2Q Festival Review

After a successful debut sell-out festival in Derby’s City Centre last year, IndieCentralMusic went along to 2Q Festival’s second year with four new venues and yet another sell-out festival, 2Q is quickly becoming one of the best new festivals in the UK.

The overall vibe of the festival was amazing, music fans from across the country gathering into a cultural city of Derby. 2Q featured over 100 bands across ten stages with a maximun walk of 15 minutes between the furthest two venues makes this the perfect inner city venue you can visit. From small and intimate rooms above pubs to historic theatres as well as the city’s two larger music venues and a host of stages in between. But there was no shortage of choice as bands from across the spectrum of singer/songwriters palying acoustic sets to strummed and three-chord wonders through the day.

The day started off in a museum called The Silk Mill with acoustic singer/songwriter Matt Henshaw and alt-pop trio Flawes. Henshaw’s sweet lyrics matched his outstanding voice captivated his audience in 30 minutes perfectly. Flawes had their electrifying alt-pop at the ready to impress, and the grabbed everyone’s attention with ‘Consolation’ and ‘Don’t Wait For Me’ by getting the audience to join in with the chorus got the whole crowd involved even if they had not heard them before. Which to be honest, is what festivals are all about.

Moving on to Derby’s indie night club, The Bluenote that held the band that used to be called ‘VYNCE’ but that band has now folded to form ‘Panda Cult’ instead. However, the quartet did play ‘Lust’ for some of their friends who came down to watch, playing them songs for the last ever time. Panda Cult’s rock ‘n’ roll vibes was a big crowd pleaser and look forward to see where their band takes them next.

Tom Grennan was invited to play a special set in the Dr. Martens store just opposite The Bluenote. The Bedfordshire singers stunning voice caught the beady eyes of dozens of people just passing by having a peak through the window to catch a glimpse of him play. ‘Something In The Water’ captivates him in a nutshell. We filmed a live video of him performing the track and it was incredible to be that close watching him play, you could see his face and neck going red from the amount of effort he puts in on the high notes, his vocal range is never ending, he can mater anything. Not to mention they were sorted out with a new pair of shoes each!

The largest venue of the festival, The Venue hosted Irish lads The Academic and Black Honey next on our 2Q Festival journey. The Mullingar quartet released their latest single ‘Mixtape 2003’ and have just come back from playing SXSW in Austin, Texas to now embark on a few UK tour dates. The energetic lads looked like they were having an amazing time jumping around on stage getting the crowd joining into.

Alternative rock superstars Black Honey packed out The Venue ready to give fans the show of their lives. ‘Madonna’ and ‘All My Pride’ created the biggest uproar of enjoyment Izzy Philips no shits given attitude to her style and own performance spinning around to show off her butt and gazing into the crowd with her flies undone got a few woo’s as whistles before she moves closer towards the audience and gaze into their eyes.

Will Joseph Cook took to The Old Bell Hotel stage at 19.30 to play tracks off his debut album ‘Sweet Dreamer’ next Friday. As much as I love his music, I have to say that I wasn’t intrigued into his music as I probably should have. The album title track and ‘Biggest Fan’ really caught my eye; groovy beats and summery vibes will get you swaying with your mates in no time. Keep an eye out on ICM for the album review coming next week!

JAWS have been a huge favourite of mine since I discovered them in 2015 with their hit track ‘What We Haven’t Got Yet’. I was so annoyed that I couldn’t see their full set due to their late start with technical problems however, from what I did get to see at The Hairy Dog – a huge rummy back room with sticky floors and a high ceiling – was the perfect setting to have JAWS’ music blaring through the PA system.

Indie pop five-piece Fickle Friends entertain us next back at The Venue. Their all uplifting, groovy tunes brought the crowd together as one. Tracks Brooklyn, Swim and Say No More certainly got the crowd jumping up and down with excitement their raw energy and enthusiasm could wow over any one in that room. On a sad note, they band said that they won’t be performing ‘Velvet’ live.

Our final show of the night brings us to headliners VANT. Now funny story, before the band did their soundcheck I met Mattie Vant in the toilets of The Bluetone not long before they were supposed to start. However, we had to wait about 45 minutes due to a power issue meant another chance to get another beer before the lads bursting onto the stage whilst trying to squeeze their way in between the PA and the wall. Peace & Love, Karma Seeker and Fly-By Alien rule the indie rock punk air waves and will forever. End of conversation.

2Q in Derby might not be the biggest city festival on the circuit, and with a line up which has a variety of musical styles and talents, as a relative newcomer 2Q is certainly making its mark and gaining an enviable reputation among punters and award-givers alike.

2Q is set to return 7 April 2018 with early bird tickets on sale now, keep an eye out for further updates on Facebook and Twitter.