GRONINGEN
21/09/24
line-up
Stone // pip blom // THE NORTHERN BOYS // CARI CARI // THAMES // MARtA KNIGHT // A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS // lander & adriaan // the vices
STONE
STONE are keen for you to know that they are from Liverpool. The city of Echo & The Bunnymen, OMD, The La’s, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and The Beatles, of course. The band’s exciting noise shows influences from the whole timeline. It has traces of rock, punk, techno and Britpop. The group existed as The Bohos for a number of years but decided to change their name in 2019. Just before lockdown, bassist Sarah Surrage joined the newly-coined STONE. She turned out to be the missing piece of the puzzle. Their isolation came to an end in 2021 with the adrenaline bomb ‘Let’s Dance To The Real Thing’. The follow-ups ‘Waste’ and ‘Money (Hope Ain’t Gone)’ made them one of the most promising acts of the time. They have since explored foreign lands as a support act to The Kooks and YUNGBLUD.
PIP BLOM
The indierock music of Pip Blom (who already played at Glastonbury) is characterized by their lively energy and infectious lyrics which are accomoanied by catchy melodies that remind you of grunge, britpop and rock from the ‘60 and ‘70. Since they came into existence the band is loved by audiences, media and radio. Their latest album “Bobbie” is out now and features a collab between Pip and Franz Ferdinand’s singer Alex Kapranos. Pip Blom is a Dutch hero and we’re proud to have her at ViceFest!
THE NORTHERN BOYS
The Northern Boys are a British Boomer Rap group composed of a trio of retirees. The “Party Time” rappers have been going viral since they formed in 2022. They are unhinged, shirtless, sweaty, bar spitting grandpa’s. Norman Pain and Patrick Karneigh are the group's only songwriters and performers, but they are considered a trio as they are always accompanied by a dancer known only as Kevin. You. Need. To. Experience. This.
Cari Cari
“Cari Cari is the biggest discovery of Primavera Sound Barcelona 2018”
- Rolling Stone Magazine
Cari Cari is Stephanie Widmer (Vocals, Drums & Didgeridoo) and Alexander Koeck (Vocals, Guitars). The duo lived in London, Hamburg and Madrid before releasing their debut album “Anaana”. They were called “the lovechild of The Kills and The xx” (IndieShuffle, US) “with the raw grit of a Cat Power record” (BestBefore, AUS) and “a pinch of Ennio Morricone ” (FM4, AUT). Since their inception, Cari Cari have been tirelessly working to create their own world, carefully crafting everything from their music to their artwork, videos to set design in-house. This meticulous attention to detail has earned the band a loyal following; Rolling Stone Magazine called them ‘the biggest discovery of Primavera Sound Festival’, their die-hard fans sold out 1000+ capacity rooms across Europe and their debut album was praised by the likes of NME, KCRW, Rolling Stone, BBC Radio 1 and many more.
However, for the band, all roads have led them to Kookoo Island. The product of years of world-building, the upcoming album Welcome To Kookoo Island, was born from a desire to retreat from modern-day life completely. “Kookoo Island is our libertatia, the utopia of what we think the world should be like,” explains Widmer. “It seems to be cuckoo to dream of such a place right now, but dreaming of what we want the world to be like is the first step towards making it a reality,” she continues.
Thames
THAMES is a brand new post-punk band centered around lead singer and guitarist Merlyn Baartman. With family ties to Suffolk, England, he is no stranger to British (and Irish) punk and new wave influences (including The Cure, Fontaines D.C. and IDLES). Although his UK predecessors have proven to be a great source of inspiration, it was only after he moved to Amsterdam that he realized how emotionally closed the British can be. Whilst struggling with the slowness of the emancipation of toxic masculinity and behavior, THAMES makes sure to combine high energy morality with modern post-punk sound.
marta knight
Marta Knight says she only wants to craft songs to listen to in her room when everyone is asleep. The 23-year-old Barcelonan, who spent her adolescence obsessed with Oasis, The Stone Roses and The Smiths before falling hard for singer-songwriters like Johnny Cash, Tracy Chapman, and Bob Dylan, writes for the nocturnal space between midnight and the dawn. Her songs soundtrack late-night confessions–the moments when one is just as likely to fall in love as they are to stare at the ceiling, wondering just what it is they’re doing with their lives and where anything could possibly lead.
hunk
In the spirit of bold acts like Gwen Stefani and Blondshell, Joan de Bruyn Kops fronts diet grunge-pop band HUNK — escaping the perfectionistic demands of her brain. With a total absence of pretense, HUNK tackles skin-deep agony, blending '90s grunge with infectious synth-pop. Proving that getting frustrated can be a blast, if you play your cards right...
the vices
The Vices are the main initiators behind ViceFest. Normally they bring a mix of big city rock and surf rock. Imagine Cage The Elephant and The Strokes having a love-child who happens to possess a live-energy that reminds one of the early Chili Peppers. Those are some big names, but above all The Vices always stay true to themselves. Staying true to yourself also means knowing where you come from and who/what inspired you. Every year at ViceFest the band dedicates their set to pay homage to artists that they love. This edition The Vices will play a full Woodstock themed set. The band has been inspired by great musicians such as Santana, Canned Heat, Hendrix and many many more. So you know what to expect. But for this special set The Vices will also play music from bands who played at later editions of the festival. This will be wild.