Student Radio Association

The Drums, Mystery Jets, The Rifles, The Charlatans, Frankie and the Heartstrings, The King Blues and a healthy helping of local bands such as We Beat The System, the Lake Poets and Matt Stalker and Fables = the perfect festival weekend!

Posted By: Rachael Devine on 23/09/11

The Drums, Mystery Jets, The Rifles, The Charlatans, Frankie and the Heartstrings, The King Blues and a healthy helping of local bands such as We Beat The System, the Lake Poets and Matt Stalker and Fables = the perfect festival weekend!

Based in the heart of Sunderland; Split Festival kicked off this weekend at Ashbrooke Sports Club. With acts hailing from America, London and the North East we all got stuck into the festival season in between interviews. The March Hare and the Mad Hatter were there to oversee the festivities and keep the children entertained, whilst the bars were stocked with alcohol to occupy the adults: a true family event!

Watching the bands perform it was clear to see that some of the local talent really was capable of fitting in with bands like Mystery Jets and The Charlatans with the high levels of skill and dedication. B>E>A>K in particular created an outstanding stage presence with their uplifting instrumental set and feathered costumes. Not even introducing themselves they took to the stage and really got the audience bopping their heads to the music. With quirky moves and an energetic performance they held everyone’s attention until Beth Jeans Houghton took to the stage.

Spark TV recorded the interview we managed to get with the elusive birds of the North East.

You can watch the video here - http://youtu.be/xkQeCuZ9RLg

Opening the Fringe Tent on the Saturday afternoon, This Little Bird really engaged the small
gathering as people rushed to the tents to avoid the rain. By the end of her set those who had been listening were thoroughly transfixed with her voice and eager to hear more of the local talent!



Other artists to make a huge impression on the locals this weekend included The Lake Poets. Martin and the rest of the band played a 20 minute set on the 2nd Stage just before Paul Mullen (The Automatic) and really got the crowd going! There were even murmurs that they should have played the Main Stage from a few people during the set!

Day 2 of Split Festival 2011 saw another fun filled day and more acts taking to the stage. Spark FM caught up with Matt Stalker and Fables just after their 20 minute set in the Fringe Tent. Despite them not playing their most popular song ‘Apostrophe Catastrophe’ the crowds still enjoyed their short but sweet set.



After lounging around for a few hours just taking in the atmosphere and relaxing with the locals Spark FM managed to catch up with The King Blues. This punk band originating from London, along with their tour dog – Meatball – had a good chat with Anna Allchurch about their music and influences as well as what the future holds for the band considering the current political climate; which is possibly their biggest influence now.

Anna also managed to catch Chased By Wolves at the Festival for a chat

To say the least, the entire weekend was fun filled and action packed. There was some great music and the local talent which was showcased was absolutely brilliant.

A huge thanks to Anna Allchurch from Spark FM for this review!

Posted By: Rachael Devine on 23/09/11

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