Okay, I know I have no excuses now, as you can tell from the lack of posts from January to June, university year two has taken over my life. It was amazing, incredible and can safely say I've passed. (I may blog about this in another post as yr two is mental!)
Previously in my post last year on Holi Fest, I mentioned I try and attend a festival every year. This year is really no exception. Boy we went big. My best friend and I, (also named Soph, best name eva) attended the legendary Isle of Wight Festival. Oh my word, the best and most impulsive decision we have ever made. We had an amazing time, made some great memories and saw some music legends. I don't think I can fit in one a whole blog post on the time laughs I had there so here's a top ten highlights list of memories and things I enjoyed and recommend to anyone out there! No order exactly..well number one has to stay at number one!
10. The Island itself!
We travelled to and from the island via ferry from Portsmouth. Considering I spent as much as I would spend for a week in Mallorca, at least with crossing a sea, it provided the holiday feeling. The small and somewhat remote island is absolutely picturesque and such a doddle to travel around on. Every house is stunning, and the festival was extremely easy to find, even without trusty SatNav or Siri at hand. Even for a day trip (in which I did a week later) it's easily accessible and packed with beautiful coasts and attractions to discover.
9. Blur
When Blur were announced as headliners, man I was well up for them. Who wouldn't want to miss the '90's britpop legends? Definitely not me. And okay, they've not made my highlights due to their newest album, which myself and around 40,000 other people would agree, not their greatest, their hits were still a blast.
They played classics such as: Beetlebum, Girls and Boys, The Universal (aka The British Gas Advert), Song 2 but the best and most highly anticipated was Parklife, complete with Phil Daniels! That's right, Kevin off Eastenders to all you kids born too late to recognise him. It was amazing to see 40,000 people go from standing around and talking over Damon Albarn to "cutting down on our pork pies mate and getting some exercise in!" All in all, they were definitely ones to tick off the list.
8. Pharrell Williams
So, becoming tiresome of 'Happy' had struck me right in the 'regret' camp for Pharrell's set. Regret for not being closer to the front. He brought a party! Playing songs that he'd both performed in and also produced i.e. Gwen Stefani's 'Hollaback Girl' and Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky'. He brought a load of drunken welly wearing campers on stage and one party-goer in particular wanted more. A slightly drunken and merry woman stayed for the next song dancing all over the stage, stole Pharrell's light for one song. Then when 'Happy' did come around, people weren't suddenly tired of it. Instead a chorus of 'aww's' beckoned the field when Williams led on a young boy whom was the winner of WellChild UK charity along with other little 'uns. It was adorable and so fun!
7. Hygiene
Festivals are never going to be the hub for cleanliness, we all know that. But, considering many festivals I've been to now, Isle of Wight was by far the most cleanest. Portaloo's being cleaned twice a day, staff to maintain them after every person, water points all over the fields, and staff picking litter all weekend. I must commemorate the volunteers because due to them it felt so lovely and took the edge off that rough camping feeling.
(saying that, there is nothing better than coming home to a power shower! Was in there for nearly an hour!)
6. Shisha
Myself and my best friend were well up for ticking stuff off our bucket list that weekend and a hog roast was hers, and we both also decided to try a shisha bar! Now lets not promote smoking here, but it was an experience I was well up for trying. What a fantastic little bar too. Live jams from anyone who wanted to have a go and very friendly workers! We were ushered to take our wellies off and sit on the array of cushions on the floor. I can't say it had much effect on me other than I felt chilled out and ready to face the mayhem outside the tent for the final night! We decided on a mango and peach flavour with a coca cola filter and it tasted lovely!
5. Salut
When you go to a British festival, please be prepared for torrential rain: it WILL happen. Although we were well prepared, that didn't cover it. So myself and my friends ran for cover in a quirky, small tent called The Intoxicated Tearooms. As we entered they were teaching the punters to charleston dance! After that though was a fantastic covers band called Salut, consisting of brass, bongos and a fantastic singer! Covering party classics like MJ, Stevie Wonder, they were a brilliant discovery and we basically danced our clothes dry!
4. Ella Eyre
Saturday afternoon was set to open with Jess Glynne and the campsite was echoing with everyone attempting to sing 'Hold My Hand'. Unfortunately, Glynne had an illness and was unable to perform, therefore Ella Eyre stepped in with her troops. She was fantastic! So underrated, and I knew every song. I was amazed at how many I actually knew by her and was shocked to learn she had written Sigma and Paloma Faith's song 'Everything is Changing'. For such a small person, she had such a crazy powerhouse voice and kicked the weekend off massively.
3. Paolo Nutini
This was my second time seeing Mr. Nutini, and I had a whale of a time! A slightly shorter set then last time, but he played the usual classics like 'Scream' and 'Candy' which had the crowd ready and pumping for the show closers. He too looked in awe he was sharing the stage as the legends but held his own and captivated the audience with his powerful vocals and stunning looks.
2. James Bay
James Bay was a festival must-see for me this year after his brilliant debut album, 'The Chaos and the Calm'. Crowd favourites like 'If you ever want to be in Love', and 'Hold Back the River' were incredible to be involved in and brought the hairs on my arms to an upright position. He toyed with the audience, much like Freddie Mercury, carrying off his divine look with his fedora on head and on the backdrop. Again he was in total awe of the mass of people singing his songs back at him, which was a pleasure to watch, humble artists are the best.
1. Fleetwood Mac
(photo by Andy Commins)
Words cannot describe how incredible The Mac were. I've been a fan all my life, growing up with the likes of 'Dreams' and 'The Chain' being a classic in The Hollands' household. They were a main reason to even buy my festival ticket and they didn't disappoint. They closed the whole weekend under a beautiful sunset above us and owned the stage for a crazy 2 and a half hour slot. Opening with the powerful 'The Chain' the crowd were wild! Even though I was at the front, the mass of love spread from the front probably all the way to the ferry port.
With the return of Christine McVie after 16 years of hiatus, there was a big love (pardon the FM pun) on the stage and the audience that night. She came to the front to sing 'Little Lies' and 'Say You Love Me' with Stevie at times hugging her. It was definitely music history happening in front of me.
Lindsey Buckingham went on to play 'Tusk' and 'Never Going Back Again' displaying perfectly after all these years, with 12 minute guitar solo, he's still got it! Hit after hit, they kept flying at you with mutual love received from the band and the 60,000 people in the audience.
My personal favourite was 'Gypsy' and 'Gold Dust Woman' where Nicks' performance was 10 out of 10. She told the loved story of 'Gypsy' and linked it back to the looming nostalgic moment from the weekend, The anniversary of legend Jimi Hendrix's set at IOW 45 years ago. 'GDW' was amazing though, topping it off with Nicks' own gold dusted shawl, she gracefully danced across the stage like a beautiful pixie, making the audience watch her every move.
I felt insanely privileged to be there all through the set but it meant the most when the closer 'Don't Stop' busted out with fireworks being set off in the rear of the field. Buckingham and Nicks were equally taken by surprise to them and a look of awe struck them as much as us.
I had such an incredible time at Isle of Wight and if the line up is good next year, I know exactly where I shall be heading back to for the start of summer!
Sophie
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