Words by: Lucy Williamson and Anna Hatfield
Photos by: Anna Hatfield
It’s the festival to round up all festivals in the South West, and this year we were greeted with some truly incredible musicians and bands at the Little Orchards Cider and Music Festival at Healeys Cyder Farm.
Friday
Sam Richardson
With high energy and charisma paired with topical lyrics and a fantastic band Sam Richardson takes to the Main Stage on Friday afternoon. His stage presence engages the crowd along with a good smattering of comedy. He and his band, The Renegades, put on a magic rock and roll performance. In a powerful response to the topical local issues, his single, “Losing Heart”, showcases issues faced by people all over Cornwall in the present housing crisis. Combining this and his other catchy songs, Sam puts on an engaging and consistently entertaining performance from start to finish.
The Mayhaps
This new band is already a confident group of young talent prepared to put on an engaging and active performance. With powerful vocals from lead singer Harry Keane, the band’s original songs draw a crowd. From jumping off risers to engaging directly with the audience, the Mayhaps really do themselves justice on the BBC Introducing Stage.
50 Year Storm
Local punk band 50-year storm celebrates their 6th anniversary since their first gig, on the very same stage. From start to finish, there was high energy and crowd engagement. The bright outfits were the icing on the cake for this powerful trio.
Land of the Giants
If you needed something to keep you going into the night, then Land of the Giants is the perfect fix. The energy was bouncing off the walls, much like the band themselves! Keeping the crowd entertained with one-liners between songs, Andy Quick led the audience on a high-energy riot of sound.
Saturday
Robi Mitch
It’s just hit 2:15 pm on Saturday afternoon and local indie rock singer-songwriter Robi Mitch takes to the BBC Introducing Stage on the second day of the festival. Coupled with his sampler (which he calls his magic box), Robi fills the tent with his blissful voice, electric guitar and silky smooth/sweeping synths. A firm favourite from the team is his performance of Dreamer / Loser — a lo-fi track from his latest EP that explores the themes of identity and existentialism.
Viva Valentine
Mog Jones’ rebellious alter ego Viva Valentine and her 5-piece band rock the stage with 70s-inspired material. Think gritty vocals and hard-edged sound but with a sprinkle of the country to add to the mix.
Fluff
One man and his boombox. Fluff is a staple of the South West punk music scene. The amount of energy this one-man punk band brings to his gigs is immense. I, for one, have never seen a solo performance exactly like this. Fluff’s incredible performance electrified the crowd, who were fully living in the moment, stamping and stomping their feet to the beat of the music. He used every part of the stage rapping, singing and ripping his guitar. Oh, and his boombox is the drummer. It has 17 tracks on the mixtape with some real bangers — 21Thunder and Tea & Toast to name a couple. He rounded off his set with the crowd’s choice: Track 13 — Tea & Toast — a song for the NHS. If you ever get the chance to see Fluff live, be sure to grab tickets!
The Native
If you haven’t heard of The Native yet, where have you been? The 5-piece indie band from Plymouth have been taking the music scene by storm. Watching their set was magical. The crowd was singing along. Some highlights include the band performing their track “20 Something”, seeing the sea of hands throughout the set and hearing the roaring cheer from the crowd to round up the set sums up.
Sky Anna
Tucked away in the woods lies the Dragonfly Stage. I actually stumbled across it when exploring the festival. I heard some acoustic music playing, followed by the string of fairy lights and bunting and then found the stage. Local singer-songwriter, Skye Anna, was playing her track ‘Safe Haven’. Sky is certainly someone to watch and I look forward to seeing her perform at gigs and festivals in the future.
Sunday
Lily Ward
On Sunday, Lily Ward made her festival debut on the BBC Introducing stage! With her stunning dulcet voice and upbeat yet chilled pop sound, it can be confirmed that Lily can truly “make pretty sounds for your ears”. It gives you that warm fuzzy feeling when you listen to her music. Her material is upbeat, catchy, and real. She performed a mixture of her own material and covers. If you haven’t already be sure to listen to Lily Ward. You will love her!
Jack Britten
What can I say about the wonderful Jack Britten… well, this guy is going places and will soon be whisked away on national tours and gigs, for sure! Jack Britten opened his set on the BBC Introducing Stage with ‘Slow Reply’ — the track has had over 100k listens on Spotify and has even been played on BBC Radio 1. The track is one that you will 100% get stuck in your head for days! I spotted the stickers on his guitar, one saying “Just smile” and the other “Heartbroke”, an accurate way to sum up his music A highlight for me has to be his rendition of Sam Fender’s Hypersonic Missiles. The amount of energy from the crowd and the connection Jack had with the audience during this song was unreal.
Grab your tickets to The Little Orchards Cider and Music Festival 2023 taking place on 8th-10th September.
https://www.cornwallciderfestival.co.uk/tickets