HARDWICK LIVE FESTIVAL 2018 // HARDWICK HALL, DURHAM

Returning for its fifth year, Hardwick Live offered some of the best live acts in the music scene.

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KAISER CHIEFS HEADLINING HARDWICK LIVE FESTIVAL 2018 - 18.07.2018
PICTURE BY: WILL GORMAN PHOTOGRAPHY

★★★★☆

This year’s headliners included rock and alternative icons from over three decades performing on the mainstage in front of vast crowds each night.

Throughout Saturday the arena slowly filled up to capacity in preparation of the headliner, the KASIER CHIEFS. Starting on the festival run, the five piece stunned the crowd with their impressive visuals. The set list was filled with fan favourites, such as “Ruby” and “I Predict A Riot“ while still including tracks from their most recent album “Stay Together.”

Hardwick Live closed with the much anticipated 90s group The Happy Mondays. First entering the stage was Rowetta Satchell, warming up the crowd before the rest of the group entered the stage. As the group performed on the main stage their performance was a great way to finish off the two day event, which saw some of the best live acts.

Some other highlights that happened across the weekend on the main stage include: Shed Seven’s front man Rick Witter interacting with youngsters sitting on the barriers to the rock band Feeder, the Irish rock group ash and finally the iconic Jake Shears with his brand new album.

As well as the main stage there are two other stages across the arena, the first being called the discovery stage, which is considered as the second stage. Saturdays headline was the six-piece jazz group Nick Pride & the Pimptones, after the group featured a DJ set from Lindon C. Sundays headline for the discovery stage was former Spice Girl, Mel C. She attracted a mammoth crowd and should have been on the main stage. Her set was one of the highlights of the weekend. Similar to the previous day, DJ’s the Cuban brothers and James Parker performed a set after the headliner.

Across to the third stage which was called ‘The Dome’ which focused predominantly on DJ’s. The headliner for Saturday was house DJ Danny Rampling who was one of the original founders of the UK Rave scene. Supporting him was the likes of Brandon Block and Alex P. Sundays headliner was DJ Graeme Park who is known as one of the pioneers of the house genre. Supporting him was the energetic Steve Butler and Greg Wilson

This year was the second year where the festival lasted two days and offered a camping option. The majority of the crowd choose the camping option as the campsites were busier than the car parks. With the weather holding up led to the site being practically mud free.

The line up was incredible but we can’t wait for next year where we hope the line up will be even bigger!

CHECK OUT ALL PHOTOS FROM HARDWICK LIVE --> HERE:

REVIEW + PHOTOS BY: WILL GORMAN PHOTOGRAPHY