Americana International Festival 2015
Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th July 2015Prestwold Airfield, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 5SQ, England MAP
£80 with camping
This year's Americana international event was held at the relatively new site of Prestwold Airfield (American moved to this new site last year after spending over twenty seven at Newark showground). This event is rumoured to be the biggest American lifestyle event in Europe. It is a family friendly event which has plenty of things to do throughout the weekend. One of the unique things about this event is that not only do they have a plethora of bands they also have American cars on display which have become iconic throughout the years.
Once again the organisers had decided to make some changes from the previous year. One such change was making the display of cars closer to the stages. This made it a lot easier for punters to browse leisurely through the display of Mustangs, Cadillacs,Chevys, Harley Davidsons and numerous other classic American car and motorbike makes.
On the Saturday the vehicle exhibitors used the airfield runway as a miniature dragster strip to show punters what the vehicles are capable of, however it was hard to tell if it had been a planned part of the event or if the divers decided to be rebels and start doing it “unofficially” just like in the days of prohibition in the USA. Regardless of it being spontaneous or planned. For the punters it was a pleasure to see the vehicles in action and hear them roar as they went past. You could smell the oil and burning rubber has some drivers demonstrated burnouts.
This year the organisers had decided to class the biggest stage as the outside stage and then call one of the small stages the main stage. This was confusing initially but after working out which stage was which, we were able to work out where we needed to be throughout the weekend.
There appeared to be less car exhibitors this year than in previous years. This made it a lot easier to walk round and be in ear shot of the bands on the open air stage. The owners were more than happy to talk about their vehicles and answer any questions that punters had.
There were a handful of side stalls and a children’s play area which were a nice touch to the festival. The food and drinks were reasonably priced and there were plenty of food stalls and drink stalls to choose from depending on your taste in food.
As per usual the bands playing were mainly of a country and easy listening genre. Some bands that were interesting to catch over the weekend included Dr and the Medics, Sierra Cecil and Nicki Gillis.
Nicki Gillis is an Australian vocalist who has been plugging away for many years. Her smooth vocals instantly draw you in and keep you hooked throughout her set. She impressed the Americana fans with songs such as “I’ll go my own way” and “Be A Star”- which is a song written about an incident when she was younger and trying to get into the ‘music biz’ and a sleezy music agent told her what she needed to do to become famous. Nicki and her band also threw in some cover versions to the set, and even though they were all beautifully delivered. The one that seemed to stand out was her version of “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan” the crowd appeared to react really well to this.
Headlining the main stage was none other than Doctor and the Medics. Yes there is an argument that they are really only one hit wonders, however it could be argued that they are doing something right to still be touring after this many years. Seeing Doctor and the Medics live is a unique experience to say the least.
Opening with a Thunderbirds countdown and dancing cyborg from Dr Who with a dalek on stage, the band make their appearance and treat the crowd to numerous sing along anthems as well as their new single release “Spin me right round” originally by Wanted Dead Or Alive.
The Doctor (Clive Jackson) seemed to be well aware that they are famous for just the one hit, and the band embrace it with self-depreciating tongue in cheek comments throughout the set related tobeing only one hit wonders. The band seem to saviour every moment and look like they are genuinely pleased to be playing for the crowd. Their set was energetic and full of interesting surprises such as huge balloons being thrown to the crowd and water pistols being sprayed over the punters. The band members each seemed to be very talented and even though some people might deliberately laugh at the thought of Dr and the medics playing live. For me they know how to put on a live show and would easily teach some of the “current” bands a few master classes in what is required to set the benchmark high when playing live. Oh and by the way yes Doctor and The Medics did perform “Spirit in the Sky” right at the end of their set.
Sierra Cecil was certainly one of the hidden gems throughout the weekend. Hailing from south central Texas. She has a voice which seems to be so mature coming from someone who is merely 18 years old. A great country sounding voice which sounds like she has been influenced by artistes such as Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton. Sierra is able to captivate an audience with her incredible vocals. Sierra will undoubtedly be getting her share of the limelight in the near future.
Overall this was another great American event. Definitely family friendly and a nice relaxing laid back atmosphere to create a piece of American history which is hard to find anywhere else this side of the Atlantic. The only minor criticism about this event is that they never release stage times on their website. You have to buy a programme if you want to know times of bands. But apart from that, if you love music and cars then this would be one event not to miss.
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