Way out in the back of nowhere (otherwise known as Tubby’s Farm, Hillsborough) is the setting for Sunflowerfest, a three day festival offering “an excitingly different and magical weekend of great music, arts and entertainment”, according to their website. Now in its third year, this is the festival to attend if you fancy a massage, a painted face, a pint of cider, and lots of happy smiling faces…and music of course! A rather eclectic bill featuring everything from death metal to jazz to reggae, this truly is the festival for all the family.
//Video Feature
Scott Cormack & Carrie Neal were on hand to provide us with a fantastic video feature on their experience of the weekend. They have plenty of live footage and interviews with The Emerald Armada, The Couth, Pay*ola, The Rupture Dogs & Pocket Billiards.
// Live Reviews
Melanie Brehaut worked her poor cotton socks off to bring you a bumper review of all the action at this year’s Sunflowerfest. With some assistance from Nadean Daley there are a whopping 37 live reviews for your perusal.
FRIDAY 9th AUGUST 2013
Kicking of the, er, festival festivities on the Main Stage is The Bonnevilles. Featuring just two dudes (on drums and guitar), you would be forgiven for expecting their sound to be a bit sparse – but you would be wrong! The band play surprisingly rich, Sixties-tinged bluesy punk rock – think The Doors meets The Stray Cats. It’s toe-tapping stuff, and the crowd that are slowly filtering in really seem to be enjoying it.
Next up, on the small but perfectly formed Campfire Stage is Buskfest 2013 winners Worn Down Shoes. Featuring electric and acoustic guitars, and a cajon rather than standard drumkit, the band are all youthful enthusiasm and feelgood, summery tunes. Their take on modern acoustic folky rock is the embodiment of this festival. The smiling crowd thoroughly enjoy singing along with the various covers (including a Jake Bugg number, The Beatles’ ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ and a traditional version of ‘Whiskey in the Jar’). In all, it’s a great set.
And now for something completely different…the Barn Stage playing host to the glorious Little Miss Stakes. From acoustic folk to corpsepaint and horror punk in a few short minutes! Where else but Sunflowerfest…the band blast through their set of short, sharp and furious songs and definitely wake everyone up! With song titles such as ‘Scream’, ‘Drag Queen Dracula’, and latest single ‘Mina’, Little Miss Takes seem slightly incongruous against the brightly painted flowery backdrop of the Barn Stage (and the, uh, sunlight), but are clearly having a ball and their enthusiasm is infectious. By the end of their set they have gathered quite a noisily appreciative crowd and undoubtedly a few new fans.
Jumping back to the Main Stage, up next is The Couth, playing catchy, groovy indie rock. The occasional reggae/ska touch gives the bank an Eighties punk sound, in the vein of The Jam or The Clash, but their humour gives them an unmistakeable local identity (their first EP title: ‘Casual Sex at the Omniplex’, for example!). The band treat the crowd to a few newies (‘Down By the River’ and new single ‘If You Go’), as well as some old favourites (‘Cycles’), and finish a rocking set with the ska-tinged ‘We Spent the Night Together’.
Following the indie rock of The Couth on the Main Stage is some alt rock from The Rupture Dogs. And goodness, don’t they just sound huge today? The band give it their all, despite the early hour – the bass particular is wreathed in smiles and a halo of flailing golden hair for the entire set. Sounding a bit like Led Zep without the slinky sleaze but with more of a steely backbone, they also display some modern influences such as The Automatic or The Killers. There’s even a touch of Sabbath in there; a strange but pleasing brew indeed.
Wandering back over to the Barn Stage a strange but alluring sight greets the crowd: the vocalist of The Unprotected (the majestically named St Dave) clad in a tailed tuxedo jacket, DM’s, a sparkly scarf…and his boxers. Ahem. The band quickly launch into a set drenched in enormously catchy glam-punk dipped in metal. ‘St’ Dave’s apparel matches his onstage personality perfectly; he is flirty, flamboyant, sexy and theatrical. A punk version of Freddie Mercury, if you will. He also has GREAT legs (sorry haha) and an awesome Misfits tattoo on show. The band’s grinding riffs and clap-catchy drums go down a storm with the rapidly growing crowd, who whoop with delight after every song. In short, The Unprotected play headbang-y, stomp-y, pogo-y glam punk that you should check out immediately.
