Boardmasters 2022
Have you still got those post-festival blues from Boardmasters 2022?
As the dust settles from an extremely hot weekend, many of us agreed that this year was one of the best.
Boardmasters began in 1981 as a surfing competition and since then it has grown & grown. The music side of the festival started in 2005 and we now see 53,000 soak up the music and the most stunning backdrop that make it the perfect summer festival.
This year was an incredible weekend of music with possibly the greatest performance that I’ve ever seen at Boardmasters!
Boardmasters 2022 was headlined on the Friday by George Ezra, but for me and many others it was all about idles. This was my 4th time seeing idles, and my first for photographing them. It was equally as intense, beautiful and unifing as I hoped. And as I mentioned earlier about ‘the greatest performance that I’d ever seen at Boardmasters’, well this was it.
Playing before idles was Self Esteem who also gave one of the finest shows to have graced Boradmasters. Her album Prioritise Pleasure is nominated for the 2022 Mercury Prize and you can easily see why, perfect experimental pop music, Rebecca’s powerful lyrics and a mesmerising performace which gave us one of Boradmasters most memorable moments. Self Esteem fan, Taliah was down the front with a sign asking “Can I sing I Do This All The Time with you? Rebecca invited her on stage to sing it with her and Taliah absolutely nailed it.
Also on the Friday we saw Damian Marley, The Lathums, Freya Ridings, Moonchild Sanelly and Cornwall’s The Velvet Hands, who opened the Land of the Saints stage.
I was there again photographing the music for Cornwall Live, and you can read Lee Trewhela’s Friday Review here.
Saturday saw more sunshine and more amazing performances on the Watergate Bay site. The music started for me with Dancehall at the Land of the Saints stage and then over to the mainstage and a huge crowd for Sam Ryder. Much more than a Eurovision star, Sam showed us that he’s got the songs and the personality to be a huge star.
Through the day we discovered some great music from newers names Max Rad and Crawlers alongside the favourites Pale Waves, Bombay Bicycle Club, Mimi Webb, Declan McKenna and Bastille.
Headliners Disclosure brought the mainstage to a close with their electronic hooks & beats.
And take some time to read Lee’s review of the day, maybe the best Boardmasters write up you’ll see. ‘Saturday showed why the festival is so important for Cornwall and the nation’s kids‘.
As Boardmasters 2022 came to a close on the Sunday with Kings of Leon, the searing heat from the weekend dissapeared and made to way to an eiry fog that engulfed the festival site as the crowds started to leave. But it didn’t dampen any spirits from what has been a fantastic weekend at this years festival.
There was a fantasic atmosphere all weekend and some equally fantastic music on the final day. Of course everyone was ther to see Kings of Leon and they didn’t disapoint. I last saw them at the Reading Festival in 2005 as they were touring their second album ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’. Now on their 8th studio album they are a well oiled touring machine with a stadum size show to match.
Ealier in the day 6music favourites ‘The Bug Club’ were one of the musical revelations of the weekend. And equally ‘The Rills’ brought a well needed burst of energy to the Land of the Saints stage.
Back on the main stage, Joy Crookes also got the crowd moving to the summer vibes and then it was the turn of the Wombats who continue to make indie-dance that had everyone bouncing.
Tom Grennan is a defintite future headliner of Boardmasters and he absolutely rocked the wonderfully mixed crowd of teenagers, parents, die hards and new fans.
Read the final review of Boardmasters 2022.
What makes Boardmasters incredible each year is the people that I get to spend time with over the weekend. First of all, Lee Trewehela at Cornwall Live for having me along to shoot again. It is always a pleasure.
Keiran at Clunk Magazine, my Boardmasters 2022 partner! It’s always great shooting alongside you and covering many miles around the site discovering new bands. Alex Sutton PR and her team. Liam & Katy at SW1, and the Vision Nine crew who put this all together and continue to make the festival a huge success.
And finally the rest of the media team, I miss you all already! Same time next year?
