Hardwick Festival will return to Hardwick Hall at Sedgefield this month after being a casualty of the 2020 festival schedule alongside all other festivals last summer.
The growing festival continues to burgeon and once again boasts a line-up marrying nostalgia, bona fide legacy acts and contemporary musicians in fine fashion, alongside a host of other crowd-pleasing treats.
Despite the upheaval of the pandemic upending the originally planned 2020 line-up, some of it is retained. As a genuine crossover star, Rag n’ Bone Man deservedly graduates to the headline slot on the second night of the two-day, weekend fest. As a current player with major appeal, this is a significant indication of the festival’s future intent.
The other headliner will be Nile Rodgers and Chic. This is also a key signifier, perfectly representing the alternative piston of the Hardwick Festival engine. While inherently a throwback, Rodgers is a bigger draw now than at his creative peak in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, and one of the most decorated and recognisable musicians in the pop canon.
Critical re-evaluation of Rodgers’ work and standing truly dates to the past decade only, a great example of the phenomenon of how artistic perceptions morph. A headliner combining historic brilliance with a recent hardening of respect seems to speak directly to Hardwick’s modus operandi as a festival.
Rodgers is something of an outlier, given the festival’s general focus on British music, and the sub-headliners continue in a similar vein. Though hardly a fledgling act, local favourites Maxïmo Park, an understatement, hit #2 in the UK album charts with their seventh record earlier this year and continue to command a dedicated following.
Razorlight return to Hardwick as another band with no shortage of fond memories powering their continuance as a live concern; the band’s first two albums, in particular, are calcified as vital embodiments of the 2000s UK guitar scene. There are major fans of that period all over the country, often going unspoken but passionate about the overlying musical trends of their youth. Hardwick Festival undoubtedly taps into this.
There is plenty more on offer, expanded across multiple stages and tents. This includes Embrace, Imelda May, Rebecca Ferguson, a Soul Tent, an Introducing Stage, comedians and a range of other street entertainment, as well as an exclusive VIP area.
Despite last year’s interruption, Hardwick Festival is continuing to grow a name for itself, and it is being rewarded for knowing its audience extremely well and booking accordingly.
For further information, head to hardwickfestival.co.uk.
