{"id":4537,"date":"2014-07-07T13:06:32","date_gmt":"2014-07-07T12:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/?p=4537"},"modified":"2017-08-02T08:46:16","modified_gmt":"2017-08-02T07:46:16","slug":"western-park-festival-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/western-park-festival-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Park Festival 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Saturday 5th July 2014<\/p>\n

Western Park Festival 2014.<\/h1>\n

Report by Trevor Locke with contributions by others as indicated.<\/p>\n

A one day festival of local music was held today on Western Park in Leicester.<\/p>\n

There were three stages: The Main Stage, The Black Annis Stage and The bandstand Stage.<\/p>\n

Photos by Kevin Gaughan are no longer available on this page.<\/p>\n

One source estimated that over 3,000 people attended the event, the purpose of which was the raise money for The Friends of Western Park. The event was organised by Zander Events on behalf of the Friends of Western Park, an organisation set up in 2009 to raise funds for recreational facilities on the park. Around the music stages there was a fair selection of food outlets and an avenue of stalls providing community information and craft products. There were rides for the kiddies and various other events taking place including a dance area and an zone catering for mountain bike riders. All the acts at today’s event played for free, to help with the fund-raising initiative. Members of the public were asked to donate \u00a31 on entry and kids were admitted free of charge. Following the event there were many very positive comments on the Facebook page of the festival.<\/p>\n

This was the third event of this kind held on the park; for previous coverage see the links below. In 2013 the festival took place on Saturday 6th July.\u00a0In 2012, the event was held on 29th September.<\/p>\n

The large area of the park, where the music stages were held, covered an extensive area. By offering a broad spread of local bands and artists, the line-ups enabled people to see local acts that many would not have heard before. Most of those appearing on the three stages were acts that have played in Leicester’s music venues this year.<\/p>\n

I was there to cover some of the event for Music in Leicester and Kevin Gaughan took photos. More contributions are expected to come in, after this initial report, so please come back to this page in a few details to look for fresh comments.<\/p>\n

Guitarist Sam Bradshaw<\/strong> played a set of his instrumental pieces. Sam is a noted musician, often seen in the city playing his guitar at venues and festivals. A fine musician, Sam has composed a number of instrumental pieces and plays with distinctive style and skill.<\/p>\n

Dr X<\/strong> (Markus Reeves and Art Pridmore) opened the Black Annis stage to the early starters. Declaring that time was running backwards and as such they were headlining they were a nice introduction (or should that be close) to the day. Art, looking to outdo Markus with his home-made guitars, had a drum fashioned from the body of an acoustic guitar, balanced on a fully functional wine rack, writes Keith Jobey.<\/p>\n

Local singer Calvin Jeffreys<\/strong> was on the bandstand stage; accompanied by his Saxophone player, Calvin sang a delightful selection of his own songs, perfectly suited to a summary afternoon.<\/p>\n

The Arcadians<\/strong> opened the main stage. An indie band with a chirpy lead singer, their set of dancy tunes and attractive rhythms set things off to a vibrant start. The band performed in one of the first round heats of the Play@LMF<\/em> competition, earlier this year and were also seen at I Wanna Be A Rockstar<\/em> where they were on stage with The Bobcats and Casino Empire. Keith Jobey commented:\u00a0The Arcadians are a four-piece from Burton upon Trent. They had a bit of attitude about them and played a decent set of indie style rock.<\/p>\n

Keith Jobey:\u00a0I caught the last song from Matchstick Men<\/strong> and it sounded pretty good. Looks like they\u2019re coming along nicely.<\/p>\n

Flying Kangaroo Alliance<\/strong> were playing their last gig with the current line up as drummer Ivan Hunt lays down his sticks. And what\u2019s more, mascot Little Kangaroo has gone walkabout. Could anything be read into Meri\u2019s throwing the FKA sign away during the closing song Feel Free\u00a0<\/em>with technical issues early on but sounding great once that was sorted, wrote Keith Jobey and Trevor Locke added: The Flying Kangaroo Alliance had a fine set of songs, led by the strong vocals of Meri Everitt. Amazing as always, this band has drawn a lot of positive acclaim.\u00a0Keith has taken this video of FKA playing at the festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Keith Jobey said: \u00a0I hoped to catch Fallers<\/strong> featuring Rosie Doyle again but the stage times were running late meaning the bands on both stages were aligned, so I had to make do with buying a copy of their debut EP.<\/p>\n

On the Black Annis stage Surf’s<\/strong> three musicians provided a set of smooth sounds, highlighted by twangy guitar riffs. Listenable songs with a contemporary style.<\/p>\n

A four-piece band, Murmur<\/strong> delivered a lively start to their set. Their songs had plenty of vibrant \u00a0rhythms and high-pitched guitar riffs that reminded me of Leaving Party.<\/p>\n

Blues rock band The Bobcats<\/strong> delivered another stunning performance. This year has seen The Bobcats take off with a series of festival appearances both in Leicester and elsewhere and a series of highly acclaimed performances. Read more about The Bobcats<\/a> on Music in Leicester.<\/p>\n

