Summerfests 2007!

Summer means a couple of things to me.. The sun, not having to wear layers upon layers of clothes, everyone seems happier, smelly tubes, and most importantly, fests.

We are extremely lucky living in London. With budget airlines like Ryanair, we can fly to pretty much anywhere in europe for no more than £40 return. Which means that most people have no excuse to be staying in the country for summer.

So I thought I would give you all a rundown of the biggest and best fests happening around the mainland this year.

The first fest of the season is Pressurefest. Pressurefest is the brainchild of Sascha and the guys at Alveran records and this years line up, by far, is the best line up in its 5 years existance. Held over three days (22-24th June) in an ice hockey rink in Herne in Germany, the fest attracts kids from all over Europe. This year, whilst having amazing bands that are doing the festival circuit, the guys have managed to get a number of exclusive sets including a Sick of it all "fan set" that will be voted for by the fest goers, as well as sets from Shattered Realm, Casey Jones, Have Heart and The Warriors first ever european show. Adding to this, they have put on the cream of the crop in european hardcore, with bands such as Black Friday 29, recently reformed Length Of Time and the UKs very own Knuckledust, Bun Dem Out and Six Ft Ditch.

The fest serves vegan food, there is a swimming pool and a couple of bars 2 mins from the venue and there is also a huge "other" festival happening in Bochum which means that once the day is done, there will be many places for people to spend their nights. Hotels are recommended but there are camping facilities behind the venue.

For more information on this fest and the line up, click on the pressurefest link.
For a video of the last time SOIA played pressurefest, Click Here.

Next up is Ieperfest (24th-26th Aug)

Once a year, the quite belgian town of Ieper gets taken over by over a 1000 hardcore kids.
Organised by Bruno at Genet records, the fest has been going on for well over a decade and has built up a name for itself as one of the best in europe. While the majority of bands that play ieper are hardcore bands, ieper has always prided itself on being a fest that wont shy away from putting on a few emo/punk/metal bands.
Held at a campsite, the fest is the best open air hardcore fest in europe.. every year the line up never fails to disappoint and this year is no exception, with bands such as Madball, Cold As Life, Set Your Goals, Bane and Blacklisted on the bill, as well as Nothing done, Born From Pain, and losing streak repping the euros.
Vegan food is served onsite, there is a huge merch/distro tent to blow all your money on, and as you know, belgian beer is the best in the world.
The organisers hold a pre show the night before at the vort n vis club in ieper which usually showcases the best up and coming bands, and every night there is a club held for all the festival goers. You havent lived till you see around 400 hardcore boys dancing to "its raining men".

My advice to travel to this would be via eurostar, as its the fastest and possibly the cheapest way to get there (a eurostar ticket to belgium is valid to all belgian stations so it will be valid all the way up to ieper). Camping is available on the campsite although there are hotels in ieper town centre which is 2 mins away from the festival site.


For an ieper video, click here.

The final fest of the season is Deadfest (14th- 15th Sept) in sweden. Now, any reason to go to sweden is always good, and its become tradition to end the summer at this fest. This year, it will return to its original home, at the Skylten in Linkoping, the venue is one of best. Deadfest has always been good for not only putting on amazing touring bands, but also showcasing scandinavian bands that generally dont make it as far down as the UK. This years awesome line up includes Die Young, Have Heart, Ceremony, The Boss and a range of awesome bands.
The venue is 5 mins walk from Linkoping town centre where they serve some of the best fallafel on the planet.

Take your sleeping bag, as you can sleep in the venue, but be warned that you will be woken up the crazy frog at 10am by organiser, Chris dead. haha
Also, Gorilla Biscuits are playing the night before the fest in Stolkholm so my advice is fly out to Stolkholm NYO and go to that show first.

(i couldnt find a good video of deadfest.. so here you go.)