This last weekend marked the 7th year of the Swansea Fringe Festival. A celebration of some of the finest music, comedy and art that Swansea and South Wales has to offer as well as a chance for newer acts and artists to showcase their talents. Despite wanting to for a few years now, this year was the first time I’ve actually been involved with the festival and wow... What an incredible experience it has been!
I might be slightly biased, since I’ve lived here all my life, but I truly believe that Swansea has one of the best music scenes in the whole UK and the Fringe perfectly encapsulates that. Everyone involved has done an amazing job, from the organisers, fellow volunteers and the bands/artists that performed. It really was something special to be a part of. In this article I will be providing some short reviews of the bands and artists I was lucky enough to catch, as well as talk about my experience with volunteering for the festival for the first (and definitely not last) time.
I had a pretty busy weekend, working on the doors at some of the different venues. People had the choice to pay at the door to get in to venues or buy a weekend wristband for £20, which if you ask me is great value for that price since the wristband will get you in to all of the venues for the whole weekend. All of the money we made goes straight back to the performers and all the volunteers get a free wristband, so everyone’s a winner!
I had a pretty busy weekend, working on the doors at some of the different venues. People had the choice to pay at the door to get in to venues or buy a weekend wristband for £20, which if you ask me is great value for that price since the wristband will get you in to all of the venues for the whole weekend. All of the money we made goes straight back to the performers and all the volunteers get a free wristband, so everyone’s a winner!
I had my first shift at Piñatas Burrito Bar who ended up stepping in last minute to run the comedy night after a booking error from the original venue. Despite the last minute venue change, there was a pretty good turn out and it started to get lively by the time the comedy started. Just as the first act was starting their set, I was finishing my shift and promptly made my way to Hippos to catch a couple of bands there.
When I got to Hippos I was able to catch the last 2-3 songs from psychedelic rock quartet, Rainyday Rainbow. An very interesting band that sounds like a blend of Sgt Pepper era Beatles and Nirvana. At one point the singer had the mic in his mouth while he was thrashing out some chords and yelling at the top of his lungs and I was slightly concerned that he was going to swallow the whole mic. But thankfully he didn’t and they managed to finish their set, with everyone still relatively alive and well, to a rapturous applause.
For most of the bands and artists I got to see, I only caught a couple of songs here and there so I don’t think giving them a rating would be fair. But the next couple of bands I saw at Hippos both get a well deserved high marks:
Right after Rainyday Rainbow, we had Grindhorse 83. A surf-punk gothic jazz horror genre-bending quintet who really got everyone in a party mood. Before they even started their set, they were handing out inflatable rings, beach balls and foam crab pincers to the crowd to simulate that beach party vibe. They are a very talented and eclectic bunch of musicians who have been in different bands and who decided only earlier this year to form this band together. They have only played a handful of shows so far, with their performance at Fringe being the last for this year. But I really recommend checking them out when they hit the stage again next year, especially if you are looking for something a bit different!
When I got to Hippos I was able to catch the last 2-3 songs from psychedelic rock quartet, Rainyday Rainbow. An very interesting band that sounds like a blend of Sgt Pepper era Beatles and Nirvana. At one point the singer had the mic in his mouth while he was thrashing out some chords and yelling at the top of his lungs and I was slightly concerned that he was going to swallow the whole mic. But thankfully he didn’t and they managed to finish their set, with everyone still relatively alive and well, to a rapturous applause.
For most of the bands and artists I got to see, I only caught a couple of songs here and there so I don’t think giving them a rating would be fair. But the next couple of bands I saw at Hippos both get a well deserved high marks:
Right after Rainyday Rainbow, we had Grindhorse 83. A surf-punk gothic jazz horror genre-bending quintet who really got everyone in a party mood. Before they even started their set, they were handing out inflatable rings, beach balls and foam crab pincers to the crowd to simulate that beach party vibe. They are a very talented and eclectic bunch of musicians who have been in different bands and who decided only earlier this year to form this band together. They have only played a handful of shows so far, with their performance at Fringe being the last for this year. But I really recommend checking them out when they hit the stage again next year, especially if you are looking for something a bit different!
Best way I can describe their sound is “evil B-52s”. Considering this band was only formed a few months ago, they played as if they’ve been together for years, with each member of the band giving a solid performance, even playing a great little intermission while one of the guitarists had to fix a broken string. At the start of their set I stood back and tried my best to write down some notes for this review, but a couple of songs into their set, I couldn’t stand back anymore so I put my phone away and danced my ass off. The band members themselves were having a lot of fun and you could tell, and because of their amazingly energetic presence, everyone else in the room also had a lot of fun.
Next up, after Grindhorse 83 finished their set, we had the headliners for Friday night at Hippos, local party rock legends, King Goon. I’ll be honest, it was my first time seeing these guys, even though they’ve been on the scene for a few years now, and I didn’t really know what to expect, but wow... do they put on a show! These guys know what they’re doing and how to get the whole room moving. Again, I was too busy dancing to write any notes but that just goes to show how much fun I had. I can’t actually think of any way to describe their sound. They are a little bit of everything. You need to see them to believe them! Another high energy, solid performance that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. A perfect end for my first day of Fringe!
