Rochdale left Feelin' Good with return of town's biggest calendar event

Date published: 16 August 2022

Returning for the first time since 2019, Rochdale was left feeling fantastic after thousands of appreciative music lovers enjoyed a day of sunshine, music, food and comedy as the Feel Good Festival returned with a bang on Saturday (13 August).

Hosted as always by local favourite Dave Sweetmore, Rochdale’s biggest calendar event is organised by Rochdale Borough Council, with sponsorship from local businesses, drawing in thousands of spectators.

After a three year wait, the town centre was filled with a feast of music, food and entertainment in the summer sunshine. With Rochdale basking in temperatures of over 30 degrees for most of the day, the town centre was busy from early afternoon, with a large crowds gathering at the main stage.

Now in its 13th year, the main stage for the first time was situated at Hopwood Hall College due to the ongoing restoration of the town hall and the surrounding square where the festival is usually held.

Headlined by the Fratellis – a returning headliner having made their Rochdale debut in 2016 – Rochdale was left on a high after a set of indie rock ‘n’ roll favourites in front of a crowd of over 3,000. Offenbach's Can-Can theme was their exuberant intro music, followed by a rousing, celebratory set which kicked off with Henrietta.

 

 

The band, played for over an hour including hits Baby Fratelli, Flathead and Whistle For The Choir along with crowd favourites from their new album; Living In The Dark and Half Drunk Under A Full Moon. Their energy delivered a big dose of the feel good factor, with a storming brass section and a trio of backing singers adding to the party.

There was time for their famous rendition of Yes Sir I Can Boogie and the country rock ’n’ roll of We Need Medicine, before bringing the night to a close with their epic Chelsea Dagger. With the crowd expecting that was it, they remained on stage to deliver an extended finish with the 60s classic Runaround Sue.

BSL interpreter Tony Redshaw did a brilliant job signing on the main stage.

Since winning the Best British Breakthrough gong at the BRIT Awards, the multi-platinum Glaswegian three-piece have enjoyed huge success, with five top 20 albums and five top 40 singles.

The Fratellis first album – 'Costello Music' – sold more than one million copies in the UK alone. While they've enjoyed a string of hits, including 'Whistle for the Choir', 'Henrietta', 'Mistress Mable,' and 'Baby Fratelli' they are best known for the anthemic 'Chelsea Dagger, which remains a playlist staple at sports stadia, clubs and bars worldwide.

Since playing Rochdale Feel Good Festival, the band has gone from strength to strength, winning a new generation of fans thanks to the top 5 album in 2018 'In your own sweet time,' followed with the acclaimed 2021 album 'Half-drunk under a full moon'.

Earlier in 2021, they collaborated with Rudimental who remixed their single 'Need a little love' as well as releasing a charity cover of 'Yes sir, I can boogie' to coincide with Scotland playing at Euro2020.

At lunchtime the festival kicked off with Gav Law at The Empire, swiftly followed by country rock four piece Between The Vines taking to the outdoor stage at The Medicine Tap which drew a capacity crowd.

The main stage was opened by new local rock band, The Sprats, who released their debut single in April 2022 and have been playing across the region in the last few months.

The four-piece were the judges’ favourites in this year’s ‘Feel Good – Battle of the Bands’ competition, impressing with their energy, stage presence and sound.

 

 

The band, which was only formed in 2021, comprises two members from Rochdale (singer Brad Ellor and drummer Jak Marshall) and two from Burnley (guitarist Alex McArdle and keyboard player Connor Watson-Reid).

Next up was ENTT, an alternative dance band that draws inspiration from 80s electronic pioneers Depeche Mode and New Order, as well as alt-rock bands such as Arctic Monkeys and the White Stripes. The London-based trio mix analogue synths, dance beats and alt-rock. Their latest EP 'Coepio' was released in February 2020 and has been described as "a bombastic, euphoric project, soaring to symphonic heights".

They've had tracks played on BBC London and performed at Islington's O2 Academy2.

