Category: Hall Of Fame

Singer Lauren Young opened the festival in 2017.

Nick Wilson makes noises with his mouth. He performed on the main stage in 2018

Liam James Ward invites you to come as you are and **** it up to the danciest grunge and the grubbiest indie. He performed for us at 2018’s festival.

The DJ brings house party energy to festivals, club nights and gigs with his heady, hedonistic sets.

Light up inside (in spirit) with the counter-culture. Spill drinks all over the (hypothetical) settee. Forget yourself and dance ’til you’re sweaty in the eclectic sonic surround of the best danceable tunes on the underground scene – and beyond.

Starting out by DJ’ing at university, Liam has been honing his knack for orchestrating carnage ever since.

Whether it’s indie, punk, rock or pop playing on the speakers, a Liam James Ward party holds no bars and leaves for no breaks in your dancing.

His goal is to take you out of the every day and into the house party you’ve been praying someone would put on. It’s a goal that can be realised at your local club night, or in the gaps between bands at the next gig you go to.

Wherever it is, everyone’s invited to party together on the sticky floors: acceptance is required and reckless abandon encouraged in the intoxicating atmosphere of a LJW party.

If it’s fun, it’s allowed in, but expect dance/indie/punk hits from the counter-culture both retro and recent: LCD Soundsystem / Demob Happy / Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Christine and the Queens / HAIM / Pulp / Talking Heads / Sea Girls / Hot Chip / Phoenix / Charli XCX / The Drums / BLOXX / Indoor Pets / The Wombats / Robyn / Inhaler

…and a tonne of your new indie favourites on the up in the underground scene.

Liam is a keen advocate for new acts, and a champion of brilliant new bands. Expect to find more of the musical energy you love with indie/dance/punk tunes delivered straight from the grassroots and onto the communal dancefloor.

For the years that have passed since that first university slot, Liam has made his way into the scene he so champions, playing gigs and club nights in London and mingling with the most exciting new talent around the country.

From night to night, he’s built a following with sweat and bangers as his currency, and has started to ride the wave to bigger venues.

Championed by BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens & Phil Taggart; Lincoln’s Vigilantes played our festival in 2018.

Championed by BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens & Phil Taggart, Vigilantes have had continued airplay on BBC Radio 1, Radio 6 & the R1 Specialist Show.

Vigilantes are continuing the British tradition of taking American sounds and stuffing it with classic British tone and have been placed on Radio 1’s Best Of BBC Introducing playlist and had repeat airtime on Amazing Radio & Radio X.

Noted by Fresh on the Net’s Tom Robinson as ‘On a mission’, Vigilantes are known as one of the hardest working live bands in the UK circuit.

By putting every fragment of energy into live performance, Vigilantes have deservedly shared stages with the likes of Circa Waves, The Sherlocks and Electric Six and also appeared on BBC Radio 1’s Virtual Big Weekend 2020.

Quotes:
“American influences with British hearts” – Huw Stephens, BBC Radio 1
“There’s good and there’s very good. This is very good” – Phil Taggart, BBC Radio 1

“The power and tightness of the playing. Vigilantes will blow your socks off live” – Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 6, Fresh On The Net

“Powerful Indie rock!” – Elise Cobain, Amazing Radio

“These are very exciting!” – Janice Long, BBC Radio Wales

A four-piece band from Lincolnshire who pride themselves in playing huge, tight and energetic shows – exactly what we were treated to in 2018.

Over the course of 2016, The Ultraviolet have had success with the release of their debut music video ‘Wake Up Dead’ which has resulted in interviews, airplay and live sessions on BBC Introducing shows. This was also accompanied by a UK tour and a bunch of festival shows around the Country, including Mudfest with Scouting For Girls and Goldie Looking Chain.

The band have started 2017 strong with the release of their new EP, ‘The Tales Of Our Youth’, as well as their latest single ‘All I Need Is To Be Needed’ which has also been positively received by the likes of BBC introducing. Since it’s release, they have taken to road to play tours and festivals all across the country.

