As the North East’s biggest music festival, Hardwick is an annual event which takes place in the fields of Hardwick Hall, Sedgefield. The festival attracts a wide variety of people and is a great setting for a family day out, with several stages worth of music appealing to any age group. Past headline acts include Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Madness and Kaiser Chiefs.
This year the festival ran between 16-18 August and celebrated its tenth anniversary, so pulled out all of the stops to deliver a fantastic weekend for all. Friday saw Becky Hill and Jack Savoretti perform whereas on Saturday, Snow Patrol and Sophie Ellis-Bextor took to the stage. We attended the final day of the festival, during which Richard Ashcroft of The Verve headlined, and was joined by Blossoms, Jamie Webster and more.
Upon arriving in the venue, we were pleasantly surprised by the amount of things Hardwick had to offer. It seemed that around every corner there was something new to discover. Of course, there was the Main Stage where we spent most of our time, which had a lovely view over the lake of Hardwick Hall. As well as this, DJ Murray Mint and The Lovebugs performed incredibly impressive high energy dance routines to disco classics at the Boogie Wonderland stage.
There was also the Treehouse Arena which allowed even more acts to perform, or if you wanted more of a rave-style atmosphere then the Into the Woods area would be perfect, filled with clouds of smoke and theatrical masks. In terms of other entertainment and food/drink, there was a plethora of vans with vegetarian and vegan options available, a choice of stalls to buy your festival must-haves (bucket hats, merch etc.) and rides for all ages. A high point of the day had to be the free Greggs which we found in the lovely Hardwick Hall!
We had a wander around the festival on its closing day and saw some fantastic performances. Here are some of the highlights.
Fleetwood Bac
AP: The first act we saw was Fleetwood Bac, a tribute band dedicated to the legendary music of Fleetwood Mac. I was hesitant about seeing their set, because I can’t help but feel slightly detached and confused about the concept of tribute bands especially when they completely embody the band that they are replicating: from the black, flowing lace of Stevie Nicks’ outfits to introducing one another as “Christine on piano” and “Lindsey Buckingham on guitar”, Fleetwood Bac tried to mirror the vision of Fleetwood Mac, but the emotion of their performance lacked in places.
If you’re a fan of Fleetwood Mac, you’re probably familiar with Nicks’ scathing delivery of ‘Silver Springs’ in the 1997 Warner Brothers Studios, where her eyes pierce into the soul of bandmate and ex-lover, Lindsey Buckingham. The complex emotional depth of the song was not recreated by Fleetwood Bac. It must be said that this would be difficult to do, but I did expect the same dedication towards depicting the relationships between bandmates as that of duplicating their appearance.
This being said, the crowd, myself included, enjoyed singing along to each song the band played and their vocal and musical talent was top notch. Some particular highlights were ‘Everywhere’, ‘Big Love’ and ‘Edge of Seventeen’. I may be biased, but I believe that there is a place for Fleetwood Mac’s music in any social setting so if you’re simply looking for a boogie then check out their tour dates!
The Lightning Seeds
HS: Following Fleetwood Bac were The Lightning Seeds. Definitely one of the smaller bands of the Britpop era in the ‘90s, it was clear to see that the crowd were not at the festival for the Liverpool band, despite there being a few die-hard fans throughout the audience. There was a sense of anticipation for their set however, as the crowd were excited for a select few of the band’s songs.
The Lightning Seeds opened with the energetic ‘Marvellous’, before playing a set containing all their biggest upbeat, feel-good indie rock tunes. Throughout the set Broudie could be heard jokingly complaining about several inflatable footballs, flung about the crowd. A clear hint of what people were hoping for. Towards the end of the set they played their biggest, most famous songs, leading with ‘Pure’ before playing the ever-exciting ‘The Life of Riley’, a song named after Ian Broudie’s son - who now plays guitar for the band. The band concluded with the much anticipated, though unfortunately timed, ‘Three Lions’. Is it too late to say “it’s coming home”?
Jamie Webster
HS: Neither of us were particularly familiar with Jamie Webster before his set at Hardwick. I had at least heard his name before - with Jamie being a massive Liverpool FC supporter and, thanks to him performing at big club events, he is very popular in my local area. It seemed however, that we were the only people at the event with our problem: Webster and his band drew one of the biggest crowds we saw on the day and we heard from multiple groups that he was the reason they were at the festival.
