Find out more about GlobalGathering at www.globalgathering.com

Weekend General Admission Ticket: £105 + booking fee

Camping and car parking free of charge.

By Nick Levine (@nicklevine)

The Camden Crawl this year returns to North London bigger and better than ever. Taking place on the May Day Bank Holiday weekend (4-6 May), with over 300 acts across the spectrum of music, comedy and performance set to perform. The festival takes place across a plethora of different venues, with just one ticket allowing access to all. It’s a great way of sampling some hotly tipped bands and comedians without breaking the bank.

Originally a staple event in the Britpop calendar, the first festival took place in 1995 and mainly showcased small-time indie bands desperate to bag a gig. Since its inception, the festival has become an entirely different entity. The Camden Crawl is now an essential date in the festival calendar, a celebration of Camden’s rich musical and cultural heritage, and is known for showcasing the next big thing, as well as intimate sets by household names. In recent years this has even included Amy Winehouse performing a lager-soaked set at The Dublin Castle.

Part of the charm of the festival is not finding out the exact schedule until the day of the event. Accessing the itinerary on the afternoon of the event normally results in a mad rush to decide where to set up shop for the night, or plotting a strategic route in an effort to optimally catch the best action.

This year some of the new name acts to look out for include the hotly tipped, Heavenly Records-signed Stealing Sheep, the indie electro of Bastille, and nouveau chanteuse Lucy Rose. In terms of more established names, Gaz Coombes of Supergrass will showcase his new solo material, whilst The Futureheads (long term veterans of The Crawl) are likely to perform material from their new acappela album Rant.

Venues are curated by a smorgasbord of record labels and tastemakers including Club Fandango, Drowned In Sound and Last.FM, resulting in a genuine variety of genres. The interactive sessions see Hip Hop Karaoke returning to the Crawl, alongside pop quizzes from Rough Trade and Moshi Moshi Records. If culture is more your bag, Art History In The Pub, are participating by putting on a series of lectures at The Enterprise. One of them is set to be on representations of meat within art, which is surely something Lady Gaga would approve of.

Constellations 2011

By Russell Warfield

November 12, 2011

This year’s Constellations Festival was a double-decker treat for me. Not only was it a second straight year of excellent music at Leeds University Union (and only the second year in total, to boot), but it was also the first time that I managed to get back oop n’rth after graduating from the university earlier this year. Gorgeously decorated stages aside, it was a joy to roam around the place, enjoying performances, supping on pints which didn’t require me to sell a kidney to purchase. (Note to self: don’t just turn this into a review of how much you love Leeds)

One of the first major highlights of the day came in the form of Dutch Uncles – playing a handsomely populated Stylus (one of the bigger venues on offer at Constellations), providing a welcome indication that they aren’t staying as under the radar as I supposed them to be. Putting in a typically engaging and tight performance, Dutch Uncles even gave an airing to some promising new material alongside their usual gems of peppy melodies and spitting rhythms.

After that, came the first clash of the day in the form of Islet vs. Summer Camp. Since I’d seen Summer Camp a few times, and Islet only once (and harbouring a suspicion that a second Islet performance was unlikely to feel recycled) I plumped for Islet. Sadly, however, they were marred by the Riley Smith Hall – a vast, husk of a hall within which – wait for it – you were disallowed from taking in alcohol (?!) A major handicap for any daylong festival venue, it ensured that the vast, echoing hall was even emptier than it would have been anyway – a fact which did not well suit Islet, whose eccentric instrument swapping dynamism relies on a certain level of intimacy for its energy. Sneaking out to see the tail end of Summer Camp was rewarding, then, even if essentially a retread of any prior set of theirs.

Another clash then (a lot of them in fact – which is just a good thing as it is bad, in a sense), between Steven Malkmus and Braids. After kindly electing to open with the dirty mouthed new single ‘Senator’ (and sounding a hell of a lot more rockin’ than I expected), I begrudgingly left Malkmus to his own devices for the promise of seeing Braids in the smallest, most intimate venue of the festival. In the event, an absolutely ridiculous overrun of forty minutes for the most over-detailed sound-checking I’ve ever seen meant I could’ve done both – but, not to worry – Braids delivered what I wanted: beguiling, rolling textures taking their sweet time to build and release, fronted by a sensational sweeping vocal.

