Calling Festival — The common comes alive to the sound of rock

The common comes alive to the sound of rock

What makes a sunny Saturday on Clapham Common better? Calling Festival is what. The Oasis t-shirts were dug out from the depths of wardrobes and prised on in the anticipation of Noel Gallagher, whilst everyone else was sufficiently dressed in flip flops and shorts to make the most of the sun.

The festival grounds itself were not large, but this added to the feeling of a community – rock fans coming together for one day a year.

The environment was very relaxed; couples, families and groups of friends lay on the grass, lazing the day away while their favourite bands played, with the more avid fans getting closer to the stage taking in the full performance.

Under the fantastic creative construction put up for their performance, The Hives were great throughout their set; the energy, the joy all came through wonderfully. They jumped, dived and bounced their way through all their top songs, ending with ‘Hate to Say I Told You So’ – a crowd pleasing performance which was consistent throughout.

Wolf Alice - the must see band this summer, didn’t disappoint. The anticipation and hype around the 4 piece band were certainly founded, Ellie Rowsell, the lead singer, gave it everything. ‘Bros’ was amazing to hear live, the festival sound harnessed in a song, and ‘Blush’ was just beautiful – a real treat.

Noel Gallagher bowled out with his boyish confidence and gave the crowd what they wanted and more. A mixture of anthems from the headline act’s coveted albums, mixed in with some massive Oasis singalongs resulted in a big hitting set – ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ live would top any night.

Calling Festival, like last year, did not disappoint. Rock is certainly still alive and beating in the heart of Clapham – until next year.