Last year’s festival came at the right time. Although things were opening up. Several of the early summer festivals had been cancelled, leaving people looking for their festival hit. With an outstanding first festival lineup. The new festival just hit all the right spots and understandably won the ‘Best Small Festival’ at the BandLab NME Awards. So it was always going to be a challenge to follow up that success. Even though the lineup wasn’t as strong as last year, in the main, I think they achieved that difficult job.

Unlike last year, I had no photo pass. There wasn’t much opportunity to take photos (I only had a pocket camera with me). So I decided to take it easy, enjoy the music and have a few beers.

With this being the ‘difficult second festival’, things didn’t start off well. Sadly, a stage wasn’t ready which meant shuffling around the lineup. I believe the stage was used the day before. I suspect they decided to move the stage to avoid sound leakage which had been a problem last year with this stage. This knocked some of my plans, causing some clashes. But in all honesty, like most festivals, my plans went out of the window the minute I set foot inside the festival.

The great thing about this festival is that it is booked by the people who are the movers and shakers of the London scene. These are people behind places like the Shacklewell, Moth Club and Windmill, so know their stuff. As James from Yard Act said, we are lucky to have people like Keith Miller from Bad Vibrations taking the risks to break the acts, the other festivals pick up on later. He has made me aware of so much good music. I am pleased the first festival was such a success and hope it continues.

Like last year, I had issues with trains meaning I arrived after doors opened. Luckily MELTS were still playing when I arrived and managed to catch the last three songs. The Melts were one of the bands I wanted to see. They reminded me a bit of the Horrors (who were playing later in the day) – but with less goth. Definitely have to catch a full show.

Heading to the nearby Moth Club stage, I had just missed their opening act. But I decided to stick with the stage to be at the front for the ever brilliant Crows. As always, the Crows showed why they are one of the most underrated bands in London warming the crowd up for the day to come.

Next up was the main stage where Katy J Pearson was playing. I had seen her previously at the Lexington in 2020. There were too many country vibes for me. I thought it was worth giving her another chance. Today, these vibes were less obvious, but I didn’t hear anything that stood out.

After a brief stop off for a drink. I headed back to the Moth Club stage to catch the Nation of Language who I had been hearing some very good things about. Their sounds was very strongly influenced by the 80s, with kind of Depeche Mode vibes. I am afraid they didn’t do much for me so I decide to bounce around the stages, first giving Platonic Erotica a listen, but finally ending up listening to Fatoumata Diawara on the main stage. With her Malian, West African blues, she seemed out of place for a festival mainly focused on the indie scene. But brilliantly out of place. It was just the type of music I needed to perk me up after two bands failed to hit the mark. I think it is impossible not to dance to the blending of the blues tradition with Malian rhythms.

Being close to the front, I decided to stick to the main stage for Yard Act. I was expecting this to be my festival set of the day and was not disappointed. Their dry sardonic music transferring to the big stage brilliantly with James initially berating the crowd for not being up for it and gradually finding himself ‘won over’ by the enthusiasm of the crowd, singing our praises by the end. It is all an act. But it was one the crowd loved. He was chatty throughout. With self deprecating humour, even pausing to discuss if he was getting a bald patch after seeing the back of his head on the big screen. I know it has been said before. But he has that kind of charm Jarvis has. These guys are only going to get bigger. Towards the end of the set, he invited Nuha Ruby Ra and Katy J Pearon on stage to cover ‘Roadrunner. by the Modern Lovers. In all honesty, it wasn’t very good. But that’s not the point of these festival covers. It is more to make the audience feel like they are hearing something unique to them.

The shuffling of the stages caused my first problem of the day. I quite like the Fat White Family’s output. But I had only seen them live once. Billy Nomates, I wanted to catch at the Great Escape, but both were on at the same time. I decided to catch little bit of both. After an explosive and enjoyable start by the Fat Whites, which saw Lias immediately head into the crowd and cavort around on the speakers, I headed off via a bar to see Billy.

Unfortunately, sticking to the main stage meant Billy had already started and there was no easy way of getting a decent view, as the tent was already busy. I thought I had a view of the stage and then a security guard blocked my view, so I headed to the back and just listened for a while. In all honesty, I could see nothing on stage. I hadn’t realised Tor still plays with just a laptop. Although I could see her head bop up around the stage, I could see little. What was obvious though, her voice was pretty brilliant. But seeing nothing, I felt I was ruining the experience. There is a reason why this site is called ‘Down at the Front’. If you can’t see the performer, you might as well be listening to their recorded output. I decided rather than ruining the live experience, she deserves to be seen in a better venue. Her voice was that good. So I headed off to see the Leisure Society who were great, as always.

