Last weekend we were at Underneath The Stars music festival near Barnsley. It rocked. The company was brilliant, the camping was fun (albeit a bit hard underbed!), the food options were delicious, the bar was crafty, the loos (and showers!) were sparkly, and the weather was bliss. But what about the music? The music was awesome all the way. Check out the programme. Thanks to everyone involved in putting on a final, clean, safe, enjoyable UTS.

Friday highlights:

  • Hope and Social  - one of the bands that I was here for after the storm a few years back. It was a super, energy-filled set.

  • John Smith - really nice artist to enter into the festival vibe with. Far Too Good is a great track.

  • Fanny Lumsden - So much yes. Sad to have been totally unaware of the country halls tour of Scotland as it would have been easy to have made it along. Lots of energy and the Aussie megamix was fun.

Saturday highlights:

  • The Hunch - a nice start to the day - lovely musicianship and some nice banter from the oldest band at the festival.

  • Barnsley Youth Choir - so lovely to hear their music drift across the festival site (I was on chair-minding duty when everyone else was in the tent - but the joy of UTS is that anywhere near the tents and the sound is fab)

  • Suntou Susso - great vibes.

  • Delores Forever - mixed feelings - everyone else loved it but it was disconcerting seeing a band miming instruments along to a backing track at a folky festival. Energy was good though!

  • Beans on Toast - funny, sweary, political and the audience was there for it. 

  • Keston Cobblers Club - sounded amazing. If you know Stables then this is half of that band and it was a great sound. 

  • The Feeling - highlight of the day. Watched inside. You know it’s a good gig when the band opens with their most well-known song and does a solid Queen rendition as an encore. 

  • The pop-up choir - went to sing along and, as ever, enjoyed singing with a group. Not often I’m in a choir of 120+!

Sunday highlights:
Sunday was where it was at for me - the day just built and built for me.

  • Lucy Spraggan - great set. 

  • King Zepha - loved the brass. Great start to the day - just the right Sunday morning vibe.

  • Brown Horse  - Hilariously I was in the mosh pit for this. Could do with some tweaking of their stage presence and song arrangements but was a good listen. 

  • Skinny Lister - shanty punk!

  • Hamish Hawk - an intense (marmite) stage presence but some unbelievably good performances of some powerful songs. Everything I’d hoped for.

  • Bill Bailey - yup, right down in the mosh pit again. Good show (only negative was a suicide joke that got a bit of a gasp and a tumbleweed reaction from the folks around me). Not entirely sure the 60 minute set justified all of the different instruments but a funny romp all the same. 

  • Gary Stewart’s Graceland - is it weird that this was the highlight of the festival? Some of the band from Hope and Social playing, in order, the album Graceland by Paul Simon. Not a cover band, a lush, rich faithful playthrough with accomplished musicians to celebrate the music of the album. The tent was bouncing… and with such great songs it’s not a surprise. Thanks for bringing the energy to one of my favourite childhood driving albums, and one which the 1987 concerts are a point in history that I can’t ever get to. There’s controversy and cultural appropriation to this album - this album is history itself - but as a kid growing up I wasn’t aware of that at all and just fell in love with the music.