Basingstoke Live 2014

War Memorial Park, Basingstoke 

Saturday, July 12 and Sunday, July 13 

WELL, it was that time of the year again where the people of Basingstoke flocked to War Memorial Park for a weekend of live music covering many different genres.

My own opinion is that the two day FREE festival gets better year on year, and 2014 was my personal favourite.

Supporting the local music scene is something I am passionate about and being in a band myself I have to say that is something special being involved in such a great event that really does put Basingstoke on the map.

A massive shout has to go out to the organisers, promoters, sound & lighting people, photographers, comperes, volunteers and everyone involved in the event that help create such a good atmosphere and vibe. It is something to be proud of.

The festival has something for everyone with a number of different stages catering for different genres. I spent most of my time over the weekend dashing from one stage to another but I was mainly camped at The Amped Stage most of the time.

As I mentioned previously, the atmosphere and vibe is great and it’s really good to see bands supporting each other. A number of bands that I either knew or have played gigs with over the past year were playing over the weekend and there were a number of clashes but I tried to get to see as many as possible, even if it was only for a couple of songs.

Highlights for me were definitely My Never Time, Ded Orse, Stupid and Test Pilots who all did the business on the Amped Stage over Saturday and Sunday.

The Black Bullets and The Wonder Beers performed awesome sets on the Creative Stage whilst Karrion rocked out on the Main Stage.

What I really like about Basingstoke Live is that not only does it give the live music scene of the town an opportunity to showcase the talent that is in Basingstoke on a big stage but it also influences and inspires others to join the scene by starting up bands with the hope of one day appearing at the festival.

I spoke to one guy yesterday who was 14 years-old who I noticed had been more or less stuck to the same spot in the Amped Stage all weekend. I found out that he plays drums, guitar and keyboards and I asked him if he would like to be up on the stage at Basingstoke Live one day.

He had a huge smile on his face and nodded his head and said “I’d love to!” and that’s what is great about the whole thing.

A huge amount of work goes in to the festival and I’d guess it’s not an easy thing to organise but those involved should be sitting back today and taking a well deserved rest but most of all, they should all be proud of themselves.

Well done to everyone! See you next year!

Gary Cee – The Scene Podcast