Foolhardy Folk Festival – Nottingham – Live review
Towards the end of the original lockdown, the ever creative music industry sought ways to bring people back together to experience the unparalleled joy of live music. The Arboretum in Nottingham hosted a number of events including a couple of shows from folk favourite Frank Turner.
That is where the story of the Foolhardy Folk Festival begins as the man behind the festival, fellow folk icon Beans On Toast played in support of Turner. From there on Beans has affectionately taken over and curated his own festival which this year is a complete sell out.
A large part of this is the stunning line-up put on but another is the fantastic sense of community that exists in this portion of the folk scene and the lovely audience that has taken this back to basics event to heart.
Opening his own event Beans On Toast highlights the great music, great food and great beer theme. On the music front Beans serenades the already full venue with the likes of ‘Major Oak’, ‘The War on War’ and ‘Humans’ as the festival gets into full swing.
The festival is family friendly and this is punctuated by the vibe created by attendees in that we are all family. Beans own daughter lays on kids activites, there is live art and lots of merch offer as well but with short changeovers the attention is mainly on the one stage where both Vona Vella and Tensheds play delightful early sets.
Soon enough it’s time for our special guest to take to the stage and this year that means Frank Turner himself as he returns the favour three years on from that socially distanced affair.
As you’d expect Turner gets a hero’s welcome as he begins his set with ‘Be More Kind’ and ‘The Ballad of Me and My Friends’. The crowd’s singing voices are in fine fettle which is a good thing considering the sing-a-longs continue through to final song ‘I Still Believe’.
Another beautiful thing about this community is the lack of ego on show, Turner as always appearing eternally grateful for the opportunity to play. The same can be said for your next three acts Truckstop Honeymoon, Ferris & Sylvester and Jeffery Lewis & The Voltage. All three acts are given equally as passionate reactions from the audience who can clearly appreciate beautiful music.
Considering we’ve brought our two little monsters with us another great thing about Foolhardy Folk Festival is that the music is wrapped up by 9pm! But before then we still have two highly anticipated performances.
First up are the always joyous Skinny Lister who bring their traditional party atmosphere to the festival. Perhaps more so than any other set today, the Lister crew get the fans up and dancing to the likes of ‘Cathy’, ‘This Is War’ and ‘Trouble on Oxford Street’. The band are surely now established as one of the best live acts in the UK and with a new album and tour on the horizon, there will thankfully be lots of opportunities to catch them again in the near future!
Finally the event ends just as it began… with our gracious host Beans On Toast! With backing band in tow this time around the show feels different and special as our headline performance. Kicking off with ‘Life’ and ‘Not Everybody Thinks We’re Doomed’ the set is an uplifting celebration of our existence and is the perfect way to end a wonderful day.
The cutest cameo from Beans daughter, new material and old favourites ensure that despite having to follow some sensational artists, Beans On Toast is able to send the crowd into the night reminiscing about a beautiful day, many including our kids still singing the chorus of ‘On & On’!
With another edition already announced for next August, the Foolhardy Folk Festival has quickly established itself as a must attend date on the folk calendar. This is of course a credit to Beans On Toast, but also to everyone involved behind the scenes and of course the fan community that makes the event so special.
In December, folk favourite Beans On Toast broke with tradition slightly and instead of releasing a new album on his birthday, released a collection of well received children’s stories! Well, another tradition for Beans On Toast is touring and as per his latest single, that tradition is intact with the singer now ‘Back out on the Road’!
The road this evening leads to Norwich Arts Centre, a fantastic venue in the heart of the city and tonight is all but sold out. Early attendees are treated to a delicate and delightful opening performance from Ann Liu Cannon. You could hear a pin drop as the crowd absorb the tender words of a talented young songwriter.
BEANS ON TOAST
Soon enough it’s time for Beans On Toast to take to a stage complete with new backdrop, lighting and a table! Yes, Beans has gone big for this tour and even has a loose setlist written on the table.
The loveably unpredictable nature of a typical Beans show remains however with the singer regularly going off-piste with audience requests and stories from the road. Beans has always impressed with his ability to improvise and tonight he deals with some rather inebriated fans with veteran aplomb.
As for that setlist, there is a good mixture of old and new as you’d expect from a musician constantly churning out topical content. New songs include anti-war protests, odes to fabled venues and considerations of an AI future. The packed crowd hang off of every word and note, as Beans On Toast demonstrates his natural ability to hold an audience’s attention.
Old favourites are present too with the likes of ‘The War on War’, ‘The Chicken Song’ and set closer ‘On & On’ enticing some of the bigger sing-a-long moments. All in all, tonight is yet another successful show for a musician who has long since established himself as an underground national treasure!
Festival season is in full swing, the weather is warm, and the women are setting the standard for football, in many ways life is good. Of course in many other ways things are tough right now.
Music has always been an escape from reality, and we certainly need a distraction right now, so as Y Not Festival open their gates for the first time in three years, it’s time for tens of thousands of fans to let their hair down and celebrate. That is once they can actually get in, with some enormous queues upon entry dampening early spirits.
Now, the last and only time I attended Y Not Festival was the fateful 2017 event which ended in cancellation midway through. I wrote a scathing review for another publication and swore never to return.
Well, watching from a distance the festival has put out some stunning line-ups since then, and organisational changes appear to have improved things and returned the events reputation to pre-2017 levels. This year is in fact billed as their first year back as an independent festival.
Having decided to give the festival a second chance on the basis of their 2020 line-up, I’ve since witnessed the line-up change multiple times for the worse based on my personal preferences. There is no doubting however the overall quality of the line-up at a tough time for festivals.
I’m interested to see how the event will progress and whether it can change my opinion of the festival after the 2017 debacle, so the huge entry queues on Thursday and Friday aren’t the best start.
Thankfully once inside, things pick up quickly! The general layout is well thought out in the main arena, with the main stage, the second stage (The Quarry) and numerous other attractions in the main section of the arena, and the third stage (The Giant Squid) and various other stages and attractions located in a smaller area.
This almost creates two distinct festival areas, with a busy walkway connecting them. The only issue here is that later on in each day this thoroughfare does bottleneck and makes movement very difficult. At one point on Sunday night, this reaches a near dangerous level as fans flood the area trying to catch an Oasis tribute band on one of the smaller stages.
