Atmosphere
If I am completely honest, I went to this festival with low expectations. I was going by myself, none of my friends or family had ever herd of this festival, and I was beginning to wonder if this wasn't going to be a bunch of country acts, playing under a small gazebo, in somebodies back garden!. OK that was a bit a bit of an exaggeration but I was very pleasantly surprised by the festival. There was a wide range of performers and styles with some incredible talent and the commitment to the music was clear from every one of them. The atmosphere at Bliss Fields was relaxed and cheerful, everyone was just there to chill and listen to music, everyone was supportive of every band on the second stage as well as on the main. Having a capacity of only 1,200 meant that the whole site was had more breathing space, less people running between stages, less adverts and less queuing for the toilet. This actually makes a big difference when you compare it to bigger festivals, where you have to fight to find room for your tent, there are adverts and flyers thrown in your face everywhere you go and there are thousands of people everywhere you turn. A lot of people would argue that this gives the bigger festivals their atmosphere but it is so much nicer to go to a smaller festival where you can just listen to the music without having all the sponsor ship and brand names pasted all over the place.
Music
Bliss Fields gave a huge variety of music from heavy metal to acoustic folk right through to instrumental alternative rock. Because I was working on the second stage, I didn't really hear many of the acts from the main stage but the acts on the second stage were fantastic. Headlining the Friday night was Beans On Toast. Beans on Toast is one man, his guitar and his impressive backing band. BOT' filled the tent when he came on, and his set was filled with witty lyrics, upbeat, country songs and plenty on banter with the audience. Instantly BOT engages the audience with his light hearted, slightly tipsy spirit and quickly puts everyone in a good mood. These are the kind of acts that are great to see live, its so easy to relax and enjoy the music along with everyone else, even if you don't know the songs. I would certainly pay to see Beans On Toast again.
On the Saturday, the second stage tent was completely packed with a great atmosphere, which was surprising considering Stereo MC's were headlining the main stage. Giving the task of competing with Stereo MC's on the second stage was the 4 piece group Polly and the Billets Doux. The group already have a large following which was clear by the way they packed out the second stage despite the major act of the weekend being on the main stage. The band have got some great upbeat songs with a country/blues feel and really know how to get a room moving. The drummer in particular was really impressive (although that may just be because I am a drummer myself).
Subsource are a band that I have to mention. Working back stage, we weren't quite sure what to expect with this group. Like many other bands had done, Subsource had sent us details of everything they needed in order to play their set. We knew we were going to have our work cut out with this group, purely from the amount of equipment they needed to use, not to mention the bottle of rum that we didn't have! When they arrived however, we could see how professional they were, they we quick to load in and move equipment onto the stage, and no complains about the lack of rum! Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties that I couldn't even begin to explain or understand it took 45minutes for Subsource to get all of their equipment set up and running. But once they finally did get running, we could see why it was worth the wait. The band are a live dance act with actual musicians rather than laptops and create an incredible atmosphere. Their set was filled with fast, electrical groves and plenty of energy from start to finish. The only thing that would've improved their set would be if it had been later on in the day and they could've had a light show to go with their music. But overall they were incredibly tight and the atmosphere in the tent for their set was amazing.
Some of the other top acts of the weekend included ska punk act Dub Pistols, Six Nation State, 2 piece rockers Science of 8 Limbs and Turbowolf. I would also like to make special mention of Headstone Down. These guys were really nice to us and really easy to work with, they are an up and coming metal band with plenty of promise and I hope to see them again and I would like to see them do well. They had a brilliant crowd considering the festival seemed to mostly consist of hippy's and folk lovers, they were tight and energetic and put on a great show. A fantastic way to open the second stage up.
Conclusion
Bliss Fields was a great experience for me, I met lots of great people and saw some brilliant acts. I would recommend it to any music lovers, though if you prefer more mainstream acts then you would be better off going to Reading or Glastonbury. But for a small festival, Bliss Fields offers a cheerful and relaxing experience with a huge variety of underground music to go with it.
picture- Headstone Down along with the second stage, stage crew
No comments:
Post a Comment