Barnstomper Day 3

August 31, 2024 0 By Jon

Barnstomper Festival, Cerne Abbas Brewery

Friday – Day Two
They do say time flies when you are enjoying yourself and the last two days have just flown by, in fact the whole of the Summer seems to go by in a flash. The Boldre Crew are a colourful crew that take in a huge amount of festivals each year and enthusiastically support the local music scene. Today they are up early and the fancy dress code is “Nightwear” – just one of the many costumes they have all appeared in across the weekend.

Trav Cats 1–2–3–4–5–6–7

The reason they are up early is that their band Trav Cats open todays event at 11am. I must admit to absolutely loving these guys and have seen them perform a host of times. However, I can’t make it to the site until around 1pm and I miss both them and Mexican Dave. As I arrive there is chatter and excitement about the two acts, thankfully photographer Matt Rayner was on hand to capture some great pictures.

Mexican Dave 1–2

This weekend’s compere is a young colourful lady from Brighton called Tabitha Wild and as a occasional compere myself, I must say she appears to be doing a fine job. She is also appearing herself with just her uke and with her dulcet vocals she makes a mark with some heartfelt lyrics, performing tracks from her 2023 album “Classy AF”; taking in some very personal subjects such as relationships and politics.

Tabitha Wild 1

With an extra surprise to the published programme, a trio of musicians headed by Steve Lynch called Burg & The Vagabond Choir provide us with some fine acoustic instrumentation and harmonies with their Americana influenced tunes. They are joined by special guest fiddle player Fi from Pronghorn, who adds some fine accompaniment.

Burg And The Vagabond Choir 1–2

The festival feels more homely the more time you spend here, you sit down at a table to rest your weary body and end up chatting to people you have never met. These people become friends and you take time to speak to them when you see them at other musical events. It never fails to surprise me what sacrifices people make, one lady has five children and her and her husband had to put lots of arrangements in place so they could spend some much needed time together.

Next up are a local band I have been watching from the start and it is fantastic to see them finally taking to a large festival stage in front of a appreciative audience. The Surge are a five-piece Rock band who have been around for 18 months. After releasing their first album “Amped” last year, they are on their 2nd cycle with some great new songs beginning to filter through.

The band feature Alt/Rock and Punk influences, pooling various lyrical/instrumental ideas from across their members. The main focus is on lead vocalist Kat who has seriously upped her game, bringing powerful emotive vocals and plenty of sass.

The Surge 1–2–3–4–5–6

The effect-injected twin guitars produce an atmospheric hard-edged sound, coupled ably by their effective efficient rhythm section. Tracks like “Amped” with it’s Punk leanings stand together with the short sharp shocks of “Rich Girl” and “Snap Face”. The band relish their time on stage, grabbing the bull by the horns; giving the audience an impressive performance, clearly one of their best so far to date.

A quick dash over to the other stage to catch iDestroy, this trio of girls have just released their 2nd self-titled album and this year performed at the Download Festival. They are no strangers to the Barnstomper Festival, having played here back in 2022 – that day they earned themselves many new fans and have pulled quite a crowd this afternoon.

The band features on vocals/guitar Bec Jevon, along with the bassist/backing vocalist Nicola Wilton-Baker and drummer Jenn Hills. They are a band that come with a huge amount of energy and perform every show like it is their last.

iDestroy 1–2–3–4–5–6–7

Their songs are laden with powerfully thought-provoking, relevant lyrics. With tracks like the powerful “Headphones” highlighting the perils on women travelling on their own and “Petting Zoo” highlighting sex pests. Their performance is hard-hitting and the trio show why the band are pushing for the right trajectory. We are treated to other new tracks from the new album including “All My Friends are Plastic” and “I Don’t Want To Talk To You”.

The now legendary local songstress Millie Watson with her constant side kick Roxanne Phillips are next up. The duo have been travelling around a host of festivals this summer providing some excellent entertainment with materials from both talented singer/songwriters.

The two have formed a firm bond and their musical sisterhood has seen the combining on a number of projects. Today we are treated some of Millie’s original creations that show off some delicious harmonies and some finely contracted personal lyrics including brand new number “All We Have Left” about a recent relationship.

Millie Watson And Roxanne Phillips 1–2–3–4

I’ve heard plenty about the next artist Seán McGowan who has been making waves for quite some time from his locality in Southampton. He arrives on stage with a big smile on his face, along with his band who all seem super pleased to be here. Seán is what I would consider to be a social commentator and his honest lyrics are super relatable. His unique urban style vocal delivers tracks like the enduring “Millbrook Road” and “Cuppa Tea”, ably backed by his talented band.

