Hampshire is home to a huge amount of talented artists, from the folk punk prowess of Frank Turner to Craig David, who, according to my editor, is definitely famous in Florida and “Big enough to play at the Queen’s birthday party”. If that isn’t an endorsement, I’m not quite sure what is. Wondering where the best that Southampton has to offer will be this festival season? Well, you’re in the right place…
Craig David
Friday at Tramlines, Sheffield
Wednesday at Boardmasters, Newquay
Friday at Rize, Chelmsford
Friday at The Big Festival, Kingham
Saturday at South West Four, Clapham Common
Aforementioned Southampton superstar and “big in Florida’ Craig David graced Common People with his presence two years ago. Alas, he’s now taking TS5 all the way from Sheffield to Clapham, and what a shame I won’t be at any festivals he’s at this year! He shot to fame in 1999 after appearing on Artful Dodger’s ‘Re-Wind’. With six studio albums under his belt and 15 million records sold across the world, he’s a pretty big deal, having won two Grammy Award nominations for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and thirteen Brit Award nominations. If his sets are anything like his intimate run of shows at Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre, it’ll certainly be a slick set.
Sarah Close
Thursday at House Festival, London
Sarah Close, an Isle of Wight native who now lives in London, released her first EP Caught Up last year under her own label, The Kodiak Club, under exclusive license to Parlophone Records (who she’s signed to). Her voice is fantastic, she posted a very good Instagram story dancing with a cute dog to Rex Orange County’s ‘Loving is Easy’, and she’ll be attending House Festival on July 5th. A shame not to see her attending more this year, but hopefully in the next few years she’ll attend local festivals like Bestival and Isle of Wight, alongside some other national ones.
Jerry Williams
Saturday at Roundhouse, London
Thursday at The Great Escape, Brighton
Saturday at Neighbourhood Weekender, Warrington
Friday to Sunday at Wychwood, Cheltenham
Friday at 110 Above, Gopsall
This fantastic Portsmouth singer/songwriter is not only good friends with our pals over at Surge Radio, but recently crowdfunded her way to SXSW in Texas. If she isn’t signed soon, there genuinely might be something wrong with the A&R going to her shows because she’s nothing short of incredible. You know those people who are around your age and make you think “Wow, what am I doing with my life, they’re already smashing it”? She’s definitely one of those. Her gigs are always a joy to attend – naturally, with songs like latest release ‘Grab Life’ and ‘Mother’, which to date boasts over 5 million streams – and I am beyond excited to see her at The Great Escape.
Wild Front:
Thursday The Great Escape, Brighton
Saturday at Party at the Palace, Linlithgow
It shouldn’t be a surprise to know we love Wild Front – they’re lovely people, half of them are vegan, and (perhaps most crucially) they make some beautiful music. I haven’t seen them perform since their three gig residency at The Joiners back at the tail end of 2017, but honestly I don’t think I could ever see them enough times. Their dreamy indie rock music has made them incredibly popular in Southampton (how many other bands could sell out three gigs in three months at one venue?), and they’ve just released an EP called Stripped, featuring five already existing tracks which have been – you guessed it – stripped back to gorgeous acoustic versions. Wild Front really are a band to check out if you want to hear some beautiful music.
