With a plethora of acts covering all the different stages, Isle of Wight Festival 2017 was a wonderfully diverse experience, brimming with a spectrum of genres for all ages.

Filled with a mix of families, stag do’s and groups of teenagers, the weekend was filled with music for everyone, such as Arcade Fire, Razorlight, Kaiser Chiefs, and more. Isle Of Wight Festival saw kids sliding in mud, copious amounts of glitter, and consume Seaclose Park.

Thursday

9:00pm Arriving on the campsite, tent pitched and covered in glitter, we headed to the main arena to see a child sliding in the mud as their parent walked idly behind — an interesting start to the festival. We managed to catch a glimpse of Starsailor. Delivering an emotional, guitar filled performance, beautiful vocals echoed throughout the Big Top tent with the crowd singing every word back, creating a magical atmosphere.

It wasn’t until Razorlight entered the stage that atmosphere was rife with momentum. Starting with ‘In the Morning’, the crowd immediately started chanting the lyrics back and it was astounding to see the reaction from the band. Consistently feeding off of the energy, lead singer Johnny Borrell’s presence was electric as they played hit after hit: we were taken on a journey to our early teenage years. Jangly guitar riffs, impervious drums, and a polished bass line started the festival off perfectly for the early birds arriving on the Thursday, and sparked excitement for the weekend ahead.

Friday

4:00pm After recovering from the night before and finding out the disappointing election results, we traipsed around the arena to start off the day with Of Empires at the Jack Rocks stage. Bringing an old school rock ‘n’ roll vibe to the festival, the Brighton based band grooved through their set with a a sense of ease and confidence unfound in smaller bands, a favourite from their set was ‘Lungs’. Australians Germein Sisters brought a serene feeling to the Hard Rock stage with a fusion of electric cello, intricate melodies, and soulful harmonies — a highlight was ‘How Can I Close My Eyes?’.

With a cider in tow, it was now time for Nothing But Thieves and boy did they draw a crowd. Having toured with Muse, and with the highly anticipated release of their second album, it was obvious how much the band have developed their stage presence over the last year. They delivered a powerful, gritty performance filled with gutsy guitar riffs, quick drum beats, and some insane vocals from lead singer Conor Mason. Playing fan favourites such as ‘Ban All The Music’ and ‘Graveyard Whistling’, it wasn’t until their last song ‘Amsterdam’ where Nothing But Thieves really came into their own, leaving us yearning for their next release.

7:20pm RedFaces followed Nothing But Thieves at the Jack Rocks stage, opening their set with ‘Katie Come Home’. The band are no strangers to Isle Of Wight Festival, as well as appearing at YNot, Leeds, T in the Park and Dot2Dot Festival. The Beatle-esque harmonies, frantic drums, and sophisticated guitar caused the crowd to go into a frenzy whilst lead singer Harry Lyon brought his harsh, mature vocals to the table to create a fantastically crisp sound for a sunny evening. The band seem humbled by the many faces gathered to watch them play, thanking them for the huge turn out. On record, RedFaces are paving the way for young small bands with their latest single ‘Wise Up’, but live they proved that the newer, smaller bands like themselves have the potential for success.

Before ending our day with The Strongbow Yard’s DJ sets, we headed to the main stage to see the phenomenal Kaiser Chiefs cause a riot throughout the whole audience. Ricky Wilson pranced around the stage, continuously feeding off the energy of the passionate crowd; playing the classics ‘I Predict A Riot’, ‘Ruby’, and ‘Oh My God’, and some of their newer stuff like ‘Parachute’, ending our day of live music on a truly brilliant atmosphere.

Saturday

2:05pm Nursing the hangovers in the blaring sun, we spent the first half of the day at the Hard Rock stage, and it was time to see the band JUDAS. After catching them at Wight Night before IOW, we thought it was only right to see them in a festival setting. Clad in black jeans and sunglasses, JUDAS performed on the stage with a calm and collected poise. Their anthemic rock tracks, particularly ‘Love Is The Enemy’, travelled far and wide around the arena, attracting the attention of passers by to give a beautifully raw and powerful set to a packed out stage.

