Friday 28 June 2013

Indietracks 2013 schedule revealed!




Today we’re delighted to announce which bands will be playing on which days and on which stages at Indietracks this year. In total over 50 bands will be playing at the festival, as well as a host of DJs, and craft workshops.

We’ve provided a quick summary of the day line-ups below, and there’s a full line-up with stage details and times available at: www.indietracks.co.uk/schedule.html

Friday 26 July:
Bis + The Tuts + Big Wave + DJs

Saturday 27 July:
Camera Obscura + The Pastels + The Wave Pictures + The Brilliant Corners + Haiku Salut + The Secret History + Milky Wimpshake + The Magic Theatre + Emma Kupa + Cars Can Be Blue + The McTells + The Understudies plus 15 other artists, DJs and craft workshops.

Sunday 28 July:
Still Corners + Helen Love + The Wake + The Lovely Eggs + The Ballet + Kid Canaveral + Monnone Alone + Without Feathers+ Martha + Another Sunny Day + Fear Of Men + Flowers + Making Marks plus 15 other artists, DJs and craft workshops.

Weekend and day tickets
Tickets are £72 (weekend) and £38 (day – Saturday or Sunday) for adults. Children's tickets are just £10 (weekend) and £6 (day). Under 5s can come for free! Tickets are available by phoning the Midland Railway on 01773 747674 or by visiting: www.indietracks.co.uk/tickets.html

Hope to see you in July!

Wednesday 26 June 2013

Indietracks interview #16: Without Feathers



Interview by Claire Walker

Without Feathers are a wonderful trio comprising of, Emma Kupa from Standard Fare, Nat Johnson from Monkey Swallows the Universe and singer/songwriter Rory McVicar. The music is beautifully gentle and charming but is really only best explained by listening (and purchasing?) the ‘Three Songs’ EP on their Bandcamp page. This is definitely one band to watch.


Hello Without Feathers, thank you for taking the time to take part in this interview. How did you three of you meet and decide to form a band?

Emma: I met Rory through Nat and loved both their music as soon as I heard it.

Nat: I've known Rory since my Monkey Swallows the Universe days when I invited him up to Sheffield to play with us and we've been friends ever since. And Emma and I were introduced through a mutual label - Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation (RIP). When Rory got in touch about organising a gig in Sheffield earlier this year, I suggested Emma get involved too, and then instead of the three of us sharing a bill, I had the not-so-crazy-after-all idea that we could actually form a band. And they said yes.

Rory: Yeh, Nat's definitely the glue that holds us together! I've known her for years, and we've played in each others solo records in the past, too. She put me on at the Grapes in Sheffield a few years back. Standard Fare played an acoustic set that evening and I thought they were fantastic. I was surprised when I took the record home and discovered they were usually an electric band! Since then we've all played gigs together and become good friends.

You named the band after a Woody Allen book, what is the reasoning behind this?

Emma: Nat? I was recently bought the book and it’s a good read! Much more off the wall than we are.

Nat: Aye, I'm a fan, and when I first read that one I remember thinking it would be a great name for a band. And we didn't have any better ideas!

Rory: I think at the time we had a working title of ERN. Just imagine the kind of music we would have made under that name. It would have been awful!

The 'three songs' album is beautiful was it intentional for each of you to take turns in being lead vocalist?

Emma: Thanks! It probably makes sense to split things equally as we all have massive egos! ;)

Nat: We do have songs where the vocals are shared too, and are working on more, but I think this was a nice way to introduce the band to people who know us from our previous ones. Also, because we all live in different parts of the country, we're emailing each other songs and then putting our own mark on them. It's more difficult to write fully collaboratively when you're rarely in the same room.

Rory: Emma's right - it's definitely the egos.

What can we expect from your Indietracks performance?

Emma: Smiles and songs played with heart by friends.

Nat: What she said :)

Rory: Bone-crunching riffs.

What solo surprises do have in store for us Emma?

Emma: No idea yet. I'm playing on the train so I want to be loud enough. My instinct is to play requests so a bit of solo/bit of SF, and some new stuff.

What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Emma: We're playing some gigs over the summer and writing more. Seeing where the tide takes us.

Rory: more gigs / more songs and also the potential of a DIY release later in the summer.

Many thanks for taking part, looking forward to seeing you at Indietracks!

Monday 24 June 2013

Final bands announced and compilation released!


The final bands have today been announced for Indietracks! Ten bands have been added to the festival line-up – The Wake, Kid Canaveral, Another Sunny Day, Emma Kupa of Standard Fare, The Art Club, Bloomer, Pete Green, Enderby’s Room,  Owl and Mouse, and The Choo Choo Trains. There will also be an indiepop singalong on a steam train, led by Kevin, tonieee and Markie.

