James - 7. Given I was only sure of knowing 2 songs of James before they started, I enjoyed their set. That being said, I knew 2 songs for sure, and they didn't play one of them (Laid) - bit of a shame.
Bombay Bicycle Club - 5. I didn't know anything by this band before they started, but I remember listening to a little bit when they were announced and thinking it was alright. That was my overriding opinion of the set as well.
Stereophonics - 8. This was one of the sets I was most looking forward to listening to over the weekend and they were really good. They played everything I knew and they sounded really good. I saw some people suggesting they looked as though they were phoning it in, but I didn't get that impression just from listening, though I did note there was minimal crowd interaction.
Saturday
First pretty much a full day listening to the Common stage. I left before Paolo Nutini came on as my travel back after Stereophonics was challenging (cycling in the dark with a lot of people leaving a festival is not something I would recommend to anyone). Truth be told, I wasn't fussed about listening to Paolo Nutini so this wasn't a concern for me.
Sugababes - 9. Sugababes were the Saturday afternoon special guest and they were great in that position. They had a 45 minute set and it was pretty much packed with bangers. You love to see it. It is a bit weird there has been no mention of this set on the social media of the festival, leading me to wonder if that was part of the agreement with the band to get them to play, as Sugababes have also not posted owt about the set on their socials. Weird, if you ask me.
Fun fact. I posted the below photo on Instagram (link) as the HMS Prince of Wales sailed by as Sugababes were on stage. I posted the photo with a lighthearted comment saying how the crew were clearly all listening to Sugababes. The Royal Navy account shared the photo on their story and, as of this writing, it has 318 likes. This is comfortably the most liked photo I've ever posted on Instagram, so thanks Royal Navy!
We Are Scientists - 6. I saw We Are Scientists at Victorious in 2015, and they were one of my highlights of Victorious 2015 for me (though going back to words I wrote at the time, I didn't really enjoy Victorious 2015 too much apparently!) I didn't review the festival so therefore didn't give them a score. I enjoyed the two songs of theirs I know but the rest not as much.
Inhaler - 5. I have this number written down, but now as I am writing these words, I remember very little about them. I didn't know any of their music and recall thinking they were fine.
Ocean Colour Scene - 7. I thought I knew 1 or 2 songs of Ocean Colour Scene but it turns out I knew a few more. They were very enjoyable and The Day We Caught The Train inspired one of, if not the biggest, main stage singalong of the day to that point. That was fun.
Declan McKenna - 6. Similar to Inhaler, I didn't know any Declan McKenna, but I would say I enjoyed his set a little bit more than Inhaler's though.
The Wombats - 8. I had no expectations about The Wombats set going in, but they were excellent. The crowd loved them, they seemed to perform well. I didn't know very much of their stuff at all
Sunday
Final day at the festival. I listened to everything but the headliner as I hadn't heard of Sam Fender before the festival started (and after the briefest bit of research, I realised I was very much in the minority here). Still, it is what it is.
Honeyglaze - 4. A very laid back start to the day. It was a fine set.
The Libertines - 7. I don't know much of The Libertines, but I very much liked their 2004 self titled album for a while. They played my favourite songs from that album, and the end of their set was excellent. I really enjoyed it.
The Reytons - 5. Another fine set. Bit of a comedown after The Libertines and a set that felt very one note. Not always for me, but that's okay.
Sam Ryder - 5. I didn't know what to expect from this. A partial cover of Metallica - Master of Puppets certainly wasn't something I considered. I assume it was done as either a tribute to Metallica or a nod to Stranger Things (if you know, you know) - does this mean Metallica for Victorious 2023?!?!?...probably not. Anyway, he ended with the Eurovision song and the crowd went nuts for it. I'm nonplussed by Eurovision so I wasn't that excited. Sam's set was enjoyable enough though.
Editors - 6. Can I just copy/paste the entry for Declan McKenna but change the names? That's not fair as I know one song and it was good. The rest was enjoyable enough.
Amy MacDonald - 7. Amy MacDonald was one of the acts I definitely would have seen had I gone in. She sounded great. I'm pleased she was on the Common stage.
Metronomy - 4. I can't help but feel Victorious fucked up here putting Metronomy on the bigger stage and Becky Hill on the smaller stage based on crowd sizes. Anyway, Metronomy had a fine set but it wasn't my thing.
Suede - 7. A very enjoyable way to sign off the festival. I knew more of their songs than I thought I did, which is cool.
