Festival season has been a blast, but we’re so looking forward to touring season this autumn/fall. Before that though, here’s a catch up on the best of the best live reviews of the past week.
Bristol Harbour Festival - 21st - 23rd July | Amphitheatre, various venues
As dark clouds loomed over, hopes of a rain-free weekend had pretty much vanished. But armed with a pac-a-mac and a pint in hand, the weather forecast didn’t stop the thousands attending the 45th annual Bristol Harbour Festival. Read more.
Leopallooza Festival - 28th - 30th July | The Wyldes, Cornwall
Leopallooza was the festival that the elements couldn’t sink. On a weekend when the heavens opened and other UK festivals were inundated (both with precipitation and subsequent online gripes), the self-proclaimed ‘house party in a field’ goretexed up (or donned Speedos in one bloke’s case) and proved that the human spirit is essentially waterproof anyway. Read more.
Farmfest - 28th - 29th July | Gilcombe Farm, Somerset
Farmfest, the festival where the majority of the Bristol music scene packs up and sets up camp in a muddy fields of Gilcombe Farm. What’s not to love?! Truthfully, it attracts international acts just as well, but with seven stages forming a hug of creative energy, and a family focus attracting a sprinkling of tiny hippy monsters on the scene, it feels pretty homely. With a culmination of acts from rock, folk and hip-hop colliding with late night house and techno, it’s impossible not to find something you like. Read more.
Saul Williams - 21st July | The Fleece
The quiet attentive vibe very quickly altered once Saul Williams took to the stage. Flanked with newspaper cutting looking images overlaid in Andy Warhol colouring with phrases and lyrics strewn across them “rebellious gene”, “avatardust” they flickered in random sequence. Joined by the grinding stretched out industrial backing music; the dystopian feel of 2016 album MartyrLoserKing could be felt from every angle. Beginning with its opening track ‘Groundwork’ Saul darted about the unevenly lit stage as the bass gradually increased to wall trembled levels. Read more.
Kate Nash - 6th August | O2 Academy
Most people remember Kate Nash as a sassy, English accented indie-pop star, with a knack for slamming her exes with a catchy chorus or two. While she’s continued to create music since her 2007 debut, no release has made an impact like Made of Bricks; spawning singles ‘Mouthwash’, ‘Pumpkin Soup’ and of course, ‘Foundations’, it’s truly an album that captures the spirit of the late 00s indie-pop scene. Read more.
Come back next week for more live reviews of the best shows in Bristol.
