Festival Review: Neighbourhood Weekender 2021
Carrying the baton for the return of festivals this weekend was Neighbourhood Weekender, a three-day extravaganza hosted in Warrington’s Victoria Park. Made up of three stages, a fantastic lineup, and an adorable ‘neighbourhood’ perfected with a silent disco library and oversized pigeons, it was the best possible return to live music.
The first stop on Saturday was to the Main Stage for a set by Barnsley-based The Sherlocks. Despite a small crowd and an early slot, the band shined with their high energy and fun tunes. A more chillaxed performance followed in the form of Brighton’s The Magic Gang, who provided what felt like the festival equivalent of a calm before the storm.
Things properly felt like they were getting started over in the Big Top with Vistas, a last-minute addition to the line-up. As the last band I’d seen before the lockdown there was something emotional about watching their set, especially witnessing the lively crowd and an unexpectedly high amount of mosh pits. One particular highlight was the circle created during the romantic ‘15 Years’, where couples were encouraged to pair up and dance together in the middle.
Back on the Main Stage, York icons Shed Seven completely knocked it out of the park. Frontman Rick Witter had a phenomenal stage presence, joking with the crowd as though we were a few thousand of his old friends. Paired with a setlist full of hits, their performance was definitely one of the highlights of the day.
Over on the Viola Beach introducing stage, upcoming indie pop singer Baby Queen knew how to get a crowd going. As one of my favourite new artists, seeing her deliver such a promising set was amazing. It wouldn’t be impossible to imagine her as potential headliner material at some point in the future.
Despite the unfortunate incident that cut Sam Fender’s set short, the Geordie frontman managed to make up for things during round two. His handling of the situation was admirable and he successfully maintained a level of positivity on his return. The entire set was a joy to watch, the band being on the top of their game as always. Hearing the crowd collectively sing the bridge to ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ never fails to feel like an out of body experience.
It was Madchester icons James that closed night two of Neighbourhood. On stage, they were quite hypnotic to watch - between absurd dance moves, playing drums on a guitar, and screaming into a megaphone, you just had to see what happened next.
The Reytons, rising stars from South Yorkshire, had no issue being the second act on Sunday. Aided by “COVID replacements” Lee and Joe (hilariously marked out with hand-drawn t-shirts), the band’s natural talent for hyping up a crowd had everybody moving in the way they might to a headliner. On a similar thrilling level was The Pigeon Detectives, whose indie classics ‘I Found Out’ and ‘Take Her Back’ had the crowd going completely insane. They gave such a passionate and enjoyable performance that it was impossible not to find yourself dancing along.
Then, The Big Top saw London’s Sports Team and Dublin’s Inhaler play back to back. Sports Team had the tent completely filled, with the numbers for Inhaler being on a similar level, and neither of them left their audience feeling let down. There were people singing along from as far as the outskirts of the tent, and the mosh pits towards the front of the stage never lost their energy. The beach balls being bounced around in true festival fashion somehow managed to survive both sets and really felt like the cherry on top.
Predictably, my favourite set of the weekend came from The Wombats. They’re a band that feels made especially for festivals, and being bashed around to ‘Lets Dance To Joy Division’ as the sun set is an experience I never want to forget. The setlist had a strong and successful balance between new and old, and the band were on top form - although the real star of the show may have been the giant inflatable penis in the crowd, with the music being put on hold so that the band could all sign it.
Sunday night was concluded with Catfish and the Bottlemen, the band whose music defined a modern era of indie. The crowd, abundant in fans that seemed to know every single word, made everything ten times better. Whilst the band gave a decent performance, it was this audience that made their set the right way to close the weekend. The buzz that filled the festival grounds was captivating, from the opening riff of ‘Longshot’ to the final lines of ‘Cocoon’.
As a whole, Neighbourhood Weekender 2021 is an experience to remember. There was no better way to re-enter the world of live music than with crowds so fantastic and artists so brilliant at performing. Combining that with the cosy, united feel that comes with the mantras and features of the festival resulted in something truly remarkable.
Words by Caitlin Mincher
Photography provided by Neighborhood Weekend Press Office