Tuesday 27 December 2011

Summer Sundae days

So, how was it for you? Did everything live up to the hype? Did you  have a wonderful time? I'm talking Christmas here...and yes thank you, it's been lovely.

Now the celebrations  are over....I feel full, flat and flustered  - I really I don't like this time, this hiatus between Christmas and New Year. It's neither one thing or the other...after Christmas day itself, I don't want to look back at the last year -  I want to move on. I want to look ahead to the wonderful possibilities that the New Year could bring....

But I'll make an exception for Summer Sundae, an annual music festival. Tomorrow at 6pm on BBC Radio Leicester,I am looking back at this year's festival ...have a listen to the trailer....

http://audioboo.fm/boos/603802-summer-sundae-trail-2.mp3?keyed=true&amp;source=embed">summer sundae trail 2 (mp3)</a></object>


For three days in August, an alternative world is created in the heart of Leicester ..it's Summer Sundae.I love this....it's got everything I want in a festival....there's always an eclectic line up of  want to see plus new discoveries of exciting new ones. It's a safe,friendly and family friendly festival, with outdoor stages, marquees and the grand old Demontfort Hall which seats over 2,000 people and has flushing toilets.(And that's one hell of bonus at a festival !)

 Set on a compact site where you don't have to walk for miles between stages, there's nice food stalls, and a relaxed atmosphere where people of all ages get together and get on.

It's a yearly  must see for me....and over the years, I've  interviewed bands such as Elbow,Editors,Lemon Jelly, the Magic Numbers,Idlewild, teenage Fan Club, Mr Hudson, the Guillemots, the Pigeon Detectives and so many others in the outdoor backstage area at the back of the main hall or in their dressing rooms for BBC leicester..



Here's last year's review
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/leicester/hi/people_and_places/music/newsid_8931000/8931278.stm

  Last year I spent two  hours recording with Mumford and Sons for a BBC 6 hour long Mercury Prize  documentary ....but this year I did something different. I just soaked up the atmosphere, talked to lots of festivalgoers, people working at the festival , and some artists who've never appeared at Summer Sundae before...for their stories.

From Sarah and Andy who fell in love at Summer Sundae and hurried back from honeymoon to be at this year's festival, to the four year old at her first festival, to the workers offering HIV tests and results in 60 seconds....there's some lovely stories .....do have a listen darlings....Wednesday 28th December at 6pm on BBC Radio leicester 104.9 FM or you can listen  again on I player for upto one week afterwards.

So, I have been looking back over this year after all....and I can't wait to hear the line up for 2012.
In the meantime, here is the beautiful voice of Newton Faulkner who was at Summer Sundae this year....whether he's playing on the main stage or accoustically by the BBC bus...he wins over his audience by being pitch perfect, funny, and engaging

2 comments:

  1. Oooh! You're on soon. Best get myself sorted. I've never been to any of the Summer Sundae events but I've heard the music. It glides across the rooftops and can be clearly heard in our gardens.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ididn't realise you could hear the festival that far away Ros, ...but hoped the doco gave yopu a feel for what actually happens at the festival.....

    ReplyDelete