On Thursday we went to “Blakey Ridge – the UKs most remote music venue” for their annual music festival. Drove up onto the moors, with the heather as purple as I have seen it! Camping was in the field below the pub on a 20° angle on soft but hillocky grass with the most magnificent view over the green valley divided up by charcoal dry stone walls and up the other side to the dark moor. The festival arena was somewhat ominously on rocky dry dirt, all the ready for a Glastonbury-esque mud bath.

We half listened to the first band while putting up Carl and Vicky’s tents and listening to Matt considering where best to bivy in order to avoid being tripped/thrown up over by drunken festival goers! Sevenball were on second, playing to a reasonable crowd. They played well - they seem to have stopped smoking so much = they were much less lad back – faster, heavier and with more purpose, but that might be more to do with the new drummer who looks a bit manic. It was really great to look beyond the stage and realise that you were surrounded by hills and heather.

The next couple of bands weren’t terribly inspiring and had a lot owing to the York pop family of Shed 7 and the Seahorses. Four day hombre were too chilled for the whole festival atmosphere, despite the fact that the majority of the audience were sitting comfy camping chairs with cool boxes full of food and drink. It was like being at a proms in the park! People were drinking well stored Old Peculiar from the beer tent and having pleasant refined conversation around their picnics!

Mostly Autumn were the best. It was very much like the whole event was a showcase for them. They came in at around 10 and played solidly to 12:30! They has the lighting rig all fitted out for them including moving heads and dominators illuminating the low cloud. The rain wasn’t dampening anyone’s spirits and there was loads of conversation between the stage and the audience. It all finished with fireworks that must have cost a fortune – they weren’t terribly innovative, but there were loads of them going on for at least 5 minutes – it was great!

The cloud had lifted a bit during their set and at one point a red crescent of the moon appeared just long enough to be both bright and eerie before sinking behind the hills. By the end of the set there was a band of dark yellow light along the brows of the hills on either side of the stage – like the music was leaving a feint glow as it drifted across the moors.