“Don’t wanna go to the garden with anyone else.”
Photos by @james_taking_pictures, please contact before any use.
As the Spring and the longer days roll in, so do the day festivals, acting as a precursor to the multi-day fests of the summer. A regular fixture of these over the years is Underground Festival, running out of one of England’s oldest cities, Gloucester. Underground has previously hosted acts who have gone on to become some of the most notable in the UK’s alternative scene, such as Loathe, Static Dress, Lake Malice, Yonaka and Boston Manor. For those in Gloucester and the ‘Shire, it is a yearly ritual to see which acts will fill the space of the Guildhall and other hosting venues with their alternative and acoustic sounds; Gloucester is a city that is underserved when it comes to local shows, so it’s a special moment for those local to see many grand acts on their doorstep. Underground Festival also showcases plenty of local acts, giving a deserved platform for some Gloucestershire gems to perform in front of hundreds of people.
This year’s Underground opened with Emily Young, showcasing what is one of the most aesthetic venues in the country, Blackfriars Priory. Young‘s acoustic guitar chords echoed around the 13th century stone, with the ancient hall fitting for Emily’s singer-songwriter sound. The local artist has made a name for themselves in the neighbouring town of Cheltenham as a regular fixture at The Frog and Fiddle‘s acoustic and day events, making them an excellent choice to open this year’s Underground. Ruminating on songs inspired by her boyfriend or dislike of certain people, her Phoebe Bridgers-styled songs made for a whimsical welcome to Gloucester for those in attendance. Once Emily’s set finished, the crowd dispersed to the three other venues to catch their choice of Dirt Basement, Hest or TOAST.
TOAST opened proceedings on what is the “main stage” for Underground Festival, the 400-cap main hall at the Guildhall. TOAST are another local act who have potentially played every key venue in Cheltenham (even Popworld), so their spot opening the main stage in Gloucester was perfect. The punk act, lead by SCARYLIV, delivered an impressionable performance with their energetic stage presence and riot grrrl sound. Blasting out the likes of “Microplastics”, the Guildhall filled up nicely for TOAST, no doubt ensuring that the unit made plenty of new fans on the day. There is a determination to both their sound and performance which made the punk message they delivered even more potent. TOAST are an act we will hear much more of going forward, noting that they are already booked in for this year’s Burn It Down Festival.
Gloucester’s cobblestones were wandered, as a return to theBlackfriars Priory for Joshua Ó Cathasaigh made for an early favourite at Underground Festival. We first stumbled in to Ó Cathasaigh earlier this year at another Audio Junk Food event (Crosstown Traffic Festival in Cheltenham), and were struck by his performance. Performing again here with vocals and an acoustic guitar, flanked by members on other instruments such as the violin, Ó Cathasaigh filled Blackfriars with an absolutely engrossing sound. The medieval ruins of Blackfriars, accompanied by the melancholic sound of Ó Cathasaigh and his band, made for a beautiful combination. The inclusion of a violin adds that extra beauty to the sound and in a venue with such a high-ceiling, it filled the room with its grace. Jodie O joined Ó Cathasaigh on stage, which was mesmerising as their voices came together to create something magical. As later acts such as Devon showed, even when the light of the day has faded, the lighting setup in Blackfriars makes for a stunning scene. The future of Blackfriars Priory is sadly currently uncertain, as the local council has recently announced it is stepping away from the day-to-day running of the Priory, but we are really hoping that the Priory endures, as Underground Festival has highlighted how special it is as a venue.
As mentioned earlier, over the years there have been many acts at Underground Festival who have gone onto greater things, and not just the headliners. Prodigal are one act who are brimming with potential to be the next one to join that tradition. Their grunge-tinted nu-metal sound has become extremely popular, both at a local level and now online on both sides of the Atlantic. The Guildhall’s fantastic sound quality and large space allowed Prodigal’s sound to boom throughout the room, as each nu-metal riff and breakdown made for what would be the heaviest set of the day on the main stage. Their nu-metal sound on “Forever // Forgot”, which anyone with a taste for the late 90s iteration of that sound will love, soon contrasted with the grungegaze “Sleepwalk”, showing the impressive songwriting range that Prodigal have. Prodigal will be making further festival appearances this year, as they will travel down the road to perform at this year’s 2000trees festival, alongside other local favourites such as Truck (who also delivered an acoustic set to the Underground crowd). Prodigal are another band that are at the core of the ongoing revival of the local Gloucestershire music scene.
Our first attempt into Café René ended quickly, as Bluntnose packed out the basement venue, resulting in people being turned away. Thankfully, the quality act of San Demas were performing a short walk away back at the Guildhall. Channeling a blend of PVRIS and Dayseeker, with a poppier twist, it was a joy to see the Buckinghamshire unit again, who have almost made a second home for themselves after previously performing multiple times here and in the surrounding areas at the likes of The Frog and Fiddle and at 2000trees. Playing through their material from EPs Lovesick and The Valley, their set culminated in their hit track “You & I”, which has absolutely infectious melodies and is a standout track to catch live.
