Blissfields Festival takes place this weekend (6 – 8 July) and this year’s theme is the ‘Theatre of Bizarre’. The Hampshire festival always provides lots of entertainment for all the family and we will guide you through ten acts not to miss over the weekend.
Metronomy
The electronic music group formed in 1999 and will perform on the main stage on Saturday. Their latest album is titled Summer 08 and was released just over a year ago. The current band consists of Joseph Mount (vocals, keyboards and guitar), Oscar Cash (saxophone, backing vocals, guitars and keyboards), Anna Prior (drums and vocals) and Gbenga Adelekan (bass guitar and vocals).
The Cinematic Orchestra
Headlining the main stage on Friday and once again formed in the late 90s, the band is a British nu jazz and electronic music group created by Jason Swinscoe. Their latest single To Believe featured Moses Sumney, who is also performing over the weekend, and is set to go down well with the fans. Patrick Carpenter on turntables, Luke Flowers (drums), Tom Chant (saxophone), Nick Ramm (piano), Stuart McCallum (guitar) and Phil France (double bass) completes the line up.
Black Honey
Fronted by female vocalist Izzy B Phillips, the band have played a number of high profile festivals already this year including Glastonbury Common People and Ibiza Rocks. Their latest single Hello Today also reached number 1 on the Official Vinyl Chart. Completed by Chris Ostler,Tommy Taylor and Tom Dewhurst, Black Honey have also been on tour with Royal Blood this year.
Dub Pistols
Formed by Barry Ashworth in 1996, Dub Pistols will be playing the main stage on Saturday and are set to bring the party to Blissfields. With it being two years since their last album Return of the Pistoleros, the band have hits such as Cyclone in 1998 that reached number 63 in the charts and 2013’s Problem Is that reached 66 in the charts and was billed as Dub Pistols featuring Terry Hall.
Lady Leshurr
Playing on the Saturday, the rapper has released four EPs including her latest release Mode EP. She is best known for her Queen’s Speech series of freestyles, the fourth of which went viral in 2016. Having been performing since 2009, Lady Leshurr is certainly at the pinpoint of her career with so much more to come from the singer. Leshurr won second place in the Best Female category of the Official Mixtape Awards 2011.
Palm Honey
The band will be playing on the Larch stage on Friday and consists of Joseph Mumfor, Harrison Clark, Sebastian Bowden and Ayden Spiller. Their latest EP titled Tucked Into The Electronic Wave and is described by the band as an extraterrestrial art-rock supernova, with tinges of krautrock, electronica, shoegaze, post-punk, psychedelia, and even a little jazz. Frontman Joseph Mumford mostly sings about his neurosis, and the discomfort that comes with being a young adult in a demanding world.
Delta Heavy
Playing on the Area 51 stage on Friday, Delta Heavy are the most exciting duo to hit dance floors since Chase & Status and Nero, although if anything their music is even harder and heavier, darker and more multi-textured. Having conquered the clubs, however, their newer tracks are becoming more song-oriented, pointing towards a debut album that will surely be hailed as one of the year’s best, designed to satisfy bass-heads and traditional music-heads alike.
The Upbeats
Also playing on the Area 51 Stage on Saturday, The Upbeats will perform an electric performance in what will be in front of a lively crowd. In today’s heady climate of bass-fuelled dance music it could easily be argued that producer-DJs are the new rock stars. Climbing into that mould with a pair of schoolboy grins on their faces, The Upbeats have already been playing that role for years. Their anything-goes live performances are renowned for mosh pits, topless dancers (sometimes women) and crowd surfing, while their approach to writing hard-hitting, unique-sounding drum & bass is lauded across the globe.
Josh Savage
Playing on the Larch stage on Saturday, Josh Savage has blazed a bright trail through the music industry, which should serve as a beacon to any musician looking to make a name for themselves in the unrecognisable 21st Century landscape. Josh Savage’s self-releases have been aired on BBC Radio 2, BBC Introducing and BBC 6 music and accumulated over 1.5 million plays on Spotify without PR representation.
Funke and the Two Tonne Baby
Also playing on the Larch stage on Saturday, Funke and the Two Tonne Baby is a festival favourite. The singer is a one man sonic explosion. Uncategorized and uncharted. Jammed halfway between frenzied alt-blues and metronomic dance beats. Combining guitar and harmonica with beatboxing and effects that seamlessly collide the organic with the mechanical to create a fresh sound of unstoppable rhythm and unrelenting melody.