Lytham Festival

Lytham Festival - 1

by Shirley Procter

published: 19 / 12 / 2024

Shirley Procter reports on the first three days of boutique event Lytham Festival in Lancashire,which featured sets from Lord Huron, Hozier, Brittany Howard and The Courteneers.

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Day 1 Lytham Festival 4th July 2024 Here I am, back at the Lytham Festival on the bounce from Glastonbury Festival, with only one day at home between them! It’s just as sunny here as it was at Glasto, but with a strong on-shore breeze, so I’m glad of my thermals! The accessible platform is much better this year - it’s still at the back of the arena, but in the middle this time. Last year it was right to one side, so the view wasn’t that good. I’m directly in front of the stage, just not as close as I was to Coldplay on Saturday! It’s on two levels, with ambulant disabled people at the lower level and wheelchair/scooter users at the higher level. The view here is great! We arrived here just before 6:00pm, and Lord Huron are playing. They’re a six piece band from the USA, four guitars, two electric, one acoustic and a bass, drums and keyboards. It’s made up of five blokes (guitars and drums) and one woman on keyboards, percussion and backing vocals. After opening with a country song, the lead singer says ‘Thank you’ and explains how much they are happy to be here, that he hopes we like them, and that he won’t be talking much after this. Their second song is slightly more rocky than the first, with a fast beat. Next, the lead singer makes a pay phone call, and sings into the phone. I’m assuming there’s a mike linked into the handset, as there’s no mike visible. He’s switched to a normal mike, and as the song finishes, he does an Elvis impression ‘Thank you, thank you very, very much’. Another country song follows, with the keyboard player providing backing vocals. The next track features a slide guitar is a slower number, I love the sound a slide guitar makes! The keyboard player takes the lead, with the lead singer now providing backing vocals. This is a beautiful slow tune, with great harmonies. Next up is a faster paced song, with the keyboards taking the lead vocals again, followed by a much slower paced number, ‘Wait By The River’, with the lead singer on the phone again. Another fast paced tune, with a great beat to it follows and then on to a much slower song, with delicious harmonies and beautiful chords. The lead singer tells us ‘Well folks, it’s been great, thank you for being here, until next time, may you live until you die!’ This must be their last song, a fast paced tune with a great rhythm. Do the lyrics really say ‘You look like hell and smell like death’? I think so! It’s ‘Not Dead Yet’! They take a bow and leave the stage. Brittany Howard, singer and guitarist for Alabama Shakes, touring as a solo artist is on next. Fresh from playing Glastonbury last weekend, Brittany has a beautiful, passionate voice and plays a mean electric guitar! Her backing band consist of drums, bass, keyboards, guitar and two backing vocalists. ‘Thank you so much everybody. This is a beautiful town you’ve got here’ Brittany says between songs. ‘I’m interested in everyone getting down and having a good time tonight. You aren’t cold are you? I guess you’re used to it!’ She’s picked up her guitar for the next song, and tells us it is about a bad relationship she was in, and when she looks back, she sees how much better off she is now. It’s about how she did everything in the relationship, and that the joke was on her until she realised and left. It’s not a sad song at all, and has a really funky section part way through it. She tells us ‘Thank you very much’ and starts the next song, ‘Georgia’. Brittany talks about the sun, how fortunate we are to have it shining down on us, as the band starts up the next song. She carries on talking over the music, making positive, affirming statements - ‘We are all brothers and sisters, we are all brothers and sisters’ during ‘13th Century Metal’. Brittany leaves the stage, but the band carry on playing the same bars over and over, until she comes back on stage and picks up her guitar and plays. ‘Power To Undo’, slower and more tuneful featuring a guitar solo from the singer follows before wrapping up with the faster paced ‘What Now?’