Perhaps the best set of the day came from the Antlers, who I’ve somehow managed to miss in the live setting on several occasions over the last few years. (So eager I was to see Antlers that I accepted the fate of going into prohibition at the Riley Smith, even at that point in the evening). Drawing mainly upon the new Burst Apart material, the Antlers provided a harder edge to their material than I was expecting, along with a less surprising command of emotive vocal. A very beautiful and transportative hour, leading very nicely into the headline act from Wild Beasts. They seem to headline everything - especially in Leeds – but, every time I think I might give them a miss, they remind me why I never tire of them. A spellbinding set drawing from the old stuff and the criminally underrated Smother, they provided a completely captivating climax to the evening – allowing for loads of space to envelop their crisp, rolling rhythm sections and trademark falsetto vocals. In all – a second triumph for Constellations, putting them at two for two, and providing me with an annual reason to make the pilgrimage back to my musical homeland.

Supersonic 2011

You’d be forgiven to believe that now the summer is over that so was the festival season. However you’d be wrong. Capsule’s Supersonic festival in Birmingham’s Custard Factory is an onslaught of extreme, experimental, noise, electronic and rock music, and one that will have any avante garde fan frothing at the mouth.

This year is Supersonic’s 9th invasion of the Custard Factory and has become the one of the most important events in every open minded music fan’s calendar. What sets it apart from many UK festivals is not only its genre bending line-ups where you can find anything from black metal to industrial noise but the workshops and films it provides alongside this.

This years line-up doesn’t fall short of yesteryear’s either – it’s draped in music of all kinds that we at Muso’s Guide can’t wait for:

Turbonegro, Bardo Pond, Kogumaza, The Skull Defekts, Alexander Tucker presents DORWYTCH CYCLE, Eternal Tapestry, Electric Wizard, Teeth of the Sea, The Berg Sans Nipple, Wolves in the Throne Room, ENVY, Cloaks, Pekko Kappi, Secret Chiefs 3, Fire! with special guest Oren Ambarchi, Slabdragger, Circle, Scorn, Zombi, Lucky Dragons, Cut Hands, Monarch, Supersonic Kids Gigs, Kill All Redneck Pricks: KARP LIVES! 1990-1998, a.P.A.t.T., Part Chimp, White Hills, Agathe Max, Pharaoh Overlord, Dirty Electronics: Mute Synth, Byetone, Nathan Bell, Barn Owl, Man with a Video Camera, Alva Noto, Zu93 (ZU and David Tibet), Antilles, Tony Conrad, Silver Apples, Astro

Supersonic is that it is a festival that will astonish and enlighten you at every turn with more than just sensory assaults, see for yourself:

By Russell Warfield

You’re probably tired of reading that it’s been A Bad Year for festivals, but Standon Calling have had a uniquely rocky twelve months. As bad as it might be to undersell your tickets by a significant margin a la Reading or Leeds, it’s almost unarguably worse to have to firefight the public discovery that the festival’s director had been funding his project through hundreds of thousands of pounds of embezzled money; an act which has wound him up in jail.

It’s to Standon Calling’s eternal testament, then, that the 2011 event even happened at all - and, more to the point, that it was pretty much as marvellous as ever. (And that’s even after a further kick in the teeth in the form of headliners Spiritualized pulling out just a week or so before the event. Kudos to whoever swooped in to take the reins this year – it’s been a thankless task in so many ways, so: thank you).

I was reluctant to even mention the whole Tescos debacle, but it’s ultimately unavoidable insofar as it was plain – when placed in comparison to last year’s event – that the piggy bank was a little drier this year. Ticket prices were up, the line up was arguably a little weaker, one of the stages had shrunk to a tiny little entity, the art instilations were less ambitious. But – and I can hardly stress this ‘but’ enough – it was still Standon Calling (and, to save you the trouble of consulting your thesaurus, it was still fucking amazing).

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

Sure, the line up was a little more shoestring-budget friendly, but there was still a plethora of absolutely astounding music; spread across a line up which presents one of its greatest strengths in sheer diversity. Saul Williams absolutely killed it, with his blend of intense rap and spoken word; the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble brought a Sunday afternoon crowd to life with their rousing horn arrangements; Azari and III provided an amazing house throwback set (essentially making an infinitely better version of that last Hercules and Love Affair record – who were still pretty vivid in the live setting, however); and Africa Express Soundsystem provided a lively end to proceedings.

But – in spite of a couple of lull in quality acts on paper – the success of Standon Calling is in the literal experience of the weekend. The joy is in the Sunday morning pool dip, the lolling around on the lawn outside the folk tent, the costumes and the people, the late night trips to the cowshed (or the horse box, or the toilet block – yes, all discos) – in short, the festival itself as an indivisible whole. Standon Calling 2011: conclusive proof that throwing all the money in the world at a festival doesn’t make a fucking damn of difference to the people who come, and the fun that they can have.

Leopallooza, by Hannah Wheeler (Daisyrock Photography)

Tucked away in The Wydes of North Cornwall, last weekend hosted one of the UK’s cutest festivals. Leopallooza is only in its 6th year but is growing each year – over 4,000 fans gathered into the usually sheep inhabited field for its two day event this year.

