By Karl Johnson
All photos owned by Sarah Bennett
On a sun-kissed Sunday in Finsbury Park, today’s indie heavyweights took to the main stage at Community Festival whilst tomorrow’s hotly newcomers displayed an array of potential, providing back to back euphoria to a capacity crowd.
As with most major festivals, the smaller stages and earlier timeslots provide an opportunity for new artists to stake their claim as future headliners, today was no different. London four-piece King Nun were no exception to this, their brand of full throttle alternative rock seems to be only a few clicks away from breaking into the mainstream. There was melody in the madness, as the young Dirty Hit signees scorched an early afternoon audience with their riotous singles ‘Speakerface’ and the emotional rollercoaster of ‘Hung Around.’
The name on the lips of those who follow new music like religion is Pale Waves. Fifteen minutes before the Manchester quartet are due to start, the front of stage resembles a sea of human sardines packed so tight to get a close-up of frontwomen Heather Baron-Gracie as she bounds onto the stage. The band rips through a set full of sprawling goth-pop anthems, including debut single ‘There’s a Honey’ and ‘Television Romance.’
As the heat and influx of festival latecomers turned Finsbury Park on its head, with bodies moving in every direction keen on flying from set to set, I found myself at the main stage for Reading band Sundara Karma. The four-piece played a set of tight-knit indie-pop taken straight from their top 25 debut record ‘Youth is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect,’ as the crowd took to each other’s shoulders, hands aloft.
The crowd anticipation for Liverpool’s indie sons Circa Waves was tangible; the sweaty and restless spectators were in full voice as the band hit the stage tearing straight into ‘Wake Up,’ the ferocious rock nugget from their second record. Singer Kieran Shudall held the crowd’s attention firmly in his grip as the band tore through early releases ‘Fossils,’ ‘Stuck In My Teeth’ and ‘My Love’ from their debut album ‘Young Chasers.’ Ending on the fitting note of ‘T-Shirt Weather,’ the band cemented their reputation as one of the best live acts the UK has to offer.
Rightful headliners on the day were Northern Irish trio Two Door Cinema Club, their set was backed by an impressive light show bathing the crowd in flashes of cool blue rays. Testament to the bands impressive backlog of hits, Two Door pushed the crowd in a frenzy of moshing and altogether jubilation as tracks such as ‘What You Know,’ ‘Something Good Can Work’ and ‘Sun’ felt written for this exact moment. Singer Alex Trimble led the indie giants through a euphoric evening of music, with the band’s sound swinging between indie and all out electronic. Choruses were sky high and echoed back to the band, from a crowd that became one with the headliners as the sun set on an incredible day of music.