Washed Out Fest 2017

Washed Out Fest 2017 was certainly no wash-out! A nice clear day greeted us in Brighton for the first year of this great little festival, held over 5 venues in Brighton 50 bands across the day.

First up (after stopping for the obligatory Grubbs burger) we trekked uphill to the Prince Albert for ticket exchange. A great pub with a real nice atmosphere, they even boast an awesome smoking area with Star Wars murals and a pic of John Peel in their upstairs gig space which was host to a whole range of bands throughout the day including sludgy headliners Birdskulls and psychedelic pop-punks Waco. 

We hurried downhill to The Pavillion Tavern to catch Pompey pizza-punx Misgivings who kicked off our festival to an already surprisingly busy venue for so early in the day. 

Next we headed back uphill (the only downside to the Fest but worth the walk) to the Prince Albert for Brvce Willis, and on to The Green Door Store for Austeros.

Austeros garagey melodic guitars eased us into the best set of the day so far. They couldn't hang around long as they wanted at the Fest and were straight off ... back in the van. Intelligently made songs delivered with feeling made this a really enjoyable performance. The new EP 'I've Got This' is out now. The EP charts the past 6 months for singer / guitarist, Jeremy Pitcher. Relocating to Bristol from Cheltenham (a move that was vital for his mental heath) and navigating the current political climate. Check out a little snippet here:

There were also acoustic acts all day outside the Green Door Store which was a really great idea, keeping the crowds engaged during stage turnarounds and was somewhere you could catch some really good acoustic acts including Portsmouth's Sim Williams (and maybe even a ray of sunshine) check out a clip here:

Sticky Mike's Frog Bar, hosted eight-piece math rock / emo outfit itoldyouiwouldeatyou, as well as headliners Nervus.

Hazy indie punks Gender Roles who have been touring with emo pop-punkers Broadbay and Gun Shy also played Sicky Mike's their new EP ‘The Long Dance’ is due out May 12th, check out a little teaser here:

A short walk just over the road and we caught Modern Rituals with their darker undertones, and Muskets who really ramped up the pace of the day with their energetic performance packing the Festival-goers into to the Prince Albert .

Nottingham based dreamo punks Taco Hell's EP 'Retainer' is out now, they played a great set at the Green Door Store - one of the highlights of the day for us. Check out a little of their set here:

The Latest Music Bar also hosted a good range of acts, including Brighton's own indie-punkers Harker, the dark and brooding Bloody Death.  Drawstring's brought their own brand of edgier indie and headliners His & Hers are well worth a watch for some nice techy noise-punk - their new EP 'Sass-Pool' is out now. 

London based punk rock quintet, Ghouls were over at the Green Door Store, whose new album, 'Run' is out 5th May 2017, check out the single, 'Seasonal Affective' here:

Next headliners Ducking Punches took to the stage at the Green Door Store and did not disappoint, their storytelling songs weave between love and death, friendship and mental illness - their new album 'Fizzy Brain' is out now. 

We caught Never's roaring set back down at the Pav Tav and with Rough Hands and Let It Die rounding off the evening the Pav Tav was flowing full of energy ... everyone was in high spirits and already looking forward to the next one even before the hangovers had properly kicked in!