Hit The North’s second year has
been and gone and what a weekend it has been. Across Saturday and Sunday The
Rodeo checked out 16 sets and we’re going to talk about our top 3 from each day
right here, right now. But first, a little word on the
festival as a whole. Considering the competition with inner-city festival
stalwart, ‘Live At Leeds’, Hit The North did well to attract a large crowd and a
solid line up. There was no trouble getting into any venue and everywhere was
in walking distance to make travelling around extremely easy. Each venue suited
the bands playing there perfectly and the line-up and timetable had been
clearly thought out. It was a beautiful weekend of music and a lot of fun.
with Saturday’s Meet The North.
live debut and boy did they deliver. They sounded tight and grew in confidence
throughout the set. They packed out an intimate Town Wall and everyone left
having enjoyed the set. The future is bright for the DIY quartet.
fail to deliver. Their fast, punk, garage sound is perfect for anytime and any
place. They always deliver a set packed with energy and get the crowd moving.
They did well to attract a respectable crowd considering they clashed with the
evening’s headliners, ‘Peace’, but the number of people in the crowd never
impacts BlackWaters as they always perform at the same high level on every
outing.
A FESTIVAL, A PARADE
Saturday’s clear highlight came from one of the North East’s own. A Festival, A Parade have the incredible ability to alternate the tempo throughout each song and throughout their set without the risk of the show becoming fractured or disjointed. It was a set that flowed perfectly and took each member of the crowd on a beautiful journey.
Now, on to the main event. Here’s
who wowed us on Sunday at Hit The North.
quartet coped with the troublesome sound system at O2 Academy to produce a classy
set. Each song had a unique element and their unreleased tunes sounded
delicious, and featured some stunning harmonies.
Blaenavon before, then you know how good they are. After struggling with stage
fright and shyness earlier in their career, the trio have become fearless and
never fail to deliver a set full of quality, no matter the venue, time of day
or crowd size. Despite the sun shining through the windows of Boiler Shop,
which took away some of the atmosphere, Blaenavon rattled through their set
with little stoppages, and sounded as brilliant as ever.
weekend came as a surprise. Performing in the absolutely stunning
Cathedral, Imogen delivered a service of the highest quality. Her voice is
absolutely breath-taking and even brought some of the crowd to tears. Lyrically
she is just as impressive, binding complex metaphors exquisitely to tell her
stories. Quite frankly, it was ridiculous and to all who missed out, shame on
you!
