Along The Watchtower festival, Lancaster Castle

I went along to the Castle on both weekends of this new festival and certainly heard quite a variety of music. It did get a bit confusing with some last-minute changes to the programme and even after googling a few of the acts I still have no idea who one or two of them were. 

There's always an element of pot luck at these events turning up having little idea what style of music you're going to hear but the acts I enjoyed which were new to me included Hellon and the Mellons, The Collective (I think), Owen Saunders and Wet Library. I only caught the very end of The Limes but they sounded pretty good whereas I had to go a safe distance away from XOX who were probably the loudest band of the festival. I did wonder about them having such a full-on rock/metal band on at what is a major tourist attraction in town and I did notice some rather confused-looking visitors no doubt wondering what the hec was going on. 

Having the smaller Gallows stage so close to the main stage generally wasn't a problem though Owen Saunders' Spanish guitar playing was in danger of being drowned out a couple of times by Hiroshima Twinkie on the main stage. 

Of the acts I already knew, Rice played their Hendrix-influenced rock with their usual energy and showmanship. They had originally been due to play the main stage but were moved to the Gallows for whatever reason. It was good to hear Paddy Garrigan and TSP though the crowds on the final Sunday were somewhat smaller than on other days. Sadly I had to miss The Convulsions and Off The Rails on the first Sunday but by all accounts they played very entertaining sets. 

A shout-out must go to my mate Marc, who along with partner Joanne, played what I think was the last ever gig by Subordinate Claus but fear not, they are carrying on under a different name. They were on in the early afternoon of the first Sunday and it was good to see some friendly faces in the audience unlike the second weekend when I saw very few people who I knew. 

Being a new event to Lancaster I don't know how successful the festival was in terms of footfall but do wonder if having it on two weekends in a row is something they will repeat. On the plus side the weather was neither too hot nor had us seeking shelter from any rain forecast and there weren't many queues for food and drink. The Atkinsons coffee shop provided a good alternative to the festival bar which didn't seem to have much in the way of soft drinks on the first weekend. 

But all in all I'd give the festival the thumbs up and I even heard a rendition of All Along The Watchtower on the Gallows stage. Was that trio called The Collective? That's what it looked like on the board at the front of the stage but there was no mention of them on any social media postings I saw.