Latitude’s 19^th festival and my 13^th. There was quite a group of us, though I’m not sure there was a time when we all got together. As ever I went up to Henham Park in Suffolk with my friend Jon, and for the third year we took the glamping option. We stopped for some lunch in East Bergholt – Constable country – then got back onto the A12. All good so far. Then, with about four miles to go we hit a traffic jam. Those next four miles took three hours! The worst delays since 2015. We later heard stories about people being delayed for up to eleven hours. Latitude’s official line was that it was due to weather conditions, but it didn’t rain that much. I suspect the delays were a lot more to do with the way they were managing entry into the car park, which then rippled back along the A12, creating an ever-longer queue. Who knows? For us it meant we arrived around 6.30 rather than mid-afternoon. At least we didn’t have to put a tent up when we got there. We were in the arena having a pint of Guinness by 7.30. That was one of the welcome innovations this year, a Guinness bar. The main bar, the Taphouse, had a decent range of lagers too: Brooklyn, 1664 and Poretti. No longer Carlsberg or Carlsberg.

Our number this year comprised:  me and Jon; Rick, Adrienne and Lucia; Paul and Tom, Hywell, Rebecca and Bethan; and Vanessa and Angela. Big shout out to Vanessa, who is a long-standing friend of my wife, Kath. This was her first ever festival. Never too late to start!

Anyway, onto the music – and a little bit of spoken word. And a certain football match…

It started with another innovation: a full evening programme of music on the Sunrise Arena in the woods. Thumbs up to Latitude for that too.

As usual I’ll take it day by day.

Thursday 24 July

The music on the Sunrise Arena was all provided by acts on the Transgressive record label. After the band performance there were DJ sets well into the morning. We didn’t manage those – gone are the days of staying up until three in the morning. Gotta pace yourself at our age.

We missed the New Eves, but made it for Moonchild Sanelly. She’s from South Africa, and I thought she was a mellow, jazzy performer. Far from it! The set was all funky beats and high energy. An upbeat start to the festival. Next up were Young Knives. They have been on Transgressive for twenty years. They were rockier than I expected – guitars rather than electronics. They were ok, but it didn’t really grab me. Last band was Moonlandingz, an offshoot of Fat White Family, including the singer Lias Saoudi, who was looking in good shape.  I’ve seen them once before, in 2017 at the Village Underground in Shoreditch. I didn’t much like them that night – though I really liked their support band, Goat Girl, who became favourites for a while – but tonight I was impressed. There was still everything but the kitchen sink in their music, but the tunes were sharp and the musicianship was strong. And it got better and more rousing as it went along. There were plenty of bizarre elements, of course, including a dancer who held a mic for no obvious reason as she cavorted around the stage, until at last she got to sing some opening lines to one song late on. A more glamorous version of Bez, I guess. I’ll have to listen to their new album No Rocket Required.

Friday 25 July

Good weather today – quite sunny and temperature in the mid-twenties. Perfect festival weather.

First band of the day was Westside Cowboy, from Manchester, on the Sunrise. With a name like that they had to be Americana. The blurb suggested Teenage Fanclub and Pavement as influences. In the event they were a bit grungier than all of that, but also had a nice line in harmonies and a folky element to the sound at times. All present – Jon, Paul, Tom and me – agreed that they were excellent and merited further investigation.

Next for Jon and me was Azamiah on the Second Stage – the main tent. From Glasgow, they were described as nu-jazz in the blurb. Generally that means they’re young and mix jazz with soul, funk, reggae and music from around the world. And indeed, Azamiah did just that – the world including the Scottish islands. Singer India Blue had a striking voice which lifted the music into an almost folky dimension at times. The rhythms were like a cool breeze with an occasional dubwise feel. I liked it!