Whilst I quite liked the two separate areas concept, in future additional access would need to be installed at the other end of the second area to avoid any disastrous incidents and make crowd movements flow better.
Now on to the music! Thursday is an add-on day and those to fork out and arrive early are given a splattering of acts to enjoy.
The first such act that we catch is Lucy Spraggan who does a great job in getting the audience into the spirit of things. Spraggan has the crowd singing along to the likes of The Proclaimers cover ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’, and fan favourites ‘Last Night (Beer Fear)’ and ‘Wait for Me’.
Next, The Hunna grace the main stage and also deliver a crowd pleasing set. The band’s momentum seems to have stalled slightly, but that upwards trajectory is set to relaunch if the reaction to new single, ‘Trash’, is anything to go by. ‘She’s Casual’ and ‘Bonfire’ serve as a reminder of what the band is capable of, and leaves the audience fully pumped up for our Thursday headliners.
WATCH ‘TRASH’ FROM THE HUNNA ON YOUTUBE
The Hunna – ‘Trash’
Those headliners are indie stalwarts The Kooks. The band have been celebrating their debut album, ‘Inside In/Inside Out’, whilst they have also recently released a new album, ’10 Tracks to Echo in the Dark’. It’s no surprise then that 15 out of 21 songs tonight come from those two releases.
The new tracks manage to hold up well with the hits such as ‘Ooh La’, ‘She Moves In Her Own Way’, ‘Always Where I Need To Be’ and ‘Naïve’. All in all this equates to a fun headline show which sets the standard for the weekend to come.
Friday on paper is the best day musically for me heading in with a great mix of the new and established acts that Y Not Festival has managed to book so well.
It’s a new act we start with on the main stage as Lauran Hibberd brings her charismatic indie pop to Y Not Festival. The early risers are treated to a glimpse of a star in the making and those that make the effort don’t regret it. Hibberd’s debut album, ‘Garageband Superstar’ is out this month, and based on today’s showing it will be a breakthrough record.
Hibberd has featured previously on our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist, and next we headed to the ‘Giant Squid’ stage for the first time to catch fellow playlist alumni Daytime TV.
Daytime TV showcase their incredible debut album, ‘Nothing’s On But Everyone’s Watching’, as they quickly blast out the likes of ‘We Can’t Be Friends’, ‘Hush’, ‘Ugly’ and ‘Zombie’. This is another band with a great future, and today they deliver the goods for the early crowd.
Watch our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast with guests Daytime TV
‘Discover’ New Music Podcast – Episode 14 – Daytime TV
Continuing the run of fantastic young acts we catch MarthaGunn in the ‘Giant Squid’ and The Skinner Brothers in the ‘Allotment’. Two very different acts, but two more acts that make the very most of their time on stage, clearly winning over any fans not already converted.
We then return to the main stage for another newer act, but one that already feel established. The Snuts burst onto the scene with their debut album, ‘W.L.’, and have dominated festival stages this year. Today fans are treated to a look at what comes next with new songs ‘Burn the Empire’ and ‘Zuckerpunch’ sounding massive. Expect The Snuts to continue to climb festival bills over the next few years, and don’t be surprised when they are eventually headlining the likes of Y Not Festival.
The Pale White continue what has been a consistently brilliant day of music with a powerful set in the ‘Giant Squid’, before we head to the ‘Quarry’ for the first time this weekend.
Festival favourite and all round legend Beans On Toast assembles a huge crowd for a sing-a-long session. The heralded folk singer serenades his crowd with favourites such as ‘The War on War’, ‘M.D.M.Amazing’ and ‘On & On’. Really, there should be a law that dictates that Beans On Toast appears at every single festival.
Watch The Full Pelt Music Podcast with guest Beans On Toast
The Full Pelt Music Podcast – Episode 3 – Beans On Toast
Even before the major issues struck in 2017, one gripe I had about Y Not Festival was the apparent disorganisation in relation to set times. I worry next that perhaps this issue hasn’t been fixed as Manic Street Preachers fail to appear for their advertised start time. Eventually a message appears on the screens citing technical difficulties, and the band finally arrive almost an hour late on stage.
This of course has a knock on effect to our headliners Stereophonics, and also means when the Manics do arrive, they quickly depart again only playing for half their originally scheduled time. The technical difficulties seemingly continue to dog the band throughout their short time on stage, which causes more set changes on the fly. A lesser band may have given up, but Manic Street Preachers force their way through.
Stereophonics are a safe bet as a festival headliner, guaranteed to deliver the goods and give the audience a good time. That’s exactly what they do to close out Friday night, with a set mixed of hits and deep cuts from throughout their distinguished career.
The double header of of Welsh icons Manic Street Preachers and Stereophonics was a major selling point for many fans, so it’s disappointing that the technical issues leave a sour taste in the mouth.
Saturday soon arrives and we start off on the main stage for another double header of established acts. The Futureheads and Levellers bring the crowds in early as the festival rights the wrongs of last night. Both bands deliver solid sets which the audience lap up, and the party is in full swing as we head deeper into Saturday afternoon.
We refocus next however back to the fresh new acts that help to make this festival so appealing. Do Nothing, King No-One and the excellent The Mysterines all draw big crowds to the ‘Giant Squid’ stage and all three acts are able to produce perfect festival sets to the delight of the packed tent.
Sea Girls are one of the bands leading the new wave of indie and they are next up on the main stage, where they are greeted by an army of their fans. The band and fans then reciprocate energy for the next forty-five minutes and the result is a very enjoyable watch.
Our Saturday night is then spent back in the ‘Giant Squid’ for two bands that personify the festival. First up is a hot new band on the cusp of greatness in the form of Yard Act. This is a band that has been touring solidly and making a name for themselves. Today they put the spotlight on debut album, ‘The Overload’, which gets the entire tent bouncing along.
Lastly is an established act of indie folklore, We Are Scientists! The band finish out the night with a fan pleasing set full of favourites such as ‘It’s A Hit’, ‘The Great Escape’ and ‘Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt’.
