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| The Inside is Live – Mainstage - MYSPACE - Nottingham based alternative quintet The Inside is Live are next, taking to the stage with a confidence and presence beyond their tender years. Sounding a little like Atreyu and a little like Aiden, their combination of clean vocals and well-timed screams makes for an interesting and fairly unique performance. Having won several local battle of the bands contests, this group are definitely on the way up. Salmagundi – Muzika Big Top - MYSPACE - Next, to the world music tent, where the seven piece Salmagundi are taking to the stage. Featuring an accordion, drums, a fiddle and a saxophone (amongst others) the sound created is pretty extraordinary. Wearing red and black clothes, and swaying in time to the music, they sound (and look) like jazzed up Morris Dancers. The audience seem to like them though, and several couples dance along in time to the music. |
| Headstock Festival 2010 Newstead (Nottingham) Saturday 11th September 2010 Write Up By: Emma Fryer & Carrie-Anne Pollard Newstead Brass Band – Mainstage On a day where rock groups provide the majority of the music, the 60-piece Newstead Brass Band are a self-described ‘fish out of water’. Despite this, and the earliness in the day, the group are surprisingly enthusiastic and consequently well received by the limited crowd. From Jeff Wayne’s ‘War of the Worlds’ to a medley of Queen songs, the amateur ensemble provide an entertaining and interesting start to the festival. |
| Singer / Songwriter: Elliott Morris PHOTO CREDIT: Carrie-Anne Pollard |
| 25 Past the Skank – Mainstage MYSPACE Described as ‘The Specials on crack’, Nottingham based eight piece, 25 Past the Skank, are pretty much the perfect act for a sunny afternoon. Mixing heavy basslines, raw brass hooks and intricate turntable skills to create a pretty genre defying sound, the band (who undoubtedly have the coolest name at the festival) soon have the audience on their feet and dancing. Royal Gala – Mainstage MYSPACE Nine-piece Nottingham band Royal Gala carry on where the previous act left off. The genre defying party band blast out a mix of jazz, ska and who knows what else, suiting both the mood of the crowd, and the late afternoon sunshine. Singer Louise Barnell is dressed to impress, and struts the stage with a presence to rival Gwen Stefani in her No Doubt years: definitely a feel good band. |
| The Beat – Mainstage MYSPACE Birmingham based The Beat are up next, the first band of the day to have had previous top 10 hits, including Mirror in the Bathroom and Can’t get Used to Losing You. Original singer Ranking Rodger is joined on vocals by his son ‘Ranking Jnr’ and together they coax a sing along from the gradually increasing crowd. ‘This one goes out to David Cameron’ proclaimed Ranking Rodger ‘It’s called get a job!’ Frightened Rabbit – Mainstage MYSPACE All the way from Selkirk in Scotland, indie 5 piece Frightened Rabbit are next on stage. Happy banter with the audience follows, when singer Scott Hutchinson delightedly finds out that some of the audience have seen the band play before. Sounding a little like a hybrid between fellow Scot’s Biffy Clyro, and Mumford and Sons, Frightened Rabbit manage to maintain the delicate balance between individuality and commercialism. |
| Scottish 5-Piece: Frightened Rabbit PHOTO CREDIT: Carrie-Anne Pollard |
| Field Music - Mainstage MYSPACE Field Music takes to the stage with a relatively large crowd looking on. Although they don’t get a reaction quite like the Ska / Reggae band’s before them, they do pick up stragglers and get a friendly response throughout their set. The music they produce is quite guitar led, and pitch changes in the vocals – seen in ‘Each Time Is a New Time’ – give them a very interesting sound. Even so, the lack of interaction or pauses between songs means, on occasion, they do tend to blend into each other, and feel quite long winded. Stand out songs include ‘Shorter, Shorter,’ ‘Something For Video’ and the incredibly catchy ‘If Only The Moon Were Up.’ To the left of the Main Stage is Area 23, a dance tent specializing in Drum ‘n Bass, Jungle and Dubstep. As Field Music brought us from day to night, the volume of people in the tent has increased spectacularly, and the area is bursting with movement. |
| ASH - MYSPACE - Tonight’s headliners, Ash, enter the Main Stage to a dramatic intro track and dim lights – the crowd looking on with anticipation. As they explode into their first song, so does the audience, and second track ‘Girl From Mars’ gets the onlookers singing along loudly. The atmosphere is buzzing, and each song gets a rowdy mix of clapping, singing and dancing from the ever growing plethora of spectators. Over the next hour or so Ash rip through fan favourites, such as ‘Shining Star,’ ‘Petrol’ and ‘Kung Fu’ - before bidding farewell to the masses. After a few minutes of chanting for more, Ash rejoin us for a generous five song encore, including ‘Angel Interceptor,’ and closing the set with the massive ‘Burn Baby Burn.’ ELLIOT MORRIS - MYSPACE - TAt this point in time, the crowds are dispersing from the Main Stage to join one of the smaller, which is a perfect time for Scorpio PR favorite Elliott Morris to show of his excellent guitar playing, to the most people possible. With the Orange Tree Lounge brimming with intrigued onlookers, Morris kicks in with the brilliant ‘A Matter Of Time,’ not before jokingly thanking Ash for opening for him. More people gather to witness this young musician’s technical ability, catchy songs and warm humour. ‘Man On Wire’ and two instrumental covers go down a storm, as well as a rendition of ‘Billie Jean.’ Elliott finishes the set with a very unique cover of ‘All I Ever Wanted’ by Basshunter, accompanied along the way by the audience clapping along to the beat. As the early hours of the morning loom, Headstock is finished off with a bang, with two dance tents rounding off the evening. The success of today means it is extremely possible that this festival will continue for years to come, with more stages, more nights and more music. We will be there for the ride, will you? |
| Irish Indie rockers: ASH PHOTO CREDIT: Carrie-Anne Pollard |
| Sunderland Rockers: Field Music PHOTO CREDIT: Carrie-Anne Pollard |
| Electro-Beat 9-Piece: Royal Gala PHOTO CREDIT: Carrie-Anne Pollard |
| World Music Pioneers: Salmagundi PHOTO CREDIT: Carrie-Anne Pollard |