The Wake are a legendary Scottish post punk and indie pop band, founded in Glasgow in 1981 by Gerard “Caesar” McInulty (formerly of Altered Images), Steven Allen and Joe Donnelly, who was later replaced for a period by Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie. They released records on Factory Records and Sarah Records, toured with New Order and recorded for John Peel. In autumn 2009, McInulty and Allen came together once again to record a new album, "A Light Far Out", released in April 2012.

Kid Canaveral are a two-boy/two-girl group from Edinburgh, who are part of the acclaimed Fence Record collective. Their debut album Shouting At Wildlife was released to rave reviews in 2010 and they’ve played festivals across the UK and overseas, including T in the Park , South By Southwest and Fence’s Homegame.

Today also sees the release of the annual Indietracks compilation album, featuring more than 40 songs from a wide selection of bands playing this year’s festival and including some exclusive tracks. All proceeds from the compilation go to the Midland Railway charity, and there is a minimum donation fee of £2, although we'd encourage you to donate what you can please. It's available now from:
http://indietracks.bandcamp.com

More than 50 bands are due to play this year’s Indietracks, held at the Midland Railway in Derbyshire, including Bis on Friday 26 July, Camera Obscura and The Pastels on Saturday 27 July, and Still Corners and Helen Love on Sunday 28 July.

Tickets for Indietracks are available at £72 (weekend) and £38 (day). Weekend tickets for children aged 5-15 are £10, or £6 for a day ticket. Children under 5 get in free. Tickets are available by calling the railway direct on 01773 747 674 or visiting:
www.indietracks.co.uk/tickets.html 

Hope to see you in July!



Saturday 22 June 2013

Indietracks interview #15: The Lovely Eggs



Interview by Claire Walker.

The Lovely Eggs are a punk rock married duo from Lancaster, England. They have released three albums as well as playing hundred of gigs in Europe and USA. They have played at the Indietracks festival twice before and this year they will be joined by a special new addition to the family, baby Arlo.

Hello Holly and David, how does being a married couple and making music together work?

Well it means we get to go on tour together and drink Strongbow and have a laugh and meet new people which is pretty great really. For some reason people often think it might be difficult being married and being in a band together but it's not like that at all. In fact it makes it easy. And we've just had a baby, so we've got a whole family going on tour this summer. It works for us anyway, even though we know most people might think our workings are strange.

Where did your 'do what we like' ethos come from?

Punk Rock. It's the best and the only agenda to form a band.

How do you feel about playing Indietracks again this year? It must almost feel like a second home?

Looking forward to it. We played it the very first year on the steam train to three people watching and then again in the church a couple of years later where we ended up queuing to get into our own gig, so who knows what it will be like this time! If the Strongbow-ometer is anything to go by from last time, it should be a good un. Last time we ended up sleeping on the floor of Cherryade Records hotel room and woke up with pounding hangovers to the sound of the door bursting open and a high pitched scream announcing "house keeping" which is Cherryade Records' idea of a practical joke. Nothing is funny when you have a hangover that bad.

Is there anyone you are particularly keen to see at this year's festival?

It looks like a really good line up this year. Helen Love will be top of our list to see. Also Cars Can Be Blue (who we toured America with and are insane in a good way), The Wave Pictures of course, The Pastels, but loads really.

Can we expect anything new from the band this year?

Well we've just had a baby so that's our latest release and he will be coming on tour with us this summer. We've been writing some new songs but not sure when they'll be out yet. We've not really toured our new album Wildlife that much because Holly was 6 months pregnant when it came out so we're looking forward to playing some of the songs off that album live.

Thank you The Lovely Eggs looking forward to seeing you at Indietracks.    
 

Wednesday 19 June 2013

Art and craft workshops revealed!



(Bunting workshop. Photo: Fabric Nation)  


As well as steam trains and lots of fantastic bands, this year's Indietracks festival will once again feature a wide range of art and craft workshops for all the family! Today we can reveal the full schedule.

Saturday 27 July

2pm: Rock and Roll Sock Puppets!
Create a rock and roll sock puppet based on your favourite popstar. Channel the punk spirit of Helen Love or the joyful duo of The Lovely Eggs, get creative and let your inner indie kid run free with this fun, hands on workshop.

3pm: Nosing with Norris
Spot as many Norris Cole (from Coronation Street) faces and pithy put-downs as you can dotted around the Indietracks site and win prizes.

