Standon Calling

Despite the fact that it’s a relatively small festival, Standon Calling had no trouble whatsoever in bringing in the big names for their 10th anniversary event.

And with Little Dragon, The Dandy Warhols and Basement Jaxx for headliners, we were in no way surprised by the rumours festival sold out its 8,500 tickets in record time.

But make no mistake, this is a friendly boutique festival. The kind that encourages wild, unpretentious fun with a dog show, a trapeze and a ‘Town of Two Faces’ dressing up theme that saw thousands of festival goers strut around in fake cowboy hats and moustaches.

Our musical highlights included Brooklyn indie rockers The Antlers, whose mellow Saturday set warmed the soul, and Mancunian duo Bernard + Edith, who kicked off our Sunday with ice-cold electronics that were delivered with a mystic stage presence. The Horrors’ Sunday night set was high up on our itinerary. And while they proved that they’ve concocted their own sound of the years – a blend of shoegaze, psychedelia and Birthday Party-eque moans – the flatter songs from last year’s Luminous suggested they’re a band slightly past their prime.

But the greatest fun, in our opinion, was to be found at The Cowshed stage, where the party entertainment was provided by the likes of Sink The Pink crew and Horse Meat Disco’s Severino until silly o’clock.

Well done Standon Calling, you’ve impressed us once again.

Oh – and happy anniversary!