‘The Greatest House Party … In a Field’ was brought together by a team of hardworking volunteers all working completely free, with any profits reinvested into the next year. This attitude encompasses the feel of the festival – a festival made by friends for friends. Leopallooza boasts a relaxed DIY sense whilst still bringing in big talented names.

Saturday kicked off at midday, bringing a huge range of genres to appeal for everyone. Reggae enthusiasts enjoyed Cornwall’s biggest reggae act, Backbeat Soundsystem as well as The Skints from London, whose Marcia Richards has to be one of the most multitalented musicians, combining rapping, soulful vocals, trumpet, keyboard, melodica, flute and guitar into the band’s 30 minute set.

The Crowds saw the entire length of the audience link together to jig along to their bouncing tunes, and Man Like Me made Leopallooza the most spectacular yet for many by stealing the show.

Leopallooza Crowd, by Hannah Wheeler (Daisyrock Photography)

Going late into the Saturday night alternative band Wolf Gang and kiwi rockers The Datsuns kept the music loud and pumping. For those who preferred club life, the new Rampant Rabbit dome replicated an Ibiza rave – excellent for those wanting to burn off some steam. Meanwhile, a car burnout provided excellent heating for ‘pallooza goers feeling the night chill.

The Sunday soother brought the tempo down to chill out and recover from the previous night’s madness. Smoothies, tea, coffee and cake accompanied the acoustic melodies brought to the festival goers by Norwegian artist Jarle Bernhoft, who surprised many with his rhythmical guitar tapping, and Company B getting even the most reluctant jiving in the damp air. However it was James Vincent McMorrow who stole Sunday’s show. A drummer down, James himself stepped in to play the drums whilst holding his amazing vocals to close the weekend.

But we mustn’t forget about some of the quirky delights that also featured at Leopallooza, such as much of the balloon fashion that was spotted in the forms of dresses and wings. Kids fell in love with Box Bot, the cardboard robot, and there was face painting and the conspicuous hanging bra that adorned the stage’s antlers.

Team ‘Pallooza, particularly the founders Lee Ellis and Sam Dunnett, should be proud of their enormous efforts and can surely expect even more of us next year.

By Charlotte Gay. Images by Hannah Wheeler (Daisyrock Photography).

13-15 May, 2011

We live in hard times, friends. Not hard like it was back in the 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s obviously, or even the early 80s of course but you know, bread is pricey these days, so pretty damn hard. The enforced economic cutbacks are far reaching and have inevitably spread to everyone’s favourite indie-cred festival, ATP. Now down to just one May festival from the previous years’ 2, one will become none in 2012 due to a big dip in ticket sales caused by all manner of possible reasons; a perceived lack of quality in the curators and invitees of recent years, too much choice in the festival peak season, general overkill and that phrase much used of late: ‘tightening of the belt’.

FRIDAY

After our first ever traffic issues getting to Butlins and then sorting out an apartment mix up (we’re given non catering accommodation when we ordered otherwise), I am verging on desperate for my first ale of the weekend and this is accompanied by the lo-fi solo ditties of Highlife. It’s a gentle musical introduction, pleasant enough but fairly forgettable. Dent May was a bit of a let down when he was behind his promising ‘magnificent ukulele’, now strumming a standard acoustic, he is even less interesting than before.

At this point, it’s clear to see that numbers are well down on previous festivals (rumours suggest that only 55% of the ticket allocation was sold) and this leads to some pros; MUCH shorter queues at the bar, less packed stages, and some cons too; no Pavilion stage, less atmosphere. Lee Scratch Perry tries his very best to get the smaller crowd whipped up and he’s pretty successful at it. It’s not often you’re in the presence of a supposed legend and while the 70 year old’s archetypal reggae gets my toe-a-tapping and my head-a-bobbing it doesn’t quite get my pulse-a-racing. Extra marks to the stylish pensioner though for wearing the most ostentatious outfit of the weekend; a kind of mashup of a German World War 1 uniform, adorned with Prince style robotic chrome. 

Grouper‘s slight soundscapes are just too minimal to make any kind of connection. Perhaps this is a timing thing following on from Mr Perry but I’ve seen plenty of similar acts who have made a far greater impression from equally slight levels of output. Big Boi, on the other hand, is far from minimal. As the name would suggest, he is big and boisterous and though hip-hop is far from my favourite genre of music, Mr Boi is surprisingly engaging.