After a quick refreshing beverage (all that ‘woo-hoo’ing is murder on the throat you know!) it’s back to the Main Stage for Oddsocks Revival. The Sligo foursome are about to embark on a UK/Europe tour to promote their new EP ‘There’s Something Going On’, and treat the Sunflowerfest crowd to a few songs from it. Their funky alt-pop grooves go down beautifully with the chilled-out crowd filling the grassy area in the main arena. These boys can sing too: their raspy but sweet harmonies really soothe the soul.
In true Sunflowerfest tradition, it’s all change upon returning to the Barn Stage. Zombified are without question the heaviest act on the lineup this weekend. Their deep growling vocals and death metal riffs blow the faces off the curious crowd gathered in front of the stage. Children run, hippy types look stunned…it’s brilliant! They launch into song after song of thunderously deep sludge and chugging doomy riffs, even touching on power metal at times. Their singer exudes wild-eyed menace, a sort of frothier-haired Max Cavalera, throughout tracks such as ‘Outbreak’, ‘The Forgotten Art of Strangulation’, and new song ‘The Calling’. So if you like your metal dark, ominous and visceral, check these guys out.
Truly from the sublime to the…well you know…up on the Main stage it’s Ed Zealous. Playing standard indie rock (and sounding a wee bit like Gary Numan it has to be said), Mr Zealous plays safe, NME, Glastonbury rock, a la The Arctic Monkeys or Beady Eye. It’s perfectly acceptable indie rock (if you like that sort of thing). Moving swiftly on…
Barn Stage. Night falling. Who else could it be but Gacys Threads? The band casually amble up to the stage and do what they do best: blow the roof off the place! Vocalist Aaron Vance paces the tiny stage like a caged lion (and roars like one too), whilst drummer Stephen Currie looks rather like a wind-up toy set to the wrong speed, his face etched with as much strain and effort as a sprinter giving his all just before the finish line. In fact the entire band pour everything into their set – as usual. No half measures for these guys! If this music doesn’t make you bang your head then frankly you have no pulse. It’s full throttle, fast paced, thunderous hardcore from start to finish, with sneaky time signature changes to stop you from getting complacent or bored, and all the power and venom we’ve come to expect from this hardworking band.
…And breathe! Time to mosey back to the Main Stage, this time for local heroes Mojo Fury. The buzz around this band is growing steadily, with their new Pledge-funded release well on its way to reaching its goal, and the likes of Radio One’s Phil Taggart championing their new single. It’s not hard to see why; their upbeat, perky, psychedelic-tinged alt rock makes for catchy and enjoyable listening. They lift their sound above the average with synths and a funky twist. Singer Michael Mormecha connects well with the crowd and has them up and dancing in no time. This is one band with a bright future ahead of them.
Campfire Stage headliner The Emerald Armada are up next. The band is enjoying a busy weekend, performing at not one, but two festivals: Sunflowerfest tonight and Forfey Festival on Sunday. Their upbeat modern take on acoustic folk music goes down wonderfully with the warmly appreciative crowd, who have definitely reserved some applause and love for this band. They are sweet, soulful and bang on the money tonight.
But if that’s not your cup of tea, you could always wander back to the Barn Stage to check out headliner BeeMickSee. Comprised of, er ,’Bee’ and Paul Denver, the pair rap up a storm, complete with Belfast accent and slang. It’s slick, spirited and quite funny. The lads also indulge in some craic with the crowd, flirting with a pretty girl, making everyone crouch and jump up, as well as singing at least half of the crowd from within the crowd itself. The only niggle is they perhaps talk a bit TOO much, and one wonders if this self-indulgent chatter would have gone down as well with the crowd if everyone wasn’t as, ahem, ‘merry’ as they are by this late stage. As a result, they occasionally come across as a bit irritating and gimmicky.
Never mind tough! There’s always Main Stage headliners Alabama 3, performing a stripped-down unplugged set complete with stripped down number of band members. Describing themselves as “sweet mutherf**king country acid house” on their Facebook page, it’s an interesting prospect to see what an unplugged gig will bring. Will they lose any of their vitriol, their vigour? The short answer is: no. The band lope onstage and proceed to sing up a storm. Part gospel vocals, part bluegrass guitars, part honky tonk harmonica, and all soul, Alabama 3 are noisy, drunk and stoned – and the noisy, drunk and stoned crowd lap it up. The combination of co-vocalists Larry Love’s laconic style and Aurora Dawn’s gorgeous gospel voice is elegant and captivating. The songs themselves are at once witty and barbed, losing none of their spark as unplugged versions. Love is a striking frontman; tall, drawling and sunglasses-clad throughout, He speaks often about the likes of fracking, standing your ground, being yourself and so on – in between sharing a joint with the rest of the band and singing rambling tunes about life, politics and the degenerate life (“hello sweet, I’m Johnny Cash”…explains the sunglasses then). Their headlining set perfectly caps off an eclectic, magnificently varied first day at Sunflowerfest. Time to stumble off to bed/party on (depending on your energy levels) in preparation for day two!
