After gaining Best Emerging Festival 2026 for Bring the Noise, I was excited to be invited to attend as a VIP by Dean Lawrence of DRL Promotions, responsible for the one-day festival, which boasted 30 bands on 3 stages for only £30, a bargain!
As we entered Network, we were greeted by 2 lovely security guards and pointed towards the desk to give our names and to get VIP bands. The woman at the desk already looked pretty fed up as she began leafing through endless sheets of paper with guest names on.
With our names finally found, we entered the venue and found the VIP area to grab a drink and plan who we were eager to see. The VIP area was very dark and practically empty which meant we were able to get our drinks straight away. There was no clear way to get from the VIP lounge to the main stage, so out we went and around to the main room.
The main room was a lovely size, stage set up nice and high so everyone could see the bands clearly. I had noticed the lack of a disabled viewing platform already, being a wheelchair user, this is generally something I’d expect to see from a room this size.
Moving into room 2, the lighting level was again a major problem. I found it increasingly difficult to navigate around people with my wheelchair and not knock into someone. This room also lacked an accessibility platform and was already filling up rapidly, so I headed outside to the 3rd stage, where most of the new and emerging bands would be playing.
Going through the doors to the outside stage, I found myself at the top of a flight of stairs with no warning and couldn’t see any other way to access the lower outside area, meaning to get from the 2nd room to the outside stage I had to go all the way back through the rooms I had just come through, down the side of the building and to the band exit/entrance and plead with the security to let me through after explaining that they was no alternative way in.
The attendees of the event varied widely in age, from their mid-teens to their late 60s, all clearly enjoying themselves in the sun with a beer in hand. Everyone I spoke to said how much they loved the venue and the variety of bands on, that every set they had seen was of great quality and most seemed to be returning customers either of the venue. The festival or both.
All 3 stages laid host to some fantastic quality bands, many of which I hadn’t previously had the pleasure to see but names I had recognised. I made a special effort to attend those that I had not seen previously, but did make a few exceptions for The False Flag and Andrew Cushin.
Band reviews
Andrew Cushin who drew the biggest crowd of the day and filled the whole of the main room. Fans were happily dancing and singing songs back to him as he thanked them for welcoming him back.
The False Flag who have only been together for a short while may have only pulled a small crowd but emotionally raw and brutally honest lyrics about inner feelings, wrong doings and relationships going sour are themes generally only heard from the female perspective which brought a refreshing change to the traditional rock/indie sound.
Adult leisure was one I had highlighted to see. Starting strong and finishing on a high, and the crowd loved every minute.
Chokers, who were a last-minute substitute for Sick Fix, had haunting vocals and real quality to their voices. Mic levels could have done with being a bit higher.
The Mercians gave a high-energy and strong performance, even with the bassist being sat down with a broken foot. Announcing that they had just signed their first record deal. Personally, I found they had a bit of a samey sound. I would like to hear more from these. Tour next year and debut album out soon
Cian Downing started with the main mic not working, so he threatened to do a stand-up show while it was being replaced. Started the set with “Come around here”, then onto “Try to understand,” their newest song. The new single “Stop the Racist” was 2-tone in the style of the Specials. With a mix of ska and soul, Cian put on a fantastic show. I feel he would have been better suited to a larger room.
The Glass House, unfortunately, had a bit of a drum kit failure when the symbol fell over 1st song, but they recovered well. Musically good, they seemed to concentrate a bit too much on levels and on getting a clean sound for a festival; normally, they came across as a generic indie band, which was made even more mundane by basic crowd interaction.
The real let down of the event for me was the headline act, Coach Party. Not by any fault of their own, as I have seen these previously. The reason being that when they came to start, the room was deserted. I counted a dozen people waiting while they were getting ready to come on; the rest of the public all began to leave. I genuinely felt heartbroken for the band.
My top picks were : –
Cian Downing – Gave by far the best I saw during the day
Taylor Liam Jackson – Huge energy on the small stage
Sunbeam
The false flags
Andrew Cushin
Lost legs
The overall feel of the festival was great; people were clearly enjoying the bands they chose to watch. Most of the bands had clear fan bases, judging by how many were singing along.
All in all, I felt a little underwhelmed at the festival. I’m aware that there have been some family issues behind the scenes among the organisers, so I am hoping for a broader range of bands next year to pull in the crowds this festival deserves.
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