SATURDAY

The Meat Puppets (Photo by Peter Harris)

Saturday starts with the footy and the successes of Manchester – this puts a smile on this United fan’s face and on the face of my City following festival accomplice. The Meat Puppets only add to the joy, playing their classic album Up on the Sun in its entirety. Although the album is 26 years old and some of these songs may never have even been played live, the set is a clear front runner for act of the weekend. The brothers Kirkwood clearly still revel in playing live music and they thank Animal Collective for setting up the obstacle course of having to re-familiarise themselves with an album over a quarter of a century old.

Ariel Pink looks like a trouble maker. Awkwardly hunched over, with arms loosely swinging, there’s an air of petulance surrounding him as if he’s always only 30 seconds away from a tantrum. An unlikely front man embodying the stage apprehension of Kurt Cobain with the apparent temperament of Axl Rose; the music however is miles from either. Pink’s Haunted Graffiti are a total anachronism playing music from 2010 which sounds like it’s from 1979 in that era of slight cheese before the big fromage of the new romantics came along. It takes a while to click but when it does, our group all agree that the show is surprisingly enjoyable.

Beach House are an absolute joy. The set list is wisely heavy on Teen Dream and Victoria Legrand’s voice fills the room magnificently, never better than on my favourite song of last year, ‘Zebra’. Kurt Vile and The Violators, in contrast, prove to be disappointingly bland, lacking all the spark that made them a fairly enticing prospect on record. 

At this stage, I am probably less excited about seeing Animal Collective than any of the past ATP curators. I really like Merriweather Post Pavillion but having seen them before and knowing how they work live, ie, they don’t tend to actually play their songs, choosing instead to ‘jam’, improvise and rework, the pull of bed seems equally if not more enticing. But when in Rome…

And to be fair to Panda Bear and co, they work so much better here then when I last saw them. Yes, if you’re waiting to hear ‘the hits’, you are going to be sorely disappointed but the disco party vibe they create is actually pretty good. I don’t manage anywhere near the 90 mins of the set but I’m happy while it lasts.

SUNDAY

Deep Fried Mars Bar

The cut backs strike again Sunday lunch time as we head into Minehead for our traditional Sunday roast in the slightly ramshackle yet charming pub, The Hobby Horse. As we near the door though, our hearts sink with disappointment as we see a pile of unopened post behind it. The Hobby Horse is no more. We find an alternative but it’s just not the same without the drunken locals and scabby carpet. At least my wife is able to continue her somewhat icky tradition of grabbing a deep fried Mars Bar from the local chippy (well, I say icky but they’re actually much better than they look, or smell for that matter).

Later, Group Doueh gives ATP a new unlikely hero. As Doueh and his band belt out their Hendrix flavoured traditional African/Arabian music (yep, really), one of the band’s 3 backing singers OWNS the stage. Possibly the second oldest artist at the festival after Lee Scratch Perry, she shakes her shawled booty across the stage, milking the cheers with a near constant double thumbs-up gesture. Only at ATP! The Entrance Band then bring us back down to earth with a boom of a bass. Paz Lenchantin, previously of Perfect Circle and Zwan is the true lead of this band though she doesn’t sing. Her prominent bass grooves are the anchor for the fairly straight forward psychedelic rock trio. They’re a welcome slice of normality.

The brief taste of normality, however, is skewed again as Prince Rama begin their set. They are a female duo, comprised of simple percussion and keyboard/samples, backed with Far Eastern-tinged vocals. Joining them on stage is a quite beautiful bharatanatyam (classical Indian) dancer who aptly represents the duo’s output. The immersion is only slightly broken when we find that the traditional Indian dancer is called Melissa!

We want to like Tickley Feather more. Annie Sachs is very excited to be here, infectiously interacting with the crowd in between songs. But it’s the songs that let her down today in a set which is far, far too quiet. The potentially pretty music ends up sounding wet and insipid. Sorry to say, but TF are the let down of the weekend.

As the weekend draws to a close we catch 2 more, polar opposite acts. Atlas Sound is gentle and swirly and simple, Bradford Cox once again at ATP, comes over like a shy, bumbling geek. It’s nice and that adjective is all that’s required. Gang Gang Dance throw everything and the kitchen sink into their music, some of it sticks but in general it sounds like a chaotic and often annoying mess. 

I have mixed feelings as we drive home. The dominant one is back ache but that’s to be expected. I am a bit sad that there will be no more May ATPs for the foreseeable future. Minehead has its charms in the spots of pleasant weather that May occasionally brings. But as you may have gathered from the above ramblings, this has not been the strongest ATP in terms of music, in fact, this is easily the weakest lineup of the 7 festivals I’ve been to. It wouldn’t have swayed me from booking next May’s however because regardless of who curates and who is invited, ATP is the only festival of the year which I absolutely cannot miss. I’ll be back in December.