4pm: Decorating Canvas Bags
Get creative and impress festival-goers with your own custom-designed canvas bags – a must-have Indietracks fashion accessory and perfect for record shopping!

5pm: Three Cheers for Indietracks
Learn cheerleading moves with the Radical Cheerleaders of the Nort, including creating a cheer for Indietracks with some hot moves to go along with it.

Sunday 28 July

1pm: Tip Top Indiepop Pop Quiz
Gordon and Katey present the ultimate indiepop nerd challenge. Get a team togethers and start brushing up on your pop facts!

2pm: PomPom Pets
Missing your favourite pet at Indietracks? Make a pompom and then craft it into a small animal, which you can take away to keep you company after the workshop.

3pm: How to create iconic indiepop album covers in Lego
Work as a team to build Lego versions of a couple of classic album covers of bands playing Indietracks.

4pm: Wet Felt Making
Come and try your hand at traditional wet felt making - make a piece of your own felt, and create a badge, necklace hair bobble or wristband.

5pm: Make your own bow-tie!
Make your own bow-ties and collars, using a selection of weird and wonderful fabrics, jewels, bit and bobs and really stand out with these exciting custom fashion accessories.

We’ll be finding out a bit more about each of these workshops in the coming weeks on the blog, so stay tuned!

Sunday 16 June 2013

Indietracks interview #14: Frozy



Interview by Salle Pierre Lamy. Introductory band description by Michal William, Cafe Kino, Bristol.  

Frozy are Irina, Nicol and Rhiannon from London and south east England, sometimes joined by friends from other lands. They ask for little, and give plenty! Theirs is a dream-pop slumber-party that twangs with twin guitars entwined, and dips the chips in a bittersweet treat! Love songs played for sheer joy; a minimal twist of pounding hearts; a record player spilled over with Beat Happening and Wandering Lucy singles; a colossal rush of impulse, channeled as DIY enthusiasm!

Their lo-fi approach is unfussed and effortless; an authentic promise of summer-spun rain, and disarming honesty. When they sing, it is as though they are singing to each other, and you’re accomplice to the conspiracy - but you already wanted in on their gang, to get into reckless pangs and tangles! Frozy also co-run the trans-atlantic-based Trilingual Records label, which has released their Pulling Daisies album.

Today, Edgar and Bryce from Salle Pierre Lamy are making their debut as guest interviewers. You may remember them from this puppet-based video from last year's Indietracks, featuring Allo Darlin', Tigercats, Tender Trap and more! They spoke to Nicol & Irina from the band...

It seems a bit of a cliché to compare your music to other musicians' tunes (especially when you can listen to it right here http://frozy.bandcamp.com/) so please describe what you sound like using all senses other than hearing.

Sight - Twenty somethings awkwardly dancing, sometimes becoming children, who are great at dancing.
Smell - Fragrant soapy, but not perfumey
Touch: when you stick your finger in a (big or small) body of water and briefly and barely touch a fish
Taste: eating your favourite candy then going swimming in the sea then choking on salt water and the candy flavour may come out your nose a little too

So we are going to cage you in our own private thunderdome and force you to fight another band barehanded. Who would you be evenly matched with? We want a fair fight.

We would fight The Tinklers. We're not too good at fighting, and I don't think they'd be so into it either. They'd probably just want to talk it over and figure something else out.

The Tinklers are the best.

Halfway through the battle we want to spice things up and introduce some weapons. Which musical instruments do you pick to arm yourselves with?

If we had to use a musical instrument for violence it would be the glockenspiel. It's piercing.

Bryce Dilemma: With the ‘amazing’ success of The Hobbit just recently, Peter Jackson is gearing up for The Hobbit 2! It’s set in winter and Frodo makes an appearance in this film and he wants to promote that. He’s asking you to tweak your band name just a bit so it rhymes with Frodo, so, Frozo (it’s just one little letter!) Working directly with PJ and McDonald’s, you’ll create an exclusive McHobbit track and video for the promotion of McFrozo pops and the movie.

You and your music will be used for all global promotional material. You’ll be dressed as Hobbits! You will each receive exclusive Golden Arches membership meal cards for life! Pete and Ronald are waiting for your answer, so hurry up!

We are sorry Peter Jackson, but Frozy don't feel comfortable working with McDonalds, and neither should you. Although, back in 2010, after a show in Belgium, a drunk person called Nicol, Rhiannon and our friend Morgan Orion, Hobbits, in an aggressive, derogatory way. The day after that, all our clothes were stolen.