WATCH ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’ FROM WE ARE SCIENTISTS ON YOUTUBE
We Are Scientists – ‘The Great Escape’
It’s during this time that the heavens open for the first time. Back in 2017 it was the Saturday night when the festival organisers decided enough was enough, come Sunday morning the last day was cancelled and a disorderly evacuation of the site commenced.
One massive criticism of the event that year was a lack of foresight with heavy rain predicted well in advance, the site saw little or no preparation for the weather. It’s great this year then that prior to the rainfall we see straw spread at key points in the arena.
The result is that despite a night of rain, the arena is still in good nick come Sunday morning and we are able to continue with the high quality entertainment. Kudos then to the present organisers for taking proactive action rather than waiting until the horse has already bolted!
So, onto my first Y Not Festival Sunday! We again are on the hunt for new talent early on and catch both Marty and Cucamaras in the ‘Quarry’ and Baby Queen capturing the imagination of the main stage. All three showing that the future is bright.
Sunday really sinks it teeth in on the main stage with back to back performances from Amy MacDonald and Jake Bugg. Two more established acts with stacked back catalogues, two more artists that are able to deliver polished and well received sets as the shine really starts to break through.
After some sing-a-long action with MacDonald and Bugg, it’s back to the fantastic new music offerings as The Hara and Rews in the ‘Giant Squid’, and Vistas and Dream Wife in the ‘Quarry’ all deliver blistering performances which really rile up the audience.
Soon there is a great moment on the main stage where The Vaccines get to announce the incredible result of the Football mid-set. The atmosphere is electric as fans celebrate with more great music.
For us that great music sees us conclude our weekend back in the ‘Giant Squid’, firstly with Blood Red Shoes, who have released one of the albums of the year in ‘Ghosts On Tape’. Their belated set is an intense and ferocious explosion of rock which instantly enters the race for performance of the weekend.
Watch The Full Pelt Music Podcast with guests Blood Red Shoes
The Full Pelt Music Podcast – Episode 4 – Blood Red Shoes
That honour is hotly contested as across four days of music we somehow haven’t seen a bad performance. The pure quality on offer despite the multiple line-up changes since 2020 is a testament of the work of the booking team for Y Not Festival.
The last band of the weekend for us is Black Honey, who decide that the crown for set of the weekend belongs to them. They deliver an energetic yet majestic performance that is the perfect way to end what has been a great weekend.
I must admit scepticism coming into the event, and whilst I hoped that a great weekend would be had, I wasn’t sure. The organisers have rectified the issues of 2017 and have earned themselves a clean slate from me.
Whether you just want to chill at the main stage, or go hunting for the best kept secrets in the tents, Y Not Festival had it all this year. The ghosts of the past have been put to bed by the acts of the future!
2020 was a year that we all wish we could forget. Could 2021 be any better? Well, it started off just as the previous year ended; with the live music industry on its knees. Lockdown restrictions still ruled out any live in person shows, with even socially distanced shows initially outlawed.
Come late spring, things began to look up and a number of “test” events were planned. We were lucky enough to attend the Pilot Download Festival and the euphoria of being amongst fellow music fans in a field can’t truly be put into words. Things were looking up!
Live music would eventually make a full return but sadly as we write this The Year In Review 2021 feature, the sector is once again holding its breath waiting for the Government to take action. Alas, true normality may still be a long way off, but for a few months this year we got to feel alive again.
That alone elevates 2021 above 2020, but there is plenty more to unpack. We recently undertook our now annual countdown of our top albums of the year over on our social media. 2021 was a truly exceptional year in terms of album quality. Those musicians kept in lockdown last year certainly found their creativity and compiling a list of the top 50 albums of the year was highly competitive.
In our The Year In Review 2021 article, we will be revealing our end of year award winners. As with last year we will announce our Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Artist of the Year, Gig of the Year and Festival of the Year.
This year however we have an additional award to hand out. 2021 was a big year for Full Pelt Music, our first full year in existence. We’ve grown and we’ve enhanced our focus on new music. We launched initially our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist on Spotify through which we highlight the best up and coming artists.
We also launched not one but two Podcasts this year, including the accompanying ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast where we truly shine the spotlight on your new favourite acts. As such, this year we will also be awarding the ‘Discover’ New Artist of the Year award!
Before we get to those awards though, let’s run you through a few of our highlights this year. First of all, as mentioned we also launched The Full Pelt Music Podcast this year. Fittingly our inaugural guest was Frank Turner, the winner of both our Gig of the Year and Artist of the Year awards in our 2020 Year In Review.
Across the Podcasts this year we’ve had the pleasure to talk with Press To Meco, Beans On Toast, Miss Vincent, Planet Fatale, Mercutio, Light By The Sea, Freddie and the Fabs, The Damned Few, Project Renegade, Icarus and Smoke! Be sure to check out these conversations, and also to Subscribe on Youtube or wherever you listen to your Podcasts. After all, we will have plenty more for you to enjoy in 2022.
The Music Industry has seized on the opportunity to entertain this year both live and on record. We’ve reviewed 66 albums, 2 festivals and 27 gigs in 2021 as fans have been treated to incredible releases and some truly stunning live shows. Again, perhaps the enforced break has allowed creativity to breed innovation.
So with that in mind, let’s work through those award catagories!
Album of the Year
As we’ve already referenced, the pure quality of releases this year made compiling our Top 50 Album of the Year List very tricky. It was hard work but we did it, and you can read the full list here.
The quality is demonstrated best by last year’s winners IDLES only reaching a still respectable number 7. The winner however had to be ‘Blue Weekend’ from the incredible Wolf Alice who continue to go from strength to strength. After three stunning albums, there is no ceiling for this band and we can’t wait to catch songs from the album live in 2022.
Winner:
‘Blue Weekend’ by Wolf Alice
The Contenders:
‘Written & Directed’ by Black Honey, ‘Typhoons’ by Royal Blood, ‘Seize the Power’ by Yonaka and ‘Transmute’ by Press To MECO
Previous Winners:
2020 – ‘Ultra Mono’ by IDLES
Single of the Year
We move on now to our award for the Single or Song of the Year. This year has again seen us locked down for considerable amounts of time and many will have sought solace in Playlists such as our Spotify Hot List.