While at the Leisure Society stage, I bumped into a friend I hadn’t seen for a long time and went with her to watch the Comet is Coming. I have to admit, I chatted through most of their set. But what I heard was really great. I think they could play pretty much any festival as they mix genres. One part jazz, one part rock, one part EDM. They produced a thunderous danceable music. Really impressive.

Although the festival still had another two hours to run. I wasn’t interested in the headliners, Primal Scream. I wasn’t a fan back in the day and decided I would not stay too late and risk the usual poor Friday night train service.

Before heading off. I wanted to catch Automatic. I hadn’t noticed them on the bill until a friend mentioned them earlier in the day. As their 2019 album was one of my favourites from that year, I had to catch them and I was really pleased I did. They have an early 80s post-punk pop feel. Guitars replaced by synthesisers.

Closing the evening, Amyl and the Sniffers. I have seen them twice. While their second album was more melodic. Live, they aren’t my thing. I grabbed a beer and watched a few of their songs before heading off to catch my train.

Like a difficult second album. It was always going to be a challenge to live up to the massive highs of the first festival. In the main, it was another success. Except for the stage issue, which they coped with well. The rest of the festival was brilliantly organised. There was an excellent range of (albeit expensive) food options. There were no queues at the bars. The addition of excellent local breweries was a bonus. The VIP area was a good place to escape to and only a £20 additional cost. Sound in the main, was as good as can be expected at these open air stages. Really, there was nothing to grumble about. I had an enjoyable day. In fact I have already bought my early bird ticket for next year.

Delayed from last summer. The festival has found a home in Brockwell Park which was ready for it’s big day. For a new festival, it was remarkably well organised. COVID checks dealt with quickly and efficiently. In the main, the site was organised well. A good range of food and drink in the centre with stages spinning off. Sadly, there was a bit of leakage between the Bad Vibes and Moth Club stages, but I’ve experienced far worse and something that can be tweaked in later years. A nice touch was a free drink to those of us who had kept faith last year and not asked for a refund.

First up was Tiña on the Windmill stage. Dressed in bright pink with a cowboy hat playing breezy cowboy indie, it was just the right sound to wake us up with positive vibes.

On the Moth Club stage was Lazarus Kane, a band who previously had left me unimpressed. At that performance, Ben the singer, appeared as a kind of lounge lizard caricature, with the band playing second fiddle. But here on a big stage with the band spaced out and the singer having dropped the disguise, I thought they had a much bigger and a more dancy sound than I remembered. I was left wondering if they’d increased the size of the band as there was an added depth to their sound, I didn’t experience on the small stage. Or maybe Ben’s theatrics had just put me off. Either way, I was impressed today. I will definitely be keeping an eye on them.

My second surprise of the day was Regressive Left. A band I knew nothing about. Apparently they are now based in Stevenage. I’ll have to keep an eye out for local gigs. Again, like Lazarus Kane, they a very dancy sound. But in an 80s art-pop way. Strong drumming with feedback laden guitars and keyboards adding an 80s feeling. One to watch

Next up was a brief visit to the Bad Vibes stage to listen to Maripool. Possibly the first misstep. Their music was pleasant, in a laid back ‘beer in the sunshine’ kind of way. But the vocals were off. I didn’t experience sound issue later in the day but I was heading off to see the afternoon headliners, Idles and maybe they improved before the end of the set.

Idles were always going to be my highlight of the festival. They’ve made some of my favourite albums from the last few years. They are fantastic live and have helped revitalise guitar based music by putting issues at the forefront of driving pop punk. Their audience mixes us oldies, rekindling our youth, with young people who are hopefully listening to their messages of community and compassion (especially the blokes). There’s something special about the ‘AF gang’ community that’s grown up organically around the band. Something I’ve never experienced before.

It was odd seeing a headliner play an early afternoon set. But this isn’t normal times. With the festivals opening after a delay of a year, it’s not surprising we’re seeing clashes. Idles, were double booked for a festival in their hometown. Understandably, that took precedence. But Bristol’s gain wasn’t our loss. If anything, it gave this festival a massive boost as everyone arrived early to see the band. It meant most stages were busy right from the off with a great atmosphere throughout they day.

Their latest album came out during lockdown and they haven’t had the opportunity to play live. So I was expecting a large number of songs from the album. I have to admit, I’m not a big fan of the last album. But the one live performance I’ve seen of it, the songs were much stronger live. Maybe sensibly, they gave the crowd what they wanted with a greatest hits of their three albums. Despite reservations, the new songs fitted into the set and sounded great.