Day 2 was a busier one and started with me heading to The Bunkhouse to grab everything I needed to start my first shift of the day at Elysium. While I was working on the door, I had a great seat close to the stage area and got to watch the first couple of acts, Rhiannon O’Connor and Loafus perform some beautiful folk music. Rhiannon performed an amazing set of original songs, mostly in Welsh, and Loafus played a really good set too, involving a great acoustic cover of a Jimi Hendrix track. Just before leaving for my second shift, I got to catch a part of a solo performance from King Goon’s frontman, James Morgan. James had literally just written a brand new song while also hosting the event at Elysium and interacting with the other performers and the crowd. What an incredibly talented guy! That’s the level of being productive that most of us can only dream of reaching.
My second shift of day 2 was at Hangar 18. As I was getting ready to start, I caught the very end of Baby Schillaci's set. Not really enough to write a review about but from what I heard, they’re pretty good. While I was on the door, Suns Of Thunder played a set, and although I couldn’t hear everything from the door, I liked what I could hear. Nice and heavy! Then, before I moved on to my third and final shift of the day, I managed to catch a couple of songs from Sigiriya. Again, heavy, good stuff! I’m looking forward to seeing these bands again properly.
My final shift at Fringe was at The Bunkhouse, which has recently been given protected status from the Music Venue Trust. That fact alone should be celebrated and I really hope to see more venues being protected from closure in the near future! While working on the door, I had a couple of breaks here and there just to go see a couple of songs from each of the bands.
Next up, after Grindhorse 83 finished their set, we had the headliners for Friday night at Hippos, local party rock legends, King Goon. I’ll be honest, it was my first time seeing these guys, even though they’ve been on the scene for a few years now, and I didn’t really know what to expect, but wow... do they put on a show! These guys know what they’re doing and how to get the whole room moving. Again, I was too busy dancing to write any notes but that just goes to show how much fun I had. I can’t actually think of any way to describe their sound. They are a little bit of everything. You need to see them to believe them! Another high energy, solid performance that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. A perfect end for my first day of Fringe!
Day 2 was a busier one and started with me heading to The Bunkhouse to grab everything I needed to start my first shift of the day at Elysium. While I was working on the door, I had a great seat close to the stage area and got to watch the first couple of acts, Rhiannon O’Connor and Loafus perform some beautiful folk music. Rhiannon performed an amazing set of original songs, mostly in Welsh, and Loafus played a really good set too, involving a great acoustic cover of a Jimi Hendrix track. Just before leaving for my second shift, I got to catch a part of a solo performance from King Goon’s frontman, James Morgan. James had literally just written a brand new song while also hosting the event at Elysium and interacting with the other performers and the crowd. What an incredibly talented guy! That’s the level of being productive that most of us can only dream of reaching.
My second shift of day 2 was at Hangar 18. As I was getting ready to start, I caught the very end of Baby Schillaci's set. Not really enough to write a review about but from what I heard, they’re pretty good. While I was on the door, Suns Of Thunder played a set, and although I couldn’t hear everything from the door, I liked what I could hear. Nice and heavy! Then, before I moved on to my third and final shift of the day, I managed to catch a couple of songs from Sigiriya. Again, heavy, good stuff! I’m looking forward to seeing these bands again properly.
My final shift at Fringe was at The Bunkhouse, which has recently been given protected status from the Music Venue Trust. That fact alone should be celebrated and I really hope to see more venues being protected from closure in the near future! While working on the door, I had a couple of breaks here and there just to go see a couple of songs from each of the bands.
Nova Scotia were coming to the end of their set when I got there and I’m so glad I managed to catch a couple of their songs because they were brilliant! In fact, as soon as they finished their set, I bought myself one of their t-shirts. First time I’ve seen them and they were that good, I instantly wanted to show my appreciation by getting some merch. Next up was the punk band Kikker. They were a lot of fun to watch and the frontman is very entertaining. Minas were the last band on before the Fringe After Dark party begun. Again, another very entertaining, high energy set from them.
After my final shift was over, I decided to stick around at The Bunkhouse for the Fringe After Dark party. I got to see Cities, an instrumental, alternative electronic rock group, and Movement 81, an electronic duo. Both acts were really great to see. The visuals and the music were absolutely stunning for both acts and they kept the party going until about 2am, but I could have easily stayed longer if they had kept playing after that!
So, all in all, it was a fantastic weekend! I had the chance to work with some incredible people and see some bands/artists I might not have stumbled upon by myself, thanks to the variety of music on offer. I want to say a massive thank you to the organisers, my fellow volunteers and all the performers who got involved and I absolutely cannot wait to see what comes next year! I will definitely be along for the ride again and I urge anyone reading this to come along and join in, either by volunteering or to just come and see some really great live music!
After my final shift was over, I decided to stick around at The Bunkhouse for the Fringe After Dark party. I got to see Cities, an instrumental, alternative electronic rock group, and Movement 81, an electronic duo. Both acts were really great to see. The visuals and the music were absolutely stunning for both acts and they kept the party going until about 2am, but I could have easily stayed longer if they had kept playing after that!
So, all in all, it was a fantastic weekend! I had the chance to work with some incredible people and see some bands/artists I might not have stumbled upon by myself, thanks to the variety of music on offer. I want to say a massive thank you to the organisers, my fellow volunteers and all the performers who got involved and I absolutely cannot wait to see what comes next year! I will definitely be along for the ride again and I urge anyone reading this to come along and join in, either by volunteering or to just come and see some really great live music!
Was an amazing few days with the best of upcoming Welsh bands. Thanks to all
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