In selecting our track of the year we considered which songs we’ve come back to time and time again, which songs remain as fresh now as they did on first listen and what songs simply just resonate on a different level.
Our winner is an incredible track from the fantastic album ‘Transmute’ from Press To MECO. ‘A Test Of Our Resolve’ ticks all of the criteria and also sounds absolutely massive live.
Press To MECO – ‘A Test Of Our Resolve’
Winner:
‘A Test Of Our Resolve’ by Press To MECO
The Contenders:
‘My Town’ by Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, ‘Afterlife’ by Holding Absence, ‘Midnight’ by Creeper and ‘Haven’t Been Doing So Well’ by Frank Turner
Previous Winners:
2020 – ‘Obey’ by Bring Me The Horizon feat. Yungblud
Artist of the Year
Artist of the Year now and for this award we look for somebody who has had a huge, perhaps even career-defining year. Last year we gave the award to Frank Turner for his incredible work for the #SaveOurVenues campaign through his Independent Venue Love series.
This year our winners are a band that also dabbled with livestreams during that first lockdown. This year however has been a hugely important year for Biffy Clyro. A new album, ‘A Myth of the Happily Ever After’ came hot on the heels of last year’s ‘A Celebration of Endings’. It’s another quality album from a band that continue to deliver consistently great music.
The band also had a huge impact on the live music scene this year. Firstly, the band rode to the rescue by stepping in as late replacements for Queens of the Stone Age to once again headline Reading and Leeds Festivals.
Secondly, the band played huge outdoor shows in Cardiff, Glasgow and Margate to help signal the return of live music after around 16 months of lockdown. Highlights of both their Reading and Glasgow performances aired on the BBC.
Lastly, the band played a completely sold out and very intimate ‘Fingers Crossed’ Tour across the UK. Their shows this year giving fans an opportunity to witness songs from not one but two albums live for the first time.
Biffy Clyro – ‘A Hunger In Your Haunt / Unknown Male 01’
Winner:
Biffy Clyro
The Contenders:
Enter Shikari, Bring Me The Horizon, Creeper and Wolf Alice
Previous Winners:
2020 – Frank Turner
Festival of the Year
Festivals made a belated return from lockdown restrictions in late summer, although the majority of the usual seasons events were still cancelled. For our Festival of the Year however we can’t look anywhere other than the special event that laid the groundwork for all events to return, the Download Pilot Festival!
Back in June the Government test event was the first opportunity for music fans to camp in a field and rock out for three days. The camaraderie and atmosphere this situation created, combined with the uniquely intimate Download layout and line-up made for a once in a lifetime experience.
British bands took centre stage and delivered an incredible weekend of music; with bands and fans both desperate to experience live music again. Thanks to all involved we can hopefully experience a full fat Download Festival again this summer.
Last year’s winner of Gig of the Year was a socially distancing outdoor affair, this year however true live music returned! Picking a winner this year is difficult because the pent up frustration of lockdown on both musicians and fans vented fully across some amazing gigs.
We reviewed 27 of those shows this year and there were some very special moments amongst them. The winner however must go to Bring Me The Horizon who stormed the O2 Arena with You Me At Six and Nova Twins in tow.
The night was a massive middle finger to any remaining doubters and the band solidified themselves not just as arena fillers but as festival headline ready. Fitting therefore that they have recently been revealed as headliners for Reading & Leeds Festivals next year.
Creeper @ O2 Kentish Town Forum, Idlewild @ Electric Brixton, The Offspring @ Wembley Arena, Biffy Clyro @ O2 Kentish Town Forum, Vukovi @ Norwich Waterfront Studio and Royal Blood @ Norwich UEA
Previous Winners:
2020 – Frank Turner @ Nottingham Arboretum
‘Discover’ New Artist of the Year
Our final award is a new award for this year where we shift focus on to the future. Having launched our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist and Podcast this year we wanted to honour an act that we have featured and for whom the future is bright.
With their debut album ‘A Funeral For Youth’ cracking our top 20 for the year, Miss Vincent take the inaugural ‘Discover’ New Artist of the Year award!
Miss Vincent – ‘Rosaline’
Winner:
Miss Vincent
The Contenders:
Planet Fatale, Dead Nature and Thumper
So, it hasn’t been a usual year again, in fact at times it has been just as hard as 2020. 2021 has however reminded us of what we were missing. Stunning new music, incredible live shows and a return to some normality (nobody say ‘new’ normal!), make 2021 a year that will live long in the memory for many reasons.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our The Year in Review 2021 feature and we wish you a very Happy New Year. Here’s hoping 2022 is a good one!
2021 has been another tough year to live through. There have been some signs of normal life, for example the return of live music, but we end it as we started with true normality a distant memory.
This year has however been a stunning year for new music releases. Yes, lockdown musicians and the odds are their creativity will take over. In Full Pelt Music’s first full year of existence we have reviewed 65 albums and the quality of those releases has been exceptional.
Last year we counted down our Top 20 albums of the year, with a special Advent Calendar countdown on our Twitter. This year we have expanded! Our 2021 countdown has taken place across all our social platforms, and has listed our Top 50 albums of the year!
With that social media countdown completed, it’s now time to compile our completed Top 50 in one place. So let’s get started!
What we said:
“there are stunning moments spread throughout the album”
Rob Zombie – ‘The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)’
What we said:
“was anybody craving a new album from The Offspring in 2021? Perhaps not, but actually in this messed up world we live in, maybe, just maybe, we needed it!”
“vitality shouldn’t be mistaken for relevance and whilst the band may have peaked commercially, they remain of utmost importance to a generation of music fans”
Check out:
Rise Against – ‘Nowhere Generation’
What we said:
“anybody that had any doubts about the natural talents of this group of musicians, they should now acknowledge a new force”
The quality of this year’s releases has been truly phenomenal as our opening 30 albums attests. The competition is extremely tight for the coveted top spot and that is clear throughout the prestigious Top 20 that follows.
What we said:
“a sublime collection of upbeat, heartfelt and powerful songs that is bound to be stuck on repeat for the foreseeable future”
“a rare talent that have now reinforced their passion and ability to create great music for anybody who wants to listen but without concession on their vision”
Well there you have it! What a truly magnificent year for new music 2021 has been. What will 2022 have in store? Remember to discover the best new acts by following our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist’!
