Shambala 2015!

Now some of you may know I went away for two weeks with the festival catering company I work with, called The Hurly Burly (Great food, incredible music, the yummiest cakes ever, check it out). Anyway, the first weekend I spent at Shambala, a wonderful, little festival in Northampton. It's has one of the smallest sites I have seen this season, however still has 12 stages with plenty to see and do, even into the early hours of the morning. 

So I got there on the Thursday afternoon, caught up with my lovely friends/ colleagues and went out to explore the site. It was great to see a different set of stalls to the ones you see at every festival and as this was my first time at Shambala I wasn't sure what to expect, so it made a pleasant surprise.

Friday was when the main music started! There were very few artist I had listen to before at Shambala, but lots of names I recognised from other festival line ups. So I was very excited to find new bands and artist to start listening too. The first band I saw after I finished work on Friday was this awesome band called Electric Swing Circus. They were on the main stage, although they did have their own stage at Shambala, called Swingamajig Speakeasy. If you hadn't guessed Electric Swing Circus is a Electro Swing band. They had me dancing from the get go! Straight after Electric Swing Circus on the main stage was Dizraeli and the Small Gods (In case you don't know, I missed them at Green Man festival, so I was desperate to see them before they broke up). I first heard Dizraeli and the Small Gods psychedelic hip-hop sound at Green Man 2012, I liked them so much I even bought a T-shirt. It was great to see them at Shambala, one of their favourite festivals, they bought so much energy to the stage and are really different to your average 6 - piece band. I spent the next couple of hours grabbing some yummy food, and shopping for sparkly things. Until 9pm when I went to see one of my friend's friend DJing at Swingamajig Speakeasy. After a good dance there and being mesmerised by the girl hooping on stage, I went to see Formidable Vegetable Sound System, (try saying that three times really fast!) after one of my friends explained she was desperate to see them. Formidable Vegetable Sound System sing about the brilliance of Permaculture to a Speakeasy/Electro Swing sound. With the use of Loops from a laptop, beatboxing, a ukulele, a violin, a variety of horns and some interpretive dance, Formidable Vegetable Sound System but on a show like no other I had seen. I absolutely loved them, and they just so happened to be going to the next and last festival of my working season. So I knew they would be one I had to see again. They were easily my favourite act of the weekend, and one of the top for the whole summer.

So that's why Yield, by Formidable Vegetable Sound System is What's The Set List's Track of the Day!



Saturday saw our busiest day at work all season. We were absolutely shattered when we finished work, so we went to Coyote Moon Spa and had a session in a hot tub. It did mean we missed Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate on the main stage, but after the day we had, we thought it was fair enough. I had a lazy evening on Saturday, gathering my strength to party into the night. So at 12am I was ready for Roni Size on the Kamikaze stage. It was awesome to see such a Drum & Bass legend doing his thing, the only problem I found was the tent was in was the temperature of the sun. I watched most of his set until the heat got to unbearable, and ended up listening to the rest of his set from the chair swing ride next to the tent.

Unfortunately I had a double shift on the Sunday, so I didn't catch any music. However I did manage to have a break to see the Fireworks, which were pretty cool. No one was sure when they were meant to start, so a lack of organisation meant I was standing there waiting for almost half an hour. But they were well worth it.

For my first Shambala experience I would have to say it's the most different festival I have been to all summer. Easily the best for dressing up though, everyone goes all out, all weekend and has several costumes with them it seem. I had a wonderful time, even if I didn't see as much music as I usually do. For such a small festival it definitely has one of the biggest party vibes.

Festival Friday! Secret Garden Party

I'm finally back, it's finally Friday, both of which mean it's Festival Friday! This weeks Festival Friday is Secret Garden Party.

Based in Huntingdon, Secret Garden Party first opened it's gates to 1000 punters with one stage back in 2004. It opened as an alternative to the more mainstream music festivals. Now it has grown massively and has over 15 stages, as well as more than 26,000 punters flood through it's gates every year. However it has never lost that alternative or independent feel. 

One of the great things about SGP is the amount of care, time and thought that goes in to the site. Everywhere you look there is cool things to see and do, art work to admire, a hidden stage to find, a lake to swim in, and so much more. Each year there is a new theme, this year it was 'Childish Things', last year its was 'Beyond the Yellow Brick Road', the year before that it was 'Superstition', you get the picture. The themes are always well thought out and the site decorated accordingly. The punters take the themes very seriously as well, dressing up to the 9's and are so imaginative with their costumes. There is a huge variety of music at SGP, I would say pretty much every genre of music is covered. The line up is usually full of up and coming bands and artist, with some classics and big names thrown in. Previous headliners have included Gorillaz,  Blondie, Fat Freddy's Drop and Javis Cocker. 

Secret Garden Party supports lots of charities, but one that stood out for me was C.A.L.M. (Campaign Against Living Miserably). It's aim is to prevent male suicide in the UK, as it is the single biggest cause of death for men aged 20-45 in the UK. Personally I think many people don't realise how bad the situation is and don't fully understand depression and anxiety is not something you can just 'get over'. SGP had The CALMzone tent, where you could sit and chill on big sofas, take a load off and enjoy a good, free cup of tea. The CALM crew were there to chat to about the charity as well as anything and everything else you wanted to talk about. Follow C.A.L.M. on Twitter @theCALMzone, you can also use the hashtag #CALMSGP to find out more about C.A.L.M.'s work at Secret Garden Party.

