A week before Dot To Dot Festival got into full swing, I received an email asking if I was interested in shooting for the Bristol festival. Of course my response was a massive yes, and after a few more emails all was set and ready to go!
Farebrother
The night started at the heart of 'DHP Family' Bristol, at the Thekla. I collected my photo pass and got down to Mr. Wolfs to catch 'Farebrother'. After getting into the already busy venue, it wasn't long before the guys jumped on stage, bringing people from all corners of the venue to form a, soon to be, large and lively crowd.
Although both the crowd and band were full of energy and smiles throughout the 30-minute set, there was still even more energy ready to burst out of everyone during the closing song of the gig, debut EP title track 'Rapture'. With the fast paced drumming and guitar riffs kicking in around a minute or so into the song, the crowd mirrored the liveliness of it perfectly!
Following on from, in my opinion, one of the best sets Farebrother have played, I said goodbye to the guys and got myself down to the O2 Academy for the next act 'Sonny'.
Sonny
Completely unaware Bristol had its own O2 Academy 2 room, I arrived at the venue just in time to catch the last part of the soundcheck. After previously watching and photographing Sonny while he was out on tour with 'Gabrielle Aplin', I was excited to see if these last few months have had an effect on the 18 year old singer's music, and its safe to say they certainly have!
I was impressed by his level of talent and musical ability the first time around, but even more so this second time. Sonny, who has brought back rock and soul music to not only the young generation but to everyone of all ages, opened his set with tracks from his debut EP 'Hopeless Romance' but also added his incredible cover of the 'Sam Sparro' song Black and Gold to the setlist, which had the crowd singing along cheerfully.
Parcels
A quick photo drop and schedule change later, I was back at the Thekla and ready to photograph 'Parcels'.
Unsure on what their music was like, I was eager to find out. As the young, Australian 5-piece band entered Thekla's stage, which was now packed with keyboards and microphones, it was clear to see that their fashion style would complement their musical style very well. If it wasn't the bright clothing of the quintet, it would be the long hair and Chevron style facial hair to give away that we were about to feel some serious 1970s vibes from the speakers suspended from the ceiling.
As soon as the very first few notes had reached the crowd, Thekla burst into an energetic and colourful disco that is best described as Retro-Funk Electro-Pop. It was incredible and fascinating to watch Parcels as they transported a venue full of people back in time with ease. The band's amazing energy was being reflected back to the stage in the form of perfectly executed disco dance moves from the crowd.
Confidence Man
The description I was given for 'Confidence Man' included the words "Dress up", " Energetic", and "dance-y". When I walked into the ram packed upstairs room of The Louisiana, I didn't quite expect those words to be true to the extent they were! Both the musicians on drums and synths performed with black veils covering their faces while the two vocalists, who go under the stage names "Janet Planet and Sugar Bones", took over the front half of the stage with their eccentric dance moves.
The Australian band, formed from a mix of members who have previously performed in bands such as The Belligerents, Moses Gunn Collective and the Jungle Giants, performed their perfectly timed, choreographed moves together as they belted out their Electro-pop tracks to an upbeat and ecstatic crowd.
Jakl
For the last part of the night I photographed 'Jakl' at HY-Brazil Music Club. The Margate based musician and songwriter performed a beautiful solo set to crowd of mixed ages. The relaxed crowd were fitting for the singer's calming acoustic songs while a couple people began to slow dance near the front of the stage.
Huge thanks to everyone at DHP Family for getting me involved in this years Dot To Dot festival!