Stay tuned for our 2021 Year in Review coming very soon.
This is our first visit to Three Wise Monkeys in Colchester and we discover a fantastic little venue above the pub on a vibrant and Christmassy Friday night in the town centre. Our reason for visiting is cult folk singer Beans On Toast, as he hits the road to support new album, ‘Survival of the Friendliest’.
The support slots tonight from local singer Benjamin Brown and main tour support Kitty Liv sail by, which is a complement to both for their delightful performances.
Soon enough it’s time for the man himself to grace the intimate stage and for this tour he is joined by Liv, and Mystery Jets bassist Jack Flanagan to fill out his sound during portions of the set.
The first portion of the show sees the three-piece serenade the audience with a mixture of old and new tracks. New songs ‘A Beautiful Place’, ‘Blow Volcano Blow’ and ‘Not Everyone Thinks We’re Doomed’ take centre stage and showcase his wonderful new album ‘Survival of the Friendliest’.
As with all Beans On Toast shows, there are sing-a-longs galore with ‘Watching the World Go By’, ‘I’m Home When You Hold Me’ and ‘The War On War’ all coming early on. Soon its left for Beans alone to break out a number of favourites and rarities such as ‘A Whole Lot of Loving’ and ‘Peter Pan’s Playground’.
Towards the end of the night Liv and Flanagan return for another superb collaboration on songs such as ‘Humans’ and ‘Let’s Get Married Again’ from that new album.
At the end of his encore, Beans On Toast is joined on stage by long time friend and collaborator Frank Turner for ‘The Album of the Day’. A great treat for fans, and evidence that you should expect the unexpected at a Beans show.
A fantastic evening of songs, stories and laughs is closed out with ‘On & On’ which sees the main man backed by Flanagan, Liv and Turner for a truly spectacular finale. Tonight was just further evidence that Bean On Toast is an underground national treasure!
BEANS ON TOAST – SURVIVAL OF THE FRIENDLIEST – ALBUM REVIEW
As per tradition, Beans On Toast is back with a new album for his birthday in which he provides social commentary on the events of the past year. This year sees him in a positive mood with the release of ‘Survival of the Friendliest’.
That positivity is a breath of fresh air in a world that, as the man himself sang, has gone crazy. This is an album exploring the possibility that things can and will get better, after all as the song says ‘Not Everybody Thinks We’re Doomed’!
Working with the main man on this record are Blaine Harrison and Jack Flanagan of Mystery Jets. The collaboration works perfectly and helps the music match the positivity of the lyrics, creating an infectiously upbeat tone to the album.
‘Survival of the Friendliest’ certainly continues the evolution of this talented artist musically, following the path of its recent predecessors. The accompanying arrangements beautifully showcase those trademark vocals. These songs are distinctively more radio-friendly then his early material.
WATCH ‘HUMANS’ ON YOUTUBE
Beans On Toast – ‘Humans’
Highlights from the album include ‘Humans’ and ‘Let’s Get Married Again’ but the record deserves to be listened to and appreciated in its entirety. We say that because, the collection of songs that comprise this album are up there with the best that Beans On Toast has released.
In a world shrouded in negativity, ‘Survival of the Friendliest’ provides a light in the darkness, a feeling of positivity that instils a sense of hope. Let’s face it, it’s going to take more than an album to change the world, but for forty minutes let Beans On Toast put a smile on your face!
Few musicians command such a passionate and dedicated fanbase as Frank Turner does. Since 2017, he has held an annual pilgrimage known as Lost Evenings. 4 days of activities based on the man himself punctuated by 4 headline sets each offering something different.
Last years event in Berlin was cancelled for obvious reasons and with the world not out of the woods yet Turner has chosen to return to the spiritual home of the event, Camden.
Whilst the main event takes place at the legendary Roundhouse, the festival takes over most of Camden. There are multiple stages of music, pop up gigs, panels, tattoos and much more.
THURSDAY
So let’s start unpacking the events of Lost Evenings 4! The event commenced on Thursday for the solo show of the weekend. No Sleeping Souls (well, just one – Matt Nasir on mandolin), as Turner explores some of the hidden gems of his back catalogue.
There are two fantastic support slots on the main stage from Emily Barker and Grace Petrie. Two incredible musicians who both manage to grab the audience with both hands, each joining the other during their sets as they encapsulate the spirit of the event.
Throughout the weekend Beans on Toast acts as master of ceremonies introducing each act. Next he welcomes Turner for the first of four occasions!
Turner and Nasir proceed to serenade the partisan audience who relish the opportunity to hear a few lesser played numbers. Turner states that he will endeavour to repeat only a few songs over the weekend.
Thursday highlights include new single ‘Haven’t Been Doing So Well’, the emotional ‘A Wave Across A Bay’, rarer numbers ‘Losing Days’, ‘Substitute’, ‘Tattoos’, ‘Josephine’ and special sing-a-long cover ‘Somebody To Love’ with Turner joined by Petrie and Barker. All in all a great way to start the festival.
FRIDAY
Friday sees Turner joined by his band The Sleeping Souls for a set billed as “the first three albums plus new songs”.
As far as support goes we start with the new – PET NEEDS. The young band from Colchester showcase tracks from their brilliant debut album including ‘Toothpaste’, ‘Pavlovian’ and ‘Tracey Emin’s Bed’, which receive big reactions from the crowd.
Next up it’s something old with longtime Turner contemporary Jamie Lenman joining the party. Given the theme of the evening you’d assume those in attendance would be aware of Turners hardcore past, but there are more than a few deer in headlights reactions to Lenman’s hard and heavy outing. It is however an excellent performance that ensures any first night hangovers are blown away.
It’s then Turner time again and tonight we get a carefully curated set of early favourites. Fans again get some rarer tracks from the vault including ‘Live Fast Die Old’, ‘Once We Were Anarchists’, ‘Back In The Day’, ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the One of Me’, ‘To Take You Home’, ‘Nashville Tennessee’, ‘Imperfect Tense’ and ‘Sons of Liberty’.
