For a one-day festival, Community has managed to include more indie-kid favourites than many other lengthier line-ups.
Headliners The Kooks never fail to draw a lively crowd, with upbeat tracks especially apt for festival sing-alongs. This will be their first UK performance following their European tour, and though their new setlist features many songs fresh off their latest Let’s Go Sunshine album, the band have kept the well-loved classics on as well. If nothing else, screaming along to ‘Naïve’ in the sun is reason enough to head down to London and catch them.
Sea Girls are joining the festival off the back their UK tour, which saw numerous sold out venues. The band don’t hold back with their live shows; Manchester saw the singer take his microphone for a walk through the crowd before jumping up on the bar to finish the song, while the rest of the lads were equally full of energy and determined to make it a good show. Their setlist isn’t as long as some other bands due to their limited discography, and guests at their shows are often left screaming at them to play a few more songs. Their songs are perhaps the most consistently upbeat on the line-up, and they are undoubtedly one of the bands you just can’t miss.
Only the dedicated Kate Nash fanswill know the lyrics to her whole setlist, but there’s zero shame in going along to her set just to hear ‘Foundations’. She is one of the few women on the line-up, but promises to bring everyone together in an emotional, potentially slightly drunk rendition of her classic singles.
The Amazons have been favourites for a while with those who saw the release of their earlier singles, such as ‘Junk Food Forever’ and ‘Stay With Me.’ While their recent songs nurture a slightly more mature production style, they haven’t lost the energetic, fun tone to their music that made them so popular back in 2016. If you’re a fan of Blossoms or The Magic Gang, they’re worth making time for. They’ve been labelled proper rock and roll by The Kooks themselves, and their Future Dust album promises this same energy for their Community set. ‘Mother’ has been opening some of their latest sets, so expect the tone for their performance to retain this guitar heavy, amped up mood.
The Night Café have a similar fan base, but a very slightly more relaxed sound. With such a whimsical name, it’s hard not to like them. Their shows are reminiscent of the early Sundara Karma gigs, and many associate them with their peers, Jaws. They don’t have many songs to play, but that’s all the more reason to have a listen to all of them before hand; not one is a disappointment. Hopefully, their recently released single ‘Endless Lovers’ is a sign of more music to come. Either way, The Night Café are perfect for fans who want to come to Community and have a chilled time, but are equally capable of providing an energy-filled atmosphere for the long-standing fans at the front of the crowd.
The Academic are a breath of fresh air from Ireland. Having consistently released music since 2015, they’ve perfected their live sets, embracing rowdy crowds and slightly odd lilts to their performances. They’ve recently returned from a huge US, European, and UK and Ireland tour, and The Academic have previously toured the States with The Kooks, so we can only imagine how good the atmosphere backstage will be. Unlike some of the larger bands, their discography is continuously innovative and fresh; they do not recycle formulas for indie-rock anthems, and fans consequently react madly to every opening note. Their crowds for earlier festivals have been among the most enthusiastic, and their Community set should be no different.
Bloxx have been releasing one brilliant song after another and show no signs of slowing down. They’re one of the most original bands around in the genre right now; the sound of their music could be compared to a more light-hearted Black Honey, and a slightly more up-tempo slant on The Magic Gang. And yet, these comparisons are unfair as this female-fronted band don’t follow the usual musical formula. Their tunes are easy to listen to, the perfect summer driving soundtrack, in addition to also being continuously subtly evolving. While we wait for an album, Bloxx’s Headspace EP displays their most recent work, but their earlier songs are also undoubtedly worth a listen before they play Finsbury Park.
One of the latest line-up additions has been Vistas; an indie-pop band not unlike The Academic, with a collection of well-written, elevating tunes perfect for Community. ‘Eighteen’ is likely to be seen on their setlist, and combined with ‘Retrospect’, should please both old fans, and guests who are there for good music and a sick dance about.
Tickets for Community Festival are on sale now [click here], and with a line up as strong as this, it promises to be one of the best festivals to catch this summer.
TWELVE INCH 