We took an hour off music to catch the live BBC Newscast at the Listening Post next. I used to listen to its predecessor, Brexitcast, regularly in those painful Brexit years. Newcast not so much, as I have a few other politics podcasts that take priority. Nonetheless I was interested to hear what Adam Fleming and Chris Mason would have to say about Labour’s first year (as advertised). The answer was nothing! They covered a few current news stories instead, while studiously avoiding Gaza. It was likeable but a bit safe, and became even more so when they were joined by Martha Kearney half way through. She was hosting a series of nature talks in the same venue. A pleasant hour but with nothing much insightful.

Afterwards we went down to the Sunrise and caught a couple of songs by Irish band the Cliffords. It didn’t really grab either of us, so were retired to the Taphouse for a beer before heading over to the Alcove tent – for up-and-coming bands mainly – for Mandrake Handshake. You knew what you were going to get from the name alone! And it was good. You’d call it psychedelic rock I guess, but there were some driving rhythms carrying it along and plenty of airy warbling and expressive dancing. Very much in the spirit of the late 60s/early 70s, but from more modern times King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard would be a reference point. Very enjoyable.

Next it was Billy Bragg on the Obelisk Stage. A huge crowd, the sun shining. Lots of people talking, eating, drinking. Children playing. And everyone’s favourite leftie singer providing the distant entertainment. He did a good job of course, but I got a message from Vanessa saying that she and Angela were watching the poet John Osbourne at the Listening Post. I like him, so decided to join them. John’s a Latitude regular, and his wistfully witty poems about everyday life were an inspiration for me to write my own volume of poems about my youth back in 2015/16. (Growin’ Up – Snapshots/fragments, available on Amazon.) Today Jon seemed more dishevelled than usual and downbeat rather than wistful. He’s just quit his job as a primary school teacher, which might be an explanation. I didn’t get as much from his poems as usual, but Vanessa and Angela, who hadn’t heard him before, loved it, so that’s a better verdict on the show.

There was no doubt about the performance of the next poet on the stage, Luke Wright. He was at his biting, funny, crude, audacious best. He has a new show called Pub Grub, extolling the virtues, the quintessential Englishness, of said food. As ever, his delivery brought the poems to sparkling life. Once again he demonstrated his technical brilliance with one of his poems with just one vowel, “O” in this case. Oxford posh toffs go to London and get themselves in some scrapes in Soho. So clever, so funny. In another all the key words started with a “D” or had one in the stressed syllable. There were a few heartfelt verses about his children and one addressed to himself called Your Anger. That’s the anger of the young man – Luke is becoming more nuanced in his old age! The sounds of Billy Bragg wafted through the tent and Luke lamented the fact that they’d been put on at the same time. Did it mean that Latitude thought that he, Luke Wright, had moved to the right? Not possible! A highlight of the weekend, as always.

Back up to the Obelisk for Maribou State and some soulful electronica before going over to the Second Stage for one of Ireland’s bands of the moment, Sprints. To call them punk would over-simplify, but the spirit is there. They rock hard, with a wider palette of sound than straight punk. They were relentlessly energetic from start to finish, with singer Karla Chubb leading the way. A bit of crowd-surfing towards the end was inevitable! A triumph.

I wandered down to the Sunrise afterwards and caught a bit of another Irish band, Bricknasty. Despite the name, which makes you think you are in for some Kneecap-style rap, their sound was far more fluid, soulful, even jazzy. Frontman Fatboy wears a mask for some reason and sings about growing up in Ballymun, Dublin, a deprived area. He also sings in an almost falsetto at times, in tune with the soulful music, which is rooted in the streets of New York and LA. There’s a lot going on here, and who knows how they’ll evolve.