On the main stage singer Elizabeth Cornish<\/strong> with her band gave an excellent performance that drew very positive comments from the audience. Elizabeth was recently acclaimed as being of the top female singers in the Midlands and today she certainly lived up to that accolade.\u00a0Keith Jobey made this video of Elizabeth Cornish performing Blueprints<\/em><\/a>. Read Keith Jobey’s article on Elizabeth Cornish album launch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Also on the main stage, The Strangler Figs<\/strong> likewise drew considerable adulation from people, many of whom would have seen them perform at recent events, such as the finals of Play@LMF when they were on stage with Tapestry, The Furies (who also played at Western Park today), Casino Empire and Violet Cities. In our review of that night we wrote:<\/p>\n

Strangler Figs were completely different. On the stage was ace lead singer Joe Pickering and standing by him one of Leicester\u2019s best ever bass players Joel Hanson. Both of them sang. The \u2018Figs\u2019s music was softer and funkier than the previous bands, more melodious, but every bit as engaging. There is a noticeable chemistry between the members of this band, the kind of chemistry you see in bands like Smokestacks and The Bobcats. They know how to work together, they feed off each other, they are all on the same wave length and they produce music of the highest quality, music that has its roots in jazz, blues and funk. Within their genre they are one of Leicester\u2019s finest musical assets. Every time this band plays people get converted. They do something that few others bands are doing these days. Superb, dazzling, nerve-tingling, inspiring, convivial \u2026 finding the adjectives is not difficult. Let\u2019s just sum it up by saying this is an incredibly good band that plays music of considerable excellence.[Music in Leicester 13th June 2014]<\/p>\n

Keith Jobey added:\u00a0The Strangler Figs are a talented bunch that pleased the crowd with their quirky style.<\/p>\n

The Furies<\/strong> is a one of my favourite Leicester rock bands; when they played at the LMF finals I wrote<\/p>\n

Rock from the mainstream but played with artistic excellence and performance impact that was far from mainstream. The Furies is a Leicester band that has been around since 2009. They have played major venues and festivals, received the plaudits of many rock aficionados and tonight they rocked the socks off the audience… Their performance tonight was exceptionally good, even by the Furies\u2019 standards. What makes them stand out is their ability to write incredibly good songs, tunes you can easily remember on the way home, songs that they wrote themselves but which sound like covers \u2013 because they are just so well written and well constructed. Listening to a half hour set by The Furies is a moment of magic. [Music in Leicester 13th June 2014]<\/p>\n

Keith Jobey wrote: The Furies are another band considering their future as they saw farewell to guitarist Joe Connor. Their harder rock sound catching the attention of the audience, enabling them to sell a number of copies of their CD after their set. \u00a0See our article about The Furies at The Musician<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Singer Dan Wright<\/strong> was on the bandstand stage, performing \u00a0a set of songs. Dan Wright was one of the artists featured in Singers of Distinction 2013<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

I caught some of 8 Miles High<\/strong> next. Four songs in fact, three of which were covers of Kasabian, Jet and the Arctic Monkeys, but well executed and played with some gusto. The last song I caught was one of their own, the title track off their EP and the influences of the bands they\u2019d covered were there to be heard. I\u2019d like to catch them again, writes Keith Jobey.<\/p>\n

BANDSTAND STAGE<\/p>\n

1100 – 1120 Sam Bradshaw
\n1120 – 1145 John Fryer
\n1145 – 1210 Daz Lynch
\n1210 – 1230 Calvin Jeffreys
\n1255 – 1315 Jason Smith
\n1340 – 1400 Jesse Wright
\n1425 – 1445 Andessa Louise Martin
\n1525 – 1545 Dan Wright
\n1615 – 1640 The Simpletones
\n1715 – 1735 Becky Edwards
\n1810 – 1830 Polly
\n1910 – 1930 Matt Henshaw<\/p>\n

OLD MAJOR STAGE<\/h2>\n

We have referred to this as the ‘main stage’
\n1230 – 1255 The Arcadians
\n1315 – 1340 Flying Kangaroo Alliance
\n1400 – 1425 Elizabeth Cornish
\n1445 – 1525 Strangler Figs
\n1545 – 1615 The Furies
\n1645 – 1715 Stone Washed
\n1735 – 1810 The Mixtones
\n1830 – 1900 Brandy Thieves
\n1930 – 2000 Stop that Train<\/p>\n

BLACK ANNIS STAGE<\/h2>\n

1140 – 1210 DR X
\n1215 – 1245 Matchstick Men
\n1250 – 1320 Fallers
\n1325 – 1355 Surf
\n1400 – 1430 Murmur
\n1435 – 1505 The Bobcats
\n1510 – 1540 8 Miles High
\n1545 – 1615 Slow Motion Band
\n1620 – 1650 The Bench That Rocked
\n1700 – 1730 the junipers
\n1735 – 1810 The Lost Future
\n1815 – 1850 Ash Mammal
\n1855 – 1925 – Jimmy Amnesia<\/p>\n

See also:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Peter Coombs’s report on the Western Park festival in 2013<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Western Park Festival’s page on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The website for the Friends of Western Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our report on the Foxton Locks Festival 2014<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Festival on the Pitch<\/a><\/p>\n

Extra report on Download Festival 2014<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our report on the final show of Play@LMF<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our main page on Download Festival 2014<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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