Friday night at Worcester Music Festival was packed out. With hundreds of bands playing across 25 venues, you could pretty much just walk down any street in the city and follow the noise coming out of the doors.
I started off at Tonic Bar to catch Abi F Jones. It’s a proper cozy, intimate venue, and her voice sounded massive in the space. She took time between tracks to talk through the personal stories behind songs like Our Love and Outside. Her guitarist Loz laid down brilliant harmonies that matched her vocals all the way through, and they finished up with a great, soulful take on Imagine.
Over at the Kings Head, the room filled up fast the second Nigel Clarke from Dodgy picked up his acoustic guitar. His crowd interaction was brilliant from the start—he even got the pub meowing along at one point and made up an impromptu song for the festival’s charity collectors.
A real highlight was his slower, stripped-back version of Staying Out for the Summer, which kept every bit of the original’s hook. He closed out with Good Enough, leaving the whole pub shouting back every single word.
Next up was Copper Beech Brewery, which had two completely different vibes going on. Out on the patio, Poppy WS put on a great ambient set, looping instruments live under her vocals before dropping a solid cover of The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights. Inside, though, it was total noise.
Metal 2 The Masses winners Chug put up a massive wall of sound. Drummer Doug Knight threw down heavy drops alongside guttural vocals, while guitarist Jacob Durrant ripped through frantic, finger-shredding riffs.
I finished the night down at Marrs Bar, which was already boiling. Darius Zaltash got the floor moving early with a fresh mix of rock and heavy dance beats.
Then Nuns of the Tundra stepped up and turned the room upside down. Hugo Bowman’s drums and Mikey Long’s thick bassline drove the whole set, while guitarist Dan Goode threw down heavy, Iommi-style riffs. Frontman Troy Tittley had the room completely in his grip, whipping up a proper mosh pit right to the final note.
Words and Photo By Mark Jackson
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