Paradisia followed by creating a blissful 70’s heaven, captivated by lead singer Sophie Rose’s elegant vocals, similar to the likes of Stevie Nicks, accentuated by simple yet alluring piano melodies and a tight rhythm section. ‘Dancing In The Dark’ seemed  the perfect hangover cure compared to the largely rock ‘n’ roll plethora we’d already witnessed on this stage. The Hard Rock Stage next welcomed Paves, a London based quartet who created a bluesy, sensational aura with groovy rhythms merging together with scorchingly fresh vocals of frontman Luke Shield.

It was then we ambled to the main stage with a spring in our step after the magnetic performances at Hard Rock stage (or maybe it was the ciders..) to go see another nostalgic band of the weekend: The Kooks. Hearing tracks such as ‘Naive’, ‘She Moves In Her Own Way’, and ‘Shine On’ contrived a sense of reliving our pubescent stage and we weren’t the only ones. The whole audience belted the words to their hearts content — dancing, chanting, singing to the random strangers next to them sharing the feeling as The Kooks produced the familiar jangly guitar melodies and notorious lyrics — it was a meaningful time.

8:35pm For us, it was now time for the highlight of the weekend. Having witnessed the crowd grow larger as Catfish and the Bottlemen’s set drew closer, it was obvious we weren’t alone in our anticipation for their performance. As the beginning riff of ‘7’ started to drift out of the speakers, people slowly began bouncing back and forth and the echo of lyrics began floating around the audience. Frontman Van McCann put on a show, gliding across the stage as the adorning fans ate out of the palm of his hands, screaming along as he skilfully executed the infamous guitar solos making up for the accompanying sluggish drums. It was time for the spectacular Arcade Fire, who ended Saturday perfectly. Producing an electronic daze of synthesiser, glockenspiel, mandolin and French horn amongst others across tracks like ‘Reflektor’ and ‘Signs Of Life’, it was astonishing to see the members showcase their multi-instrumentalist ability.

Sunday

12:00pm Trudging along for our last day with a coffee and bacon buttie in hand, we woke up extra early to witness Duke of Wolves play their biggest performance so far, and the early start was worth it. Opening the Big Top stage with their raucous, punchy sound, they were determined to make an impression. Frantic drums, titillating guitar, and smooth bass lines hypnotised the crowd to start moving. Starting with ‘They Laugh’, Jim dedicated the song to Thersea May and her hung parliament which was met with laughs and cheers. Jim’s raw lead vocals, followed accompanied by a gut-wrenching build up of rhythm and guitar captivating the tent, and continuously drawing more and more people to the phenomenal sound they were producing.

After seeing Stilia waltz around the Jack Rocks stage delivering a mesh of indie guitar riffs and harmonious tones to create a fresh and exciting sound. Running to the Big Top stage to catch the last few songs of The Sherlocks, we were thoroughly impressed with their performance, especially ‘Last Night’, sounding similar to the early days of Arctic Monkeys; it was refreshing to witness as the day drew to a close.

8:00pm The Strypes were last on our list for the weekend, and it was obvious they knew just how good they were. Oozing an air of self-assurance that could compete with the likes of Alex Turner and Liam Gallagher, the Cavan quartet tore up the Big Top stage with their hard-hitting guitar riffs and chunky, brash drums. Finishing on a fan favourite ‘Scumbag City Blues’, The Strypes demolished the stage as they thrashed around proving smaller bands can contend with the bigger names in making an impact. The festival ended as thousands of people sung along to ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ as fireworks lit up the main stage, and it was a beautiful homage to the events at Manchester a few weeks before.

All in all, Isle of Wight Festival was a fantastic display of new and old talent, as well as a beautiful way of bringing together all generations for a weekend of perfect live music, laughter and a shit tonne of glitter. With the vast array of acts, from Catfish and the Bottlemen to Arcade Fire to Kaiser Chiefs, we felt the atmosphere was almost always electric and friendly (apart from when it rained) as crowds gathered for the extremely talented artists and bands performing over the weekend. There’s no doubt in our minds we’ll be back next year for even more gifted talent, sunshine and cider.