On Friday, 3rd June, we travelled to Victoria Embankment in Nottingham to see the inaugural Meadowlands festival! With headliners Gerry Cinnamon, and The Kooks, along with local Sheffield acts The Reytons, and The Rosadocs, we were incredibly excited to see what England’s newest indie festival had on offer!
Opening up proceedings were Overpass, a fantastic four-piece from Birmingham. Hot off the press with their newest single ‘On Your Own’, Overpass delivered a brilliant, energetic set, with their early set on the BBC Introducing Stage feeling like a headline slot on the main stage. An incredible live act who were able to draw a large crowd despite being the first act on, we would not be surprised if Overpass quickly moved their way up the festival pecking order. After closing out their set, we were able to have a quick few words with the band:
Hi guys! Amazing set you’ve just played- how are you finding Meadowlands?
Well it’s our first time playing outdoors! It’s been sick though, just arriving here with all the tents and stuff, it’s like a completely new world to us. But yeah it’s been great, our first proper outdoor festival and we’ve really enjoyed it. The crowd was brilliant!
So guys, you’ve just released your new single, On Your Own; what’s the reaction been like?
Yeah good yeah! It’s just good to get songs about really, like you need to keep releasing stuff as if you don’t, we think it’s easy for people to lose interest. But we’re really happy with On Your Own, it’s definitely a fun one and it gets people singing along.
Your biggest song is the amazing Other Side of Midnight, do you think this one could reach those heights?
Well we’re not really that bothered with streams really, we just want people learning the words to these songs and being able to sing it with us at gigs. What’s big on Spotify doesn’t always translate with what song has the best reaction live. What matters more to us is how people receive the song in-person. Obviously we do want to get big on Spotify and stuff like that as it allows you to do more as a band, but we’re happy at the moment with where we are.
What are the plans for the rest of summer?
This summer we’re playing Truck Festival, Isle of Wight festival and Y Not, as well as Golden Touch in Portsmouth and Vale Fest in Birmingham! So we’ve definitely got a nice summer for our first festival season. It’s just gonna be a good introduction to festivals for us as a band. Meadowlands especially has been such a good first experience for us, we’re already blown away playing here!
So what’s next for you guys as a band? You’re clearly getting to be quite big in Birmingham, are we more focused on cementing that audience there, or are you going to start doing the national circuit? Or is it a mix of both?
It’s a mix of both really because we’re very lucky that, in Birmingham, we’ve managed to grow quite quickly and we’ve got such a massive backing from the city and we’ll never lose that. Without saying too much we definitely have some massive plans for Birmingham! But we definitely also wanna grow that fanbase nationally through tours and stuff.
Brighton-based foursome Black Honey were the second act on the main stage, and they were, very simply, spectacular. Performing a range of songs from both of their albums, including crowd favourites ‘Corrine’ and ‘I Like The Way You Die’, lead singer Izzy Bee Phillips masterfully captured the crowd’s attention and admiration, cementing herself as one of the best lead singers in the modern British indie scene.
The band shared a few words with us after their set:
How have we found the festival today then guys?
Ace yeah we’ve loved it! It’s our first festival this year and it’s been really good!
That’s good then! How are you finding it, being in an established band such as yourselves, in this post-Covid landscape?
Well this year has felt weirdly quiet to be honest! End of the summer last year felt weirdly mental like we did Latitude festival then like what-the-fuck we’re supporting Idles, Libertines, Wolf Alice like we just had loads of gigs suddenly! Then this year we had our tour in March which was sick and then we did a back-to-back with Nothing but Thieves and then straight off that we went on tour with the Vaccines and now we’re here and then we’re off on tour again in Europe! But coming back from Covid, it’s just given us a new perspective on things and made us really appreciate things, like today in our tent there was some Champagne and treats! It was really cute! Actually yeah, a big shoutout to Luke who has been working at the festival today and has really looked after us and stuff. Everyone here has really looked after us, it’s been so well organised. It’s just so nice to be in a field with a beer!
Are you excited for your new European tour?
Yeah! It’s like a bunch of festivals with some pub shows inbetween which is always sick because you get a good mix between the large festival crowds and then really intimate, small performances. We really love the mix but we do especially love the intimacy of smaller shows, like Nick Cave always does shows at smaller venues with no barrier and no space between him and the crowd and we just really love that idea of being so close to your fans.
How was the UK tour you’ve just done? And your tour with Nothing but Thieves?
