Socially distanced music is back... and with a bang!
2020 has Certainly been a strange year, one which no one would have ever predicted and which has seen us have to adapt to a new way of life.
Of course with such changes meant we had to lose things we enjoyed, albeit not permanently, for the well being of others. One of those things being live music, with the months since Lockdown impacting bands, back stage crew, engineers, venues and everyone associated with getting shows on.
So, I was surprised, intrigued and excited to see a music festival being advertised and fitting in with Covid safe restrictions to keep everyone safe.
The Festival was called Wild Fields and run by the people behind the fantastic Wild Paths, who ran a very successful multi venue event in Norwich in 2019, bring acts such as Jose Gonzalez, Gaffa Tape Sandy and many more to the Fine City. Wild Paths was the first of it's kind and Wild Fields, due to circumstance, was the first of IT'S kind this year.
The driving force behind Wild Paths is Ben Street, Formerly drummer with band Coasts.
I was lucky enough to be able to photograph the event and from arrival I could see how successful the show was going to be.
The venue was laid out in pods, which had to be purchased on arrival or in advance and groups of up to 6 people had to remain in their pod or follow specific paths one way to ensure social distancing, the arena was well laid out and allowed people to move around safely as well as enough room to "party in their pod".
Of course the event was all about the music, and for some people I spoke to it was their first live event of the year, indeed the last live music I saw was back in February, so I was keen to hear some myself.
As part of my role as a presenter of the Alternative show on Rural Radio UK I was already familiar with some of the names on the line up, including local band Pin-ups who always put on an energetic and exciting show whenever they take to the stage.
There were 2 stages with the second, smaller having acoustic sets and really lovely benched setting to enjoy the acts from, with just a couple of minutes walk between stages and really good scheduling ensuring no real clashes and allowing people to take their time to discover their next favourite act.
Day 1 was more alternative and rock with a chilled Sunday vibe for day 2, the sun was out and the weather was warm ensuring the perfect Festival experience for all.
Indoor Pets, no strangers to listeners of the Alternative Show, were on fine form as always and as the sun started to set over the venue got people to their feet and the night alive.
Day 2, as mentioned as a lot more chilled out, and it's not every day you see someone bring an entire stage with them but that's just what Olivia Dean did! A really cool modified van which caught the attention and got people excited for her main stage set later in the day. Olivia was one of the acts who I hadn't heard of before attending and I'll definitely be sure to check out more of her music.
27 acts in total played across the weekend and you can find out more about them at the Wild Fields website here -
All in All this was a fantastic event, no body knows how long the Corona Virus/Covid-19 will be with us, but Wild Fields has made massive statement to not just the country but the entire world how a music festival can take place safely, I'm very confident that if we do find ourselves in this rotten situation next year (and lets hope not), that Ben and his team will pull out all the stops for another weekend of safe partying. Who knows, if we have seen the end of Corona Virus by then, we could all be back in a field sooner than you know!
A selection of images is below for you all to enjoy, Please visit the Wild Paths website for information on the event and a chance to hear all of the acts who played.
See you in the next one!
