Words: Robyn Bainbridge
Macmillan Fest
Spanning across the two decks of the grand old ship, late September will see the return of the Macmillan charity event. It’s the perfect community vibe, packed with bags of rockin’ music, tempting food stalls and a bounty of drinks on offer – it’s a day out you can feel good about spending money at, as it’s all in aid of raising awareness and funding for those affected by cancer.
We’ll have the likes of Area 11, Syren City, Adelphia, EYRE LLEW and many more.
September 24th.
Sunflower Bean
Their latest release, ‘Human Ceremony’ brings the Brooklyn trio’s impenetrable sound round full circle. Sometimes rock; sometimes folk; sometimes 80’s pop; always exciting.
It’s the epitome of youthful rebelliousness and childlike irresponsibility, combined with thrashing about on a guitar; as they transcend the many genres.
And what’s more; they’re as captivating to watch as they are to listen to: Kivlen, Cumming and Faber seem to have some sort of telepathic foresight which not only keeps the sound tight, but enables them to showcase each of their individual eccentricities throughout the eclectic set.
September 13th. You’d be a fool to miss them.
DIIV
It seems that the entire population of Brooklyn is descending upon us at the moment – not that we’re complaining. DIIV, another New York band will be embedding themselves upon the lower decks with their dusky cloud of dreamy garage rock.
‘Is the Is Are’ is a rare artistic feat; track after track of dazzling instrumentals and mellow rhythms, matched with layers upon layers of cumulative guitar and the occasional glimmer of ethereal piano.
They’ll be touring it here on the 22nd September, so make sure you catch it.
Meilyr Jones
If you want to fall in love with a man in less than 10 seconds, then you better beat the crowds and catch the charming eccentricities of this Welsh beauty on September 29th.
He’s been warming up all summer, charming the pants off a string of festivals and we’ll be lucky enough to see him grace the boat with his new album ‘2013’. Aptly named to give you some insight into his wily ways, tracks such as ‘How to Recognise a Work of Art’ brings together the infectious beats of Northern Soul and zany romantic pop melodies- tied together by the pop art figure of Meilyr, himself.
SWMRS
USA’s firing even more (music) our way – and this time it’s Californian garage rock. SWMRS will be sharing tunes from ‘Drive North’, an album which affixes itself as a coming of age piece, but harkens to a deluge of bygone punk rock.
If you’ll be needing more bait than that to get you down; the drummer, Joey Armstrong is the offspring of none other than Green Day’s Billie Joe.
In any case, we’ll see you on 7th September.
The Sherlocks
There’s a lot to say in favour of these guys; they’ve just supported the libertines across a plethora of UK venues, as well as having worked with Andy Hawkins (you remember the Pigeon Detectives). If you like the sound of Peace’s ‘Bloodshake’ marred with the raucous stylings of the Fratellis, then you’ll love The Sherlocks.
Come and see them on September 8th.
