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Victorious Festival 2014 Preview | #11 The Best Of...

Victorious Festival 2014 Preview | #11 The Best Of The Local Talent

Over the past six weeks I have been previewing my personal highlights at this years Victorious Festival. If you have missed my previews of Seasick Steve, British Sea Power, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip and co then click HERE to find out what you have missed. I have complied a selection of the best local acts down to perform over the weekend for you to check out…

Blackfoot Circle are a band that I’ve been listening to for what must be close to fifteen years. They’ve undergone a few name and line up changes over that time, but as Blackfoot Circle they have been one of Portsmouth best, and most loved indie bands. I recommend that you venture over to the Seaside Stage on Sunday to see the awesome Jake Bezzina and the rest of the guys put on what is bound to be a great set!

It’s been a great year for The Boy I Used To Be. They have signed to Pie & Vinyl Records and played a number festivals this summer, receiving rave reviews in the process. Our Blissfields correspondent Sophie Perryer described their sounds as “a melange of folk, pop, indie, alternative, with a touch of rock, garage and psychedelia thrown in for good measure.” You can find them doing what they do best at the Pie & Vinyl Stage on Sunday.

Psychedelic rock and garage pop band Burning Beaches were one of my highlights of this years Blissfields. With Mike Bracken on drums, Dan Sayer on bass, Luke Bowman on guitar and Portsmouth lad Sam McCarthy on lead vocals, Burning Beaches are bound to please fans of good old fashioned rock music. Catch them over on the Seaside Stage this Sunday.

Local folk band Day of the Rabblement took their name from a short essay by James Joyce written in 1901 stressing the importance of free art that remains true to the artist. It is with this in mind that the Rabblement write a set of thought-provoking and contemporary songs, blended with aspects of Celtic and American folk music. They have the perfect stage to showcase their music, they can be found in the Real Ale Festival Stage on Sunday.

One of my favourite finds of the year was the Deluxe Flamingos and their track ‘Where Is My Ray?’. PJ Davy, Mike James and Canadian singer/songwriter, Aviv make up the trio. They credit a whole range of influences from Mogwai, David Bowie, M83 to the Nine Inch Nails, Sonic Youth and the Pixies. You will be able to check them out for ourselves in the Beats & Swing Tent on Saturday.

Matt Jarvis is a bit of a regular on Strong Island but there is a reason we like to feature him and new work, it’s because he’s flippin fantastic! One of the nicest descriptions of Matt’s live performances was from Sophie Perryer again, “Matt Jarvis wove magic through his lyrics and stunned them to silence with beautiful melodies.” You will be able to find Matt perform on Saturday on the Nevada Music Acoustic Stage and in the Pie & Vinyl Tent on Sunday.

Popobawa are one of the newest bands on the local music circuit, and definitely the most exciting. I first saw the Gosport based trio was at the Road To Blissfields competition at the Cellars in Eastney. Granted they’d brought a scattering of their own fans, however they quickly won over everybody in the audience and had them dancing. Not bad for their first ever live performance! I expect to see these guy flourish and become of the South Coasts best bands. Don’t just take my word for it, check them out in the Pie & Vinyl Tent on Sunday.

Kassassin Street consists of Rowan Bastable (vocals and guitar), Nathan Hill (drums), Ryan Hill (guitar), Andy Hurst (keys and laptop) and Tom Wells (bass). The band state that they are inspired by 60′s/70′s beat, psychedelia and more modern artists like Primal Scream, Spiritualized and Death in Vegas.

They are already one of the most popular bands in the local area, they have been playing shows and festivals far and wide this summer. They will be finishing off what has been a busy summer by playing Bestival and Southsea Fest. See them at Victorious at the Seaside Stage on Sunday.

Last but by no means least are The Southsea Alternative Choir. They are a group of Southsea’s finest gents who in 2010 joined forces to raise money for SamuelsFund, a local child with Cerbral Palsy.

Since their original formation the rabble have turned into what almost resembles an proper band. The guys behind it are all very modest but they have done a fantastic job and raised thousands for a great cause. They’ve gone from busking around Southsea to appearing at major festivals including next months Bestival and Southsea Fest.

The Choir will be looking after the Nevada Music Acoustic Stage and can be found performing themselves on Saturday and Sunday this weekend.

So thats it from me and my previews for this weekend. Have a great time and don’t forget to come and see us in the Strong Island Tent!

The Shutka Champions win the title of best named band at Victorious, yes better than Pissy Elliot on the Pie and Vinyl Stage. The band’s name comes from an independent film entitled ‘True Stories: The Shutka Book of Records’ celebrating life in Shutka, the largest Roma community in The Balkans (Republic of Macedonia) where everyone believes in their own uniqueness and strives to be a champion in anything imaginable – fishing, sex, seeing the scariest vampire, collecting Turkish music cassettes or training fighting geese!

The guitar heavy psychedelic five piece can be found having a drink in the Real Ale Festival Stage on Saturday. Lucky that, as it is also where they are performing.

You can stay up to date on all things Victorious via Facebook and Twitter @VictoriousFest, or by signing up to the mailing list HERE.


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