Sean McGowan 1–2–3

New Forest’s Clockwork Carousel with rent-a-bass Alex from Pronghorn standing in with limited rehearsals, are up next. I have been fortunate to see these guys quite a number of times before and they never disappoint. Their chilled Americana, crossed with Britpop influences provide just the right vibes for this time of day. Vocalist Martin and mandolin/guitar play Garth particularly impress with their impressive skills. I suggest you check out their self-titled debut album, it’s one of the finest that an original Hampshire band has created.

Clockwork Carousel 1–2–3–4–5–6

As the sun starts to go down the stage begins to get much busier as people drift down from the campsite for this evening’s headliners. I participate in some sustenance with a really tasty spicy lamb kebab wrap, along with my last coffee of the weekend. A bit of news that’s been floating around since this morning says that sadly Gaz Brookfield has come down with the lurgy and cannot play, however the good news is a replacement has been quickly found in the form of Nick Parker who shares a few musicians with Gaz. The news comes as a double edged sword, I’m sad for the beagle loving Gaz, but ecstatic that we get to see Nick Parker and the False Alarms once again. Before Nick arrives the “Wessex Pistols” bring the party to Barnstomper.

Wessex Pistols 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8

The band who include a two-piece brass section; banjo, double bass, acoustic guitar, stand-up rhythms and several vocalists make a great sound. The band perform reworked covers in a Hillbilly/Bluegrass style. Their set includes many crowd pleasers including “Teenage Kicks”, “White Lines” along with some well curated jukebox parodies which the crowd all seem to love.

Today I have spent time with my two great friends Tim & Emma Lacey who I met at a gig in Bournemouth in 2013. Since then we have hung out loads of times at a host of local events and they both share similar tastes within the local music scene. Believe this or not, in a coincidence the final two acts of this evening have played in Tim & Emma’s lounge at their cottage at Corfe Castle. Their lounge is around 20 foot by 12 (rough guess) and around 30 people squeezed in to see Nick Parker and Pet Needs perform on separate occasions, proof can be found somewhere on the Rock Regeneration You Tube channel.

Nick Parker along with his band the False Alarms arrive on stage and launch straight into the brilliantly written tune “Departures”, with the whole crowd singing the lyrics joyfully with him and the band. Nick takes off his check shirt to reveal a homemade T-shirt that says “Gaz Replacement Service” and apologises for Gaz’s absence. He is one of the nicest blokes in the business and you truly feel he is just one of us. His songs are emotive and with my wife away on a holiday I confess to a few tears during the heart-tugging “Terry and June” (yes I am a big softy)!

Nick Parker And The False Alarms 1–2–3–4–5

The tunes come thick and fast and include “Down with the Yoof”, “Never Been To Dublin” and the brilliant sing-a-long in German “Es Tut Mir Leid”. There is a special treat in store as compère Tabitha Wild is brought on stage to sing a duet with Nick on a touching track called “I Guess I’ll Never Know”. With the words placed on banners, we are all encouraged to sing along too. We couldn’t have asked for a better replacement with Nick, Benny and the rest of the band giving a faultless performance and the crowd show loudly their appreciation.

Tonight’s headliners Pet Needs are a very hardworking band, who have certainly earned their place headlining here tonight. They have recently been featured on daytime TV and also performed on the main stage at the Levellers Beautiful Days festival. Featuring brothers Johnny (vocals) and George (guitar) Marriott who started off playing in their bedroom only a matter of a few short years ago.

Pet Needs 1–2–3–4–5–6–7

They now have three albums released in quick succession under their belts – “Fractured Party Music”, “Primetime Entertainment” and their latest offering “Intermittent Fast Living”, along with a host of various tours. They show the Barnstomper crowd just why their rise has been so fast, they are visually exciting to watch and their in your face infectious energy is hard to ignore. The Punk-infused tunes have become anthems for an army of loyal fans, titles like “Scratch Card” and the irresistible live favourite “Tracey Emin’s Bed” go down a storm.

The band find time to compliment the sound crew of Dan Potepa and Steve Smith of RMA Sounds, both of whom have done a fine job this weekend. The lighting engineer Cameron is also given plenty of praise and gets a moment to show his worth with his own lighting solo, which shows a kaleidoscope of colours and atmospheric effects. The band continue with some new tracks from the latest record including the brilliant “Sleep When I’m Dead”, a fast-paced Punk anthem that all the crowd clearly love. A lot of people previously have questioned if these were suitable headliners and on this showing they delivered the belief in them with a blistering set that will be talked about for a long time to come.

So there you have it, that was Barnstomper Festival 2024 – certainly one of my favourite events of the year and one that just seems to improve, year on year. There were a few issues but these were ironed out very quickly. Organisers Guyer and Lamma along with their team have my sincere gratitude for all the sweat and tears they put into putting this event on.

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