The second attempt to get into the Café René basement was a success, allowing us to catch our new favourites in Nostalgia Bias, who more than impressed us with their latest single “SCUTS”. Once again, the crowd was packed out, and the low ceiling made for a challenging view, with only the tops of Nostalgia Bias’ heads visible from a position further back. Yet, their post-punk/gaze-fused sound and reverbed guitars filled the venue with a wistful tone, and Nostalgia Bias were cemented as an act that are certainly worth catching live again.
The crunch of the schedule became apparent later on in the evening, with clashes popping up across the venues, resulting in some difficult decisions needing to be made. The split saw a ping-pong between venues to catch Failstate, Flora Fiora and SNAYX.
The Thirsty Pine has been the host to the pop-punk and alternative leaning acts at Underground in recent years, with Failstate sitting more towards the latter in this case. Channeling the likes of Citizen and Movements on their heartfelt tracks such as “Another Ghost”, the South Wales group have found many fans for themselves around these parts. The Thirsty Pine is another venue that proves the strength and potential of Gloucester for hosting live music. With dozens of options on tap for beer and a spacious setup, this venue provides relief from the claustrophobic feel that some venues end up having when hosting busy all-dayers.
Meanwhile, the flair of Flora Fiora captivated the crowd at Café René, with both Fiora and Nostalgia Bias offering up quite the contrast in scenes to the rowdy Gloucestershire Hardcore show that Café René hosted on the previous weekend. It was a delight to hear sounds as soothing and cathartic as Flora Fiora in such a confined space, with her absolutely gorgeous voice acting as a comforting blanket on the ear. Having that singer-songwriter style amped up by pop mannerisms, akin to that of the style from the early 10s, Flora Fiora made for a wonderful discovery at Underground Festival.
The cocktail of sounds that is SNAYX brought a fresh chaos to the Guildhall. SNAYX blend together a punk, Britpop and rock sound that could act as the soundtrack for many of the iconic films from the 00s, with an in-your-face and high-octane sound. Each section of their sound works like a well-oiled machine, with the drums of Lainey Loops providing a bombastic beat that had the Guildhall dancing, matched by the bass from Horner giving a strong rhythm, all led by the cavalry charge vocals of Herridge. SNAYX rallied to get the Gloucester crowd bursting into life, complete with crowdsurfing. Their performance at the Guildhall will surely have resulted in them being added on to a few people’s radars as a ‘Must see’ for 2000trees 2026.
Since emerging at 2000trees in 2023, Unpeople have become a staple of the live circuit in Britain, and a beloved one at that. Playing a multitude of festivals in Slam Dunk, Collision and now Download this year, alongside supporting the likes of Vukovi and Better Lovers – many are likely to have seen Unpeople at least once before, and been infatuated with their sound. Gently heating up their set, opening with “Going Numb” and “Overthinking”, it gave early moments for those to shout along to the likes of “You’re going to waste on all overthinking” and embrace the exuberant world that Unpeople have crafted with their aesthetic and lyricism. Evident from early on there were plenty who were familiar with Unpeople’s game, with a mini-pit forming and people singing alongside from the outset.
New tracks were woven into the setlist, giving an early preview at what is set for Unpeople’s upcoming full-length, continuing to enhance their grungey post-hardcore sound. Showcasing some of their influences by covering “Blamethrower” by the 00s act, Reuben, with former member Jamie Lenman performing at the Guildhall many moons ago. “Waste” and “The Garden” saw out Unpeople’s set, which electrified the crowd into surfing, singing along and increased moshing. Chanting along to the chorus of “Waste” in “We’re going to waste it all away, we should have seen it coming” and of course the “DA DA DADA” of “The Garden”, while ensuring the rest was sang along to with equal heart. Guitarist Caley ended up on the shoulders of a suitably strong crowd member and traversed through the Gloucester audience, before the shout of “Gloucester we’re not done with you yet” lead into a heavier exit to the “The Garden” leading to a rapid circle pit.
For a festival that has now been running for a decade plus, Underground Festival now seems in stronger shape than it ever has before. Gloucestershire clearly hosts a buoyant local scene that is seeing the likes of local acts such as Prodigal, TOAST and Truck go on to perform across the country at well-known festivals, and Underground serves as one of the best local platforms to showcase the quality that has emerged from this part of the country. Alongside a focus on local gems, Underground has also booked some impressive acts from the wider UK, ultimately bringing some of the best emerging acts to the city and allowing the unique and grand venues of Gloucester to shine. As more success stories emerge from Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud and elsewhere, an increasing amount of people, bands and bookers will come to realise that there might just be a keen audience waiting for more all day festivals and shows like Underground.
—
Audio Junk Food continues the Gloucestershire music scene revival with an Underground follow-up show at The Thirsty Pine on Friday 10th April, featuring a mix of metalcore and punk metal bands: Broken Jaw, ARCHIVES, LOVELETTER and Bluntnose. Ticket link can be found here.