The band have had the honours of sharing the stage with notable acts such as Lonely The Brave, Hunter & The Bear, Marsicans, Anavae, Amber Run, My Heart Is A Metronome, Grumble Bee and Like Torches.

“They are probably the liveliest band you will ever see live” (BBC Introducing Lincolnshire, 12/11/16)

“Such passion and spirit would not only be amazing with a large, enthusiastic crowd but in fact certainly makes them deserving of one.” (O’Rileys, Hull, 18/02/16)

“They plied considerable megawatts of energy into their performance. Lead singer Ben Thorn danced around the stage, lay down on it, knelt on it, was all over the place but determined to display the mood of what the songs were about.” (The Shed, Leicester, 26/09/16)

The bouncing 2 piece indie band from the East Midlands were acclaimed as “One of the best festival bands we know” by BBC Introducing after conquer-ing every major festival stage in the country including Reading & Leeds; including ours in 2018.

With the release of their debut EP ‘Sparks’ in 2016, Tin Pigeons quickly received national recognition when their single was named as BBC Radio One’s Introducing track of the week – gaining huge support from the likes of Huw Stephens, Greg James and Steve Lamacq.

Major exposure has never stopped for the band, with their single ‘You’re No Fun’ having plays on BBC6 and their most recent single ‘Breathe In’ being praised by top blogs.

After this release, Tin Pigeons began to take the country by storm, balancing studio time for new releases alongside intense touring; gaining an incredibly strong fan base across the UK.

Having supported the likes of OUTLYA, Billie Marten, SeaFret and Fickle Friends, as well as their own frequent headline tours covering the length of the country – Tin Pigeons live performance has become a must see and has surely gained them the title of one of the strongest bands on the UK’s live circuit.

Victoria was one of the festival’s first ever performers back in 2015.

The Shrives are a four piece rock n roll band from Grantham/Nottingham. They were a main stage highlight in 2018.

Formed in early 2014 they were quickly swept off to California to record their debut album ‘Back In The Morrow’, working alongside Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) and Joey Armstrong (SWMRS).

They released the album in early 2017 with a packed out show at Rough Trade Nottingham.

The Shrives first single gained attention from Kerrang!, NME and Rock Sound aswell as many underground blogs and university magazines.

They have gone on to play alongside bands such as SWMRS, The Soapgirls, Soeur and Judas, aswell as playing at Rebellion Festival and Dot to Dot Festival.

They have had songs featured on BBC Introducing East Midlands and have had support from Steve Lamacq at BBC 6 Music.

“The worlds hottest new bands – Matt Grocott & The Shrives” – Kerrang 2015

“The Shrives should be your new favourite frentic punk band.“
– Rock Sound

“The Shrives are unafraid to experiment, with their music veering from solid indie to pop to punk-funk.” – NME

“Keep your eye on The Shrives.” – Kerrang!

Lauren Emily Rycroft is a 21 year old singer/songwriter who plays her unique combination of achingly beautiful guitar and dark, honest lyrics throughout the UK.

She joined us to play the festival in 2017.

2016 saw Lauren support artists on tour such as Newton Faulkner and Janet Devlin, perform at festivals like Dot to Dot, Live at Leeds & Tramlines, be invited on her own tour with Coffee House Sessions (following in the footsteps of the likes of Nina Nesbitt, The Shires & Luke Sital-Singh), and receive national BBC radio play and her own live BBC Introducing sessions in Leeds, Nottingham and Lincoln.

The end of 2016 saw Lauren embark upon her own headline UK tour with her backing band, supporting her self released 6 track debut EP titled “Tide of the Mind” – produced at the legendary 2fly studios (Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, The Long Blondes).

The EP has been a resounding success with her songs being played on all 39 BBC stations across the UK and the EP being picked by BBC’s Melvyn Prior as his “Album of the week”, the first unsigned act to be chosen by him.

The Leeds singer-songwriter was a highlight of 2017’s festival.