Over Farm in Gloucester transformed into an idilic, intimate festival this weekend to celebrate Barn On The Farm’s 10th Anniversary – and boy did they party in style, featuring some very special guests, party hats, giant birthday card and of course the farms own frisky Ostrich’s

The festival has an impressive knack of picking artists to perform that go on to have global success in the future – Ed Sheeran, George Ezra, Hozier,  Bastille and Ben Howard to name just a few. With that in mind the array of artists at this years festival was no different, with headline slots from Lewis Capaldi, Maggie Rogers and Dermot Kennedy.

Now it wouldn’t be a special year without a few surprises and they certainly delivered. The Vaccines made an apparenace on Friday night, putting on a spectacular show and Sunday night saw the return of Reggae Zero AKA the lovely George Ezra who came back as BOTF alumni to put on a stunner of a set with all his big hits including Paradise, Budapest and Shotgun.

Others playing this year included the likes of Zak Abel, Maverick Sabre, Gabrielle Aplin, Seagirls, Nina Nesbitt, Swim Deep, The Japanese House, Flyte, Lauren Aquilina, Vistas, Grace Carter, Youngr, Ten Tonnes, Samm Henshaw, Fatherson, Kawala, Only The Poets, Cassia, Maisie Peters, Plested, JC Stewart, and many more!

Who stood out?

Now this is a hard one because everyone is brilliant (and I’m not just saying that), but there were a few sets that stood out including:

Flyte

I’ve seen these guys before on their own tour but they still wow’d me, and a lot of people came away from seeing their set with the same feeling too. Joined on stage by Jessica from The Staves they played a variety of songs including their newest single White Roses and Sliding Doors. Their harmonies were incredible and it looks as they’ve got a few more releases round the corner soon too!

Maisie Peters

Maisie has been on my radar for a while now and it’s the first time I managed to catch her set live – it was definitely worth the wait. Her voice is incredible – sweet and innocent she pulls you in to each song. She did a really lovely acoustic version of Feels Like This (recently played on Love Island), and Worst Of You which got a really good reaction from the crowd. She’s certainly one to keep an eye on.

Zak Abel

He’s no stranger to Barn On The Farm, Zak Abel was glad to be back down on the farm to headline the Outdoor Stage on Saturday evening. Even though it started to drizzle with rain it didn’t stop the crowd from dancing to his set, he pulled out some amazing dance moves himself. He’s got quite a raspy voice and when he hits those notes it makes you go wow, and he seems to do it all with ease.

Plested

Chances are you’ve already heard one of the songs he’s helped write including Touch by Little Mix and Hollywood by Lewis Capaldi, but he’s a talented singer himself. His latest single Either You Love Me Or You Don’t has just been picked up by BBC Introducing and is frequently played on BBC Radio 1. He’s one to watch out for – I did an interview with him so keep an eye out as that will be up soon!

Maverick Sabre

This guy took to the main stage and instantly blew everyone away with his voice. I wasn’t sure about what to expect from his set, but he really made the stage his own and drew me  in. He almost sounds like the male version of Amy Winehouse (a big claim to make I know) but give him a listen (try I Need) and you’ll see what I mean. He’s already collaborated with George The Poet and Jorja Smith on Follow The Leader, I expect we’ll be seeing more soon too.

Samm Henshaw

Now not only does this guy have a beautiful voice but he also knows how to get the crowd moving. He totally owns the stage and his dance moves don’t compromise the quality of his voice – it’s stunning. He performed his hits Broke and Church, both tracks you need to listen to and definitely one to watch – I did an interview with him before his set so make sure you keep your eye out for that!

Kawala

I interviewed these two before their set (so keep an eye out for that soon – got a cheeky exclusive about something released very soon!). But taking to the stage they showed off their terrible dance moves (their words not mine) and got the audience moving too bringing a bit of fun the stage whilst also wowing with stunning harmonies.

Dermot Kennedy

Now I don’t want to write too much about the headline performers because the fact they’re headlining speaks on its own, but Dermot Kennedy really sounded amazing as he headlined the main stage Saturday night. Taking over from Sam Fender who had to pull out due to illness, Dermot was back on the farm (he played last year – make sure you go back and check out the interview I did with him) with an even bigger set. He’s had a lot of success with Power Over Me, and new single Outnumbered is already on it’s way to do the same – with an incredible voice like his it’s easy to see why.

Reggae Zero AKA George Ezra

George Ezra got a massive reaction when he took to the main stage to put on a surprise set as part of BOTF alumni celebrating the festivals 10th anniversary. He looked so happy to be on the stage, grinning almost the whole way through the set. There’s not much you can say about George because he’s already proved how talented he is with his latest release Staying At Tamara’s and the success off it. The crowd loved it, he loved it that’s all there is to say; stunning.

Lewis Capaldi

This is the third year in a row Lewis has played down on the farm, and he said he would be back even if he wasn’t playing. He took to the Outdoor Stage in style (Here Comes The Money) before diving straight into a short but sweet setlist of all his its including Hollywood, Grace, Hold Me While You Wait, Forever, Headspace (gave me goosebumps) and of course Someone You Loved. The latter of the which someone actually bought a rug with them which got passed through the crowd up onto stage, to which Lewis did a perfectly timed pulling of a rug. The crowd was also treated to the infamous Capaldi humour in which he congratulated a newly engaged couple and told them it wouldn’t last, talked about being a chubby Scottish lad singing a few sad songs (his words not mine) and writing songs at 4am. I met him before his set and he told me to lower my expectations about seeing his set –  I didn’t, and he raised them anyway.

Maggie Rogers

She danced onto the stage and she danced her way through her set, Maggie Rogers came in with an incredible energy that got everyone hyped up and dancing as she closed the festival for another year. It looked as if she was having the time of her life up on that stage and it really showed not only in her performance but it rubbed off on the crowd too. She’s got a stunning voice and both the upbeat and slower songs sounded incredible and totally effortless – including hits Light On, Alaska, Give A Little and Say It. She also performed an acoustic version of Alaska before her main set with JC Stewart, Plested, Maisie Peters and Lily Moore which sounded absolutely incredible.

 

What an amazing time Barn On The Farm have had this year, it’s so easy to see why it’s done amazingly well over the past decade, and artists and fans alike come back year after year to be apart of an intimate festival that showcases the best talent around at the moment. Until 2020…