I’ve never seen Idles have an off day. Today was no exception. Right from the off they got the crowd going with a circle forming in the early afternoon sun. They then did their usual thing of jumping into the crowd. Keeping the crowd at boiling point throughout the set. Pretty much a perfect headline slot. It just happened in daylight.

A Certain Ratio aren’t a band I know much about. They’ve been around since the late 70s. I liked what I heard but I wanted to grab some photos of other stages so I moved on after two songs.

Likewise, I didn’t stick with Porridge Radio for long. I love Porridge Radio and I’ve seen them several times. They sounded on form for the two songs I heard.

Fenne Lily was part of the reason why I was jumping around stages. She produced a great album so I wanted to see how it translated to a festival stage. Although playing a smaller stage more suited to her sound, in all honesty, I thought the sound was lost. Despite being a small stage, it was competing with the rest of the festival and I think much of the delicacy of the album was lost to the air. I’ll have to catch her at a more appropriate venue.

I love Squid. There’s similarity with bands like Black Midi and Black Country New Road but their sound is less noodly prog and feels more anarchic and organic They’re also far less serious than their siblings. Live, they’re the best out of the bunch. Today, they were on good form.

Another band I’ve seen before, so only listened to a few songs, is Los Bitchos. They play dancy latin fuzed psych with no vocals. They appear to have a changed lineup but still sounded great. The first time I saw them I wanted there to be a vocalist. But they don’t need a vocalist. Their music is so infectious and had the crowd dancing away to their latin vibes. Perfect festival band.

I only caught one song of White Flowers. They were pleasant but like Fenne Lilly, their sound seemed to be a little bit lost on the small stage so I moved on.

I’ve heard great things about PVA. Naturally as a ‘Windmill’ band they were playing the main Windmill stage. But they left me cold. They were very disco. I’m sure they sound great in a small venue with a crowd bouncing to their music. But on the big stage with everyone hidden behind keyboards, it just wasn’t my type of festival experience so I took the opportunity to grab some food.

As my recent POZI review mentioned. Pozi were my most listened to band over the last year. Unlike the Social, the drummer wasn’t lost in smoke and darkness at the back of the stage so I could actually see him sing this time. It felt more of a band performance. However, as I had just seen them a few weeks ago I only stayed for 10 minutes before heading off to catch another lockdown favourite, Dry Cleaning.

I’m never sure how to describe Dry Cleaning. They’re a talky band, with no singing. Florence’s delivers her stories as if she’s oblivious to the audience’s presence. Creating mesmerising tales of mundane modern life, enhanced with simple expressions and waves of her hand. The rest of the band acting like a stage director, focusing the audience’s emotions and attentions on the rise and fall of the tempo of each story. I always feel I’m listening to something the Velvet Underground could have written.

They’re also a surprising band. They shouldn’t work on a big stage. Half of the performance is seeing Florence’s expressions which surely is lost in a big venue. They should be very much an acquired taste. Yet pretty much everyone I know who has seen them live, have enjoyed what they saw. They’re a special band, rightly deserving of the good press they receive. They’re also an example of why Wide Awake could grow into a vital London festival. It’s venues like the Shacklewell and Windmill that are taking a chance on booking bands like Dry Cleaning.

Another ‘Shacklewell’ band, and one long overdue serious attention, CROWS played the Bad Vibes stage to a packed crowd. Their support for Idles clearly paying off, with a lot of Idles t-shirts in the packed Bad Vibes stage. As I would expect, their performance was full of the energy they’re known for.

Annoyingly, I dallied too long between stages and the pit for Goat Girl was closed. So I took the opportunity to kick back with a soft-drink and listen to the delightful sounds of Goat Girl in the glorious early evening sun.

Lynks are an acquired taste. Not my taste. They’re a camp disco performance art group who have no instruments on stage singing over backing tracks. Really not my musical taste. But they are entirely about the stage show. The whole crowd on the So Young Stage bouncing along to their set, probably the best reaction of the day. Everyone there clearly loved them. They are worth catching to see if they are your thing.

Snapped Ankles are just awesome live. They create a primeval driving shamanistic music to dance to and dance the crowd did. I stayed for three songs before heading off to catch the Bad Vibes stage.

Kikagaku Moyo are possibly one of the best psych bands around at the moment. They make playing psych look effortless but controlled. Today was no exception with layers of sound washing over each other, interacting and heading off in a new direction dragging you with them on their musical wanderings. They a perfect band to catch at a festival when you’re feeling tired. Just allow the music to take over and revitalise yourself. Catch them if you can.

