BINGLEY MUSIC LIVE, 31/08/14, DAY 3 (SUNDAY)

It’s Sunday morning – the weather is as far from the mini hurricane of Friday and irritating showers of Saturday. Sun, at last. But it seemed that the fun of Saturday night has taken its toll on some people, and still we had not seen Mr Derluo. With the prospect of school/work/college tomorrow, everyone is out to make the weekend last by filling their Sunday with yet more music. And I’m not opposed to this either. Running low on clothes (as always, under packing for such events) I did think it best to pack a rain coat with me, as Bingley has proven to be a place of unpredictable cloud activity. “Be Right” may or may not cut it on the weather front today.

Port Isla

Why does one of the most shared acts from Glastonbury have to another run of the mill indie band? Why do they have to be an indie band at all? And why does everyone have to immediately know their name? Well the simple truth to all these questions is; they don’t. Port Isla have been becoming more and more popular recently and rightfully so. Earlier this year they supported the bluesy George Ezra and not long after they secured a deal with Polydor. However, the main success that stands out to me is that they were one of the most shared acts online of Glastonbury 2014. I know it sounds like a small feat when compared to their many other achievements as a band, but this is the one that proves how good their music actually is. At the time, they played the smallest stage (BBC Introducing) were unsigned, and had only released one EP. So how can a band go from relatively unknown, to recognisable in one performance? Their music.

‘Steamroller’ was the highlight of the set, with the crowd who looked as if they were at a posh picnic sitting down on blankets, got up to stomp their feet. Unlike some of the other artists over the weekend *cough* Etta Bond *cough* Port Isla kept the audience interested and alert throughout, with lead Will switching back and forth from keyboard to acoustic guitar. They we amazingly well accepted by the festival goers, especially after Bass player Henry turned around to reveal the back of his shirt etched with the words “Don’t Mess With Yorkshire”.

The Gramotones

The rumours ae true, Gigslutz love The Gramotones! Taking the place of a last minute cancellation, The Gramotones were such a nice surprise and in all honesty, so much better than the artist they replaced ever could be… sorry to be blunt. Fresh from their tour supporting Paul Weller and playing a fair few amount of festivals over the summer, their live performance is perfect. Strongest song of their half an hour was definitely “M62” but it was very closely followed by stompy “Soldiers Kiss”. At the start of their set, many people were wondering who they were, but by the end most were hoping that they had longer to play, I even saw someone downloading one of their songs straight after.

The Wytches

Last on my list to see and write about, was three-piece surf-psych band, The Wytches. I wasn’t entirely sure if they would pull a crowd, even though they have just released an album, they are somewhat of an acquired taste. I was, however, proven very wrong. Walking up the steep steps towards the second stage and being greeted by a very full, slightly jolly, crowd was great to see. Bingley Music Live, had a very diverse line up this year and you can’t deny that many were there to see the more mainstream musicians, but others like myself were very interested in the lesser known, up and coming bands. Whilst trying to find a space to stand that wasn’t in front of yet another picnic set up, a t-shirt caught my eye. It does seem that Gigslutz have devoted readers everywhere and are not afraid to be proudly wearing the brand across their fronts.

The Wytches are something very different and different has never harmed anybody. Each member are very competent players, using the echo coming from the reverb of their instruments, almost as a completely separate chord. ‘Digsaw’ was a favourite from their set for me, as people that were reluctant to move, started to at the very least nod their heads. There was a small group of teenagers to my right, who must have believed they were all Stevie Nicks. The one thing I have to slightly criticise is that the band rarely lifted their heads to acknowledge their audience. This may have been intentional and in keeping with the tone of the music, but a simple glance around wouldn’t have gone a miss. Overall, The Wytches are most definitely a ‘Marmite’ band, you either love them, or hate them.

And with that, the weekend was over and in turn festival season. Bingley Music live and it’s best ever line up had not disappointed. The one thing I won’t be missing is those awful festival toilets! And for everyone’s interest, we didn’t cross paths with Jason not so Derulo but we did find a new pop star in the form of Dancing Derek…

Rachel Young