There is also a special section where fans get to hear three new songs from upcoming album ‘FTHC’ in the shape of ‘Non Serviam’, ‘Punches’ and ‘Haven’t Been Doing So Well’ again.
The night is rounded off by ‘I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous’, ‘Father’s Day’, ‘St. Christopher Is Coming Home’ and ‘Photosynthesis’ sending the crowd home happy.
SATURDAY
Saturday now and we first head to the Lock Tavern for an Xtra Mile Recordings takeover with special acoustic sets from PET NEEDS, BERRIES and Johnny Lloyd.
Both BERRIES and PET NEEDS play delightful sets to a packed room which go down very well. Sadly it is then announced that Johnny Lloyd is unable to make it. Thankfully master of ceremonies Beans On Toast is on hand to play an impromptu set.
As expected Beans On Toast has the audience in the palm of his hand as he regales them with tales and songs relating to Camden. A lovely afternoon that represents all that is great about Lost Evenings.
It’s very quickly time to head to the Roundhouse for round number three, which on Saturday sees Turner play his seminal album ‘England Keep My Bones’ in full.
Watch Frank Turner on Episode 1 of the Full Pelt Music Podcast!
Before we get there we have two more fantastic support acts. First up this evening is the highly entertaining The Lottery Winners. With their catchy songs and endearing onstage banter, the group are a delightful opening act.
Next the incredible Nova Twins take to the stage and initially elicit somewhat of the same response as Lenman the day before. However by the end of their set they have captured the imagination of the whole crowd. Nova Twins future is bright and on the evidence of tonight it shouldn’t be long before they are headlining venues this size.
The next may well be the most hotly anticipated performance of the entire weekend. The main man playing, in full, an album that catapulted his career and won a legion of fans. Those in attendance know that this will be special…
..And special it is! Not just said album in full but all accompanying b-sides and associated tracks. From the moment Turner takes to the stage and opens with ‘Sailors Boots’ the energy in the room of immense. This is only amplified when playing the likes of ‘I Am Disappeared’, ‘One Foot Before the Other’, ‘Peggy Sang The Blues’, ‘Redemption’ and ‘I Still Believe’.
Joined at times by string and horn sections the finale sees everything come together with ‘Eulogy’, ‘If Ever I Stray’ and ‘Glory Hallelujah’ delivering a memorable and worthy finale to the evening.
SUNDAY
The final day of the festival is billed as the greatest hits day. Turner who has kept to his promise to limit repeats, has held back some of his most loved songs. But first, Guise! Fronted by Jess Guise, the band do a great job warming up the crowd. They may be on home turf with Guise married to Turner, but it’s their music that earns the fans adoration come the end of their set.
Our last support act of the weekend is another band Turner fans are familiar with. Skinny Lister are possibly the perfect band to raise any tired spirits after a busy weekend. They bring the party, get the crowd moving and ensure the stage is set for Turner to close out the event in style
Tonight’s mission statement is clear from Turner – send the fans home happy. ‘Get Better’, ‘1933’ and ‘Little Changes’ kick off a set full of fan favourites.
In a well structured set list Turner includes some lesser played favourites such as ‘Thatcher Fucked The Kids’ and ‘Glorious You’. From start to finish he has the audience in the palm of his hand.
The encore of ‘The Ballad of Me and My Friends’, ‘Photosynthesis’, ‘Recovery’ and ‘Four Simple Words’ provides just the ending required to what has been another incredible weekend.
As we said at the start, not many artists could create and sell out a weekend like Lost Evenings, but Turner has built something very special and Lost Evenings 5 is surely in the pipeline already!
A necessary but shocking side-effect of the first lockdown and beyond is the impact on the live music industry. An industry that revolves around bringing people together in confined spaces to celebrate life and art. Music and particularly live music is vital to the mental health and wellbeing of millions of people, and the loss of that medication has added to the already scary situation we have all found ourselves in.
When the world ground to a screeching halt in March 2020, the primary concern for all of civilisation was rightly to fight the devastating coronavirus and to protect against loss of life. Alternatively as the government put it – “Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives”.
The music industry and the incredibly talented people that make up the sector is by its very nature creative and innovative. As we all searched for new ways to connect with our loved ones and our passions, musicians had the answer. Welcome to the world the music livestream!
One man seemingly ahead of the curve on this front was Frank Turner. Turner is known to be “always on tour” as it were, and was in fact mid-tour as the pandemic hit. Turner was quick to hastily ready a special livestream event from his own home raising money for his touring family.
At the same time, the reality was dawning on the live music ecosystem of the potentially fatal impact caused by the pandemic countermeasures. In particular the Music Venue Trust, who do amazing work year round even in non-pandemic times, were busy mobilising. The MVT were well positioned to see the threat to the grassroots music venues of the country.
We have gone into depth on the subject in our blog – ‘Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues’, but ultimately the venues that foster and cultivate the entire music industry were in trouble. Sadly many face the threat of closure due to non-pandemic related issues. The events of March 2020 onwards however threatened these venues, the lifeblood of live music, to the point of extinction.
The perfect storm called for urgent action and one man taking notice and standing tall was that man Frank Turner. Soon we were all introduced to a new concept from Turner, Independent Venue Love. A series of livestream concerts taking place every Thursday during lockdown to raise desperately needed funds for at risk music venues.
A different venue would be supported each week and each week would see a unique set list. In creating this series Turner raised much needed awareness and financial support for venues. By doing so he helped to safeguard the future of live music; perhaps most importantly though, Turner also provided an escape from the terrifying realities of pandemic life. The Independent Venue Love series will have played a powerfully positive role in raising spirits and safeguarding mental health for music fans desperate for a distraction.
In our first ever End of Year Awards, we picked Turner as our ‘Artist of the Year’. You can read what we wrote about this decision in our ‘2020 Year in Review’. Basically we feel Turner deserves a medal for his efforts in arranging and performing these fantastic events. Turner has raised a phenomenal amount of money and has helped countless people through horrifying times either directly or indirectly.
That is why we thought it would be fitting to celebrate and remember the Independent Venue Love series here. You can peruse the posters for each event in the gallery below.
Independent Venue Love Posters
Now let’s get started in documenting the series.