Great yeah! The guys from the Vaccines are just awesome and just so nice. We had a really good run, the shows were great and it was just so nice to be back out playing with people. We played the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow which was especially big for us as that’s always been a benchmark for us as a band. Then on our tour with Nothing But Thieves that was great as well as we were able to go to a few places we haven’t been before, like Poland, which we will definitely go back to as that was incredible.
You’ve previously mentioned some new stuff in the pipeline, projects you have coming out- could you tell us a bit about that?
We’ve got some really amazing, really big stuff going on in the moment that we’re in the depths of, it’s gonna be really exciting. And we’re working with such an amazing and progressive team, the sickest fucking women, definitely keep your eyes peeled because its the best stuff we’ve ever done. The team itself is amazing, especially as, given our privileged position, we’ve made sure to pick the most progressive team possible, and our team are just so inspiring for us personally that it has just been really great!
That sounds great! Can you just tell us- is it a new album?
Maybe! We’re not saying anything!
Sheffield darlings The Reytons brought the Northern spirit to the festival, taking to the main stage to perform their indie anthems to an eager crowd. ‘Red Smoke’ was fittingly accompanied by multiple red flares from prepared fans whilst Kids off the Estate perfectly rounded off the set as front man Jonny Terrell declared us all to be Reytons.
The band had a chat with us straight after their set:
How did the gig go for you?
Really, really good. I have said that so many times I keep pinching myself at the kind of festivals we’re doing now compared to when we started. We would see our name so small at the bottom and we were so excited to see ourselves there but this is the first festival where it looks like things are changing. It’s amazing to see us so high up on the list and then to walk out to a crowd like that is phenomenal.
Do you prefer playing festivals or your own shows?
I feel that festivals deliver something something different than one of our shows. We get to our shows fully expecting there’s going to be madness and carnage, everyone’s going to sing the songs but a festival is more touch and go. They might not know the songs and if they’re gonna sing along. But when you’ve got a beer in sun it’s amazing.
You’ve been going five years already – what’s are you predicting for the next five?
You know, if we can carry on doing exactly what we’re doing today for the next five years, I’ll die happy. Obviously getting bigger would be great, but if we don’t we’re just enjoying the ride!
You are an independent band and always emphasise that in your shows, can you explain what that means to you? How did you decided it was the route you wanted to take?
It’s not always just an option, I mean we’ve absolutely slogged it out to get to where we are and and I’m not gonna sit here and lying and say, oh we’re turning down every single label. That was not the case. We just literally got to a point where nobody was interested. But a few years in and now the labels are paying interest. We don’t need them. So it kind of just retaining that independence. Of course it’s nice as long as we’ve got support from the fans helping us propel us. We’re always gonna kind of take the money that we make, which is believe it or not isn’t millions. We’re always gonna take the money that the fans put in, and reinvest that to deliver it back to the fans again. And as long as the circle continues to move we will keep playing and keep delivering.
What’s next for The Reytons?
There’s so many of us up and down the country, it’s a state of mind and it’s growing. So with that in mind we’re doing some places we’ve never done before, taking on some massive venues. And obviously, we’re a band. We released an album last year. We got to number 11, would have been top 10 if it wasn’t for bloody Kylie!
The penultimate act on the main stage were indie favourites The Kooks. Festival-veterans by now, The Kooks’ set was a perfect mix of fan favourites and some new stuff. Performing practically all of their acclaimed debut album Inside In/Inside Out, as well as songs from later albums Konk, Junk of the Heart, and Let’s Go Sunshine, The Kooks delivered a masterful set. With the sun lowering down on Victoria Embankment, and the tiredness setting in, to have a whole crowd unified, together, singing indie anthem ‘Naïve’, was a truly beautiful moment.
Seeing out the festival was headliner Gerry Cinnamon, who gave the finale a sense of purpose and drama – all whilst in a flat cap! The excitement from Cinnamon’s merch-bearing crowd had been evident throughout the day: even on our train to Nottingham hours earlier, chants of “Cinnamon” could be heard throughout the carriage.
Despite a few minor technical issues which left Cinnamon playing acoustic for a portion of the set, the Scotsman expertly related to his adoring crowd. ‘Sometimes’ and ‘Belter’ confirmed their status as fan favourites whilst ‘Sun Queen’ had the packed-out crowd swaying amongst the streamers and confetti. With an epic firework display to rival some of the UKs biggest festivals, ‘Canter’ brought the show to a close in style, almost creating a sense of catharsis from such a highly anticipated set.
Meadowlands had a triumphant first day, and we look forward to seeing what they do next year!