SATURDAY 10th AUGUST 2013
…Which dawns bright and sunny (well, sunny-ish. It’s Northern Ireland, what did you expect?). Attempting to get everyone out of their tents and on their feet is Gin Craze, the first band on the Barn Stage. Describing themselves as “funky rock n roll” is bang on: they play fun, bold, ‘get down and boogie’ music, in the vein of Big Brother and the Holding Company or Grand Funk Railroad. Singer Brian Horner’s are rich and warm, similar in style to Andrew Strong. He scores a series of Sunflowerfest 2013 firsts by bringing on-stage a tambourine, a maraca and finally a cowbell! The band are simultaneously cool and endearingly awkward, and soon gather a sleepy but smiling crowd attracted to their funky rock.
Waking the punters in an altogether gentler fashion on the Main Stage is R51, playing some fine shoegaze pop-rock. Singer Melyssa Shannon has a gorgeously rich throaty voice which harmonises beautifully with the backing vocals. They have a vaguely gothy, ethereal sound which melds seamlessly with the rockier edge present in their songs. An unusual but enjoyable band.
A generously sized crowd of barely awoken campers has started to form in the barn, considering it’s 1pm its still quite early if you’ve had a few beers the day before. Sal Vitro hail from the fair old city of Dublin the guys wow the growing crowd with their bluesy Rock n’ Roll sound, the frequent use of the distortion pedal gives it a funky twist. Their stage presence is that as if The Beatles have collided with The libertines. ‘Swear by your love’ the very interestingly titled ‘The doomed romance of tricky Tessa and jucin’ Jeremiah’ and new single ‘Wear it out’ the first single off their debut album, go down exceptionally well with the festival -goers. Finishing their set with ‘Hold me down’ vocalist/guitarist Josh belts out a Jim Morrison style A Cappella vocal before being joined by Cuddy’s Mitch Mitchell style drum beat combined with roaring riffs it’s a perfect end to an all round exciting performance.
Up next on the Main Stage is The Deans, a trio from Galway. Having travelled the world performing at festivals, it must feel like home to be onstage by now. They never show any complacency however, playing their earnest folky rock with enthusiasm. Their sound is rather reminiscent of Pink Floyd (indeed, their final song sounds a bit like ‘Money’), but with a classic rock twist. Their Facebook page describes them as “roots rock” (eh?) which hopefully just means ‘psychedelic pop/rock’ or something. Tis good, anyway!
Cranking it up a gear over on the Barn Stage is We Town Criers, all galloping beats and funk-rock stylings. With some great chunky riffs and slinky grooves, they have a definite Red Hot Chilli Peppers vibe, but they take it and make it all their own. The result is true funk rock; toe-tapping, head-nodding, hip-wiggling and captivating. The band have played several gigs and festivals over the summer (with more to come) in support of their new single ‘Weight of Mind’ which comes from their album ‘Swing Beast’, due for release in September 2013. They of course play said new single (brilliant) as well as more soulful numbers such as ‘Coincide’. They end their set as it began, with a rocking, galloping beat and a funky twist, and send the crowd on its way wreathed in smiles.
Dublin based six piece, The BaRLey MOB make quite an entrance sporting a variety of musical instrument’s including, acoustic and electric guitars, a banjo and drums, vocalist Adam Daly thanks the sunshine for coming out and rightly so, this is perfect music for a hot summers day. The huge crowd of brightly dressed Sunflower-fest-ians begin to dance like there’s no tomorrow noticeably enjoying the uplifting vibes of the Irish reggae beats, ‘Everybody’s music’ and ‘Medicine man’ are crowd pleasers as the lyrics are shouted back word for word. Laid back Adam jokes about how we could solve world problems by sending all the politicians away on boats, many seem to agree with this as cheers and applause fill the air. As the guys draw their set to a close Adam instructs the festival goers to get down on their honkers then jump up to sing the words “this is for love” along with him, he promises they’ll feel much better after this, of course being in festival spirit everyone obliges and a sea of festival lovers jump up together chanting “this is for love.” The BaRLey MOB spread happiness amongst the sunflower-fest-ians like a virus, smiles all round after that feel good performance.
