Sunflowerfest
Tubby's Farm, Hillsborough
Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th August 2014
From flowers in multi-coloured hair, to tie-dye t-shirts and barefoot campers. Now in its fifth year
Sunflowerfest has always revelled in an atmosphere of serenity and a slower pace of life. Taking place over a long hazy August Bank Holiday weekend, there are upwards of eighty acts to take in across five different stages. We rendezvous at a church with other fellow campers on the Friday evening, all it takes is a zip up a tight country road in a mini-bus and it’s time to take in some blossoming local acts.
The Bonnevilles on the Main Stage, Friday at Sunflowerfest 2014
The Rupture Dogs’ grizzly riffs and gravely screams echo from the Main Stage as a mid-afternoon sun shines bright over Tubby’s Farm. It’s relentless, but amongst the wild vocal wretches there is a strong sense of melody coasting throughout - sounding like a turbulent ‘The Colour And The Shape’ with a lust for grunge. Lurgan blues duo
The Bonnevilles soon follow and rigorously blast out an assured gauntlet of treacherous garage rock. New tracks shimmering with a slick pop-ier shine.
Peter McCauley on the Campfire Stage, Friday at Sunflowerfest 2014
The golden embers of the weekend’s first campfire lights up the starry sky as dusk slowly slips into night. Adjacent to the roaring flames is
Peter McCauley, who adorns the aptly named, amphitheatre-esque, open-air Campfire Stage. Performing on his lonesome with only a keyboard for company the hometown songsmith glides through a collection of stripped back favourites from his Rams’ Pocket Radio project. McCauley is at his best when he can deliver moments of poignant sombreness with as much pristine conviction as the uplifting crescendos, and as he invites a group of young fans to sit on stage for one final song McCauley expertly executes his finest moment of the evening with a melancholic rendition of ‘Love Is A Bitter Thing’.
The clock strikes noon on a new day of Sunflowerfest and Lipstik Lizards are one of the first acts out of the blocks. Suited in leather and armed with guitars. The youthful five-piece are energetic, extravagant and affectionately captivating. This is in part thanks to the flamboyancy, if perhaps at times over exuberance, of frontman Matthew Duly. He bounds around stage like a punk-rock Morrissey, pulling off flicks and shakes with a brash swagger. Their lunchtime performance is a retro love-in as each track serves as a lively homage to saucy glam metal. ‘The Only One’ was the stand out with its striking chorus earning the band calls from the crowd for an encore - they gladly oblige.
Screaming Eagles on the Main Stage, Saturday at Sunflowerfest 2014
Guitar solos and head banging became the theme of the afternoon with a procession of boisterous bows from local rock purveyors
Screaming Eagles,
Henry Cluney of Stiff Little Fingers and
Million $ Reload - each making their own mark on the afternoon. However it was Lisburn’s
Nasa Assassin who amassed the largest and suitably rowdiest congregation in the Barn Stage. Fronted by a kooky vocalist only known as The Watcher, Nasa Assassin rode an unrelenting wave of stinging guitars and demolishing beats. With moments of oddball rapping and fractured punk peppered throughout their tales of impending doom, it was as equally clattering as it was delightfully fanciful.
Sunflowerfest 2014
Taking a break from music there was a plethora of hidden delights nestled among the farm land. From a vast array of boutique stalls and international food venders, there were also movie showings, poetry readings and a compilation of stand-up comedy performances. But the free-spirited heart of the weekend was the Lighthouse Bliss Village, a pop up hamlet of tents dedicated to providing massages, home remedies and an abundance of herbal tea.
Back on the Main Stage festival stalwarts Pocket Billiards were gearing up for their early evening exhibition of ska-punk. The Belfast troupe proudly bring pandemonium wherever they go and this year at Sunflowerfest was no exception. Reliable party starters ‘Drinkin’’ and ‘Last Chance To Dance’ bring skirmishes of skanking and garner an emptying of most of the campsites towards the Main Stage as their spiky rhythms ring out. Rebellious closer ‘Belfast Town’ leaves the revellers purring, chanting for more.
The Answer on the Main Stage at Sunflowerfest 2014
Temperatures sharply plummeted as mighty Mourne rockers
The Answer headlined the main stage with impassioned vigour and some classic feel-good balladry. Sweeping through breezy tracks from latest release ‘New Horizion’, the four piece don’t wait long before they dip into their inventory of old favourites. ‘Under The Sky’ provides a softer reprieve compared to the pacier routs of ‘On and On’ and ‘Never Too Late’. It was shredding till the end as a spirited Saturday evening came to a close.
Sunday gently eased us into another full day of music with a rather quirky world record attempt for the largest laughing yoga class. This was soothingly followed by the smooth jazz of trumpeter Linley Hamilton and his band on the Main Stage, with a spot of Flamenco dancing over in the Barn stage.
Robocobra Quartet on the Barn Stage, Sunday at Sunflowerfest 2014
However it didn’t take long till normal service resumed as the incomparable
Robocobra Quartet graced the Barn Stage with pummelling intensity. Chris Ryan is the ringmaster behind the kit, belting out fraught spoken word as he savagely pounds cymbals. Boldly forging their own elusive sound, the band mix slam poetry with punchy instrumentals driven by a brooding brass section. Scratch beneath the surface and there’s an ocean of high-brow jests and references dosed in satire to unearth. An intriguing recent discovery
Having opened for Yorkshire’s indie heroes Kasier Chiefs earlier in the month, Belfast’s Go Swim were in match fit shape on the Barn Stage as they warmed up for another dizzying show on the Isle of White for Bestival. They’re getting better with every show, with newer tracks such as ‘Animal’ dripping in tangy guitar hooks.
Another much talked about act LORIS gave an insight into what delectable pop lullabies they’ve been devising in recluse. Comparisons to Scottish trio Chrvches can be found in their dreamy vocal delivery but there are more than enough jolting riffs which gives LORIS an edge.
Sunflowerfest 2014
As the local festival season winds down for another year, Sunflowerfest can stand proud after another sterling weekend of family friendly entertainment, marked out by some summer defining performances. Imaginations are always quick to turn to thoughts of next year, but as far as this summer goes Sunflowefest once again furthered its reputation as one of the prime events for showcasing upcoming and established local music against a welcoming backdrop of bohemian bliss.