For the last act of the night, Jon and I were genuinely torn. Sting was headlining the Obelisk, and was bound to play a few Police classics, which would have been fun. But on the Sunrise, corto.alto were playing. They’re a Glasgow band, playing electronic jazz and more. Much more. Main man Liam Shortall is a multi-instrumentalist, and tonight he played guitar, trombone and keys. His band were all accomplished musicians. The music was a joy to listen to – and watch, with a colourful light show and the trees behind the stage lit up against the dark. The Sunrise is a magical place to be at night when the music is flowing. There was dub, there was jazz rock, with a soaring solo by the lead guitarist which took you back to John McLaughlin. Some scintillating sax, combining with the trombone. Modern jazz at its best. The highlight of the weekend, and an artist in Liam Shorthall to follow closely in the coming years. He’s playing Koko in Camden in October. We’ll be there.

Saturday 26 July

A mostly cloudy but dry day. I started the day’s music with two performances in the Alcove. First up was Nadia Kadek, a local singer-songwriter – Latitude is good at giving local artists a chance to show what they can do. Nadia is half-Indonesian but grew up in the nearby town of Diss. That experience informs some of her music, along with the usual trials and tribulations of friendship and love. I liked the tunes and she had a beautiful voice. An engaging personality too – the chance to play here was a dream fulfilled for her, having come to Latitude many times herself as a punter. She’s got a couple of songs on Spotify, the latest of which is Lemonade (not to be confused with the Beyonce album!). One to watch.

The next act was a contrast – a full-on rock band called Saint Clair. They’re from London and were very good. The blurb described them as blurring the boundary between shoegaze and alt-rock, and I get that. But what I heard a lot of – and my friend Steve, who joined me for some of the show did too – was Bends-era Radiohead. And there is nothing wrong with that! Maybe a bit of Muse at their least grandiose too. It’s hard to carve out a distinctive niche in the world of indie/rock, but Saint Clair definitely have promise.

So, two that are worth watching out for. The next artist was on a different level – pretty nailed-on to be a star. Beware though, I have been known to get these things wrong! This was Chloe Qisha. She was born in Malaysia and moved to the UK ten years ago when she was 16. She has a degree in psychology. She is now signed with Sony, who will give her a lot of backing. And live the music was great. Pop with an edge. Plenty of Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo in there, but not derivative. She has a confidence and wit about her that says she knows she’s good. I liked the lyrics and song titles like Sex, Drugs and Existential Dread. That one by the way had a beat that recalled Prince’s Kiss. Will all this appeal to the crucial teen audience? I’ve no idea – maybe it will be more about targeting the 20 and 30-somethings. Oh God, I’m talking like a marketing man! I’ll leave that to Sony. Just to say she was very entertaining and got an enthusiastic reception from the crowd. I’ve listened to her two EPs since I got home and wasn’t quite so taken with the music, which sounded quite 80s-pop influenced. But many others will love that, so let’s see.

We stayed at the Sunrise for Silver Gore, who the blurb labelled as alt-rockers. The band name made them sound interesting. The music wasn’t though and we went after a couple of songs. We tried Demae at the Alcove. I’ve heard her soul-dance on 6 Music before and liked it. Trouble was, not many people came along and a sound that would be dazzling in a London club didn’t quite work in the Alcove. Credit to her and her musical partner for giving it their all though. We stayed for a few songs then parted company. I went back into the woods and spent a while at the Lavish Lounge – complete with an array of leather sofas in the open air – having a cup of tea and watching a singer called Claudia Kate, who was rocking. Then it was back to the Sunrise for Sara Julia. They are two sisters from Amsterdam with a backing band. They sing beautiful harmonies rather in the manner of our very own Staves. It’s hard to avoid the comparison, though Sara Julia had a bit more of a rock sound. I really enjoyed the show – another one to follow up.

Afterwards I reconnected with Jon and we ambled over to the Second Stage for Amble. Sorry, I couldn’t resist that. They were described as an Irish folk band and sounded like they could be the real thing, fiddles and all. I fancied a bit of that. But there were no fiddles and immediately it felt a bit bland. Not to say it wasn’t authentic, but it was the poppy version of Irish folk. We moved on after two songs. A peripatetic afternoon!

