Music / All-dayer
Preview: Deadpunk Special 2017
Many of the best memories we have of annual punk all-dayer Deadpunk Special have formed among the rafters and on the rickety floors of Old Market institution The Stag and Hounds, so when the announcement of the venue’s closure was made, it threw up questions around the festival’s future.
Thankfully, the now six-year-old Deadpunk Special will live on even though one of its venues will not. This year’s edition, which will kick off this Saturday, shows why it has such enduring appeal. Spread across three mini-venues – the Exchange’s main room and the upstairs and downstairs of The Stag – an incredible thirty bands and solo acts will play from noon until 11pm.
is needed now More than ever
With such a wealth of music on offer, we humbly offer up our tips to help you navigate the day (and maybe leave you time to snaffle a bagel from Bagelicious over the road).
Roll over each player below to listen.
Honey Pot are a duo from Cardiff who make woozy, dreamy dual-vocal emo pop indebted to shoegaze – a genre they’ve dubbed “dreamo.” It’s just gorgeous.
Happy Accidents are noisier but just as affecting. Their anthemic choruses float above loose-limbed drums and shimmering guitar riffs – their debut LP, released last year, is a gift.
Louder again are Spoilers, shoutiness from Canterbury that promise chunks of melodic hardcore amongst their unreservedly pop punk drum kicks.
Kamikaze Girls’ first album, Seafoam, is out next month and we can’t wait. This pair make riot grrl filled with layered harmonies and unexpected twists into wall-of-sound grunge that will make your heart burst.
Two White Cranes is Roxy Brennan’s solo project which puts gorgeous poetical lyrics to music. Her last full-length release, Radisson Blue, highlights her as one of Brighton’s best songwriters.
Kiley Lotz, or Petal as she’s musically known, is from Scranton, Pennsylvania, and it’s impossible not to get lost in her lush, flowing alt-rock.
Back in Bristol and ready to blow another roof off, melodic pop punk pair Caves always cause a riot when they’re back in the city of their inception, and every time they prove themselves unmissable.
Martha are right up there on this line-up and there’s a million reasons why. Their last release, Blisters in the Pit of My Heart, featured on loads of end-of-year lists last year thanks to its catchy, clever songwriting that’s totally compulsive. We couldn’t recommend their live show more highly.
This is one of the best ways to say goodbye to a much-beloved venue – but with festival organiser Dave Campbell promising a new format for 2018 on the cards, it could also be a great way to say hello to one of your new favourite festivals.
Deadpunk Special 2017 takes place at the Stag & Hounds on Saturday, May 6. For more information, visit www.exchangebristol.com/events/2017-05-06-deadpunk-special-2017-exchange
Main photo by JenniferKim Photography
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