If the first day at Hardwick Festival was all about the current pop stars and Becky Hill, for day two it was the turn of the indie rockers.
Bands like Snow Patrol and The Charlatans topped Saturday’s main stage bill.
And whilst the sun continued to shine high in the sky early in the afternoon the signs were good for another beautiful day in County Durham.
The North East's own Cortney Dixon was the first act of the day on the main stage.
The fashionable and vibrant artist has performed at high-profile festivals such as Kendal Calling this year and has become a prominent feature of the North East scene.
As the festival punters made their way onto the site at around noon Cortney wowed the crowd with songs like Stop This Party and Summer Love. Cortney was the perfect start to Saturday’s proceedings.
A trio of Northern indie rockers by way of local lads Para Alta, Manchester’s Corella and Yorkshire-based outfit The Sherlocks set the tone for the afternoon.
Heaven 17 punctuated the run of indie acts on the main stage with an evocative set that took the audience back to the days of Top of the Pops and the 1980s.
Songs like Fascist Groove Thang, Play to Win and Crushed By The Wheels of Industry soundtracked the band’s wistful Saturday afternoon set.
Disco pop diva Sophie Ellis Bextor has seen a massive resurgence in recent times. One of the artist’s singles featured on the hit movie Saltburn putting Sophie’s track Murder on the Dancefloor in the spotlight more than 20 years after it was released.
Sporting a light blue dress, which the artist had purchased at a stall on site, Sophie shimmied across the stage and thoroughly got the Hardwick crowd moving.
A disco-fueled performance featuring floor fillers like Spiller’s Groovejet, Modjo’s Lady, Take Me Home and Music Gets the Best of Me was a huge highlight of Saturday’s mainstage festivities.
Kevin and Perry made their annual return to Hardwick with a packed-out crowd in front of the Treehouse Arena. The dynamic duo delivered a euphoric set of dance anthems to their die-hard crowd.
Later in the afternoon, it was the turn of Manchester legends The Charlatans to hit the stage. The band fronted by iconic frontman Tim Burgess took the Hardwick crowd through indie classics such as The Only One I Know and North Country Boy.
Perhaps not on most people’s Saturday bingo card, but Sophie Ellis Bextor returned to the main stage to join the band during Just When You’re Thinkin’ Things Over.
For the dance music fans, once again Hardwick Festival provided a stellar line-up of DJs across the site. One of the many highlights of the night was the return of Hardwick favourite Jeremy Healy who packed out the Into the Woods stage.
Equipped with an arsenal of floor fillers, Jeremy had the arena moving and grooving well into the evening.
Snow Patrol topped Saturday’s main stage. It was the band’s first appearance in the North East since their Utilita Arena show in 2018.
The band who has a new album named The Forest Is The Path set for release on September 13th delivered a set which showcased the classics whilst bringing the crowd up to date with their latest output.
As the band sang the unmistakable lyric to Run – 'Light up, light up …' twinkling cell phone lights from the crowd illuminated the Hardwick crowd. Just like a song from the band's setlist – both Snow Patrol's set and Saturday at Hardwick were as sweet as 'Chocolate'.
Hardwick Festival concludes today with Sunday headliner Richard Ashcroft, Reverend and the Makers, Blossoms, and Jamie Webster.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article