From reggae to rock! Over on the Barn Stage are classic rockers The Screaming Eagles. No messing around here; this is proper rock and roll, with actual guitar solos and everything! The band have a definite Led Zeppelin vibe (vocalist Chris Fry even sounds a bit like Robert Plant), crossed with the ballsiness of AC/DC and the like. They even play a spirited yet brief version of ‘It’s A Long Way To The Top’, resulting in an ecstatic crowd singalong. They then pin their colours to the mast in definitive fashion with ‘Rock N Roll Soul’, containing the brilliant lyrics “you came to save my soul, but I wanna rock n roll”. Amen to that!
With that it’s time to head back to the Main Stage to check out the eleven member beast (yep, eleven!) that is NI Soul Troop. Their funky brand of upbeat, inspirational soul is breathtaking. The inclusion of a large brass section and choral, almost gospel style vocals gives the group a majestic presence. There is also a clear nod to the funk masters of the past, such as Stevie Wonder and Curtis Mayfield. According to the band’s Facebook page, they are in the process of recording a second EP, which is why they have been quiet on the live scene lately. They have certainly come out of their self-imposed exile tonight, and have undoubtedly recruited many new fans in the process.
As evening approaches the festival is well underway, there’s a pretty decent amount of people partying their pants off as the Pay*ola lads begin to rock the shit out of barn. Classic 1980’s style powerful rock shakes whatever is left of the walls of this old barn. As vocalist Phil jumps around like a toddler with ADHD swinging the microphone and stand around the stage like a true rock god he jokes with the crowd that he’s been drinking a lot of beer over the weekend and it’s seemed to have helped, all the binge drinking hasn’t had any bad affects on his vocals at all. ‘Everybody talks’ and ‘Cassette’ are fan favourites, there’s even a few kids dancing around sporting Pay*Ola t-shirts and throwing the good old rock n’ roll horns in the air in appreciation, obviously well educated by their parents. A performance enjoyed by all ages that allows Pay*Ola to remain Northern Irelands rock royalty.
From young funk upstarts to a true legend…ladies and gentlemen, it’s Stiff Little Fingers’ Henry Cluney! The Barn Stage is packed to the rafters with people remembering their misspent youth and young punk fans here to pay reverential homage to this punk idol. His band are the most experienced on the bill by a considerable margin, which shows in their stage presence and easy banter. Affable and witty, Cluney informs the crowd that “we’ll just play what we remember”, which luckily for us is ballsy, three-chord punk full of vitriolic and defiant lyrics. Just as it should be played, then! Despite a few fluffed chords (followed by goodnatured ribbing), everyone is ecstatically delighted to be here, particularly during a blazing version of ‘Alternative Ulster’(to which the crowd goes MENTAL). In true punk tradition they overrun their slot, performing not one but two encores, including a punked-up version of ‘Running Bear’ and they leave the crowd a sweaty, beaming mess. Who was smiling more, Cluney or the crowd? Let’s just call it a tie…
After a bit of a downpour the sun has put his hat back on just in time for Belfast based Ska Gods Pocket Billiards appearance on the main stage. A hoard of beer fuelled festival -goers rush to the front of the stage to join the party, and the 9-piece band don’t disappoint. ‘Drunken waster’ and ‘Belfast town’ go down an absolute storm, the punters have lost themselves to the madness esque beats as they dance their asses off, even small children. One in particular, a boy around six years old is singing every word and doesn’t miss a beat of the powerful punk infused riffs. New song ‘Holding on’ receives an exceptional response from the merry punters, leaving everyone at Sunflower-fest in very good spirits.
The eclectic nature of Sunflowerfest strikes again! Where else could you go from punk legend, to funktastic ska rock, to NWOBHM in just a few short steps? Returning to the Barn Stage after Pocket Billiards blinding Main Stage set, it’s time for Northern Ireland’s answer to Iron Maiden, Stormzone. Compressing their epic storytelling songs into a mere forty-five minute set will be a challenge, so it’s all killer no filler from start to finish tonight. Vocalist John ‘Harv’ Harbinson and his motley crew are seasoned professionals, so the show is polished and well-rehearsed. The band, as always, are clearly having a ball, encouraging crowd participation with a plethora of ‘woa-oh’s, ‘oy!oy!’s and fist pumps. They play a few tracks from their recently released album ‘Three Kings’ including ‘Night of the Storm’ and the title track, which sound thrashy and slightly harder-edged, indicating that Stormzone are in rude health. The fans are deliriously happy to be here (including one golden ringlet-ed youngster aged about five air guitaring at the front). Their final is of course ‘The Legend Carries On’, their ‘epic’ epic, which gallops and charges on for a majestic nine minutes. What a finish! Who could possibly top that? Wow!
