It doesn’t seem all that long since Wollaton Park hosted the first Splendour festival back in 2008 but they have moved leaps and bounds since then, with bigger acts, more bands, and a huge following. However, the splendid thing about this one day festival is that no matter how impressive the line-up gets, they never forget where they started, and every year bring more and more Nottingham-based acts to a huge audience. Add to the impressive and eclectic line up for all three stages, some circus shows, plenty of tasty options from food stalls such as Homemade, and numerous drinks bars, and you have yourself a party. The backdrop of Wollaton Hall A.K.A Wayne Manor is just the tip of the iceberg.
The first stage you walk past is the Acoustic Rooms stage in the courtyard, and is mostly made up of local acts. Jake Bugg once braced this one before headlining the main stage two years later, which adds a sense of local pride to this stage. Lowrie was one of the first acts on this very warm courtyard stage. Having recently changed his style from to a more piano, beats and synths led sound, it’s easy to assume his performance wouldn’t be as polished as an audience would hope for, but he proved his versatility and talent in a very convincing way.
Another Nottingham-based lad to give us a few songs was Josh Wheatley. His soft vocals matched with an equally soft guitar-playing technique created a perfectly relaxing sound to sway along to. The catchy melodies and lyrics had the crowd smiling and wanting to hear more.
The second stage is the Confetti Stage, hosting bands such as the unique These Your Children. Their cool exterior made the duo look completely at home on the stage, which kept drawing more and more people to them. Their beautiful harmonies matched with tracks that could easily be chart botherers make these guys perfect contenders for the main stage in the future.
The Fratellis, who are very well known in Nottingham due to Chelsea Dagger being popular with local sports teams. They may have saved this track for towards the end of their set, but their whole hour on the stage was mesmerising. They knew exactly how to play to a festival crowd and made it look easy, as if they’d done it a thousand times, which just got the crowd going even more.
Closing the Confetti Stage this year was the rock Gods themselves, The Darkness – with notably shorter and darker hair. They may not have looked like the band we all know so well from the noughties, but as soon as they began playing, they rocked the whole stage in true Darkness fashion. As soon as they played I Believe In A Thing Called Love, the crowd was covered in devil horns and head banging or jumping around, and every single person was singing along.
The main stage brought the biggest crowds, and it was ready to impress from the get go. The South African Jeremy Loops showcased his original and totally enjoyable set, helped by his harmonica, guitar and unique vocals. It seemed that it was impossible for the guy to run out of energy, running around the stage and transferring that exciting energy to the crowd.
UB40 were to grace the stage later on, and with a huge fan base, they were one of the most anticipated bands of the day. This Birmingham-based group may be getting older but they certainly haven’t lost that spark from their 80s heyday. From the very start they were getting people up off their bums and standing up, singing along to their many, many hits including Red Red Wine and Kingston Town. The pleasure they clearly felt while on the stage just added to their polished performance and gave every single person a smile – or maybe that was the red wine.
The final act of the day was the fire-haired Jess Glynne; the combination of her powerful voice and songs that are easy to dance to got us wiggling your hips without even realising. Her silver suit and round sunglasses made her stand out on stage no matter how far back you were. Impressive sounding on record, she is even more incredible live, and proved that she absolutely deserved that headline spot and is one of the best live female singers out there right now.
Splendour Festival took place at Wollaton Park on Saturday 23 July 2016.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
