major power fault at Indietracks Music Festival doesn't dampen spirits

Indietracks Music Festival 2011 review

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Indietracks Music Festival 2011

Friday 29th to Sunday 31st July 2011
Butterley Station, Butterley Hill, Ripley, Derbyshire, DE5 3QZ, England MAP
early bird £60 for the weekend

Whilst some festivals like to boast about shifting 70,000 to 90,000 tickets for a weekend of music, which as we probably know means long queues for the toilets and even longer queues for the food and drink stalls. Indie Tracks on the other hand prides itself on being an intimate affair, with just over one thousand people.

In short Indie Tracks excels at providing a fabulous atmosphere and a stress free weekend, with no queues at the toilets or bars; it is easy to see why people keep coming back year after year. Not only do the promoters care about the punters, but they actually care about the venue which is held on a site with a railway museum. Over the last few years the organisers have donated money to the railway museum and it has been fundamental in the completion of one of the station houses.

This year the sun was blistering hot and if ever I could criticise this event it would be for the lack of shade available. Maybe for next year they could have a chill out tent where people could go and get some much needed shade from the heatstroke inducing weather.

Over the three days the music consisted of the well known to the not so well known bands, as well as some really talented bands and shall we say not so talented bands.

The prices for food and drinks was reasonable, you didn't feel like you needed to remortgage your house to cover the costs at Indie Tracks.

There were also lots to do for children such as cake making, sock puppet making and numerous other craft type sessions to participate in.

This year’s event was headlined by Edwyn Collins, and Herman Dune who have both seen their popularity decrease over the years. Thankfully, their talent hasn't decreased.

This year's event was the same high calibre as in previous years, however just before The Hidden Cameras were due on stage, there was a technical fault which had started to plague the previous band, Help Stamp Out Loneliness, and this technical fault developed into a major fault and left the main stage with no electric. After a lull in proceedings the promoters decided to announce (or rather shout) that the main stage was not going to host any more bands and that Edwyn Collins will be playing in the Indoor stage.

However before that The Hidden Cameras treated the fans to an acoustic set on the main stage which was well received and appreciated by the crowd. It must be awkward for the promoters to decide to cancel or alter the show when a technical fault of this magnitude takes place and so credit to them for altering the bands so that Edwyn Collins could play on the indoor stage.

However trying to fit that many people into the indoor stage was going to leave some people disappointed, and sure enough if you were stood towards the back, the view was non-existent to say the least. It would have been better to have refunded the tickets and brought an Edwyn Collins DVD rather than stand in a train shed not being able to see the artiste.

For those lucky enough to get a view of Mr Collins, they were treated to an incredible set of old and new songs, to be honest I think most of the fans felt privileged to be hearing the songs considering that it was only a few years ago when Edwyn had a major cerebral hemorrhage, which left him unable to speak (with the exception of four phrases).

Even today when he performs there are still signs of his near death experience, he seemed unable to move his right arm, but thankfully his singing voice is still has wonderful and crisp as it was back in his heyday.

It was an incredible sing-a-long when he performed his 1994 hit 'A Girl Like You'.

Other bands that impressed me this year included A Little Orchestra, and Crystal Stilts both bands have got that ability to keep you entertained throughout the set, and hopefully they will progress onwards and upwards.

If you are looking for a festival that is fun, family friendly, and not boisterous, then this is the festival for you.

review by: Luke Seagrave

photos by: Luke Seagrave