Next though, was not to be missed, and we knew what we’d get. The Kaiser Chiefs on the Obelisk. The crowd was huge – it always is Saturday and Sunday, when there are a lot of day-trippers and families. Latitude introduced a rule this year that there should be no chairs beyond a line with the sound tower. It was completely unenforceable of course and largely ignored, so it was business as usual. We stood to one side about fifteen rows back. The view was ok, but there was endless talking, shouting, selfie-taking and all the rest. It’s not that easy to enjoy a show with all that going on, but Kaiser Chiefs put on a brilliant perfornace, with singer Ricky Wilson on sparkling form. They cleverly spread out their four big songs: Every Day I Love you Less and Less, Ruby, I Predict a Riot and Oh My God, in that order. Each one an anthem – it was a reminder of what a good band they were, and are still. And for good measure they played the Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop, which went down a storm.

The Kaisers finished at 8.30. Headlining at nine was Fatboy Slim. We saw him not so long ago on the Second Stage, then the BBC tent, and to be honest it was all a bit stale and formulaic, despite the lasers and visuals and those catchy hits. So two hours of watching him with the Obelisk crowd didn’t appeal. We went down to the Second Stage and watched Public Service Broadcasting instead. I don’t know their music that well – somehow they passed me by – but I loved this show. A big, motorik sound, driven by guitars and electronics, great visuals with lots of footage of space travel. They had an album in 2015 called The Race for Space. Something quite Germanic about it – Kraftwerk with guitars and relentless rhythm. They also paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne with a short version of Paranoid, with various shots of Ozzy on the screens. A nice touch, and the end of our music for the day. We headed for the Taphouse and were joined by most of our friends when Fatboy Slim finished. It has to be said that they all loved the show, so fair play to the man.

Sunday 27 July

The rain came today, as we were walking down to the Arena at around 11.30. It was heavy for a while and the fear was that all the paths would turn to mud. But it relented after about an hour and that was it. The mud was largely avoided.

We started quite early, 11.45, at the Second Stage. The band was Son Mieux from the Netherlands. They are big in Europe, but of course the British have largely ignored them. But that must change! They were great. A rousing rock sound influenced by Bruce Springsteen and maybe the Waterboys. Singer Camiel Meiresonne was charismatic and spoke well about the issues of the day, as well as expressing the band’s gratitude for the invitation to Latitude. There was a very decent-sized crowd which grew during the performance and the reaction to the music was fantastic. It was one of the best atmospheres of the weekend, maybe the best. Rousing tune after rousing tune. A lot of love. We left uplifted.

We stayed in the tent for the next show, Hamish Hawk. A Scottish singer who is well-respected and popular with the 20/30 year olds. I was expecting quite an Americana-based sound, as with Westside Cowboy. But Hamish and his band were a bit – can I use the word again? – bland. Nice, but not very exciting. We voted with our feet again and headed to the Alcove for the latest big thing from the Isle of Wight – oh yes! – The Pill. Two women with guitars and witty lyrics mostly dissing men. Familiar? Yes, the Alcove was heaving, hoping for the next Wet Leg. And they were good, rockier than Wet Leg – more Ramones than the Strokes. A little samey over the course of the 35 minutes, but fun.

Paul and Tom were there too, and we all wandered up to the Obelisk for Una Noche en la Habana, a collective of Cuban artists, including some who played on the Buena Vista Social Club album with Ry Cooder back in 1997.  The Obelisk is more relaxed at this time of day and the music had such a wonderful vibe. Uplifting in a different way to Son Mieux, but full of the joy of music. And in a nice touch for the English audience, they played a Cuban version of Coldplay’s The Scientist! Loved it.

Jon and I then went down to the Trailer Park to see a band called Fat Vince, from London. The blurb made them sound like grimy rock’n’rollers, with a penchant for the Stones. But it wasn’t really that. While we were there, they played some interesting covers, including Steely Dan’s Reeling in the Years and Pulp’s Babies. The lead guitarist was good. But Chubby and the Gang they weren’t.

