SPLENDOUR FESTIVAL 2023

Other than a band in a pub and beat the streets I'd not done any live music events with meetup. Originally it was just one day but then they changed it to two days. I figured that if it was good I'd do the full weekend next year.

I'd stayed the night at the excellent and very social Igloo Hostel. I walked to the park and soon found the group. We headed passed security where it would have been easy to smuggle my own alcohol through.

We had a "base" where at least someone was all day. This eliminated my fear of spreading most of the day alone or searching for others in the group.

The weather was bad all day with on and off rain. I'd reached the point where I couldn't get much wetter by 2pm. As for the music I pre planned which bands I was going to see a week earlier.

Cam mannix were not great but listenable.

Jealous nostril were a bit better.

Motormof at the small stage wasn't my thing but a better option than cheesy stuff like the Sugarbabes.

I took a break at this point and had a few drinks. Alcohol was limited since I didn't want to waste loads of time queuing at the toilets. The only item of food I had was a 7 pounds jumbo hot dog.

The Coral were good, by this point the crowds were getting bigger. I re-joined the group for the last time before heading down with one of them to see the Vaccines who put on a great show.

Their set ended at the same time as Madness began so I cut this 15 minutes short as Madness was the band I wanted to see most.

Despite their age they put on a great show, the downside was that the front of the crowd was a crush of drunken people. A fight broke out nearby. About 20 minutes before the end I followed an old couple out who everyone moved for because they were carrying a cool box.

Overall a good day although I'd need a good quiet hotel to recover if I was going to do a second day. The verdicts out for next year.....