Stendhal Festival

Penfailed

This weekend. Ash headlining the Friday night and Kila and And So I Watch You From Afar on the Saturday night. Looking forward to it.

bodhrandude

And the great ragga singer Maca B too woo hoo looking forward to it.

Penfailed

Stendhal was amazing! My highlights were Malojian, Dea Matrona, Pat McManus Band, Turn, Ash, The Bonnevilles and And So I Watch You From Afar. It was so good to be back at a proper festival. Felt 'normal' again!

bodhrandude

Well Stendhal was an absolute blast and an emotional experience, just the laid back openness, its very much a family orientated festival with a good dose of guitar rock from the North, there is some serious bands down there.

Some of the people that came from the Republic were totally exhilarated by the experience, many people both Northerners and folk from the South were very much social distancing. In fact, my duty on Friday was to cruise around the Steve Martin arena and gently suggest to people who were queuing at the food vendors and bars to leave a little space between each other, most of the time this was being observed anyway. Mary Coughlan who done a brilliant set remarked that she didn't know how to react, whether to wave her arms in the air or break into dance moves as she hadn't toured for ages, there was many other acts also from the south who mentioned it being an overwhelming experience.

I'll be writing a blog review of the only festival I attended and worked this year, I want to compare the Letterkenny and Derry experience, the contrast and how we are hopefully coming out of the bloody pandemic. I'll post it here and the Electric Picnic and Stendhal Festival forums. It may take a few days to unravel the detail, but I have all the pics and videos transferred to computer, next is the Youtube uploads and then the journalistic endeavour. Met a few boardsies at the event, Penfailed I met, and another poster and his wife, I can't remember the username but he's a big Depeche Mode fan and always hoping that they play the Picnic, he reckons though he hasn't posted in two years.

Penfailed

@bodhrandude - great to meet you on Saturday afternoon. I saw a few great bands on that stage you were working at. I'd have to disagree with the, "people were very much social distancing" part of your post 😁 I was down the front for Ash, The Bonnevilles and And So I Watch You From Afar. That was on three different stages and it was rammed! They had to stop people entering the area that The Bonnevilles were playing for safety reasons. They really should have been playing a bigger stage but that might have taken away from the 'occasion'.

bodhrandude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117763089#Comment_117763089

True about the night time Penfailed, people a bit more inebriated I suppose, I was working during the daytime and it was less rammed and more families about. Night time did get more crowded but still seen folk masked up at Maca B and various other gigs. I suppose to a lot of young folk just want to forget about the pandemic.

bodhrandude

Macka B - Fortify at Stendhal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOwB3CCF9vc

bodhrandude

Kila - Saturday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4F8OUrC1_o

bodhrandude

Mary Coughlan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTmO6Eq2TRs

bodhrandude

Ash

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jczrGWTWoZo

bodhrandude

Pat McManus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhYH3VTA89w

bodhrandude

The Bonnevilles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuhPNmRMJuQ

bodhrandude

My festival review I hope you like it. :)

https://niallmcquaid.wordpress.com/2021/08/18/stendhal-2021-festival-august-12th-14th-limavady-county-derry-northern-ireland/

NIMAN

Good article.

We are tempted to take the kids to it next year, would be first time we have ever camped out.

Do you think it would be an enjoyable experience for kids between 8-12?

Have they much to keep them occupied?

bodhrandude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117769870#Comment_117769870

Most definitely Niman, I think more family friendly than B&S and EP, there's loads of activities and play areas there as well as a liberal dose of rock n roll, which would be a lot more doable. Well worth it, I think general camping tickets were 105 sterling this year which is pretty cheaper considering the lineup you get.

NIMAN

Great, will definitely stick it on the To Do list for next year

Penfailed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117769856#Comment_117769856

Excellent write up! Fair play. The only criticism - Ash definitely aren't a shoegaze band 😁

Penfailed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117769870#Comment_117769870

We've been going with our kids since they were about 8 and 10. Very family friendly.

Penfailed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117769856#Comment_117769856

We were at some of the same bands. I'm still buzzing from And So I Watch You From Afar's set! I didn't realise that Susan O'Neill also did vocals with KCC either. I would have gone and checked her out. My wife recognised her at one of the food stands and was asking her if she would be singing with KCC when they play in Belfast at the CQAF later this year. Unfortunately she's unavailable 😕

bodhrandude

Where was the Henry McCullough stage, I completely missed this stage? Was it in the wooded path going from the Wooly woodlands stage. There was a whole bunch of acts I missed on that particular stage and after writing the review I went, fcuk, I fcuked up there.

Penfailed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117771750#Comment_117771750

If you walked from the Stevie Martin stage down into Karma Valley the Henry McCullough stage was waaaay over on the far right.

bodhrandude

Aaah it was the stretch tent up in the top corner, feck I thought it was just a seating area as they had loads of stretch tents around the place with just seats under them. I will remember the next time if I make it back.

Penfailed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117773058#Comment_117773058

Aye, that's the one. It's only a wee stage. I caught a couple of Malojian's tunes during the day on Friday and then some DJ was spinning great tunes later that night.