Going into this year’s series of shows in Thetford forest, I was mainly interested in seeing James and Rag n Bone Man, having seen both at Latitude Festival before. Also keen to see some of the support acts such as Shed Seven after seeing them at The Corn Exchange late last year.
The first night saw Brighton’s Rag n Bone Man fill the forest with fans on a Wednesday night, supported by the always wonderful Elles Bailey and introducing me to the talented Gavin James.
Thursday saw James, who I last saw at Latitude in the Sunday lunch slot, backed by a full orchestra playing softer renditioned of their songs, this would just be the band, fronted by a slightly injured Tim Booth told the audience about crutches, still in the pit with fans in the fourth song.
James were also supported by York’s finest Shed Seven who continue their surge in popularity. Also Tom Walker who I didn’t recognise the name but soon recognised his songs, which have had huge amounts of radio airplay.
The Script were not a band I’ve really ‘got’ to date whilst many around me are big fans, however seeing them live I get it now, fantastic stage presence soon wins you over.
Gary Barlow closed out the run, which I had thought would be the stand out, give the length of his career, however to be honest found his set quite dull. His support Beverley Knight was far better, with an amazing voice, great dance moves, all with a beaming smile that was so infectious.
With a run of four shows and almost 10k tickets per night, it’s going to be rare that you have a line up that appeals to one person every night, however three out of four is not bad.