Now for this year, Thursday 23rd - Sunday 26th July 2015

Headliners: Jungle, The Cat Empire, Caravan Palace

Other artist include: Will and the People, Jack Garratt, Public Broadcasting Service, Lianne La Havas, Kate Tempest, Gentlemen's Dub Club, Natty, Honne, Temples, Roots Manuva, Kawehi, Darwin Deez, Beans on Toast, Rhodes, The Rumble, Ian Siegal, CC Smugglers, The Urban Voodoo Machine, Fleetmac wood, Chainska Brassica, Nizlopi, Rum Buffalo, Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate, Temple Funk Collective, Dizraeli, 

Links

SGP Website

What to Pack

C.A.L.M. Website

Green Man Festival 2015

What a wonderful, muddy weekend in the welsh mountains! 

Green Man festival is always a pleasure and high light of the year for me. Although I spent the weekend not feeling very well, Green Man and the awesome people around me, cheered me and made me feel better. Work, the rain and not feeling too good kept me from venturing in to the festival as much as I usually would. However I still got to see the site and see the acts that I wanted to see, as well as some that had been highly recommended. Being the 10th anniversary since Green Man moved to Glanusk Park, all effort went in to making this the best year so far. The line up was superb, the site was as stunning as ever and the atmosphere was full of excitement.

I arrived on the Thursday evening, unpacked and rushed straight off to catch Leftfield on the Far Out Stage. They had been recommended to me, and although they weren't really my cup of tea, they put on a great show.

On the Friday I should have taken it easy as I wasn't feeling too good. However after I had finished work I was too excited and just wanted to go out and explore and dance. I managed to caught the Headliners Hot Chip, who were awesome. They performed with so much energy and got the whole crowd going. I managed to catch the beginning Dizraeli and the Small Gods, who I had seen a few years back at Green Man with friends. I can't say much about their performance here as I literally caught the first 30 seconds before I had to rush off. Unfortunately they are on their farewell tour at the moment, so I was pretty gutted to miss the second half. However I did manage to catch their set at the next festival luckily (more about that in my yet to come, Shambala review post). I spent the late evening dancing in The Walled Garden to the Heavenly Jukebox DJ set, which blasts out a mix of disco tunes with dance anthems and keeps you dancing into the early hours of the morning.

 I think I may have over cooked it for the friday however, because Saturday hit my like a ton of bricks. I felt awful when I woke up, some sort of stomach bug I assumed. However this wasn't going to stop me having a great time. I finished work and took it easy for a couple of hours, before heading out to catch Charles Bradley. Cool fact, He got his big break when he was spotted as a James Brown Impersonator in 1996. His music is a mix of soul, funk and R&B, so right up my street basically. I hadn't listened to much Charles Bradley before, but after see his fantastic performance at Green Man, I haven't stopped listening to him, and will be recommending him to everyone.
So here is a link to some of his music!

The World (Is Going Up In Flames) is also What's The Set List's Track of the Day!

After Charles Bradley, I went to explore the site a little more, grab something to eat at La Grande Bouffe (The Big Nosh), and check out some of the cool shops, such as Fairy love and Fire Toys. Until at 11pm I went to go and see Super Furry Animals. Having seen them before at Ben and Jerry's festival, I knew they would definitely deliver, and boy did they deliver! What made it especially exciting, was that this was one of the first live shows they have done for 6 years. So their Headline spot on the Mountain Stage was a must! Unfortunately by the time they came on I was shattered from feeling ill all day. Which meant I couldn't enjoy the set to its full potential. My aim was to see Jamie XX on the Far Out Stage after Super Furry Animals, but I barely made it through Super Furry, so I decided to call it a night. I lead a very Rock 'n' Roll lifestyle, can you tell?

On the Sunday, I decided I would power through as best I could, with the help of Paracetamol of course. I powered through work, ate some lovely Falafel for lunch, got loads glitter on my face, finally bought myself a Growler, and went to enjoy The Staves on the Mountain Stage at 7pm. I was a couple rows from the front, which meant the atmosphere was incredible. I have been a fan of The Staves indie-folk sound since I first heard them at Green Man in 2012. The release of their new album was a big deal for me and hearing live was almost too much for me, especially because I was so tired. I did manage to hold myself together and absolutely loved their set. The song choice and order was perfect and their voices, like the paracetamol, made me feel better. For all these reasons, The Staves were my favourite act over the whole weekend.

After The Staves I went to see Courtney Barnett after having several recommendations from my friends to go and see her. Her almost deadpan and witty delivery and her garage rock influenced sound makes her music really interesting and very memorable. I was very glad I saw her and throughly enjoyed it. I didn't manage to catch St. Vincent which was a shame, I have been told she put on an amazing show and was mesmerising. However instead I went on the Ferris Wheel and got a good spot for the burn and fireworks at midnight at 12am. This is always one of the highlights of the festival, when everyone gathers together to watch the Green Man burn and the fireworks. This year was no different and although there were no loud banging fireworks, the show was still spectacular.

Overall, even though I felt ill, I still had a great time. Seeing music I love, finding new music to love, spending time with people I love, and playing in the mud, which I love. Another awesome year for Green Man!