Indie-folk duo Firewoodisland took to the stage next with their atmospheric and euphoric music, their first time playing the Feel Good.

With emotive and dynamic vocal harmonies and a mix of digital and acoustic instruments, Rochdale was certainly in for a treat.

The band consists of Bristol-based Norwegian-Welsh multi-instrumentalists and songwriters Stian Vedøy and Abi Eleri. Supported by BBC Introducing and 6 Music, the super talented pair have received a stack of glowing praise from the national music press and follow up their 2018 album 'Chaos is the State of Heart' with their second album in spring 2020.

 

 

They have recently released two singles with Warner Music UK plus a couple of collaborations with other artists and are currently writing their next album.

Stian said: "Firewoodisland is my last name translated from Norwegian because I’m from Norway. That’s why it is all one word and not split up because essentially it is a name.

"We started out as a solo project in 2014, but we don't really consider that as the start for us because it’s changed so much. I would say 2016 is when we properly started out. Firewoodisland is essentially me and Abi and we play with some talented musicians that are on some of the tracks in the new album. They do our shows as well and we sometimes play with a cellist, just the three of us and sometimes we play all five of us."

Abi said: "I do all the artwork for Firewoodisland as I'm a full-time watercolour illustrator. I've also come up with some of our music videos and co-write with Stian."

"She is really creative," Stian added. "I produce the music and my side job is composing music for advertisements and TV which is really fun and different."

Crowds were treated to watching one of Britain’s Got Talent’s most memorable performances right here in their home borough, as choir Sign Along With Us performed, making their Feel Good debut and becoming the first choir ever to sing on the main stage.

They performed ‘The Climb’ in front of a packed crowd before an emotional rendition of their signature ‘This Is Me.’

 

 

One of Rochdale’s well-known local acts, the 2020 runner-up was created by local teenager Jade Kilduff after she started sign language classes to teach members of her local community to sign in a fun way through music, helping them communicate with her younger brother Christian.

Speaking after their performance, Jade said: "It was amazing. It was lovely to see some familiar faces who come to watch us who travel hours just to come and watch us perform. It was really nice to see everybody.

"We’re from Heywood so performing in Rochdale is always nice. We've all been really excited because we just love performing."

The group grew rapidly and got a phenomenal response from the public and judges after entering Britain’s Got Talent, making the grand final. Their uplifting and emotional performance of ‘This Is Us,’ has since racked up over 36 million views online.

Judge Amanda Holden said the choir “united everything great about Britain’s Got Talent and Great Britain” and David Walliams famously hit the golden buzzer after their first appearance.

The Sign Along With Us choir has also performed at Heywood Charity Fete and Glaston-Bury.

 

 

Not to be outdone, influential multi-talented guitarist and singer/songwriter Aziz Ibrahim had the crowds going wild.

Aziz has performed with artists including the Stone Roses, Simply Red and Asia as well as co-writing and playing live with Ian Brown, Paul Weller, Rebel MC and Hot Chocolate.

With a stellar career spanning over three decades, he’s founded the Asian Blues Collective and toured with Pakistan based rock group ‘Overload.’

The renowned ‘lord of the strings’ treated the crowd to a mix of his solo work and collaborations, including a version of the indie-dance classic ‘Fools Gold.’

Aziz’s solo work includes his acclaimed debut album telling the story of his family’s journey from ‘Lahore To Longsight‘, EP ‘Middle Road‘ and album ‘Rusholme Rock with Tabla maestro Dalbir Singh Rattan’ all showcasing his unique blend of Desi GuitR and Asian Blues.

Manchester’s rising star Abbie Ozard got a great reception in the summer sunshine for her cool indie pop.

 

 

Singer-songwriter Abbie is supported by BBC Introducing in Manchester and 6 Music. She's already received national airplay on Radio 1 as well as slots at major UK festivals. Her indie pop edge, vocals and infectious hooks have generated a growing fan base.

