This year’s Splendour had sold out in record time, shifting an incredible 25,000 tickets to the good folk of Nottingham (although not exclusively to Nottinghamshire folk). Splendour returned to Wollaton Hall for another day of musical delights. This year the organisers had pulled out all the stops to create a line up which would make all other musical events green with envy.
As always it feels like the organisers attempted to cater for all types of music fans and this year, they had ticked all the right boxes. Rock music category was covered by having none other than Manic Street Preachers headlining after a decade of not playing in Nottingham. Pop music fans were well catered for with the All Saints and Louisa. Then for all of us older music fans, there were blasts into the 80s from Roland Gift (Fine Young Cannibals) . For the younger generation of fans there were current artistes such as Rag ‘n’ Bone man and The Slow Readers Book Club, and The Rifles and the X Factor winner Louisa.
If fans got bored of the music that was on offer, punters could wander over to the comedy stage. The organisers also provided fun for children with fair rides and other activities available. Without a shadow of doubt this is one of those events that can be fun for all the family.
Sadly, the one thing the organisers had no control over was the weather, and unfortunately if you were unlucky to be there right at the start, you would have got drenched and spent the rest of the day drying out throughout the glorious sunshine.
Upon arrival there were hundreds of people carrying camping chairs and picnics to take inside the arena. Security were friendly enough and were patient whilst ticket holders opened all their bags to be checked.
Once inside the exquisite grounds of Wollaton Hall, thousands of music fans had already set out their camping chairs and picnic mats to set up and wait for the musical delights that were scheduled to entertain the awaiting fans.
First up was Remy (Winner of Nottingham’s Future Sound) he entertained the ample sized crowd with his acoustic guitar melodies. During Remy’s set the glorious sunshine quickly turned to rain. In a flash the crowd were transformed from a t-shirt wearing mob into a mass of waterproofs and umbrellas.
Due to the downpour, the main stage bands had to do their best against a crowd who were getting soaked. Rob Green, Barns Courtney and The Slow Readers Club all tried to take the crowds mind of the weather.
The sunshine made an appearance just as Louisa (X-Factor Winner) won over the crowd with her incredible vocals and lively stage persona.
The audience then quadrupled in size for the arrival of the Rag ‘n’ Bone Man. If you love his voice through the radio, it is even more incredible live. He saved “Human” until the end of his set creating a huge sing along amongst the crowd. A genuine all-time favourite Splendour moment.
After spending most of the day in front of the main stage, it was time to see what was happening on the Confetti stage. Thankfully Roland Gift (Fine Young Cannibals) was captivating the audience with a trip down memory lane with hits such as “Johnny Come Home” and “She Drives Me Crazy” as well as a cover version of Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds”. Even after all these years Roland’s vocals sound as sweet as they did back in the 80s.
The All Saints headlined the Confetti stage and they brought their A game with them. All four members looking just as wonderful as they did back in the late 90s/early 2000. This performance was slick. Extremely well-choreographed with delightful vocal melodies throughout songs such as “Booty Call”, “Under The Bridge”, and “Pure Shores” in some ways it was too polished almost superhuman until they had a technical difficulty and then they became unsure if they should talk to the crowd or wait for the technical difficulty to be sorted. Nonetheless, a great powerful, pop fuelled injection to the day.
Manic Street Preachers headlined the main stage with their blend of rock. Opening with the catchy “Motorcycle Emptiness”, although at times it was difficult to hear the guitar solos from James Dean Bradfield. (This may have been due to the breeze flowing across the site). In no time at all they had ploughed through a back catalogue of hits such as “Everything Must Go”, “You Love Us” and “If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next”. As well as squeezing in a cover version of Guns N Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” which created a heart-warming sing along from the fans.
Manic Street Preachers saved “Design for Life” until the end of their set, as is usual with the Welsh rockers they very rarely do encores, and tonight they stuck with tradition and did not oblige the fans with an encore. Nonetheless, A masterclass in how to headline a music event. Hopefully they won’t leave it another ten years before playing in Nottingham again. The only disappointment was that they left “Faster” out of their setlist.
Splendour 2019 was a fabulous family friendly day out, with one of their best line ups since Splendour started. The only difficulty the organisers have now is how do they make Splendour 2020 even better??
Review by Luke Seagrave.