I cut short the Kikagaku Moyo set to catch the pit for Black Country New Road. They’re the chess club of music. There’s an element of prog with every instrument give time to weave it’s sound into their stories. Everything sounds like they’ve made a conscious compositional choice. That’s not a bad thing. But it lacks the organic nature of Squid and maybe at times feels too serious. However, their debut album released earlier this year, is one of my favourite albums of 2021. It looked like their lineup had changed since the first time I saw them at Rockaway Beach last year. They also didn’t look like school kids this time. It’s amazing what a year in music does to people. Have to admit, in the evening sun, I enjoyed their set. But the music has that kind of downstairs in a jazz club type feel that requires concentration and might have worked better when things got dark or even a smaller stage.

With the slew of bands that followed Idles into the mainstream. A bunch of Irish acts forced their way through the door. Initially, Fontaines DC were my favourites. They have a poetry and nervous energy that instantly made me like them.

The Murder Capital followed close behind, disposing with the nervous energy, replacing it with a dark intense emotion. Over the last year or so, the album I keep going back to is the Murder Capital’s debut. There are songs on the album with a real emotional punch. Somehow they manage to carry the darkness into their performances.

Tonight, was no different. James holding the crowd in his hands (or them literally holding his to stop him falling into them). His use of space in songs to give everyone time to take in the emotion and then hitting you with his powerful rich mournful voice distinguishes the band from the crowd. While a big stage in a big top, lacked the intimacy of the 100 Club gig last year. This was another storming performance. Slightly let down when the sound engineer cut them off after timing issues with James squaring up him and security dragging him away. He’ll have to learn to keep the emotion on stage.

I did briefly leave the Murder Capital set to catch Crack Cloud. I’ve seen them before and they’re really good. But there’s something special about the Murder Capital that meant I needed to see the rest of the set. I will have to catch Crack Cloud at some other point.

Getting to the Wide Awake Festival had been a bit of a trek. My rail line was closed due to a fatality on the line. So I had to drive across country to pick up a different line into London meaning I had to return to pick up my car. I also am still not comfortable with crowds and spent most of the day wearing a mask in the pit and in crowded areas of the festival. I didn’t really want to be stuck on packed trains out of Brockwell with a late night drive. So despite some excellent bands to come, I decided to cut after one last band – Black Midi

I’ve seen Black Midi a few times and their debut album was my one of my favourite albums of 2019. Their followup, this year’s Cavalcade hasn’t had such a big an impact on me. It’s too consciously experimental. I have to be in the right mood for it to work.

I think with BCNR and Squid also playing in the same space. The seriousness of Black Midi and BCNR has worn more heavily. There’s an intensity to their music and the way they play that means you have to really be switched on to enjoy them. By this time, I have to admit I was a bit tired with my mind on home, I didn’t take in their set. I think the Murder Capital had taken all my emotions.

Not quite the high I’d expected to finish the festival on. But I can’t complain. It was a day I needed after a long 18 months. It felt like a bit of normality had returned to my life.

While I had a ticket, I was grateful for Bad Vibes giving me a photo pass. It helped me relax into the day and move around more easily without having to deal with packed crowds. I had also upgraded to a very reasonably priced VIP ticket. I needed to have a space to retire to if things got too much and the VIP space was quiet enough to allow me to deal with my post-COVID return to the real world.

I really hope this festival happens again next year. From the organisation, to the lineup. It was pretty much perfect. An excellent start.

This year, I’d dropped any such criteria and just concentrated on it being an enjoyable short break and from this perspective, it was definitely successful and I think this festival is now an essential fixture in my calendar.

This year was a good example of how my approach has changed. In all honesty, I didn’t feel the line-up was too inspiring. My first year, I would have found this frustrating. But I think like this year’s SXSW. We’re in a lull year. There wasn’t really a buzz around any new bands. But this year wearing a different hat, it didn’t bother my. The festival is so cheap that it’s still good value if you only catch two of three bands. With the early bird tickets, it works out at only £15 per day and at that price, you really can’t go wrong. So this year, I was just happy to bounce around and catch whoever I could find.

[youtube xB4ZMu297pk]

Day 1

Shark Dentist, Leif Erikson, Good Foxy, FRIGS, Cosmic Strip, Catholic Action, Anna Meredith, Crows, White Miles, Frankie Cosmos, Amy Von, Larkin Poe, Banff, Howling Owl, Wyldest, Cloves, Bleached, Anteros
(Bold – liked, italics – band I’ve never seen before)

As you can see from the list above. I concentrated on catching new bands. Starting the festival were Shark Dentist, a band I’d heard good things about. Sadly they didn’t do much for me.