. Hozier comes on stage next and the crowd roar their approval as he launches into his first song, ‘Eat Your Young’. It turns out he has a higher voice than mine, I thought it was a woman singing at first! ‘Are you feeling good today Lytham? Thank you for joining us, it’s so good to see you!’ he states. Backed by a nine-piece band, twin guitars, bass, drums, cello, piano, two keyboards and backing vocals, the next song is a rocky number, ‘Jackie and Wilson’. Hozier tells us: ‘Thank you, this is the first of a series of UK shows, it’s so good to be back in the UK’ before playing slightly slower track ‘From Eden’. ‘We’re still getting warmed up, I wonder if you’d like to warm your vocal chords up together?’ He plays notes on his guitar and sings them. We echo them back, then he launches into ‘To Be Alone’, which has a strong, slow beat from the bass, echoed by the drums. One of the guitarists is now playing the violin, in a slower paced song, a song with beautiful harmonies and gentle, melodic guitars. ‘Thank you so much, now. This next song seems appropriate, it’s about a laddie who gets caught by the wind and blows out to sea.’ Yes, the wind has picked up, but it’s an on-shore wind, so we’re safe. Oh, it’s lovely, a slower number with wonderful guitar picking and violin, as the backdrop has large white feathers falling down with the sun setting behind them. Hozier then introduces some of the band before the next song starts. The cellist and violinist start playing, then the guitars and drums join in, that was excellent! The next song is a passionate one, with a strong beat, powerful vocals and great drumming. ‘Too Sweet’, a track the crowd all recognise, with a strong rhythm and a pulsing bass prompts a comment from the singer. ‘Thank you so much, thank you. I want to say a special thank you to anyone who bought or streamed that song, it was my first UK number 1, and I really appreciate you’. ‘Almost’ sees the pace pick up part way through with the keyboards, as the band all intricate passages, the cellist, the guitars then drums. The next song ‘Movement’ is much slower and featuring the cello and some beautiful harmonies under blue lighting. The sun is setting now, and the lights show much better than before. ‘Take Me To Church’ under red and white lights closes the set as the band all take a final bow and leave the stage. Hozier then reappears halfway into the crowd, he tells us how much he appreciates us coming and spending our hard earned money. ‘Cherry Wine’ features just him and his acoustic guitar on a small stage. It’s a lovely song that he picks the tune to on guitar. He tells us he’s going to play one more song and switches to electric guitar. The band reappear on the stage, first the backing vocals join in, then the instruments join in for the chorus. Hozier heads back to the main stage and joins the band. He tells us about his last track, a protest song about the little things we do for each other, then talks about the Staple Singers, who would sing before every protest, and how that inspired him. ‘We take for granted things that Labour has created, the right to a weekend, the right to vote, the right for women to have control of their reproductive rights. It’s that same compassion that puts people on the streets. We wouldn’t want people to live in fear. Please contact your representatives to push for a cease fire, to push for a free Palestine, please act. Thank you for letting me witness that love and community here in Lytham’, concluding the set with ‘Work Song’. Day 2 Lytham Festival 4th July 2024 Day Two commences with Delta Goodrem, who opens with ‘Back To Your Heart’, which is swiftly followed by ‘The Power’. Delta’s voice sounds fantastic, it’s powerful with a great range. ‘Lost Without You’, a slower number, features her playing the piano, then ‘In This Life’, which shows off her vocal range. She’s so good! She follows this with ‘Innocent Eyes’, possibly an autobiographical song? She then sings the Pointer Sisters’ ‘I’m So Excited’ - superb! Her piano playing is great, her voice fantastic! And she looks amazing! Next up is ‘Sitting On Top Of The World’, it’s an up-tempo boppy tune, the audience love it. Delta covers ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ - lots of crowd participation with this one, and she tells us ‘Well, you sound beautiful, just wait til Shania hears you tonight’ ‘Wings’ follows next, a slower song, with Delta back on the piano, a lovely, soulful track. ‘Thank you so much for being a great audience, this will be my last song’. Sadly, it wasn’t her cover of The White Stripes’ ‘Fell In Love With A Girl’, but ‘Hearts On The Run’. That said, this was a great performance by a very talented musician/singer. Next up is Rag'n'Bone Man. Last time I tried to see him was at Glasto, the festival team