With so many festivals taking place throughout the summer in the UK, it’s very hard for a festival to stand out from the crowd.
Festivals such as this weekend’s Bluedot at Jodrell Bank and Festival No 6 at Portmeirion have a simple but effective formula – a stunning iconic location that captures the imagination, stellar music lineup and lots of little touches that make them a proper festival rather than just a few bands in a fancy garden.
Jessica Balodis who heads up the team behind those two festivals also heads up the team behind Victorious, so you know it’s going to be something special.
Like the others, it has a stunning location – Southsea Seafront in Portsmouth, and has a superb lineup plus a real ale village, kids arena, foodie area and even a Champagne bar.
You won’t have seen The Prodigy on any other festival lineups this year, that’s because they are a UK exclusive to Victorious, to ensure the final night goes out with a bang.
Liverpool “It’s Coming Home” heroes the Lightning Seeds kick off the Friday with recently returned Shed Seven, Kaiser Chiefs and headlined by The Libertines.
Saturday is headlined by Paul Weller, and with Paloma Faith, and Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson, Happy Mondays and lots more, it’s going to be a truly special Saturday night. That’s got to beat a night in watching Saturday night tv by a country mile!
As mentioned, The Prodigy headline Sunday but they are by no means the only highlight with the likes of Years & Years, Friendly Fires, the marmite of bands – Sleaford Mods (everyone seems to love or hate them – I’ve never yet met someone on the fence about them), Reverend & The Makers (great festival band), Dub Pistols (likewise), The Bluetones and more, all playing.
Further down the bill, the term “rising stars” is often over-used these days and applied to any half-baked band who’ve just finished reading “how to be in a band for dummies”, but not here, the undercard at this festival is truly stunning.
For example, Bang Bang Romeo stopped everyone in their tracks at Sound City when lead singer Anastasia Walker started to sing, they really are a must see and destined for great things.
In past decades there were record labels who were so good that once you found out a band was signed to them, you simply had to check them out.
In 2018, such record labels are thin on the ground, but one such label keeping this noble tradition alive is Jeff Barrett’s Heavenly Recordings.
Undoubtedly one of the shining stars on that label are The Orielles, a band that bring the excitement and joy to the DIY aesthetic, reminiscent for me of the C-86 scene at its best.
And if you haven’t seen The Correspondents – be prepared for a real treat, a true force of nature! A band described as “electro swing” (there aren’t many of them about!) mixing early 20th century jazz and swing, with modern electro and drum’n’bass. It sounds interesting, and they are even better than I expected.
For those of us based in Liverpool, it may seem like the other end of the country, probably because it is 🙂 But it only takes a few hours by train, and I always feel that the further from home you are, the more it feels like a proper holiday.
There is no on-site camping, but there is a nearby campsite, or if camping isn’t your thing there are of course B&Bs and Hotels around. As they get booked up quickly, it’s probably worth staying a little bit further out.
Victorious 2018 takes place from Friday 24th August 2018 to Sunday 26th August 2018 (and you’ll have the bank holiday Monday to recover!)
Day tickets start at £44 + Booking fee, find full details by clicking here.
Preview: John W. King
Images: PR
