Bestival took place over the weekend and the four day event had just about a bit of everything. Despite there being rumours that the festival was slightly smaller this year, the prestigious name certainly lived up to its hype. And of course this would of never happened if it wasn’t for Bestival creator DJ Rob Da Bank who has put a lot of effort over the years. As soon as we got to the festival, there was a good vibe in the campsite and it was a friendly atmosphere. I managed to check out some decent music on the Thursday which provided a lot good acts. Indie rock band Glass Animals performed on The Big Top stage in the early hours of the morning that really got the party going with as they played songs from their latest album How to be a Human Being. Indietronica band Hot Chip also put on an amazing show as they sung their iconic song Ready For The Floor and was the right fit to headline The Big Top. Asylums also put on an incredible show earlier in the day, as they once again show why they are a band to look out for. The Friday was an awesome day with the likes of Clean Cut Kid and Creeper both playing on the Invaders of the Future stage.
Clean Cut Kid sung catchy and well known song We Used to be in Love from the titled EP and it was just a really chilled atmosphere that it created. Mike Halls, Evelyn Halls, Saul Godman and Ross Higginson all gave 100% in their performance which showed with the interaction of the fans. Up next I saw the mysterious Creeper, who is currently ‘Missing’ despite putting on one hell of show. Front man Will Gould was as ever amazing with his stage presence as they sung the incredible Black Mass as well as classics such as The Honeymoon Suite and Misery to end on.
I managed to check out Manchester four-piece post-punk band Spring King as once again the lads shown why they are slowly becoming one of the best British bands on the scene. The band released Tell Me If You Like To earlier this year and it was really nice to see them perform a lot of them songs. I managed to catch up with the band shortly after the show and they said: ‘Yeah it was really good, first time we’ve ever played here as well, and there was a mosh pit, people crowd surfing.
‘It was a great way to end out festival season!
‘It’s always good to play to new fans and see people enjoy it.
‘Playing festivals is a great way for getting people passing by and walking through the tent.’
When talking about their highlights of the festival season, they continued and said:
‘I think Reading & Leeds were definitively highlights, we played a festival in Australia which was a big highlight and actually today was one of the bigger festivals we played out.’
The lads continued to talk about new music and their upcoming tour and said:
‘There’s a few demos bouncing around but we’ve got quite a heavy tour schedule in October and we’ve got more in November.
‘Some when over Christmas, we’ll probably jump in a rehearsal room and bash some stuff out.
‘We’re well looking forward to getting back into venues.
‘We played at the Joiners, last night in Southampton was great, festivals are nice but we prefer to be in a small room as that’s where we’re from, that’s what we do.
‘We’ve got a couple of potential supports next year, and we’re just waiting to if they work out and then we can see how it goes.’
On the Main Stage Years & Years put on an incredible performance with lead singer Olly Alexander really getting thousands of people in the party atmosphere. The London trio sampled their new single Meteorite that really gave the fans something to shout about. The exciting Damien Marley was also on point with his performance as Skepta who performed before headliners Major Lazer. Saturday saw legends The Cure headline The Main Stage as they brought such classics as The Lovecats in front of thousands of people like they have for most of their careers. Serving up an epic two-and-a-half-hour set, Robert Smith and teh rest of the band performed their extensive back catalogue of songs dating back from some years ago. Saturday also saw the likes of Craig David’s TS5 who put on a really solid performance and certainly got the party atmosphere going. Electronic/Folk band Crystal Fighters headlined The Big Top Stage and they will be joined by the likes of Tourist. For me though it was Bastille that gave one of the best performances on the Sunday. Singing songs from their new album Wild World, Dan Smith showed the crowd is incredible stage presence. They of course sung classics such as Pompeii also which was a great festival tune. The Human League was a fantastic act to finish of the festival at The Big Top as stage the 80’s band sung classics such as Don’t You Want Me and Fascination before the fireworks kicked off. On the main stage, I quietly surprised of the impact that Sean Paul and Wiz Khalifa gave the thousands of people.
Last up I watched Pup at the Invaders of the Future Stage as the Canadians were the perfect band to end the festival on. They played songs such as If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will that created a long awaited mosh pit. Overall Bestival was a good experience and included some different genres of music that I wouldn’t normally hear.