Located in the heart of Surrey at Robins Cook Farm in Redhill, Redfest is the perfect alternative to the large corporate festivals. The 3-day festival boasts 5 stages filled with upcoming British talent; the outside Main stage, Gozibe Introducing stage, Acoustic stage, and 2 dance stages which run until 3am.
Friday afternoon saw the only rain of the weekend, but had cleared by the time Mallory Knox hit the Main stage. The band have been playing festivals shows all summer which shows as the crowd sing a long to tracks from their EP 'Pilot', and new tracks 'Hello' and 'Wake Up' go down well for the upcoming band, one to watch for sure (8). Up next on the Main Stage, Subsource brought their mixture of dubstep and punk but the crowd decided it was too early and the performance falls slightly flat (5).
Over on the Gozibe Introducing stage, Attention Thieves got a lot of deserved attention with their punk/post-hardcore sound and are sure to have gained a handful of new admirers (8). Young Guns are no strangers to British music these days and deliver their expected punk rock to the Main stage. Gustav Wood looks at ease fronting the Buckinghamshire outfit, and tracks from their second album 'Bones' go down as well as old favourites (7). A quiet break to the Acoustic stage saw Oxford-born Adam Barnes playing a mixture of tracks from 'Blisters' and new songs, proving why he attracts such a large variety of music fans (8).
The Introducing stage headliners Shadows Chasing Ghosts didn't get many to play to but still put on an energetic show (7) as everyone headed to see dance rock band Modestep bring in [by far] the largest crowd of weekend, playing singles 'Sunlight' and 'Show Me A Sign' as well as tracks from the charts, finishing the Main stage on a high (8).
Saturday afternoon saw trio Loose Lips play the Introducing stage sounding like a mix between Motion City Soundtrack and Alkaline Trio (6), before Natives hit the Main stage in the glorious sun. Ignoring their Not Advised past, Natives got through half an hour of new tracks which sounded great but left the crowd longing for an album release to really get involved with the New Forest quintet (6). Sonic Boom Six return to the festival scene playing a few older tracks and covers before their new album is out, and gave the Redhill audience a reason to dance. Finishing with 'Piggy In The Middle', Laila and co are back and are more fun than ever (9).
Deaf Havana have played all over the country since the release of critically acclaimed album 'Fools and Worthless Liars' and finally unveiled a brand new song in memory of Phil from 'Hunstanton Pier'. The recent addition of lead singer James's little brother to the live show adds an extra tightness to the sound of the band as they successfully warmed the crowd for the night's headliners (8).
Fei Comodo last ever festival show was seen in the Gozibe Introducing stage as the band headlined Saturday night to an enthusiastic crowd who were mostly seeing the band for the last time. A great send off for the Essex post-hardcore band who will be greatly missed (8). Kids In Glass Houses are veterans on the pop-punk circuit these days, and with 3 albums behind them, the Welsh rockers have plenty to choose from for their hour headlining set. With most of the bands performance haling from the Dirt album, Aled and friends closed the day with smiles all around (7).
The final day of Redfest welcomed Straight Lines to the outside Main stage who unfortunately played to a small crowd, but got through some of their best tracks from 2012 release 'Freaks Like Us' (7). Bedford quartet Don Broco's new album Priorities gives us all something to look forward to this summer, while vocalist Bobby entered the wall of death as he's now expected and fan favourites 'Dreamboy' and 'Thug Workout' were belted out, Don Broco put on one of the best shows of the weekend (9). The Skints slowed proceedings down with their London reggae but disappointingly fell flat (5).
Over at the Introducing stage, Proxies were dancing away to their electronic rock (7) before Hildamay's headline set proved to be only the beginning we will be hearing from them (8).
Redfest has grown and grown over the last few years, and showed that the biggest isn't necessary the best. A highly recommended festival for anyone looking to sample the best of British rock music, chill out to the best acoustic acts around, or to party all night to DJ's.
8/10
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