Ashton Court Festival - 22-23 July 2006
We spent a lovely couple of days at this festival in Bristol. There is no camping here so we went home on the night time but it's only three quarters of an hour drive away so not too bad. This used to be a free festival where they just shook a bucket at you for a donation as you entered but it has become so popular and grown so much that there is now a charge. At only £8 a day and £5 to park you can't really moan as there is a few different stages with great bands as well as an array of stalls and cafes.
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The first band we saw was 'Hells Bells' an ACDC tribute act. They were pretty good and got the crowd moshing! Next up was one of the bands I had come here to see, Katchafire a New Zealand band fusing reggae with Maori sounds. They pulled off a great performance that had me mesmerised for the entire set. The mix of different instruments was great and the vibe was one of peace and love in a true reggae style. We finished off the Saturday night with festival favourites Dreadzone who played a stonking set as always with the crowd going crazy!
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On the Sunday we were back for more and by chance saw a band called Cut Collective. They were a real fusion of styles embracing jazz, world, latin and hiphop with a beautiful mix of instruments including Indian tabla, violin, horn and guitar. We spent some time just wandering around the festival looking at the stalls and bumping into old friends as well as tasting some lovely food from the cafes. Before heading home we caught Bristol band Fortune Drive, a great up and coming rock n roll band, look out for them!
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Below are a selection of photographs from the gathering.
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