had made a poor decision of which stage to put him on, and it was badly overcrowded. I ended up having to escape along the railway track, as I was in danger of being crushed! There’s no chance of that happening tonight, the field is crowded, but without the insane number of people. The drums start, the guitars join in and Rag'n'Bone Man starts singing ‘All You Ever Wanted’, an upbeat cut with a great rhythm. ‘I had a feeling about today that it was going to be good’ he states. ‘How’re you doing, are you OK? I hope you like this song, it’s called ‘It Was Almost Love’’. It’s a slower paced song, starting acapella, then slowly the instruments join in. RnB Man has an amazing, woody voice (Monty Python reference; not tinny), the song ends and the crowd roar their approval. ‘Thanks for having me’ he says, ‘It’s a real pleasure to be here, to support Shania, and play for you. I have a new song out, and I’d really like to play it for you. An amazing new one, ‘What Do You Believe In’ prompts a huge crowd response. Next up is ‘Healed’. ‘Thank you so much! I can’t read what your sign says - I’ve not got my glasses on! It’s a request for a song, I’ll play that later. Its ballad time, this one is ‘Anywhere away from here’. It starts off slowly, then suddenly picks up and is much faster. This song is called ‘Be The Man’ and is for all the happy people. It’s a faster paced song that segues into ‘That’s Just The Way It Is’, then back to ‘Be The Man’. ‘How’s everybody doing, are you with me? How’s the guys at the back, are you ok?’ The crowd cheers loudly as ‘Lovers In A Past Life’ concludes. ‘Are you having a good time? Don’t mind me, I’m just clearing my glasses so I can see your faces. Are you guys from round here? How do you pronounce this place? Is it Lietham or Litham?’ The crowd yells out Litham, he thanks us, saying he didn’t want to appear foolish saying it wrong. Next up is ‘Crossfire’. He’s back playing guitar again. The song finishes and he passes his guitar off, and tells us ‘I’m going to have a new song out soon, I’d really appreciate it if I could play it for you, I hope you like it’. It’s ‘Rush of Blood’. I’ve just had to ask the people next to me to talk more quietly, as I can hear their conversation over R’n’B man. So frustrating! It’s a great song. ‘Human’ starts, I love this song! So does the crowd, as we’re all singing along to it. Everyone claps and cheers when it ends. I moved a little forward to get away from the people talking; I don’t really know why people come to gigs then talk over the music! Rory Charles Graham to give him his full name has a really soulful, powerful voice, I love hearing him sing. ‘This is our last song, thank you for being so lovely and showing so much love’ he says. It’s ‘Giant’. The trumpet player has a long solo in this song, it’s really good! He introduces his band one by one, the crowd clap and cheer them. He thanks us, we cheer and clap some more, then the song finishes. We all cheer and clap again, then he leaves the stage. Headliner Shania Twain is up next. I saw her last week at Glasto; she loved being on the Pyramid Stage. The crowd here is a little smaller, but judging by the number of stetson hats, they’re just as keen to see her! The band start playing as Shania struts onto the stage wearing very little other than a puffa jacket. She’ll be cold in that! ‘Don’t Be Stupid’ played first sees the stage backdrop covered volcanic eruptions and white flashing lights. Next up is ‘You Win My Love’. Everyone claps and whistles when the song finishes. ‘Oh my gosh, this is such a gorgeous night. Thank you for the warm welcome, I want to tell you this has been a dream come true, I’m so happy tonight, so let’s just dream together’ as she launches into ‘Waking up dreaming’. It’s an upbeat number, the crowd love it! ‘I know the sun is going down, let’s sing this’ she states as ‘I Ain’t Going Down’ starts. She and her band look like they’re having a brilliant time playing on stage together. ‘Let’s sing along with this one’ it’s ‘I’m Gonna Getcha Good!’ Everyone cheers and claps as the song ends. ‘That’s the spirit!’, Shania tells us, as she picks up her guitar and starts ‘You’re Still The One’ without her band, and we sing along to the song. She tells us that is was beautiful, and lets invite the band to join us, shall we? They do, and she starts the song again, but with just the crowd singing. She gazes around the crowd as we continue to sing to her. She conducts us as we finish the song and tells us ‘that was beautiful, thank you for singing along. This next one is also a sing along, if you’re with that forever person, sing along’ as the opening bars of ‘Up!’