A Look Back at Summer Festivals...

Our front door photo!

As Summer gives way (rather abruptly) to Autumn, and a time for “school photos in front of doors”, we are looking back at our festival summer.  We attended festivals at opposite ends of the spectrum!  From The Long Road (TLR) - established, celebrity endorsed which offered FIVE stages and a whole lot of music and activities attended by thousands and the home of the festival fashionista , all the way to Pure Country, a little smaller – hundreds of people and just the two stages, but still plenty of activities for the attendees, where we were honoured to be invited to once again act as Stage managers/stage hosts.

 

At Pure Country MDF

Are the two festivals very different?  Yes.  And no.  Sure, TLR is on a massive scale, but just like Pure it features great country music, it’s full of country music loving people who are friendly and inviting, providing the opportunity to meet old friends, new friends, drink, dance, eat, and even shop.  You won’t know all the artists, but that’s the best bit!  While Pure features the acoustic stage with slots available for anyone brave enough to ask, TLR  featured an open mic and the finals of the Homegrown Talent contest.

 

Open Mic at TLR

What did we learn from our two festivals this summer (while “working” at both!)?

 

• We learned to line dance – Alex Wise at Pure Country will make use of any gap in the music to get everyone up on the dancefloors, and it doesn’t matter how good you are.  If you do different steps, it’s just a “variation”.
• We learned that it’s not just US music that has line dances – up and down the country people are creating dances to UK songs that can be found on Copper Knob, a website set up just for this.  Learning a dance to an artist who is playing live is exciting for the dancers – and the artists!
• We learned that tassels are this year’s big fashion item – on tops, on jackets, on hats and especially on boots.  We learned that even Kurt Geiger is getting in on the tassel action!
• We also learned that Dogs are the new influencers,
• and Pickle backs are the new shots!

 

We love festivals, whether working or attending, and we are very grateful to the teams that make them happen and the artists who play.  For some it’s the pinnacle of their career, for others it’s the very first step.  This year we watched artists take their first nervous steps onto an open mic stage, seasoned artists play a bigger stage, a better slot, we even celebrated with a certain UK artist who has just signed a record deal! 

Home grown talent was all around us, at the Long Road we watched Jake O’Neill on the main stage, First Time Flyers on the Interstate, Kezia Gill on Buddy’s and the Round Up take to the Hitching Post Stage, all flying the flag for UK Country music.  At the Showground we watched Scarlett Whincup and Tom Hodges, both veterans of Pure Country MDF. 

 

Jake O'Neill on the Main Stage

With Tom Hodge and Scarlett Whincup

It's not just artists that grow, just like those children in the first day photos, festivals grow from small ideas and big ambitions.  Pure turned two this year, next year Buckle and Boots celebrates its tenth show and Country Calling was this year’s new kid on the block.  The British Country Music Festival shows each year that you can have a fully indoor festival and has become the anchor at the end of the summer so that we can see August out with a bang and a “yee haw”.

 

How does an artist get to the main stage (or record deal) and how does a festival grow?  Well, in both cases it involves hard work.  Hitting every opportunity, loading the van in the pouring rain, pouring your heart into every song.  Slogging round the club scene, playing every night, every hour you can.  Being your own roadie, promoter, manager, social media team.  For the festivals it means setting up in the rain, being your own stage crew, ticket seller, gate agent and everything else that pops up.

For both it takes a leap of faith, starting over again, and again, and again. Hoping someone will hear you, come to you and support you.  It can be as unnerving as that first day at school.  As you master one level, you have to move on to the next…

It’s not instant success, if nothing else the festivals show us - it’s a long road to success.

Silverball Country attended The Long Road as guests of Lime Tree Music 

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