Mynydd Music Mayhem @ Mynyddygarreg Rugby Club Saturday 10th August

By Trudi Goldsmith

Except for the odd spot of rain, the weather stayed fine for the majority of the day, at this midday to midnight festival which was held on the pitch at Mynyddygarreg Rugby Club.

There were loads of great live music performances both on the main stage and in the acoustic tent and the event included countless eclectic acts. I was not able to get to see every performance as due to bad time planning I did not get to Mynyddygarreg until around 3pm. However I got a good introduction to the festival with the welcome sounds of talented band The Ecko who were midway through their set on the main stage when I arrived.

Some of my highlights of the day included The Empty Shed Experience on the acoustic stage who put on a very uplifting and melodic set which included a guest vocalist on their first song and at the end of their set a further guest appearance from Lee Shears of The Ecko who played harmonica on a fabulously well played cover of the Led Zeppelin song Rock N Roll.

Mad Tom’s Crowd on the main stage  who consisted of five women and two men were as entertaining musically as they were wacky and eccentric. Great to listen to and to watch.

Mad Tom’s Crowd

Lazarus Carpenter on the acoustic stage was joined by other musicians to play a lively cheerful set that made me want to get up and dance about.

Lazarus Carpenter

Stand Up and Shout took the main stage opening with a cover of the Biffy Clyro song The Captain, followed by some of their own catchy original songs and they were joined by the multi talented Lee Shears from The Ecko who played guitar on the final song of their set, a cover of the song Superstitious.

Stand Up and Shout

Dai Sharkey

Dai Sharkey put on a fabulous acoustic performance on the main stage which included the memorable song ‘Baby’ and The Strange Agency also put on another great show followed by King Goon a 5 piece band with elements of punk and ska in their sound. King Goon started to fill the pitch with dancers of all ages and I especially enjoyed their version of the Underworld song Born Slippy where they were joined by Dai Sharkey who played a drum on the song. The Screamo vocals were an epic added touch to King Goon’s cover of the song.

Next on the main stage were The Dapper Cadavers who performed some really vibrant ska music  for the crowd and  they continued to tempt more people to  dance at the front of the pitch throughout their catchy set.

Lance Lewis provided a great solo set in the acoustic tent. Followed by the brilliant Fasta Benj who played their second set of the day , firstly putting on an acoustic set in the acoustic tent, then playing a full set on the main stage. This band is so entertaining. Love the Gyspy song!

Duo The Nomads played the main stage and included a cover of the Cure’s Love Cats in their great set. They were followed by headline Act The Rookz who were definitely a great choice of band to close the night on a high. The Rookz entertained the crowds of people who were dancing and singing to the numerous cover songs in their set including, Trouble, Wipe Out, Don’t look back in Anger and Sex is on Fire .

Great day, great night and extremely good atmosphere at a very well arranged festival . If you missed it this year I can definitely recommend you go to Mynydd Music Mayhem 2014!