. Everyone loves this. Shania tells us, ‘This next song is a celebration song, it’s 27 years since this song was released, and I can see people who have been with me since then, it’s the title track from the album ‘Come On Over’. I want you to sing, this is what you need to sing. This is what you need to sing “Oh oh oh”. Keep singing! The song starts with the band playing and us singing along. That was great! Let me get my cowboy hat back on for this one, cos this is a real stomp, stomp, clap song, and is ‘Any Man Of Mine’. People are dancing and singing along. The drummer takes a bow. ‘Let’s giddy up! Lytham here we go!’ Another stonking country song, ‘Giddy up’. The crowd yell and cheer as it ends. ‘I love country, alright, I need you guys to sing along with me’ and plays ‘I Ain’t No Quitter’. I’ve never seen so many stetsons or feather boas or leopard print ever in my life - looking around at the crowd, over half are wearing some combination or even all three! ‘We’re going to carry on with a real kicker next’, and it’s ‘Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under’. Then something really sweet happens. Shania tells us ‘There’s someone here called Ken, who’s a massive fan of mine, he’s 82, if he’s here, I’d really like to send a kiss and a hug to him. If he’s here, can he come to the stage?’ She then tells us ‘We’re going to do ‘Honey I’m Home’ til Ken gets here!’ She starts singing it, and we join in. Ken sadly doesn’t appear. ‘I dedicate this song to everyone who knows love’. She starts to sing ‘From This Moment On’, and everyone joins in. The BSL signer is giving a stunning interpretation of the song, it’s a joy to watch. Shania finishes the song to rapturous applause. You’re not going to believe it, but we’ve found Ken. Ken walks on stage, she hugs him and brings him onto centre stage. She chats to him, asking him his favourite song, she starts to sing ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’, he tells her that it impressed me, and she gets a photographer to take a photo of them together, then hugs him again, and says hello to his wife. She escorts him off the stage, then comes back. He told her it was his dream, she says this is her dream, thank you for being a part of it, and then sings ‘That don’t impress me much’. Everyone joins in. She changes the line ‘So, you think you’re Brad Pitt?’ to ‘So you think you’re Ken? That impresses me much’! That was great! She asks us how we’re all doing at the back. I feel like there’s a party going on back there, and sings ‘Party For Two’, barely pauses for breath and sings ‘Rock This Country’, then ‘If You’re Not In It For Love, I’m Out Of Here’. That was fantastic! She tells us ‘I want to tell you how I feel, but first tell me how you feel’, then she calls out ‘Let’s go, girls!’ And yes, it’s ‘Man, I Feel Like A Woman’. Everyone is up, dancing, singing along, having the best time! The song ends, the band take a bow and leave the stage. Brilliant set! Friday 5th July 2024 The first act is Nieve Ella, but sadly we arrived just as she was near the end of her set as traffic from Manchester was bad this afternoon. She’s a sweary, singer with real attitude! ‘His Sofa’ played last is a high energy, fast song that went down a storm with the crowd. I’m back on the accessible platform this evening and have to comment on it - someone from one of the bars comes round to take your drinks order! I’ve only experienced that once before, at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, and it’s brilliant - takes away one of the issues disabled people face when trying to get a drink, and is something I really appreciate. Well done, Lytham Festival organisers! The park is even more crowded than yesterday was for Shania Twain, I’m glad I’m on the platform again, as the view is much better from up here. Next up are The Kooks, who I’m really looking forward to seeing. And here they are, launching into ‘Always Where I Need To Be’; the lights show is great, the back screen full of golden, yellow and brown shades of light swooping all over, and white, purple and gold spots! Best lighting effects so far. ‘How’re you feeling? Here we go’, straight into the next song, another fast paced tune, ‘Sofa Song’. The band is made up of drummer, bass, two guitars, with the lead vocalist playing guitar some of the time. This one is ‘Eddie’s Gun’ The crowd cheers as it finishes. ‘Thanks so much you beautiful creatures, thank you for having us. A new dream, a new life for us all. I think we’re going to have a great time together. We’re carrying on with another old song’ and they’ve changed to acoustic guitars, and are playing ‘Oo, La’. I love this one! Quick change from one of the acoustic guitars to an electric, sounds great! Everyone is cheering and clapping as it ends. ‘Oh, right, now we’re cooking. Are you ready? At the back are you with us, at the front how are you, in the middle, are you OK? I want to hear those beautiful voices. Let’s get groovy’ And they play ‘She Moves In Her Own Way’. ‘You guys are amazing!’