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May 11, 2022 Web Exclusive By Dom Gourlay Photography by Lindsay Melbourne (Confidence Man & Pip Blom) & Jamie MacMillan (Loose Articles, Low Hummer, Grandmas House & English Teacher)

​The first day of May might also be a traditional bank holiday, but for UK music lovers it also signals the first day of festival season. So it was left to Sheffield independent promoters Somewhere to entice festival goers to the city, and what a splendid job they did. Opening its doors for only the second time in less than a year; the first edition of Get Together took place in August 2021 having been rescheduled twice due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The sophomore Get Together not only usurped the admittedly glorious inaugural event, it also managed to outstrip many of its long standing peers too.

Taking place across multiple stages and venues around Sheffield’s University building, this year’s event proved to be bigger, busier and ultimately better than anyone could have wished for. With a live music schedule that saw wall-to-wall performances taking place over eleven hours that didn’t stop from start to finish, alongside a beer and food festival that ended with several vendors running out of stock. It’s probably fair to say this year’s Get Together was a triumphant success for all concerned.

But then with such a mouthwatering line-up to boot, was it really going to be anything else? Manchester’s Loose Articles kickstarted proceedings for many, including Under the Radar, and their infectious lo-fi punk filled with songs about hating buses (“Buses”), “manslags” (“Beer”), football (“Kick Like A Girl”) and the end of the world “Chaos”) provided a lively opening tonic for those revellers arriving early.

Hull sextet Low Hummer also delighted those that turned up early. Playing to a jam packed Foundry, their delicious mix of quirky pop and lo-fi indie elicited the first (semi) moshpit of the day. Thanks in no small part to rabble rousing anthems like “Take Arms” and “Sometimes I Wish I Was A Different Person”, the dual vocals of Aimee Duncan and Daniel Mawer offering a yin-yang approach to proceedings.

Inbetween times, Bristol trio Grandmas House also took the Octagon stage with their grunge infused diatribes. The likes of “Girl” and “Always Happy” standing out in particular, not least by way of channeling the templates set by Babes In Toyland or Huggy Bear three decades ago only with an epic twenty-first century remodel that makes us yearn for more.

Over on the Somewhere Stage its also incredibly busy, so much so that we barely move beyond the entrance. But just enough to see and hear the mighty English Teacher, whose exquisite take on post-punk falls somewhere between Juju era Siouxsie & The Banshees and Savages. Recent runners-up in this year’s Glastonbury Emerging Talent competition, the Leeds-based four-piece are undoubtedly one of the most exciting acts to emerge from the north of England in a very long time.

Meanwhile, back in the Foundry, Irish quartet NewDad also draw one of the biggest crowds of the day and by the end of opener “Drown” its easy to see why they’re so highly regarded. Fusing elements of shoegaze, dreampop, grunge and noise into their exquisitely crafted armoury of songs, their eleven songs set is another that sets hearts pounding and pulses racing. Ending with a glorious rendition of debut single “How”, the Galway four-piece are undoubtedly destined for bigger things in the not too distant future.

Beforehand, Dutch combo Pip Blom eased all and sundry into Sunday evening with a calming set that blew away the cobwebs in the grandiose settings of the Octagon. While a raucous set later on in the same room from Brighton math combo Squid saw crowdsurfers form handy allegiances with ravers, such is their cross-genre pollination appeal.

With the day almost drawing to a close, its left to London DJ duo Raw Silk to warm up the Foundry stage for the headline act, which their lively set did with aplomb. Particularly when they dropped local heroes Thompson Twins’ 1983 smash “Love On Your Side” into their set, which turned the dancefloor into heaving sweaty mass of bodies. Which in turn provided the perfect setting for Confidence Man‘s return to UK shores. Drawing largely from recently released second long player Tilt, the Brisbane four-piece were a revelation (as anyone that’s ever seen them would instantly testify to). Understandably, all eyes are on front pairing Janet Planet and Sugar Bones, and with disco pop anthems like “Does It Make You Feel Good?” and “Break It Bought It” not to mention debut album favourite “Out The Window” all dispatched in the first quarter of an hour of a set, its no surprise to see the place erupt.

Ably backed by live drummer and keyboard player Clarence McGuffie and Reggie Goodchild respectively, Confidence Man ooze class and have the tunes to back it up. “Feels Like A Different Thing” and “Kiss N Tell” further highlight the new album’s insatiable energy while “Don’t You Know I’m In A Band” and breakthrough single “Boyfriend (Repeat)” off the first record are both gleefully received like long lost relatives returning home from a three-year vacation, which is the last time these songs were performed live in the UK. Closing on summer banger “Holiday”, Confidence Man bring the second edition of Get Together to a monumental finale, and with it almost take the house down to boot.

All in all, a wonderful day that will probably take some beating over the coming summer months.