Hull’s answer to Glastonbury takes place this weekend – and with no mud, no tents, flushing toilets, firm concrete underfoot and the bus to get you home at the end of the day, we’ll take Humber Street Sesh over a cow field any day.
As the countdown begins to the urban festival’s early Friday start – and in no particular order of preference – here’s who we will be watching …
Life
Back to Ours Big Top stage
Friday 9.05pm
Don’t miss this chance to see Life, back in their home town for this performance. The band are touring festivals throughout Europe and the UK this summer – and after being lauded by BBC Radio 6 music’s Steve Lamacq, they are enjoying extensive airplay on the station.
Listening Club
Dead Bod Stage
Saturday 1.15pm
Listening Club produce tight, catchy tunes rooted in pop and guitar jangle – with a bit of skiffle thrown in.
You may well have heard their new single Skiffle Scuffle on BBC Radio Humberside’s Burnsy Show and Alan Raw’s BBC Introducing. Listening Club’s lunchtime slot will get the party started as their upbeat tunes inspire some body-bendy moves and a good bop for all. They have played Glastonbury, penned tunes for E4 Skins and toured the UK extensively.
Fonda 500
Back to Ours Big Top stage
Saturday 7.45pm
Hull’s legendary lo-fi pop pioneers play the Big Top stage on Saturday. If you love hypnotic harmonies of The Velvet Underground, Stereolab, the Beach Boys or Super Furry Animals, look no further. Their first album, 8 Track Sound System, was hailed by the NME as “the brightest new dawn in ages” and was Album of the Week by the Sunday Times.
Chiedu Oraka
Back to Ours Big Top
Saturday 10pm
North Hull Estate’s Chiedu Oraka is the sound of a new working-class northern England. Raised in Hull on a diet of old school hip-hop from Lauren Hill to Tupac, supplied by his older sister, the Hull native is cutting his own path. In a city often dominated by guitar music, Oraka offers a fresh alternative which has already attracted the attention of Vice, 1Xtra, The Guardian and 6Music. Don’t miss our interview with Chiedu here.
Capture The Flag
Humber Dock Stage
Saturday 12.15pm
Capture The Flag.
This four-piece indie pop band from Hull formed in 2017 and have already had some notable radio time on BBC. Their first track, the catchy, quirky pop song Broken Bottles was followed by the atmospheric No More Love Today. They recently recorded their third track New World Order – a call-to-arms for those who want their ears full of sparse ambient space echo.
Pearl’s Cab Ride
Dead Bod Stage
Saturday 10.15pm
They have fast become the festival band of Hull. A great mix of funk and soul, they were formed – so the legend goes – when two like minds bonded over their shared love of music while standing in a taxi queue. They originally formed in the early 1990s when they brought their trunk of funk to various festivals and venues across the UK – attracting the attention of the Acid Jazz label. Now the band have re-formed after a 20-year hiatus as a one-off – which is still going on.
Find out more about Sesh here.