Early Facebook Days
As we all adapted to pandemic life, we strived for the best communications technology. Many discovered the wonders of Zoom meetings for example. When debuting the IVL series, Turner took to Facebook Live. A learning experience for all, some early streams were impacted by connectively issues and eventually led to a change of internet provider for Turner and a move to Youtube.
The first five events featured on Facebook Live (and a dabble on Instagram!) saw Turner begin a career retrospective; with each week featuring another release in chronological order.
Vol.1 – ‘Sleep is for the Week’ for Nambucca, London
From Volume 6 onwards Turner would move the weekly series across to Youtube with better connectivity results. Turner would continue to progress through his career retrospective to the delight of his fans. A drinking game would also emerge for fans at home based initially on apologies to either his wife Jess or his mother.
As Turner’s gameplan to play his back catalogue continued, fans were treated to rare song outings. These outings occasionally would see the odd forgotten lyric, and the terming of the phrase to Varley in ode to fellow musician Will Varley. Eventually each Varley would be incorporated into the drinking game!
Vol. 6 – ‘Rarities and B-Sides 2011-2014’ for The Parish, Huddersfield
With his released back catalogue now exhausted and lockdown one (known back then, simply as lockdown!) still persisting, Turner needed to explore different avenues for set list material. A demand for a ‘Disney Set’ initially failed to materialise until a special shortened bonus set one night.
Turner however would push on with additional themes to continue his herculean effort (Joe Wicks eat your heart out!). Volume 13 would also take place from inside the venue Turner was raising funds for as signs of normality began to appear. Volume 14 would be titled ‘The Final Stream’… little did we know what the future had in store.
No we are not doing Whitesnake Karaoke! A brief return to real life saw some socially distanced music possible. Turner in fact was able to play numerous shows including our ‘Gig of the Year’ as awarded in our ‘2020 Year in Review’.
Sadly the pandemic took a horrific turn for the worst. With venues still at risk and people desperate for escape, Turner and IVL would make their triumphant return in January (otherwise known as Lockdown three!). This time around Turner’s wife, Guise, would move to an important mediator role as fans got to pick the setlist!
We all hope and pray that a return to normality is on the horizon. That the incredible work of scientists and our key workers will save lives and allow life to resume. Volume 21 closes the IVL series with a request set from Jess Guise herself.
Turner has achieved amazing results from the IVL series. The fact is that he didn’t have to do this, and for that he deserves recognition.
The Music Venue Trust, Independent Venue Week and all organisations and groups working to protect our culture deserve special praise also.
Sadly the end of the pandemic and the return to relative normality won’t remove the threat posed to our grassroots music venues. Please when safe to do so, support these venues, support your favourite bands, support new bands, support music!
Full Pelt Music looks back on 2020 for our Year in Review
What a year to pick to review. It’s been a year like no other and not for good reasons.
On a personal level as detailed within my first blog, ‘The Reluctant Blogger’, I was made redundant from a job I loved, just before Christmas and during a global pandemic! Not nice, but realistically I wouldn’t be writing this blog on this website if that hadn’t happened! The decision to return to writing about music also allowed me to take a look at the relationship between music and my mental health in ‘Mental Health, Music and Me’.
For the world it has been a year of pain, struggle and despair. From the fires of Australia to the flooding of the UK early in the year and now again just before Christmas; there has been no restpite in the year of the coronavirus. Unprecedented is the word of the year, but with Brexit and the ongoing pandemic looming large, the word for next year is probably uncertain.
Everybody has struggled this year, personally and professionally. This struggle is not limited to the music industry but our industry has struggled greatly. The live side of the industry is built on bringing people together and of course that has not been possible since March. The recorded side of the industry has also struggled with delays in recording, producing and distributing.
Recovery for the grassroots of the industry is far from guaranteed. The stark and sad reality is that many musicians and hard working crew members will have needed to have sought alternative employment and the actuality here is that many will never return to the music industry. The fact is many government schemes setup to alleviate the financial pressures on individuals and businesses simply bypassed these people.
Unfortunately the pandemic has also hastened the plight of many grassroots, independent music venues. We have sadly already lost many venues and there are still many more at imminent risk of permanent closure. We have written extensively about the issues surrounding our industry in our blog ‘Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues’, and we encourage you to get involved in the initiatives highlighted.
This is of course a creative and innovative industry and through struggle we evolve. Much like the loss of my own job bred this website, the loss of touring and live shows has seen the evolution of the livestream. Many musicians have embraced technology and sought new ways to engage with their audiences. We have looked at the rise of this phenomenon in our blog ‘Livestreams: Good or Bad for the Music Industry’.
When looking back on 2020 in the future, the memories will fill everybody with dread. There has however been some fantastic musical highlights despite everything else. We recently revealed our Album of the Year in our ‘2020 Album of the Year’ blog; and the Top 20 list was highly competitive.
2020 has produced some incredible music and that’s where we are going to focus this end of year review. In order to celebrate the successes of a very difficult year we going to look at the following awards – Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Gig of the Year, Festival of the Year and Artist of the Year!
Album of the Year
As mentioned we recently listed our Top 20 Albums of the Year here. This was a highly competitive list as 2020 saw some truly phenomenal releases.
Full Pelt Music’s Top 20 Albums of 2020
We said “It has been a crazy year, and this list has been heavily influenced by that. As mentioned the top of this list is massively impacted by new music I heard during the height of the initial lockdown. ‘Ultra Mono’ was an album that I was already extremely excited to hear; and the stream of songs released during Lockdown only served to raise that excitement to a fever pitch.
Thankfully IDLES didn’t disappoint and when the album arrived it was a pure masterpiece. It shows a natural progression on the bands first two records and grows the bands sound. It still captures what made us all fall in love with the band but by incorporating new elements into the bands sound the album shows that IDLES are no one trick pony.
Above all other releases this year and those that feature in this list, this was the album that we needed this year. In a year where we have all been knocked down one way or another, IDLES and ‘Ultra Mono’ has been a call to arms, to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and keep going.”