So! What’s next on the Main stage to guide the crowd to further musical ecstasy? It’s uh…Eat Static. One dude, a laptop, some synthy-looking stuff. Yep, it’s that time; when the pills (or alcohol) have truly kicked in. It’s trance nightclub time! Woo! If you’re tripping or tipsy, this is the best thing since sliced bread. If you’re not, this is, well, immensely annoying. (Needless to say, many, many people seemed to be very much enjoying it). Soulless, repetitive, dull. ‘Nuff said!
The barn is packed to the rafters, and its no wonder it’s the last performance of the night. Elton John’s Rocket man blasts through the speakers as more and more boozy punters squish their way to the front to witness the carnage about to happen before their very eyes. Nasa Assassin take their places on stage, a karate kid stands in front of the microphone continuing to tease the crowd. Lead singer, better known as The Watcher makes quite an entrance, dressed in some sort of mad Doctor attire complete with clipboard he lifts the child out of the way as a roar of cheers erupts from the mosh pit. Pounding drumbeats and psychedelic riffs rumble through the air shaking whatever’s left of this poor barn into oblivion. A mosh pit is well underway ‘Sexy nervous breakdown’ ‘Super Collider’ have surely damaged the hearing of everyone present in the barn for sure. ‘I’m not giving up’ a song the watcher dedicates to drummer Rab, as he explained he hadn’t been feeling well lately and the guys were worried about him, an understanding crowd show the song the appreciation it deserves by continuing to mosh their heads off. Leaving the festival sweaty, temporarily deaf and filled with adrenaline, one hell of a headliner for the rock themed barn and certainly one of the best performances of the day.
The only conceivable problem with hosting two main stages that are so vastly different in musical styles is this: when the headliner of the ‘second stage’ is so splendidly bonkers, so incredibly sublime (Nasa Assassin of course!), there’s a danger that the ‘first stage’ headliner may end up being a touch anticlimactic. Thus we arrive at the Saturday night Main Stage headline act Ozric Tentacles. Described on Facebook page as “instrumental progressive space rock”, their sound is a predictable mix of Pink Floyd, Hendrix and Rush. In fact, the screen behind the band could dispense with the trippy, tie-dye optical illusions and simply have ‘WE REALLY LIKE RUSH’ written on it. In tie-dye. Ozric Tentacles’ set is essentially a long jam session onstage, occasionally broken by pauses so the band can tinker with their instruments, to rapturous applause from the zonked-out crowd. Their music harks back to the Seventies when the three minute time limit was lifted and artists really went to town with rambling, noodly prog epics. Whilst they are technically very accomplished (especially the gnarly guitar wrangler)they seem a strange choice for a main headliner. It’s all a bit vague and esoteric and a bit of a downer after the vigour and fun of the aforementioned Nasa Assassin. Perhaps the organisers were preparing the crowd for the more chilled out vibe of Sunday? Perhaps it was assumed that everyone would be drunk, stoned or in bed by now? It shall remain a Sunflowerfest mystery.
SUNDAY 11th August 2013
Ah, chill out Sunday. Bleary-eyed campers, still-bouncy children, slightly fed-up looking vendors. Sunday has a distinct laid-back vibe; no metal or punk, no shouty raucous rock, just jazz, funk, soul, blues and relaxing.
Kicking things off on the Campfire Stage is the gorgeous, leggy Amanda St John and her band. Her sultry vocals, bittersweet lyrics and Motown influenced tunes are the perfect way to ease back into Sunflowerfest mode. The only problem was an unfortunate clash with the soundcheck on the Main Stage! The snarling guitars and repetitive drumbeat trampled all over what was undoubtedly a lovely ballad. Perhaps soundcheck can be done with headphones etc to stop this from occurring?
Said soundcheck was in preparation for the Main Stage’s first act, Uncle Social. Described as ‘experimental’, it soon becomes apparent why. This is ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ music: funk, alt rock, ska and even prog are melded together with heavy bass and jangly guitar riffs to create quite a unique sound. Think The Doors at their most rambling and experimental and you come close to imagining this terrific band’s sound.