Back with Paul and Tom we went over to the Sunrise for a Nigerian singer called Tommy Wa. It was just him with a bassist, who seemed a great friend, and a drummer. The music was folk and blues with just a touch of African sensibility. But the vibe was so good – relaxing, but also moving. Tommy had a sincerity about wanting to make the world a better place that overcame any cynicism. It was hard not to think about Bob Marley and, of course, Redemption Song in particular, although there was no reggae in the set. His singing was soulful and hit the heights at times. An unassuming and yet powerful set. We left feeling chilled and good about the next challenge – watching England v Spain in the Euros final…

Credit to Latitude for setting up a big screen just down from the Second Stage, with space for a few thousand people. There was another in the Comedy Arena. It was a bit uncomfortable for an old geezer like me to sit on the ground for a couple of hours, and there were lots of children running around, wanting to eat and go to the toilet – been there, done it – but we had a good view, and you know what happened. Brilliant – the Lionesses once again setting an example for resilience, belief and, ultimately, coolness under pressure. I’ll come back to that when I write a review of the last football season.

I pity the bands who lost big chunks of their audience, including Alison Moyet and Doves – even Elbow, who would have started just before penalties. But it was the right thing to do. People would have just been watching on their phones otherwise, signal permitting.

Jon and I went to see French band Air afterwards, on the Second Stage. It was inevitably a bit of an anti-climax after the football. But the band’s stage presence and the music itself made for a soporific experience. If I’d been sitting in a chair I would undoubtedly have had a snooze. We did get the hits, like Sexy Boy and Cherry Blossom Girl, and some nice visuals. But mostly it just washed over me.

That brought us to the final decision: Snow Patrol, headlining the Obelisk for the second year running, or the Lambrini Girls on the Sunrise. If I’d gone to Snow Patrol after Air I think I would have been comatose. On the other hand, Jon, Shane and I saw the Lambrini Girls at the Scala last year and they were pretty awful. Just all the lecturing and crowd surfing, which left little time for the music. Might they have changed their tune a bit now they have an acclaimed album out? We hoped so and went down to the Sunrise, which was packed. It had to be fun – enter the spirit of the occasion.

On the way, we stopped off at the Lavish Lounge for a cup of tea – would you believe it? It tasted so good! There was a lively, quite punky band called The Trusted on stage. We stayed until the end of their set and brought what was left of our teas to the Sunrise for the Lambrini Girls. I mean, how punk is that?

The Sunrise is always a great place to end the festival. Last year it was English Teacher, who were brilliant. But this was the Lambrini Girls, and they hadn’t changed. Singer Phoebe Lunny, after insulting Snow Patrol, was soon in the crowd, shouting about something or other while the bassist and drummer played a holding riff. That characterised much of the half hour we watched. Occasionally she got back on stage and they played some music – a bit tuneless and frantic with lots of shouting, but high energy. I do like some of their songs – there’s a kind of wit amid the anger. But I don’t think they do themselves any favours live – so much time is wasted. After half an hour I was getting angry and my head hurt. The final straw was an inane cry of shout if you hate the police. This to a crowd of mostly white middle class people who have probably had little contact with the police, unless they have relatives in the force.  I tapped Jon on the shoulder and we agreed it was enough.

Back to the Taphouse, where Paul and Tom joined us after the Lambrinis had finished. And to be fair, they had enjoyed it much more. We reviewed the weekend and talked about our favourite shows – we all struggled to come up with our three best because there had been so many good ones. On the spur of the moment I went for corto.alto, Chloe Qisha and Tommy Wa; but if there was a consensus about one band it might have been Westside Cowboy. And then there was Kaiser Chiefs and Public Service Broadcasting and Nadia Kadek and…… just another great Latitude.