A Personal Note On Dials Festival 2019 - An Event I Help Run

Away from my day job (which has absolutely nothing to do with music) one of the other projects I’m involved in is running a small music festival in Portsmouth. It’s called Dials. It’s a multi-venue event run by a team of volunteers in support of Solent Mind, a local mental health charity. 

Dials ran in 2015 and 2016 as a smaller replacement for the now defunct Southsea Fest, before taking a break in 2017. My original role was not much more than having a small hand in booking some of the artists that played in those first two years, helping out with a bit of public relations and trying to understand how a putting on a music festival worked; it's a jigsaw and you have to put all the pieces in the right place at the right time.

In 2018 we decided to continue, with a slightly different (albeit very small) team as well as a modified concept and I acted as festival director as well as co-booker. For 2019,  I’ve taken a step back after some recent health issues and another team member Abbie Eales has taken on the role, but I’m still quite heavily involved; I co-book the event and generally do whatever I can to help with the limited spare time I have.

2018 was the first year that the festival took the decision to support a charity and it is something that is very important to me. I’ve always been more of an actions speak louder than words sort of person (ironic given that I write a blog) and so you won’t find me doing lots of posts on Twitter about how important mental health is – I’d rather get on with organising an event like Dials and supporting an organisation like Solent Mind and (hopefully) giving people a great day out watching some of the best new music out there. Tweets are useful, but taking real action is even more so.

2018 represented a new start for our festival with its charity support and revised team structure. The feedback we got from punters was hugely positive and spurred us on to do it again in 2019.

This year we’ve grown the team working on the festival as we had lots of interest from people about getting involved and volunteering after the 2018 event, although the festival itself is the same size. I like to think that when something is positive and successful people want to be part of it. It certainly helps having a bigger number of people to spread the workload, especially when the team is full of such talented and brilliant people. 

I mentioned the praise we received in 2018; we especially liked that ticket holders thought that Dials had a friendly community atmosphere, was well run, had some nice elements of attention to detail (even though we had very little budget), how close all the venues were to each other, and how much great new music they discovered. 

And it’s new music discovery that is at the heart of Dials Festival. Which is why I’m incredibly excited today to reveal the first 13 acts that will be appearing at Dials 2019. 

Headlining will be The Blinders - a band I named as Ones to Watch in 2018 (here). Since that time they’ve released their debut album Columbia and cooked up a storm wherever they’ve played live. This year they’ve already played the Scala in London and will be supporting Noel Gallagher at some of his summer shows before they head to Dials. 

Alongside The Blinders I’m ecstatic to bring Another Sky back to Portsmouth for the second time. If you’ve read Breaking More Waves this year or followed me on Twitter you’ll probably know that this band is one of my favourite new acts of the last 12 months. They were the first band I approached about playing for 2019 and was absolutely delighted when they said yes. If you haven’t heard them yet, it’s time to do some catching up and listen to tracks like Chillers, The Cracks, Forget Yourself, Apple Tree and Avalanche and feel the band’s power. Having seen them play a number of times I know they can deliver the goods on stage as well – they are all fantastic musicians.

Besides these 2 bands today we’ve announced 11 more acts. From fresh new cosmic dreamy synth pop from Bristol (Pocket Sun) to snarling South London new wave punk recently signed to Felix White of The Maccabees new Yala! Records label (Talk Show) to analogue ambient audio-visual electronic art from Brighton (Johanna Bramli) to a band that are playing Glastonbury, Boomtown and Download this summer, have collaborated with Bobby from Primal Scream on a recent single and are making people’s jaws drop with their full-on live performances (Black Futures). 

We’re really proud of the line up we’ve curated and hope that as many people as possible will come along for the day. We’ve already sold out of early bird tickets and hope that even if you know none of the acts playing, you’ll come for a grand day out anyway.

A quick plea: It really helps us survive as a festival if you buy tickets early so if you have any thought about coming to Dials 2019 – grab a ticket now (just click here). 

Dials takes place on October 5th on one road (Albert Road) in Southsea, Portsmouth and runs from lunchtime to around 11pm at night.

The artists announced for Dials 2019 so far are: The Blinders, Another Sky, Arxx, Black Futures, Fake Empire, Haze, Hussy, Johanna Bramli, LibraLibra, Pocket Sun, Saltwater Sun, Talk Show and Wych Elm, but this is just the start, we have lots more to come. 

Find out more about the artists, check out the Spotify playlist and most importantly buy your tickets at the Dials Festival website by clicking www.dialsfestival.com 

If you’d like a free ticket to Dials, then why not come and help out and volunteer? We’ll be looking for people to help with things such as merchandise sales on the day, artist accreditation and acting as runners. It’s a really rewarding experience (something I never really considered until I started helping out) and we’ll make sure you get some time off to go and see some of the artists play. If you’re interested in volunteering just send an email to dialsfestival@gmail.com

To finish off, here’s some music from a few of the artists playing Dials 2019. We look forward to welcoming you in October. For more information on Solent Mind and what they do click here.

The Blinders - Brave New World



Another Sky - Apple Tree



Saltwater Sun - The Wire



Johanna Bramli - Spirals

New Music: Saltwater Sun - Blood

Blood by Reading band Saltwater Sun is undoubtedly my favourite tune that the group has released so far. 

