Friday review

Arriving, I was struck by the difference of this to ‘normal’ festivals – whereas most are outdoor and/or tented, this was outdoor, tented, and indoor, in the De Montfort Hall. With this part-fixed set-up, I didn’t think it would amount to much of a festival atmosphere: I was wrong.

Wandering around the outdoors parts of the site, set in the gardens of the hall, the finishing touches were being made to the Outdoor Stage, which wasn’t in use until Saturday. The stage was positioned at the bottom of the slope of the gardens, which meant that wherever someone might be stood, they’d get a great view of the stage.

A too small number of food stalls failed to excite my rumbling tummy; there were a small number of traders and campaigning stalls too. The camping was split over two locations, one at the top of the site, the other across the road. A heavy downpour earlier in the afternoon meant that the ground was already soft underfoot, but luckily, with wood chippings scattered on the worst spots, and even with Sunday’s further rain – it didn’t really turn muddy.

The Friday was a little light ‘on paper’ for entertainment, partly due to nothing starting until 6pm. But there was more than enough that was worth seeing.



In the small Rising Stage tent, Chin Chin delivered a chilled and soothing set. As it started I nearly left, wanting something a bit more full-on to start my weekend. But having given them a few minutes, I was hooked, and it was a very enjoyable start.

The larger tent for the Musician Acoustic Stage had a bar at the back (another bar was located inside the hall), and picnic tables outside. In the warm evening and with the bar conveniently close, this was a great place to sit and listen to the music from inside. Tandy wafted around my ears, but the seat and beer remained my priority, but later the rock/blues sounds of Leicester’s Diesel Park West did get me inside the tent, and very enjoyable they were too.



Indoors was AJ (who I didn’t see), followed by New Mastersounds – which reminded me of a school disco, with the few inside stood around the edge of the hall – and finishing with 3 hours of Mr Scruff. Scruff packed the dancefloor to the jazzy beats, proving that the right sort of dance music can still excite a crowd.

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