Festival season is back underway, and the North West’s biggest indie party returned to Warrington’s Victoria Park at the weekend. Neighbourhood Weekender was back in its usual May slot following last year’s delayed event due to the pandemic, with a lineup packed full of rising stars and some of the biggest UK bands out there today…
Whether it was live music across the three stages, events at the Neighbourhood Inn, or the array of food and drink vendors available across the weekend, the seamlessly organised Neighbourhood Weekender 2022 will go down as one to remember.
Saturday kicked off in style, with Liverpool favourites, Red Rum Club following Pip Blom for an early afternoon main stage slot in the sun – their first open air main stage festival set. It was evident this was where they belonged, and where they’ll find themselves at festivals for many years to come. A setlist full of trumpet-inspired anthems set fans on their way for what was to be an outstanding opening day in Warrington.
The main stage continued to bring the party on the Saturday, with The Fratellis performing crowdpleasers, “Yes, Sir I Can Boogie” and “Chelsea Dagger” to create a sun-soaked carnival atmosphere. This followed one of the most eagerly anticipated performances from fast-rising newcomers, Wet Leg, who impressed along with usual suspects, The Lathums and DMA’s.
One of the standout performances from the weekend came from The Big Top, where The Snuts packed out the tent for their long awaited Neighbourhood Weekender arrival, backing up the hype after sadly being forced to cancel last year. Scouting for Girls also brought their indie pop hits and some new tracks to the Big Top on the Saturday, drawing in a big crowd despite an overlap with The Lathums, a band frontman, Roy Stride admitted to us his admiration for (below).
Between the Main Stage and the Big Top, the Viola Beach Stage showcased some of the best up and coming UK talent. The likes of Brooke Combe and Seb Lowe drew in big crowds, along with Sunderland star, Tom A. Smith, who put in a memorable performance at Neighbourhood Weekender with his recently formed band. The good news keeps rolling for the 18-year-old singer-songwriter, with Tom today confirmed as support for Elton John at British Summer Time Hyde Park… impressive!
Saturday night was closed off with a performance from Manchester favourites, Courteeners. Despite delivering a setlist surpirse with “Cavorting” replacing “Are You In Love With a Notion” as the opener, Liam Fray & co had the crowd on side in expected fashion, with sing-a-longs, stranger hugging and flares out in force!
Sunday at Neighbourhood Weekender may not have had the consistent sunny weather of the previous day, but the artists certainly made up for it with some impressive performances throughout the day. If Jamie Webster was affected by the Champions League result just hours earlier, he didn’t show it, playing just his second festival appearance ever and packing out The Big Top for a crowd-bouncing, indie-folk spectacle.
Tom Grennan brought a bit of pop magic to the Main Stage on Sunday afternoon, with huge hit singles, “Little Bit of Love” and “Found What I’ve Been Looking For” helping to clear any sore heads from the night before. Pale Waves also took the next stride towards Album 3 with an energetic main stage performance in front of a vibrant northern crowd, with the likes of The Amazons, Razorlight and Manic Street Preachers then taking The Big Top by storm on the final day.
Blossoms subheadlined the Sunday following the release of acclaimed album, “Ribbon Around The Bomb”, performing a carefully crafted setlist full of segues and charisma. Tom Ogden showed once again that he is really coming into his own as one of the leading indie frontmen, and after attracting one of the biggest crowds of the weekend at NBHD, you can be certain it won’t be long before they find their name at the top of more festival bills.
One band certainly stole the show on the Sunday, with the Sergio Pizzorno-fronted Kasabian‘s headline performance batting away any doubts that the Leicester band can continue without Tom Meighan. Arguably the best set of the weekend, from the opener “Club Foot” onwards, Serge had the Warrington crowd in the palm of his hands, bringing out all the hits from Kasabian’s extensive back catalogue. A band made for the big festival slots, this was a signal of intent and a big step forward in the band’s resurgence.
So that was it for another year at Neighbourhood Weekender, and what a weekend it was. Roll on next year when you can be sure another lineup poster packed with the best in indie and beyond will resurface, and this festival will continue its rapid rise up the UK festival pecking order. If you can’t wait that long, check out Neighbourhood Weekender’s sister festival, NBHD Festival, which takes place in Manchester on Sautrday 1st October – https://neighbourhoodfestival.com/.
(Main photo credit – Tom Martin)
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