Wednesday 12 June 2013

Indietracks interview #13: Lardpony



Straight outta Derby, Lardpony are making a return to the first team squad after a few seasons out with babies, solo projects, and beards. They write pop songs that are so clever they could teach A-Level biology in a secondary school. Sam from A Layer Of Chips kindly interviewed them for our blog.

You're finally playing Indietracks again; about time isn't it?
It has been many years since our last appearance! BUT - since we were disbanded for the 2009 - 2012 events, somewhat inevitable. We're delighted that we've managed to sneak back onto the bill though as it was a driving force behind our reunion, that we might be able to play at Indietracks again!

Lardpony have recently got back together. Why, and why the hiatus?
Well, we were torn apart by adult responsibilities. The Lardpony Classic(TM) "couple unit" of Nathan (bass) and Mandy (keyboard) had a couple of babies and the logistics of organising childcare for every practice, gig and recording session were too much hassle. Eventually though, the desire to play live with a band began to nag at me again and I reasoned that starting a new band from scratch would be an odd thing to do since I'd already found the people I wanted to share my life with (pause for retching). We stole our new keyboard player, Swap, from Nathan's other band TheMakingOf (who played Indietracks in 2012) and lurched back into action with a satisfying crunching sound.

Have the band played festivals before?
Only Indietracks 2008, but I feel like it would have been a struggle for any other festival to live up to that experience. It was "the sunny year" - anyone else who was there might still have a bit of a residual tan. We played in the church, which was relentlessly hot. It was excellent.

You've been to Indietracks as punters before - how does it compare to other festivals?
My experience of other festivals has been at the other end of the scale, somewhat - I went to Reading festival five times between 1998 and 2002 and watched it slowly become more and more swamped with Limp Bizkit fans who were only there to set things on fire. That hasn't happened at Indietracks yet.

Who are you looking forward to seeing at Indietracks?
Bis! I've been a big fan since their early singles and we played with their (brilliant) other band Data Panik a few years ago. Helen Love, too! Of the newer bands, I've been looking forward to seeing Good Grief for ages.

What should we expect from Lardpony at Indietracks?
We've got a lot of new stuff! What with having a new band member, we found it was more fun working on new stuff together rather than going over too many old songs. That's not to say there won't be a couple of familiar tunes, though. All of our new songs seem to be quite fast.

What's coming up for the band? New record?
We've recorded seven new songs that we're hopefully going to finish mixing very soon, and then we'll attempt to work out what to do with them. We're quietly hopeful that maybe somebody will want to put them out. Or some of them, at least. We've never actually released a single, so it would be quite entertaining to have a debut single out 10 years (and one lengthy hiatus) after our first gig. The first of the new songs will be on the Indietracks compilation! I've also got a new Vom Vorton album recorded that I'll be releasing soon, hopefully in time to drag a few copies over to Indietracks and thrust them upon people...

Will you play Noxious Gas for me, please?
THAT CAN BE ARRANGED.


Saturday 8 June 2013

Indietracks interview #12: Fear of Men




By Stuart Huggett

Brighton’s Fear of Men came together after Daniel (guitar) attended an exhibition of filmwork by Goldsmiths student Jess (vocals, guitar) that featured her home-recorded soundtracks. After swapping mixtapes, the pair started Fear Of Men, a highly melodic group influenced by the bright guitar sounds of the 4AD and Flying Nun labels, American college rock and contemporary artists such as Grouper.

From 2011 to 2012, Fear of Men released two cassettes and three 7”s – ‘Ritual Confession’ (Italian Beach Babes), ‘Green Sea’ (Sexbeat) and ‘Mosaic’ (Too Pure). Earlier this year, Brooklyn’s Kanine Records compiled their singles on the album ‘Early Fragments’.

The Fear of Men line-up is completed by Robyn (bass) and Mike (drums). The band have recently been recording their debut album in Hove’s Church Road Studios with Julian Tardo (formerly of 90s groups Earwig and Insides).

Jess took time out to answer some questions for Indietracks.

How's the album coming along? What are the advantages of recording near home?

We’ve been recording on and off for a few months now. It's a lot easier for us, as we can walk to the studio and save money. I guess it might be nice to go somewhere in the middle of nowhere but having jobs we need to fit our music around that. Church Road Studios is a great place to work, we feel really comfortable there and that was important as we’re producing the album ourselves. Julian, who’s engineering, is a great guy and is very happy to go along with what we want to do.

Have you settled on a label to release it?

We want to finish the album entirely ourselves before we show it to anyone. It's important that we make a record we are proud of and we don't want to confuse that with outside influences and opinions until we're ready.