Continuing the chilled out theme of the day over on the Barn Stage is Roll the Dice. This young band play a kinda jazzy, kinda schmoozy brand of bluesy soul in the style of The Beautiful South and the like. Featuring both a male and female singer, as well as keyboards and even a clarinet, they treat the growing crowd to some lovely tunes. The inclusion of a cover of ‘I’m Sexy and I Know It’ (a la X-Factor winner James Arthur) mashed up with Stevie Wonder’s ‘Higher Ground’ gives them a cheeky modern edge. Their final number allows their drummer to cut loose and show us his chops as it is quite a rocky tune! Hopefully this gig and the warm applause they received will give them a well-deserved confidence boost and they seem quite nervous, bless them.
Taking a dander back to the Main Stage, the small but happy crowd is treated to the jazzy pop of Suzanne Savage. Her ‘quite similar to Kate Bush but less bonkers’ voice is both beautiful and captivating, especially when she gives it some welly during the jazzy numbers! The highlight of the set is definitely the song about having a crazy psychotic boss – judging by the cheer it gets and the knowing smiles, a lot of the crowd could relate!
Taking a step back towards a bit of rock n roll, next up on the Barn Stage is Silvers Got Strings from “the heart of the Mourne Mountains”. Their combination of electric and acoustic guitars results in a ‘rock with a touch of modern country’ sound, reminiscent of Nickelback or more recent Bon Jovi. The singers warm tones harmonise richly with the drummer’s backing vocals, and sit nicely within the band’s mainly slow or mid tempo songs. They play their newest single ‘Come and See’ from their latest EP before cranking it up a notch with their last song, a rifftastic rocker called ‘Burnout’. Great way to end a set!
The solo venture from Mojo Fury’s Michael Mormecha is up next on the Main Stage. Whereas Mojo is all about the alt-rock with a touch of psychedelia, Mormecha concentrates more on the dirty bluesy side of rock, with a dollop of funk. The addition of organ keyboards creates a real Doors vibe, as does the rambling nature of some of the songs. In fact, several of his songs are a bit rambly and self-indulgent…but sure, it’s HIS solo effort so why not indulge? The result is less tight and disciplined than MF but highly enjoyable nonetheless.
A change to the scheduled headliner surprises a few on the Barn Stage: instead of the alt-rock stylings of Von Fever, the crowd are instead presented with a dude and his banjo. It transpires that this is Conor O’Kane, of folk supergroup Ard Ri, otherwise known as Teknopeasant. Singer/songwriter O’Kane describes himself as a “blues-punk mountain man” who tells “country-blues tinged tales”, both in song and spoken word format. His clever, often vitriolic tales of Ulster, consumerism, society and so on are warmly received today (the hippies are loving it!). It’s great…if you’re in to that sort of thing. Next!
Making that last journey back to the Main Stage, it’s time for Dublin’s The Hot Sprockets. After a beautifully harmonised a cappella start they kick it off, straight into some glorious, toe-tapping dirty blues, complete with jangly guitars and (of course!) harmonica. Their unique and fun blend of American style blues with an added Irish twist goes down a storm with the crowd, many of whom are up dancing from the opening notes. Much of their set also has quite a groovy ‘Summer of Love’ vibe, but with a modern alt-pop edge (The Killers etc). They treat the crowd to two new songs: ‘Minute Mile’ is drench in the aforementioned ‘Summer of Love’ sound, whilst ‘Heavy on My Mind’ has a sexy, slinky blues groove and wraps up their set perfectly. It’s the last hoorah of Sunflowerfest 2013, and the spent crowd noisily show their appreciation.
//Photos
Our photographer in residence Laura Heather got plenty of snaps of everything on offer at Sunflower this year. You can check out her gallery and don’t forget to tag yourself – SUNFLOWERFEST 2013 PHOTO GALLERY
And so it comes to an end! Sunflowerfest truly is as magical and eclectic as it promises to be, with everything from a Kid’s Zone to metalheads to vegetarian hotdogs to warm, soothing jazz. If you can’t find something to put a smile on your face here, you need to take a long hard look at yourself! Special mention must go to the organisers for putting on such a fantastic event, full of warm friendly faces and helpful, informed staff. Mark Sunflowerfest 2014 in your diaries, folks!
