Highlights Of Bluesfest - Day 1

Lord Huron @ Delta Stage 

The LA based band graced the Delta stage late in the afternoon, the set was setting and the lighting was just right for the beautiful folk/indie sounds we’d be hearing from Lord Huron. I caught this band at a very special festival in Wales a few years back and have been following their travels since, so it was very special that the band were playing on our home soil. Lord Huron bring a mystical presence to their live performance with an array of instruments collected from different parts of the globe. The band are only fairly new, releasing their first album ‘Lonesome Dreams’ in 2012, now with various albums and countless live shows under their belt the band put on a brilliant live show. Something I really loved about their set was how much each band member connected with each other on-stage and the endless amount of passion they have towards their music, which is evoked ever so nicely to their audience. We heard tracks like ‘Lonesome Dreams’, ‘Ends Of The Earth’, ‘Time To Run’ and ‘Hurricane’ to name just a few, what a beautiful set, make sure you check these guys out at the Mojo Tent at 2:00pm today! 

HARTS @ Crossroads Stage

The CROSSROADS stage was opened how it deserved to be with whom I would describe to be a soon-to-be rock legend. It was beautiful seeing someone so damn young with so much talent, definitely a Jimi Hendrix vibe to it as everyone else agreed. For such powerful funkadelic tunes, Darren Hart remained a cool cat throughout the whole gig, his luscious fro and opened paisley button up only exemplified his effortless talent. Apart from his most well known bangers such as ‘Peculiar’ and ‘Breakthrough’, his out-of-the-blue guitar solos in the midst of his songs made the audience go wild. The guitar was picked, strummed and slapped in just the right way, not to mention his absolute base-face that seemed that I almost don’t think he realised he was pulling most of the time, it shows how in his element he really was. The show wouldn’t have been what it was without his brilliant partner in crime, the mysterious drummer to his left that connected his beat with the audience and let everyone bob around like crazy cats. Especially to his undemanding, dirty tune ‘Red and Blue’, letting him slow things down with the audience and adding all the improvisation he could do, creating such a unique show that was definitely not one to be missed.

Cold War Kids @ Crossroads Stage

It was now time for the show that everyone on the night had been waiting for. Such a unique powerful sound hit crowd within the first second the band getting on stage. With lights striking the stage and the audience, the crowd went absolutely manic. All the waiting and anticipation for the Californian band had finally come at last. Oh yes, the band played all of their best tunes, and they sounded so unbelievably better than any of their recordings. Watching every individual member of the band saw how much they were individually frothing being able to apply in front of such an incredible audience. Lead singer, Nathan Willett, preached all of his lyrics as if he was trying to spread his message in such an influential way. Despite this, he did not steal the show on his own. The whole band joined equal forces and took the show to the end with a bang. We heard the best, ‘First’, ‘Hospital Bed’, ‘Hang Me Up to Dry’. Every single person in the audience sang their absolute lungs out creating such a magical sound emitted throughout the vast area of the crowd.

Kendrick Lamar @ Mojo Stage 

Well, honestly I don’t know even know where to start with the current king of hip-hop Kenddrickkkkkk. The Mojo tent was bustling with an insane amount of sweaty bodies all pumped up for the hectic set that was about to take place. The stage presence this one human had was incredible, he had everyone in his hands, the words he preached and political statements he shared with the crowd honestly felt amazing. I loved how fun his music was initially but now I have some type of respect for Kendrick not only as an artist but a political speaker, anyone who can hold a crowd with such grace but power is to be commended. We heard massive tracks such as ‘King Kunta’, ‘Alright’, ‘Swimming Pools’ and ‘I’, the energy and constant smiling faces in the crowd really brought the best vibe to the show, and to all those people who were really negative about Kendrick being added to this years Bluefest lineup, you’re crazy. There is a crazy amount of blues, funk and soul incoprated into Kedrick Lamar’s music, the composition of his music and live performance is incredible and ever so intricate to details, props to the man of hip-hop and the power and ultimate talent he has. Still getting goosebumps and constant smiles from the show last night.