During his set we learned what the hype was all about. By combining fast, energetic, fun tunes with stories about real people facing real struggles, Jamie not only comes across as very relatable to crowds but also really brings the party, getting people dancing. His political songs are a pleasure to hear live, performed by him and his excellent band. Between his songs, he often liked to chat about the music and why he does what he does and these very honest interactions with the crowds make him come across very human, giving his performance all the more meaning.
Some highlights of the performance include the opening track, ‘Voice Of The Voiceless’, the entire section including ‘Davey Kane’, and ‘Something’s Gotta Give’, were prefaced with a story about the songs, making the performance very meaningful and a standout moment of the set. The band finished with a crowd pleaser: his most popular track, ‘Weekend in Paradise’, was an excellent way to close an excellent set. Jamie Webster, though perhaps not most people’s first thought, is definitely one to see.
Blossoms
AP: We’re both fans of Blossoms, so this was by far the best and most-anticipated set of the day. From the moment we walked towards the Main Stage, we were excited purely by the fact that it was fully enveloped in orange (out with ‘brat green’, in with ‘Gary orange’) and after a short wait, out came Joe, Myles, Charlie and Josh looking as cool as ever. They were quickly joined by lead vocalist Tom, cowbell in hand, waving to the fans and rocking a David Bowie-esque look.
The Stockport quintet began with one of their most well known hits, ‘Your Girlfriend’, which immediately got the crowd chanting along with the tune, before moving on to ‘I Can’t Stand It’ and ‘Getaway’. During ‘Oh No (I Think I’m in Love)’, they showed their playful side; as fans sang the song’s title back to the band, Tom shouted “oh, stop it!” Throughout their set, Blossoms played all three singles from their upcoming album Gary, with the titular track coming after a short story about an eight foot tall fibreglass gorilla and a few chants of “Gary! Gary!” from fans. However, the gorilla did not make an appearance at the show in Hardwick which was slightly upsetting but understandable for a 45 minute set. I also wish they would have played some tracks from their fourth album Ribbon Around The Bomb, but again I’d imagine this was an issue with time constraints.
Despite this, I cannot stress enough how incredible Blossoms are live. The group have such a high-spirited presence on stage and have strong connections with one another and the crowd. They took a moment towards the end of their set to slow things down as they all gathered at the front of the stage to deliver a beautifully stripped-back rendition of ‘My Favourite Room’. The calm didn’t last for long though, as they went straight back up to full energy for ‘There’s A Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls)’ and ‘Charlemagne’ to close the show. Blossoms are one of the best current bands you could see perform, so I’d suggest trying to get tickets to their upcoming tour while there are still some available!
Richard Ashcroft
AP: To close the North-Western dominated final day of Hardwick, we saw Wigan-born Richard Ashcroft of The Verve. For a set of around an hour and a half, it was disappointing that Ashcroft only played 11 songs in total. This was not down to chatting with the crowd either, it was more a result of the length of the songs, with each lasting around five to six minutes! This being said, the saying must be applied here that for the headliner it was quality over quantity.
Many songs played were from his days in rock band The Verve which pleased the crowd. Ashcroft sounded vocally solid, his gravelly voice almost identical to when these tracks were first recorded in the ‘90s. He also walked around the stage with a heavy Mancunian swagger as if time had gone back a few decades. Although songs like ‘Sonnet’ and ‘Lucky Man’ were met with some of the loudest cheers, a highlight for me was his song ‘Break the Night With Colour’ where his guitarist really shone and took charge of the song for a spectacular solo.
I could not talk about Richard Ashcroft’s set without mentioning the emotional performance of ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ which was a pleasure to witness, with each person singing along to his every word by this point in the night. To close the entire weekend of Hardwick Festival 2024, he kept the crowd on their toes and wondering whether he was actually going to return to the stage for an encore. But of course, he did come back to play the one and only ‘Bittersweet Symphony’.
Overall, we had a brilliant time at Hardwick Festival and would recommend it to anyone looking for a summer festival which is family-friendly and less rowdy than others. It’s just an hour’s drive from York, or they offer public transport from local cities which can be easily reached by train. Hardwick Festival 2025 will commence 15-17 August next year and you can access Super Early Bird Discount Tickets here.
