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Fatfest 2019

What a weekend!  We're not sure Swindon has seen a musical event like Fatfest for a long time!  Thank you to everyone who turned out to support the event and our charity.

We have raised a record amount of money, at least £13,000 for Fatboys with all the proceeds going directly into the charity. As we have no salaries or overheads to pay, all the profits will go directly to helping children with cancer and leukaemia throughout the UK this Xmas.

 

All the bands were a pleasure to deal with and couldn’t have done more to help make the event flow smoothly and make it a success.

 

A special mention goes to Darren Simons,Violet Mclaren and their staff for being such great hosts at a great venue and for all their hard work. Also, we cannot thank Dario Nikzad enough for coming down from Newcastle, giving up his time and providing his professionalism and expertise to help make the event run smoothly.

 

Friday kicked off with Last Great Dreamers turning out hook-laden songs which went down well with the crowd and really showcased their years of experience on stage.

 

Next up were Tax The Heat.  Many in the crowd were unfamiliar with their music, but they have found many new fans with an amazing sound and outstanding performance which included tracks like ‘All That Medicine’ and ‘Change Your Position’.  This band have a great future and we were very very lucky to have them play.

 

Rock Goddess closed the night.  This band kick ass and Jodie Turner is a great rock vocalist.  The band were tight and really brought the Friday night to a great ending.  They were happy to stay around afterwards and mix with the crowd, helping to make 11yr old fan Jake Thomas’ night by chatting with him and giving him a signed T shirt.

 

Saturday afternoon, the music moved upstairs to the Rolleston stage with Alicia Grffin, The Lawless, Dangerous Kitchen and the hugely popular Last Great Dreamers (acoustic set) closing the afternoon session in great style. A lot of fun and a great warm up for the evening session.

 

Surprise package of the day were Wolfpeake, from Cumbria, who had stopped off on their way through to a gig in Cardiff and blew the audience away with an energetic set reminiscent of a young Stereophonics, and many in the crowd thought they were witnessing a band destined for great things.  You need to check them out now!

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The evening session back downstairs was opened by Space Elevator which was really well received by the crowd with their brand of melodic rock really hitting the spot with songs like ‘Loneliness of Love’ and a great cover of Thin Lizzy’s “Don’t Believe A Word”.

 

Hollowstar hit the stage with their brand of rock which really got the crowd going . It was a really impressive set which included crowd favourites ‘All I Gotta Say’ and ‘Good Man Gone’. The band made it a special birthday for an 8 year old fan Feena Armstrong by meeting her backstage , and giving her some merchandise, chatting with her and having their photograph with her. A great band and great bunch of blokes.

 

Bad Touch burst onto the stage with their blues based rock really resonating with the audience and getting the crowd throwing some shapes on the floor ! Highlights of a superb performance were ‘99%’ and their cover of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love'.

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Closing the inaugural Fatfest were The Quireboys who proceeded to blast through songs old and new. Established favourites like ‘Hey You’ ,‘7 O’ Clock’ and ‘I Don’t Love You Any More’ sat comfortably with newer tracks like ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ and ‘Black Eyed Son’.  A great set from a great band.

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Fatfest celebrated 20 years of Fatboys Charity and raised money to help children this Xmas. It was such a success that we have already started planning for Fatfest 2020. This year’s will take some topping but we always did like a challenge.

 

Thank you to all the bands, the crew members, venue, and those who attended and not forgetting the Fatboys Committee who worked so hard to make the event a success.

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