WINNER:‘Ultra Mono’ by IDLES
The Contenders:‘A Hero’s Death’ by Fontaines D.C., ‘Post Human: Survival Horror’ by Bring Me The Horizon, ‘Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible’ by Enter Shikari, ‘A Celebration of Endings’ by Biffy Clyro, and ‘Sex, Death & the Infinite Void’ by Creeper
Single of the Year
It’s been a good year for both Bring Me The Horizon and Yungblud, with both releasing stunning new records. Yungblud recently hit the number one spot with ‘weird!’ which we reviewed here, and Bring Me The Horizon silenced their doubters with ‘Post Human: Survival Horror’ which we reviewed here.
It shouldn’t therefore be so much of a surprise that their collaboration together is our standout single of the year. Accompanied by an over the top video, ‘Obey’ is a rip roaring tale of corruption and brainwashing, so perfectly fitting for 2020!
WINNER:‘Obey’ by Bring Me The Horizon feat. Yungblud
‘Obey’ – Bring Me The Horizon feat. Yungblud
The Contenders:‘Model Village’ by IDLES, ‘Space’ by Biffy Clyro, ‘Trouble’s Coming’ by Royal Blood, and ‘Protect The Land’ by System Of A Down
Gig of the Year
I was lucky enough to catch some fantastic shows early in the year, you know BC (before Covid!), and Stereophonics, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Kaiser Chiefs and Fontaines D.C. all deserve special mention.
For my Gig of the Year however I’m again looking to the Covid era.
When life has drastically changed and you’ve been deprived of the opportunity to do something you love, you learn to savour those moments more. For me, as somebody that in 2019 attended some 93 gigs, the loss of live music was devastating. Of course, many people have endured much worse in 2020, particularly at the height of the initial national lockdown; for me however, I was just desperate for live music.
The opportunity to watch real, live music again thankfully emerged (if only for a short time) at the end of summer. Frank Turner lives by the moto “Always on Tour”, and he wasn’t going to let a global pandemic get in the way. An innovative location for a socially distanced gig was Nottingham Arboretum, basically a bandstand in a park. The result was a stunning if unusual setting for a gig which came to life when night fell and Turner serenaded the sold out crowd with his biggest hits.
A great supporting cast including Tash Bird, Holly Carter and Beans On Toast helped to make this show one to remember. The musicianship on show was fantastic, as was the togetherness and gratefulness of an audience desperate to once again forget life’s stresses and enjoy an evening of music. It was a powerful evening that brought tears to many an eye, and that’s why it wins our Gig of the Year award.
WINNER: Frank Turner @ Nottingham Arboretum (20/09)
Nottingham Arboretum
The Contenders: Stereophonics @ Kentish Town Forum (21/01), Kaiser Chiefs @ Brighton Centre (30/01), Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes @ Alexandra Palace (15/02), and Fontaines D.C. @ Norwich UEA (24/02)
Festival of the Year
The coronavirus pandemic completely obliterated the 2020 festival season, as early optimism that some festivals would survive was eventually swallowed whole by this horrible virus. With social distancing in place, festivals just were not possible. But didn’t I say that the music industry is the most creative and innovative industry? Whilst some promoters attempted to arrange socially distant shows, tours and festivals, few succeeded; with even Live Nation cancelling a huge programme of drive in shows.
I was lucky enough however to venture to two such festivals at the Norfolk Showground near Norwich. A mixture of entertainment was laid on in a specially designed arena with socially distanced ‘pods’ maintaining the necessary safety measures. Brickfest was a one day festival focussing on covers band with a handful of original acts like headliners Bad Touch thrown in. The day was a huge success given the circumstances, as was our 2020 Festival of the Year – Wild Fields Festival!
Wild Paths Festival debuted in Norwich last year with acts gracing venues across the fine city. This year the event embraced the outside arena and rebranded as Wild Fields Festival over two days was an eclectic line-up on offer. The first day featured great sets from many young artists including Lauran Hibberd, Indoor Pets, Another Sky and headliners Gengahr.
Even through the greatest adversity the power of the arts shines through and Wild Paths was a shining example of how to put on a safe, fun and thoroughly entertaining festival during a global pandemic.
WINNER: Wild Fields Festival
Brickfest at the Norfolk Showground, also host of Wild Fields Festival
The Contenders: Brickfest
Artist of the Year
Our final award is for Artist of the Year. In a such an unprecedented and difficult year this award is going to an act that has considerably contributed to making the year better. Fantastic new music has played a hugely positive role in improving a hard year. With this in mind that means that IDLES, Biffy Clyro, Enter Shikari, Bring Me The Horizon, Fontaines D.C. and Yungblud are all in the running for this award.
Beyond that however real live music when possible has been an even greater high than normal. As such Frank Turner enters the running as an act I somehow managed to catch live this year some four times including the aforementioned Gig of the Year.
But this year is different, new albums and live shows whilst normally the lifeblood of our industry almost feel insignificant when you look at the horrors witnessed across society, both inside and outside the music industry. One saving grace for many this year has been the arrival of the music livestream. A number of those already mentioned have dabbled if not excelled in this activity.
Our winner however has taken this new outlet to heart. They have provided joy and distraction to thousands of people during what must be a record setting number of livestreams. More than that, they have managed to raise an amazing amount of money for a cause I have already championed in this blog. That cause is of course the Save Our Venues campaign and our Artist of the Year is clearly that man again, Frank Turner!
In 2020, Frank Turner has probably played more real shows and more livestreams than anybody else. He has recorded and released new music including collaborations with NOFX and Jon Snodgrass. He has produced the fantastic new Beans On Toast record. He has thoroughly entertained and provided much needed distraction from the real world to thousands; and he has raised an incredible amount of money for charity.
In reality Turner deserves a medal, but what we can give him is our Artist of the Year award!
WINNER: Frank Turner
Artist of the Year – Frank Turner
The Contenders: IDLES, Biffy Clyro, Enter Shikari, Bring Me The Horizon, Fontaines D.C., and Yungblud
2020, a year we will all be hoping to forget very quickly, but there has been some great music released. All focus now however is on 2021 and those vaccinations. We hope that sooner rather than later we will be able to safely gather again in those venues and fields to watch our favourite artists in the flesh.
There will also likely be an avalanche of new music coming our way with artists having been isolated with their creatively for company. Let’s just hope that not every song is about lockdown!
