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In the final part of Marianne Harris’ festival diary, it’s all about Hevy, chilling with the Big Deal Clothing crew, Butserfest and Merthyr Rock!
AUGUST
Festival: Hevy Fest (Folkestone)
What it’s all about: A 3 day alternative rock/metal festival held in the grounds of an Animal Park.
Why did you go?: To work as part of the Big Deal crew.
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Any good bands? Sooo many good bands: Four Year Strong, Dillinger Escape Plan, Architects, Funeral for a Friend, Sonic Boom Six, Lower than Atlantis, Your Demise, Feed the Rhino, Don Broco, Polar, Heart in Hand, While She Sleeps and a heck of a lot more.
Festival goer opinion: Better laid out site than last year, well organised, on site camping, plenty of food stalls, easily accessible, diverse line up, good access to all stages (although some got rammed very quickly)
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Photographer’s eye view: I wasn’t technically there to shoot but was asked to/fancied shooting a few: Sonic Boom Six, While She Sleeps, Heart in Hand, Polar, Don Broco and Feed The Rhino. Shooting for bands meant I was allowed to shoot whole sets, which was awesome as the photo pits were busy.
Highlights: Setting up camp in the car park, not having the stress of shooting a ton of bands, being asked to shoot new press shots for Sonic Boom Six (and the sun making a perfectly timed appearance), getting drunk with Darren Cooper on free Jager bombs in VIP, Feed the Rhino’s mosh pit, Polar’s around the whole tent circle pit, Charlie from Heart in Hand leaping from the tent’s centre poles, While She Sleeps’ incredible set.
How does it rate?: 8 out of 10. For the awesome bands, great vibes and hang outs.
SEPTEMBER
Festival: Merthyr Rock (Merthyr Tydfil, Wales)
What it’s all about: Merthyr Rock is a brand new 2 day rock festival set in a country park in the heart of the Welsh valleys.
Why did you go?: Big Deal sponsored a stage, great bands, shooting as part of the official team for the organiser.
Any good bands? Hell yes! The Blackout, Skindred, Funeral for a Friend, Attack! Attack!, Friends Electric, Goldie Lookin’ Chain (for real), My Passion, Young Guns.
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Festival goer opinion: Spacious site, well organised, free drum and guitar workshops, amazing sound in the main stage tent, staggered stage times.
Photographer’s eye view: Great lighting, good access, no flash restrictions, good crowd shot opportunities.
Highlights: Meeting Kitty, the Big Deal/SCG crew, dancing in the BD tent after closing, artist catering, awesome company, Welsh accents, The Blackout’s acoustic set for BBC Wales, fireworks, exchanging a piece of paper for a pint of Pimms (a pint!)
Lowlights: Incessant rain, the biggest Travelodge room with the least amount of furniture in it, muddy puddles.
How does it rate?: 9 out of 10. Would love to see this festival expanded next year with more alternative bands added.
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Festival: Butserfest (Petersfield)
What it’s all about: Butserfest is a Hampshire Council run one day drink and drugs free, youth rock and pop event in a field near Portsmouth.
Why did you go?: Lots of bands I know played, last year was awesome, it’s local.
Any good bands? Funeral for a Friend, Young Guns, Deaf Havana, Lower Than Atlantis, Bury Tomorrow, The Valiant, Heart in Hand, We Start Partys, Kill Em Dead Cowboy.
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Festival goer opinion: Well situated site, great access and viewing, lots of onsite activities, well organised, bargain priced tickets, family friendly.
Photographer’s eye view: Very few photographers (3 in fact), no shooting restrictions whatsoever, great access, extremely helpful friendly staff.
Highlights: Outstanding live sets by all bands, grinning my ass off and dancing for the entirety of Young Guns’ set, seeing The Valiant get such a good reaction, Deaf Havana’s new material, bands overtly posing for pics <3
How does it rate?: 10 out of 10. Have much love for this event, and would really like to see a second tent added to the site for next year. With more metalcore/hardcore bands please!
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Words & Photos: Marianne Harris
Read the full overview of Marianne’s summer experience in the new issue of the magazine available here (online) and here (pdf download & print copy).
You can also view more photos on Mar’s facebook page: www.facebook.com/MarianneHarrisPhotography
Many thanks to Monster Energy www.monsterenergy.com and Big Deal Clothing www.bigdealclothing.co.uk
Filed under: Features, Reviews Tagged: 2011, bid deal clothing, butserfest, festivals, hevy, independent, marianne harris, merthyr rock, music, part 4, photographer Image may be NSFW.
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