London Calling #1 2018

It’s been a while since I visited the London Calling festival, the get together for upcoming bands that in the past focused mostly on britpop bands. Nowadays their scope is a lot wider, but still it is about supporting new bands and give them a bigger stage and audience for a change.

London Calling #1 2018, May 25 2018

The festival does have a downside though: where bands take turns playing in the main hall and the small hall, most of the crowd moves between these stages. The small hall gets very crowded and it’s hard to get there on time. That’s why they have a screen in the main hall showing the band upstairs while the next band downstairs is already sound checking. It kind of makes me stay downstairs most of the time which isn’t the perfect way to experience the bands.

Frankie Cosmos
I do try to watch Frankie Cosmos, alter ego for Greta Kline, from the back of the small hall. I already know her music isn’t exactly what I like but her timid performance doesn’t exactly win me over either. There isn’t a lot happening on stage and the songs don’t really grab me. Sometimes a song appears to catch fire, then it dies down quickly. We decide to watch the remainder down stairs.

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Yungblud

Probably one of the most anticipated acts is Yungblud, or Dominic Harrison, the young singer who already has quite a big hit with ‘I Love You, Will You Marry Me’, that he brings early in the set. Harrison is a very energetic performer who keeps running and jumping across the stage. The songs are catchy and Harrison is making a lot of contact with the crowd. His songs are quite average though and his vocals aren’t really anything special. But together with his appearance and easy pop tunes you can see this going places.



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Mattiel

We do not try to get in upstairs and decide to skip what’s next in the main hall, so we are on time to see Mattiel play. The American singer released a very good debut album with an amazing sound that reminds of early days rock 'n roll and rhythm 'n blues. Her sharp voice is quite unique but may need a bit of getting used to. Her compact songs are spot on though and she’s backed up by an amazing band. Without a doubt she’s one of the highlights of the night and a musician with a huge potential.



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It is nice to discover new bands at this festival that most of the times has a few still to discover gems on offer. But the concept of the two stages that are too different in size makes it hard to really love. In the end I decide to skip the second day although it has a good line-up.

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