Nominated as one of the UK's top new artists by the Indie Central Music Awards, Abbie's debut EP 'Growing Pains' was released in 2019 and has been streamed over 500,000 times so far.

Of her set, Abbie said: "It was lovely. My set was 15-minutes; short but sweet! I had family come to watch from Bolton who I've not seen for a year, so that was good."

Abbie released her latest EP - 'Water-based Lullabies' - in June and has spent the summer playing festivals such as Kendal Calling, Glastonbury, Truck Festival, Neighbourhood Weekender and Sound City, plus the upcoming Camper Calling in Wolverhampton.

She added: "Water-based Lullabies has seven songs on, a lot of them I've been working on for the past year. I've also been playing a lot of festivals and have a headlining tour for the UK in December. I have toured before, but never as a headliner or main support, so I'm excited, but scared. It should be fun."

Also making a return to Rochdale this year were leading northern soul band The Northern SoulTrain, who made a triumphant crowd-pleasing debut in 2019.

 

 

This Lancashire-based nine-piece have been filling dance floors and ballrooms for over a decade, playing the best Northern Soul anthems from the likes of Wigan Casino, Twisted Wheel and Blackpool Mecca, along with a sprinkling of Motown favourites too.

Fronted by lead singer David John Jaggs, the band has gone from strength to strength, attracting rave reviews and playing sold out shows at iconic venues including Blackpool Tower Ballroom, Manchester's Band on the Wall and Ascot Racecourse.

Trumpet player Lee Howson, from Wardle, started out at Kingsway Youth Band before moving to Rochdale Youth Band and has played in Wardle Band and Delph Band before joining the soul group.

He said: "The first Feel Good that we did was 2019 and it was brilliant, the weather was a bit inclement, but we sort of brightened the place up."

Vocalist David joked: "If you are in a soul band, what you want to wear is sunglasses playing on stage and not feel pretentious and you know when it’s a day like this, you have got good reason to wear the shades."

David continued: "It does sort of feel like the last two years have been like one huge time period. We only did one or two things during Covid because it is quite hard. It’s difficult with it being dance music as it was difficult to get people on the dancefloor when you are trying to socially distance things.

"We did Blackpool Ball Room last December and we did a VW camper festival near Wolverhampton [during Covid] and it was hilarious; people were spaced out in little pods so everyone was separated out miles away."

 

 

And last, but certainly not least, also making their 2022 debut at the Feel Good Festival were HAiG, comprising former Catfish and The Bottlemen founder Billy Bibby, Carl Forbes and Joe Money (former New York Tourists).

The band, who signed a worldwide record deal in 2019, has already played sold-out shows across the north of England to a rapidly expanding fan base. Their debut EP 'Freeze the World' was released in 2020 and their debut album is due to be released in late 2022, promising anthemic guitar hooks and beer-raising choruses.

The festival’s food and drink village was busy throughout the evening, and the town centre’s indoor venues were packed, with over 40 live performances from midday through to the early hours of the morning. Rochdale Artisan Market took place at Rochdale Riverside.

After The Fratellis closed the main stage celebrations continued in The Flying Horse Hotel with two official after show parties – rock band The Boutiques and Shouting At Strangers and Mexican and Irish flavours with Juan Direction and The Scattering.

 

 

Barry Fratelli, Manchester music icon Clint Boon and festival host Dave Sweetmore played a sold out after show party at Hoochi Koochi, with Bootleg Blondie and DJ Dave Haslam bringing the festival to a close at The Empire, while Heywood singer/songwriter Jack Carroll played at The Baum.

On the Friday there were two sold-out warm up comedy shows at The Flying Horse headlined by Britain’s Got Talent and Phoenix Night’s star Steve Royle.

The festival, now in its 13th year, was funded by the council together with main stage ticket sales and sponsorship from The Lancashire Hospitality Co-operation, Premier Kia, Hopwood Hall College, Metrolink and The Royal Toby Hotel.

All photos: John Wall