Ipswich Music Day is the biggest free music event in the UK and with over 70 live acts across 9 stages and venues you needed to plan your day in order to see as many acts as possible. However I did chat to some music lovers who were happy just to go with the flow and use fate as their guide in order to explore artists they have not yet come across.
This was a great attitude to have this year as the weather was not too kind at all, and although many event goers were prepared with all types of additional plastic coverings, the big Christchurch trees were a some welcome relief when the downpours came.
The number of stands this year seemed more than previous years and it really added to the event, although public numbers were down, the stall holders still braved the weather and were happy enough (sort of) to lug their wares in and out of their gazebos according to the weather. The second hand clothing stalls possibly had a good day as it was the only place to get dry clothing – I know I had to buy a hoodie as the one I came in got soaked!
With over 70 acts it is hard to talk about all of them however the spread of genres was wonderfully varied and Ipswich Music Day was able to showcase both new up and coming talent as well as some comfortable and highly entertaining staples.
There was ska/reggae with The Downsetters (still on a high from playing Glastonbury), rock from trio Tempus Frayed who never disappoint, melodic metal with Draugerheim, folky rock with Gabrielle Ornate, hip hop/rap from Ayo as well as from Xidontile, drum & bass with Conrad Subs, R&B from Dominyka, electronic music from DREGS, southern country rock from Deep South City…… the genres kept going, there truly was something for everyone.
Also this year we had the Indian Summer Mela Stage which was a burst of colour against the grey skies as they wowed the sodden crowds with a variety of Indian music from Punjabi Folk and Indian Classical to Bollywood Mix which had everyone dancing. This area of the park also had dance performances, demonstrations and food which filled your nostrils with tantalising smells.
At the Grapevine Stage, which is the more acoustic artists, Phoebe Austin kicked off the day with her dramatic songs and deep delicious tones, and as the afternoon ticked on the music and talent continued with solo guitar acts such as Marcellus and Maple Ward. After Zamani Fitri, we had Ady Johnson doing a set and bringing a fabulous trumpet player along, then Dusky Sunday belted out a mix of originals and covers then the engery went up a notch with the Suffolk Slappers giving the crowd some great Rockabiliy numbers. Next on the list was the Simone Perks Quintet giving us some superb jazzy songs which were truly delightful and following this was Rich Young and his awesome set, a natural on stage and an amazing talent. The headline act on the Grapevine stage was Fraser Morgan and his crew finishing this stage off with a pop/punk/folk original set with raw lyrics about his life and mental health, yet manages to inject high energy in a way for this to be a fun, enjoyable, life affirming perfect end to a great stage. This was his 1008th gig and he is still loving it!
If we ignore the weather, we can absolutely say this was a fantastic year for Ipswich Music Day with everyone putting in extra effort to overcome the rain. Well done to everyone who performed, everyone behind the scenes which makes something like this happen and well done to those people who came to see what music our region can offer!!
We are already looking forward to 2025 – are you?