Whilst positively raining with gorgeous guitar chords and uplifting sounding melodies the track deals with much more personal issues; for Blood is about family and the legacy we leave behind, written as lead singer Jen Stearnes thought about her father who died a number of years before. Most people would probably like to think that we will get through life to see some of those big moments that mark the life of a family – anything from graduations to weddings to special holidays to the birth of new children – but the reality is that unfortunately some of us will pass away early, and Jen sums it up with this line: “Is it tainted now by the agony of all you had to miss?” 

Whilst the song was released a month ago, the band have just put out a video to accompany the tune which is the classic ‘shove a camera in their faces whilst we’re driving along the motorway’ tour footage piece which if nothing else you can learn that last year the band played a BBC Introducing Stage at a rainy festival, supported Jimmy Eat World and had some fun.

Blood is taken from a forthcoming EP due for April release with the promise of the band playing a number of festivals in 2019. 

Saltwater Sun - Blood (Video)

Preview: Are You Listening? Festival, Reading

This coming weekend is a Reading festival. No, not that one. This one’s called Are You Listening. It’s a multi-venue single wristband entry festival with a USP. That USP is that it’s for a very good local cause. It’s not about making a bucketful of money for its organisers own pockets – it’s about passing that bucket on to Reading Mencap, a local charity that supports children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, as well as their families, providing personalised information, advice and practical support with issues such as housing problems, lack of respite or social care, ill health, hate crime, welfare benefits and special education provision.

“It’s a tough time for small, local charities like ours – with huge cuts to council and other public budgets that historically funded key services for the most vulnerable in Reading. This means we increasingly rely on the support of our local community to keep delivering our critical services. So AYL is a great opportunity for us to reach out to you, tell you about what we do and ask for your support,” says Mandi Smith, Reading Mencap’s Chief Executive.

While Reading Mencap is affiliated to the national Mencap charity, it does not receive any funding from them. This means it relies on the generosity of the local community and fundraising events like AYL to continue its vital work, especially in these challenging times.

Proceeds from each ticket sold go to the charity, as do all donations on the day, as well as money from an art auction and the profits from the Charity Bar in St Laurence’s Church, one of the venues.

This emphasis on music providing a helping hand to vulnerable people in the community is just one way the festival helps. It also provides a platform for local acts, giving them the opportunity to play to bigger crowds than they might normally do. Reading based bands such as The Amazons and Sundara Karma have both benefitted from playing Are You Listening Festival before moving upwards to the national stage and there’s no doubt that events like these benefit the local music scene giving the best artists in the area the opportunity to shine alongside more established bands.

Tickets for Are You Listening always represent excellent value, with super early birds costing just £10 and advance tickets currently on sale at £22.50. There are over sixty musicians and DJ’s playing the eight stages of the event. 

Like any multi-venue festival often the most precious moments of the event are when you stumble across a name you’ve never heard of and are blown away by a performance that you just didn’t expect. However, for those who prefer to plan a little, here are five artists that are on the Breaking More Waves recommended list that may be worth your time. 

Twin Sun - 14.00 Sub 89

Twin Sun is Reading’s Jamie Willcox and Pete Wheeler a DJ / production duo who have now developed into a full live act. They have a strong association with the festival having been involved in it in some capacity, either solo or as a duo every year since its inception. Opening the festival in the early afternoon, they’ll be a treat for those who want to start dancing early. The song below Lilac Light features the vocals of Jen Stearnes who also co-wrote the track and is the lead vocalist of the next artist recommendation.



Saltwater Sun - 16.15 Sub 89

From Twin Sun to another sun – Saltwater Sun. I first came across Saltwater Sun in 2015 at this very festival. Since then they’ve released a string of songs such as Wild, Making Eyes, Now Or Never and The Wire which all picked up significant traction online and on music blogs and websites. If you like classic guitar driven pop with catchy hooks and melodies a plenty, then choose Saltwater Sun’s performance as a stopping / dancing point.



Valeras - 17.15 Sub 89

With a song in their arsenal called Louder it’s probably not that hard to guess that the Reading band formerly known as Area 52, but now known as Veleras, rock. Having just finished a tour with Demob Happy and with forthcoming slots at Live at Leeds and Great Escape, Valeras will be bringing a puposeful swagger to their home town’s stage.



AK/DK - 20.30 St Laurence Church

“Hard hitting drums, devilish synths and vocals that are used to create textures and rhythms as much as melodies mix to create a sound that is in parts psychedelic, motorik, punk and certainly out on an edge of its own.” That’s how AK/DK was described on Breaking More Waves in 2017 when their album was listed in one of my favourites of the year. Imagine that not in a club, but a church. It should be hellishly good.



Warm Digits - 21.45 St Laurence Church

Three albums in and Warm Digits aka Newcastle based Andrew Hodson and Steve Jefferis have arguably released their best album with Wireless World. Featuring guest vocals from Sarah Cracknell (St Etienne) and Field Music (who play Are You Listening immediately after Warm Digits) their music is a relentless and experimental mix of weird funk, driving motoric beats, electronic pulses and guitar noise. Think Fuck Buttons, Delphic, Hookworms and Kraftwerk jamming in a room together if that makes any sense. Like AK/DK before them it’s difficult to guess at this stage how their music will work in a church, but it’s going to be fun learning.



Are You Listening Festival takes place in Reading, Berkshire on the 28th April 2018. You can buy tickets by clicking here.