MUSIC

Kingswood Foundation (Sat 3 Sept)

The Main Event’s run by young people for young people so Venue sent the youthful Eartha Williams to review it.

The Main Event, in its fifth year running, did not fall short of expectations. This exciting showcase of both local and national talent is a one-day festival held at the Kingswood Foundation. Managed by Youth For Youth, an organisation run by young people for young people, it is a testament to teamwork and community spirit, and acts as an antidote to the negative images in the press of the youth of today. Those who attended were treated to performances from 19 different bands, including headline acts The King Blues (pictured) and Young Guns.

With a variety of workshops, from drumming to graffiti, and a wide range of activities throughout the day, such as face painting, bucking bronco and gladiators, there’s something for everybody at this enjoyable festival.

The site was decorated with flags and ribbons, with colour dripping from the trees and people walking around with painted animal faces like something from a fairytale land. The beautiful estate on Britannia Road has an island of grass in the centre and is the perfect location for a community event such as this.

Kicking off the day’s proceedings, young pop sensation Ollie Garland wowed the audience from the main stage with his original catchy lyrics and melodic renditions of chart hits. Band after band were smoothly directed on and off the two stages, which provided a coherent and flowing stream of live music. Later becoming more and more rock influenced, Serpico stood out from the crowd with their professional delivery, talent and influences derived from classic rock.

Reminding us of the importance of this platform for young people to showcase their talents was Liv, on the PREMIX Stage. Some technological issues involving CD backing tracks meant that her performance had to be done a cappella, which was a very commendable feat for a girl of such a young age; her voice was powerful yet effortless.

I was particularly impressed by the Youth For Youth team, who showed an ability to present this event to the public seamlessly, on time and with no major hiccups. Their many duties included ticketing, assisting artists, stage management, stewarding and litter picking on the day, as well as planning the event in the year previous to it. From start to finish, the young people involved were excited and enthusiastic about their opportunity to showcase their abilities at such a high level, and show the audience, including their families and peers, what Youth For Youth stands for.

Later into the evening, the atmosphere was filled with anticipation and eagerness for the headline acts. The Young Guns carried on the very rock-orientated theme, and put on a great show that got the ‘younguns’ dancing and singing along.

The King Blues put on a fantastic show for the audience, and really connected with the organisation as a whole by emphasising the importance of the arts for young people. Their distinctive sound came as a breath of fresh air and showed the young people that rock music can be merged with other genres to create something equally brilliant and ‘cool’. The crowd was very diverse, from young punk rockers moshing at the front to parents and couples enjoying the music at a calmer distance towards the back.

In future years, with a bit more publicity, this event can reach a wider demographic and perhaps move to a more central location, allowing more people to be involved in the Youth For Youth aspect and enjoy this superb day. A more diverse range of music genres would also help to make it a more exciting venture for those who are not fans of rock music and would like to be involved. With its dedicated team of young people, this seems very possible, and I am looking forward to what next year brings. (Eartha Williams)

Copyright Eartha Williams 2011