. The band start to sing ‘Bad Habit’ a Capella, then the drums join in, then guitars. The screen is purple and pink, with sound waves and flashing purple lights. So pretty. The song ends, and they move into the next one straight away, it’s ‘Westside’. The screen has a panorama globe in pink, red lights ‘Are you with us? How’re you feeling? Let’s go’. The guitar playing is fantastic. Next up is ‘Seaside’ It’s just the lead singer and his guitar, the rest of the band have left the stage. He takes a bow, leans on the other guitarist, who starts playing a rocking set of chords, the rest of the band are back, all joining in. More gold lights on the screen, zooming out. And it’s ‘Matchbox’ a fast paced song that suddenly slows, with the guitars playing a brilliant riff. The screen is purple op-art circle patterns, lovely, as the band sing ‘Junk Of The Heart’. ‘Thank you so much Lytham, thank you to The Courteeners for having us. This is our last song, I think you know what it’s going to be! Help me out with this first verse, please’. They play ‘Naïve’. The band take a final bow and leave the stage. They were fantastic! The Courteeners arrive onstage to roars from the crowd, and start playing ‘The Opener’ quickly followed by ‘Notion?’ People in the audience are letting off smoke flares in red, blue and green, everyone is dancing and clapping along. This is swiftly followed by ‘Cavorting’ ‘No One’ is next, a slower song, with a strong beat, driven by the guitars. ‘This is some new music from the Courteeners’, it’s ‘Solitude Of The Night Bus’, it’s a fast tune, with a guitar picking out a rhythm, the crowd really like it. The screen at the back of the stage just shows images of the band playing, with a few lights around it. Their next song is ‘Summer’ this is a pretty tune, still with their signature guitar beats, but with gentler vocals than the last few tunes. I’m loving the lead guitar riffs! It finishes, and the crowd cheer. They start their next song, again, a strong beat and great guitar chords. ‘Take over the world’ This is great, the lyrics tell a good story. ‘Cheers everybody, big day for the UK yesterday. We played a new song in Sheffield’, the crowd started singing it to them. Oh, this is another pretty song - the vocals are great, the keyboard is playing tinkly sounds almost like a glockenspiel. It’s ‘Pink Cactus Cafe’. It ends suddenly, the crowd cheer and clap. Next up is something that starts with the keyboard taking the lead and the drums playing the cymbals. It’s ‘The 17th’. The drums are pushing the beat with the bass, whilst carrying the rhythm on cymbals. The green is completely full, people have their hands raised and are bobbing up and down to the music. The song ends and the crowd roars. ‘Listen, I’m not just saying this, this is unbelievable, anyone who stands on a stage and doesn’t realise it is a muppet.’ Next up is a slower song, with keyboards and guitar taking the lead. ‘Small Bones’, the song speeds up and slows down again. ‘Fallowfield’ is loud and rocky, with a driving beat. The band leave the stage - I can’t tell if they’ve finished or are having a break. The crowd is singing with their hands in the air. The lead singer walks back on, applauding the crowd, picks up his acoustic guitar, has a drink then puts his earpieces back in. There’s just him on stage, and he starts playing and singing. He stops singing, and the crowd take over singing the chorus to ‘Please Don’t’. The crowd sing along to the song, and cheer when it ends. ‘This next song is for Mrs Frey. This is off our second album called ‘Falcon’. He starts playing ‘The rest of the world has gone home’ everyone is singing along. He follows this with ‘Smiths Disco’. He finishes the song and leaves the stage again. Eventually, lights go up and violins start to play. ‘This is from our no.2 album’. The keyboards pick out the tune, ‘Cloud’, which is swiftly followed by ‘Modern Love’ and ‘Not Nineteen Forever’. They finish their set with ‘What Took You So Long’ thank the crowd and leave the stage.