After returning from a 6 month around the world trip (hence the lack of blog entries), and missing all of the British festivals, I came back just in time for Festival No. 6!
Not only am I lucky enough to live right on the doorstep of No. 6, but I also get cheap tickets to the event! Last year's outing to the festival was just on a whim, as someone kindly gave us free tickets, it was a 'might as well' decision, and now it has become...wait for it...probably my favourite festival.
The great thing about No.6 is that it's not all about the line-up (as you would probably be a bit disappointed with the line-up/price of ticket ratio). Throughout the weekend at this wonderful location theres poetry readings, story telling, woodland trails and their very own cinema. One of the things I was stupidly too lazy to attend this year AND last year were the woodland raves, which Iv'e heard are amazing, but however only last until sundown. The other reason I rate this festival so highly is the venue, well you can't really call it a venue, as it's more like a fairytale village from a child's novel. Iv'e been going to Portmeirion ever since I was a child, and I will never get bored of it, there's always something new to discover with every return.
Now back to the music.
I only heard about London Grammar about 3 days before the festival, and this was about 9 seconds of my friend playing them from her iphone. And as I was there, it would have been silly not to check them out...and I was blown away. The voice of the Hannah Reid, the singer of the band, has been likened to Florence Welch (Florence & the Machine), however, in my opinion, she's better. She has one of the best voices Iv'e heard live. They have become my favourite band of the moment, probably because they have a similar sound to The xx. It's vey relaxed but too good just to be background music. Listen to Strong and you will be blown away, then Hey Now and you won't be able to close your ears.
My second favourite artist of the weekend was Lianne La Havas. After listening to her Mercury nominated album Is Your Love Big Enough? whilst away, I was desperate to see her live. She was what I expected and more (the more being her see through dress). She is a very talented musician and has a very enchanting presence on stage. I would definitely recommend seeing her live if you ever have the opportunity.
Over the whole weekend there were a number of incredible performances. Headlining on Friday was James Blake, who was amazing live (and very very attractive guy), so I was not going to miss looking/listening to him. My Bloody Valentine headlining was a bonus for me, as I hadn't listened to them very much pre-No.6, and now I have a new band on my 'to download' list. The Manic Street Preachers were a tad disappointing, I did only watch them for a short time, so this could be my fault. My friend saw them a few years ago playing their last performance after a long tour, and he said you could tell. However this is the description of how they played on the Sunday, however, I love their music, so would give them a second chance!
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| My Bloody Valentine |
Overall, a very successful weekend (apart from the downpour on Sunday). I can't recommend this festival enough, not just the contents of it but it's location. If you are unfortunate enough not being able to attend next year, you can visit the village any time of year!
Links:
http://www.festivalnumber6.com/
http://www.portmeirion-village.com/
http://www.londongrammar.com/home/
http://www.liannelahavas.com/
http://www.mybloodyvalentine.org/
http://jamesblakemusic.com/
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