And that, as they say, is that. Some of the stuff on the main stage was better than I thought it might be before the festival (looking at you, Wombats). Am I sat here wishing I'd bought a ticket to go in? No, not really. It would have been nice to see some of the Castle Stage acts (though I had already seen most of those who I wanted to see, and apparently it was carnage for Sophie Ellis Bextor).
Moving on to 2023, I don't know who is going to play (I suspect in the grand scheme of things, very few people do at the moment). Below are a list of names of acts who I could see playing the festival. Some are headliners (i imagine ti would be obvious who these are) and some are just line up bands. Please note that I hadn't heard of Sam Fender before he was announced to headline, so this list could have some glaring omissions. I've written some words about them if I have any thoughts.
Blur - There is a suggestion they are doing a gig at Wembley Stadium next year to kick off the 30th anniversary of their album Parklife. No idea if it is true, but is it possible they sell out Wembley Stadium and then do some festivals? Maybe. Are they too big to play Victorious? Probably. Still, a man can dream!
Gorillaz - Damon Albarn's other project. They headlined All Points East this summer - I couldn't tell you how well it sold but I reckon they could go down well. Could they headline? Maybe. They would be a strong Castle Stage headliner if not a Common Stage headliner.
The National - I don't know anything by The National, but I know that people seem to love them and they are big enough I think to headline (headlined All Points East twice).
Pulp - There was a news story about Pulp touring in 2023. I think they would be a perfect way to close a night at Victorious. Imagine one winters day the letters and numbers DISCO 2000 appearing on Castle Field? That would be the best.
Biffy Clyro - Probably too big to headline Victorious, but they would be a good booking I think. They are a popular band who fill arenas up and down the country.
The Strokes - Don't play the UK too much, so probably would play a bigger festival than Victorious, but I guess it could happen if they weren't exclusive so could play others.
George Ezra - I see George Ezra's name about, and I don't think he's played Victorious so why not? I wouldn't be fussed but others might be!
Florence and the Machine - I think Florence Welch and band would be a good headliner, or subheadliner/special guest. I think they'd draw a big crowd for sure.
Olivia Rodrigo - Rodrigo's 2021 album was excellent and was very well received generally. I think she'd command a big spot at the festival (Castle Stage headliner against a heritage act perhaps?) A horrific clash for me, now I've thought about it, would be Pulp headlining one stage, Olivia Rodrigo headlining the other).
Lewis Capaldi - Probably too big but from a romantic perspective, he played the festival in a small slot after becoming massive because he was already booked (at least that is how I remember it, I wasn't there mind). Would probably draw a big crowd on the main stage.
Wolf Alice - Wolf Alice are great and I think would be a great booking. All there is to that one really.
Pixies - See above, but I don't see this happening. I'd just like it to.
Haim - I thought their latest album as good. They seem like the sort of band that would go down well with a 45 minute set at the festival.
IDLES - This one seems unlikely, but I think they'd go over really well. They're so good live. I'd love to see them get 45 minutes or longer on the Common Stage.
Foals - I don't think they've played before, so why not? Wouldn't be a draw for me personally, but again as I said above, I think they could be for others.
Years & Years - Played in 2018 in a big slot. The band has become a solo project for Olly Alexander and he seems to have quite a big public profile. Would that be enough for them to headline the main stage? I wouldn't have thought so, but as you have probably guessed, I don't really know what I'm talking about when it comes to Victorious.
Crowded House - They'd go over well on the Common stage for sure. Could they be a special guest? Yeah, definitely.
Tears For Fears - See above words for Crowded House. Could I have copy/pasted? Sure.
KT Tunstall - KT would be excellent. She played in 2017 and is releasing a new album soon. This seems like a no-brainer to be. Book KT as a special guest on one of the days and that'll be one of the best sets of the weekend.
The Lighthouse Family - Don't even know if they are touring but they might be and they would probably go over well.
Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott - They are touring at the end of the year including a show at the Guildhall in Portsmouth and The O2 in London, so really a set this year may have been better - but a victory lap set could work and I reckon would get a good sized crowd. A set of Beautiful South and Housemartins bangers, who wouldn't want that? I mean, a lot of people potentially, but it would still be excellent.
That's all I've got for Victorious for now. I expect the news to go quiet now until December when the first announcement will be made to try and get tickets sold as Christmas presents. Granted, based on the news at the moment people may not be thinking about buying festival tickets but who knows?! Let us hope for good news on that front.
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