Jim Beam Homegrown review

  • Breaking
  • 16/02/2014

When you line up more than 65 bands on a beaut of a day on Wellington's spectacular waterfront, you're in for something special, and Jim Beam Homegrown certainly delivered.

Fifteen-thousand people packed in to the event.

One of the great things about this festival is you still got to feel the brilliant vibes without even going to the concerts, with the wonderful, chilled-out carnival atmosphere along the waterfront. And it was those vibes that make this festival what it is.

There was something for everyone. Eight stages spread from Waitangi Park to TSB Bank Arena, featuring acts from Gin Wigmore to Fat Freddy's Drop, to The Feelers and so much more.

But those big names didn't come till later in the show, and as the crowd trickled in throughout the afternoon, the lesser-known acts enjoyed their time on stage.

Another wonderful part of this festival is it's a superb way to unearth new talent. Jesse Sheehan was a particular favourite of mine; I confess to having never heard of him before Homegrown.

As afternoon turned evening, the dulcet tones of Katchafire rung out around Waitangi Park, although the smell of a certain green leaf could be best described as prominent.

When the Katchafire lads wound up, the buzzing crowd were left guessing as to what was up next. There was plenty of speculation as to who'd front for Jim Beam's History Unannounced, and the place went off when classic Kiwi favourite Kora were revealed.

The brilliant tunes of the dub group lent themselves perfectly to the atmosphere among the fans.

The Black Seeds epitomise all things summer, and there's nothing better than to bob along to these lads with a cold bevvie in hand and the sun setting – although a typical Wellington wind did at times try hard to unsettle fans.

I would have also liked to see the Seeds play out on an open-aired stage too. The big marquee was great for noise, and organisers might well have had Wellington dodgy weather in mind, but I am all about open stages.

Later on I opted for Gin Wigmore over Fat Freddy's Drop, but at the end of the day I wish I had stayed in Waitangi Park for Fat Freddy's. I like Wigmore's music, but I found her voice a bit screechy and the TSB Bank Arena sound quality didn't help at all.

The Feelers followed soon after Wigmore, and for whatever reason sound quality for these guys was top notch. I don't know why, but it either says something about Wigmore's performance or my ears. To be fair to Wigmore, her performance of 'Oh My' was an absolute hit for the TSB Bank Arena crowd.

The Feelers are one of those bands everyone loves to hate, but I thought they were wonderful. The classic Kiwi tunes they belted out were perfect for this type of event.

Sadly you can't be everywhere at Homegrown, so I missed out on Six60, who played their set while The Feelers were on.

It was a bit of a shame the two best stages were the furthest away from each other, but the organisers did a cracking job of fitting eight stages in.

At the end of the day, it says something about this event; while I saw some brilliant acts, I also missed some equally brilliant ones, as there is just so much fantastic talent on offer at Homegrown.

And while there might have been a number of sore heads this morning, I'm certain no one went home unsatisfied last night.

3 News

source: newshub archive