By Darren Grayer.
This year’s Night Currents Festival will take place for the fourth time on Saturday, October 4th at Portsmouth’s Wedgewood Rooms.
It has established itself as the city’s leading alternative music festival and showcases 12 acts across the venue’s two stages and guarantees a great day of entertainment for music fans, with no clashes.
With a growing number of larger outdoor festivals struggling to make ends meet and rising numbers being cancelled, inner city one- and two-day events, such as Southampton’s recent Wanderlust festival are gaining popularity. They also don’t have to rely on the weather quite so much!
Brighton four-piece Lime Garden headline and will prove to be a popular choice, with their dance floor friendly indie pop. Having just released their second album Maybe Not Tonight to much critical acclaim, they are currently one of alternative pop’s hottest tickets.
Similarly, duo Prima Queen have proven themselves to be a force to be reckoned with. Last year’s debut album, The Prize is packed with harmonious, bitter-sweet and gritty pop tunes that display well-crafted songwriting.
Other bands announced so far are power pop duo Arxx, Bristol based post punk four-piece My First Time, South London indie grungers Ain’t, alternative pop/rock three-piece Cry Sometimes,and rapidly rising artist SOFY, known for her cheeky Lily Allen -style attitude blended with hip-hop beats, and energetic live performances.
Switzerland-based artist Mary Middlefield defies the lines of genres with rock-edged indie pop cuts that confront raw, and often uncomfortable truths of life. Her music is a mix of sometimes energetic guitar driven pop and more gentle string-laden reflectiveness.
Another Brighton band, Slag, complete the line-up for now. Since forming in 2023 they’ve rapidly gained a reputation for producing colourful and interesting indie pop music, as well as well accomplished live performances, including a number of highly creditable support slots.
What catches the eye is so many female artists being involved. So many festivals, particularly the bigger outdoor ones, are dominated by male fronted bands, and it’s refreshing that this line-up seems to buck that trend and look both exciting and appealing.
Festival Co-Founder Chloe Robbins is very pleased with how the festival is shaping up – “We think this is our biggest and best line-up, and we’ve been dreaming of having Lime Garden on the bill since we first started the festival. Their new album is easily a contender for Album of the Year for us already!”
The festival is presented by local promotion team ABH, who strive to bring lively alternative music to the South-Coast, primarily through the iconic Wedgewood Rooms venue.
Early bird tickets for the day sold out quite a while ago but general ticket sales are still on sale.
For more information, visit nightcurrentsfestival.com
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