Follow The Sun Festival

There is so much good new music out there, so many prospective new favourite bands and artists who want your ear's attention, that it can sometimes seem a struggle knowing where to begin with life's musical buffet. What's better, wilfing your way through SoundCloud or typing random characters into Spotify's search box? Should we wait for 6Music to spin our new musical obsession or go along with Last.FM's "if you like this then you might like that" algorithms? Or, if you're at all like me, do you spread yourself across all options in a desire to hear as new music as you can? Decisions decisions, there are only so many hours in the day, etc etc..

One of the more sociable ways of encountering new music is obviously the humble gig where, just possibly, you might be lucky enough to catch a future stadium band in their first support slot (have I ever mentioned the time I saw The Killers play such a set at The Wedgewood Rooms?). Better yet are music festivals, sprawling events where a wider array of music is invariably on offer, although enjoyment of such events can depend on just how much confidence you have in your Wellingtons. 

If you fear that your galoshes are suspect, are distrustful of Ian McCaskill's brethren, or simply don't want to walk too far then fear not, these are salad days for indoor festivals, one or two day shindigs that offer tasty musical morsels in a mud-free environment. Portsmouth was previously home to one such urban festival, SouthseaFest, an annual event that turned Albert Road's pubs into pop-up venues.

Unfortunately SouthseaFest is no longer running however, such was its impact, like-minded groups of promoters have channelled its spirit into a new series of microfestivals that call Pompey home; from the multi-venue joys of Dials and Icebreaker to the one day, one venue affairs of Golden Touch and Follow The Sun, all showcase a variety of both local and national acts.

The latter of these returns to the Edge of The Wedge for a second instalment this July, with a hand-picked by London-based promoters CloseUp, with the Wedge's sibling venue boasting a compact and bijou performance space which offers punters the opportunity of enjoying an intimate musical experience without the need for a trusty pair of Hunters.

The line-up for this year's instalment includes Londoners LONA and Shanghai Blues, local bands Sad Palace and Dutch Criminal Record, Southsea-based singer-songwriter Megan Linford, Isle of Wight indie-rockers JEPH (who release their new single, Space, via Honeymooner on Friday 5th July) and the hottest thing out of High Wycombe, Only Sun (woefully bad pun intended).



Topping the bill is Lauran Hibberd who, fresh from touring the UK & Europe alongside American indie-rock outfit Hippo Campus and supporting Norwegian pop-punk's Sløtface in London, will be taking her wry brand of observational indie pop to this weekend's Glastonbury Festival. If you miss her sets on the Greenpeace & BBC Introducing stages you'd best get yourself a ticket for Follow The Sun.

Follow The Sun 2019 takes place at the Edge of The Wedge on Saturday 13th July, with doors open from 1300. Tickets are priced at a very reasonable £10 (plus booking fee), available now either via TicketWeb or the venue, and punters are advised that the event has a 14+ age restriction.

Victorious Festival 2018 - Friday Preview

The August Bank Holiday weekend is looming large on the horizon, strange metal structures are growing on Southsea Common and (no doubt) angry people are writing to the local newspaper to complain about access and/or noise. Yes, it's Victorious time again and, as the set-times have been released, here are my personal picks of acts and bands to look out for; first up, Friday night...

The addition of a Friday session, extending the fun over three nights and two days, was a welcome expansion to Victorious last year (even if the line-up for the inaugural Friday evening didn't really tickle my fancy). This year there's a bit more selection, though only limited parts of the site will be open for business (similar to the Thursday night at Bestival) and.

After the nutty boys of Madness headlined last year it appears that the organisers have again opted mostly for crowd-friendly sing-a-long action, booking Shed Seven, Kaiser Chiefs and a tribute act performing The Beatles' Abbey Road album in full. It struck me as bizarre then (especially giving one of their numbers' shambolic solo set at last year's festival) to read that The Libertines are headinling. I know, right? What, of the offerings makeing up the bill on the two open stages, would I go see? Well..

Marley Blandford (Common Stage, 1300-1400)
Unfortunately for Marley he's drawn the opening slot on The Big Stage but he's a local lad so I'm sure he'll have an audience ready and waiting.



The Lightning Seeds (Common Stage, 1720-1800)
The glorious jingly-jangly feel-good pop of Ian Broudie, pretty much guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face and a foot aching from tapping. I don't know whether they'll play this but, as it's one of my Seeds favourites (the Susanna Hoffs cover it rather good too).



Dutch Criminal Record (Beats & Swing Tent, 1900-1945)
Purveyors of bouncy indie-pop, Chichester's Dutch Criminal Record have the early evening slot in the Beats & Swing Tent.



Minque (Beats & Swing Tent, 2045-2130)
Lush electronica from Southsea, again in the Beats & Swing Tent, Mique's set should finish just in time for the short wander back to the Common Stage to wait for Pete Doherty to show up.



The Libertines (Common Stage, 2140-2255)
And finally, yes, The Libertines. Now I know that you may have, quite rightly, assumed from my musings earlier in this post I'm not the world's biggest fan of Mr Doherty and chums (possibly due to the NME having an ongoing love-fest with them most weeks). Believe me, I've tried and, yes, have been told by several people considerably younger than myself that Mr Doherty is a genius. Whether he is or isn't is moot but, on their day, The Libs can turn out a punchy indie anthem equal to or better than some of their fellow alt acts below them on the bill. Like this one..



...after which you could just toddle along to the Meat & Barrel, have a cheeky pint, and wait for the rest of their set to be over.

Nod Ya Head presents...

Growing up in Portchester, the Burbs of Fareham, there never seemed to be a venue nearby to showcase local bands. Yes, the local pubs might host a band of a weekend, but these were (and still are) mostly cover acts. Once at college there was the lure of the Gosport Labour Club, the go to spot for fellow students who'd thrown a band together. That was then and this is now; there are fewer pubs, fewer venues, but the appetite for live music is the same if not greater.

What to do, what to do? Fret not my local gig monkey, for an enterprising chap called Dave has set about organising a (hopefully regular) event where local acts can gain valuable gigging experience and us punters can be entertained by new music.

The new event, named after the Facebook group that got the ball rolling, will debut in September with a line-up consisting of Marley Blandford, Lo-Fi Rebels, Drusilla and Dutch Criminal Record. Tickets for the event, to be held at the Mill Road Social Club, are £6 in advance, £7 on the door, and can be purchased from Fareham's one and only vinyl emporium, Heathen Chemistry (if you're local, and like vinyl, then I urge you to visit; the shop is a labour of love for its owner and, if you're at all like me, you'll end up in deep conversation with him about gigs and bands and shiny vinyl).