Shark Dentist

Good Foxy

The first band who stood out were Canadian band FRIGS. They have a punky attitude led by their lead singer who growls into the mic. They were easily my band of the day.

Cosmic Strip

Cosmic Strip

Cosmic Strip

An enjoyable rocky set from Scottish band Catholic Action.

TGE was my first chance to catch Anna Meredith. I’m not sure a festival is the right place to catch her, as she mixes electronic music with cellos and brass. But the crowd were respectful and I enjoyed the set.

The always excellent CROWS bringing the performance to me, after I arrived late and was stuck at the back

I have a sneaky liking for the Hub. It’s a tiny tube-like venue in the sea wall. It’s got a claustrophobic feeling that works well with rock bands (although you do have to get to the front, otherwise you don’t see anything). So making my first visit of the trip, I accidentally stumbled upon a band I’d seen last year, White Miles. They’re a two piece with a lead singer with a lot of energy. They worked pretty well in this venue.

Frankie Cosmos

Amy Von

Larkin Poe

Banff

Howling Owl

Wyldest

Coves

Bleached

Bleached

Anteros

Day 2

Aldous Harding, Exmagician, Barbarella’s Bang Bang, Nadine Carina, REWS, Kim Churchill, PAUW, Ellie Ford, Dream Wife, Baba Naga, Inis Mor, Pleasure Beach, James Gruntz, Blush, Drones Club, Black Honey, The Anchoress

Starting Day 2 was the ever fantastic Aldous Harding. I think she’s a bit special. There’s something etherial about her performances that I just can’t get enough of. So it was a great way to start the day, but also a risky one. Starting the day on a big high means it can only go downhill. Luckily, there were a few bands playing who I thought could act as strong anchors. Dream Wife and Baba Naga around the middle of the day and Black Honey, to close the day. In all honesty, very little stood out during the rest of the day. But these acts were worth the admission alone.

Aldous Harding

REWS

Kim Churchill

PAUW

Ellie Ford

Dream Wife

Baba Naga

Inis Mor

One of the biggest draws at TGE this year was local band, Black Honey. I’m a bit of a fan of this band. Izzy the lead singer is pretty awesome. There’s a swagger about her that means this band is destined for big things. Obviously without the music it wouldn’t work and luckily they have some very catchy music. Izzy’s also brilliant to photograph as she always puts on a good show. Tonight they were playing Brighton Pier and I believe they closed the pier as the venue was at capacity. I suspect this is the last year they’ll be playing TGE as they’ll be too big next year.When I arrived there was a frankly awful band called Drone Club. I’d assumed that most people were there for Black Honey and was resigned to watch from afar. But oddly, it turned out, most people were there for Drone Club. As you can see from the photos and video. The crowd disappeared and I walked straight to the front. I guess that’s the great thing about music. What’s rubbish to one person is brilliant to another (though I’m sticking by Drone Club being the worst band I saw at TGE16)

Closing the evening was the Anchoress on the BBC Introducing stage. I quiet liked what I heard. But I have to admit, I’d done enough standing around and not enough drinking so I decided to call it a day and head off to find a pub.

Steve Lamacq introducing the Anchoress

Day 3

Joe Nolan, Coves, Pollyanna, Glass, Chastity, Post Heather, Beverly, Chastity Belt, Aldous Harding, Margo Price, Joy Formidable, Cult of Dom Keller, NOTS, Diet Cig

Oddly, when I’d pre-planned the final day. I hadn’t identified much of interest other than bands I had already seen. So I decided to just base it on take it easy. But there was the odd thing. Beverly was pretty good. I caught Aldous again. Watched some of the FA Cup final and decided to take a chance on getting in to see the Joy Formidable. Luckily, I think the walk down to the Concorde on a cold evening had put people off, so just like the night before with Black Honey, I was able to walk straight up to barrier. I spoke to a long time JF fan after the gig who’s extremely disappointed with their new material. But personally. I loved their performance. To close the evening. I headed to my favourite venue, Sticky Mikes to catch NOTS and Diet Cig, who’s lead singer was still bouncing around as if it was the start of the whole thing. She’s like a walking (and bouncing) advert for Duracell. Amazing energy, another fun performance and a good way to close off this year’s TGE.

Joe Nolan

Coves

A slightly mad Glass

Chastity

Chastity Belt

The wonderful Aldous Harding

Margo Price

Great performance from Joy Formidable