How did Robyn and Mike come to join the band?

Mike is an old friend of mine, we've been playing in bands together since we were teenagers and Dan and I knew we wanted to work with him on this. Robyn we met in Brighton and she learnt bass to join the band.

Are the lyrics all written by you? Which of your songs are you most proud of?

Yes, I’m the main songwriter and all lyrics are my work. I’m proud of ‘Green Sea’ – I think it was a song that we all fell in love with, and helped to shape the direction we wanted to take. It worked well as an early demo, but we all really pulled together on the instrumentation to make it more than that. I'm excited by the new songs we’re in the process of finishing off, where we’re really challenging ourselves.

How healthy is the Brighton scene is at the moment?

The Brighton music scene is always healthy, as it seems to be a place that musicians gravitate towards to play with other musicians. It’s also very diverse, which I think’s a good thing.

What other musicians have you become friends with?

Kip from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is really nice and really excited about new music. Frankie Rose and her band are also really cool – a lot of them play in other groups too, so it's a nice way to hear about other projects. We've played quite a lot of shows with Mac De Marco too. We all really like his album and had fun hanging out in Mexico when we were playing Festival Nrmal.

Why do you use historical and religious artefacts on your sleeves?

We like a considered, archival, timeless quality to our artwork. In brief, it's about fragmentation and melancholy – mourning for our mortality through statues, an idea I got interested in from reading Freud's (essay) ‘The Uncanny’. We find them by visiting museums, charity shops for second hand books, library trips... So far it hasn't been too hard to retain control over the art, we've been lucky in choosing to work with labels who support our vision. We’re not very flexible though, so I doubt we would work with anyone who wasn't into the same things as us.

How was Fear of Men’s trip to SXSW this year?

SXSW was great – we'd been warned that the crowds are very 'industry' so they might not be too responsive, but it didn't seem like that at all. It was great to get to meet people like Chris from Gorilla vs. Bear and Duncan from The Fader, who’ve supported us for a long time. We're going back in the summer to play Seaport Festival in NY and FYF Fest in LA, so those should be fun.

Have any of you been to Indietracks?

We've never been before as it's quite a way from Brighton but we're really looking forward to it! I'm excited to see Still Corners and The Wave Pictures.

How important is the DIY scene to you?

DIY culture is important to us, and we've released most of our material so far on DIY labels. We're more comfortable in that world than with some other aspects of the music industry. People like Conan from Italian Beach Babes are in it for the right reasons, to just put good music out there and promote new music. We're not part of any scene but DIY culture in general has given us a sense of freedom in what we do.

What are your current non-musical influences?

I've been reading a lot of Philip Larkin poetry and the writings of the artist Louise Bourgeois, which I'm sure are seeping into my songwriting.

Wednesday 5 June 2013

Indietracks interview #11: Flowers



Despite only having formed in April/May last year, Flowers have already toured Europe with The Pains Of Being Pure Of Heart and recorded with Stuart Moxham of Young Marble Giants, whom they have now just supported at a sold out Dingwalls! Fittingly, Flowers draw a line between the joyous fuzzpop of the Pains and the minimalist brilliance of Young Marble Giants – with screaming distortion calming down to singer Rachel playing solo on a one-stringed bass. The trio create a wall of sound larger than the sum of their parts - catchy pop songs hidden in noise.

The band have a 7" 'When You Lie' out on Cloudberry, and will release a single soon on Oddbox Records, Flowers will also be releasing a single and album soon with Fortuna POP!.

Today's guest interviewer is Niall from The Spook School. You have been warned!

Hello Flowers, I am going to need to see some identity papers, who are you?

To speak for everyone, we're Sam, Jordan and Rachel, but I (Rachel) am answering on behalf of all of us today.

How did you start making noise together?

Sam had this idea for a band a long time ago... Just took a while to find the right people. He remembered Jordan from college as being a good drummer, so he got in touch and bought him drinks and that was that. I answered an ad he put up on Gumtree for a singer. My audition was writing a melody and lyrics to sing over some demos Sam had made... We had so much fun doing it we haven't stopped since.

You have recently signed up with Fortuna POP! how did you start this sexy relationship? And what are the future release plans with the label?

Sean (of Fortuna POP!) just emailed us one day and casually said he was probably too late asking but were we looking for a label?... Fortuna POP! was the label we dreamed of signing with in the UK from the start, so naturally we said "yes"! Sean had only heard or early bandcamp demos, and hadn't seen us perform even, but apparently his good friends Trev (Oddbox) and Ian (How Does It Feel?) put in good words after seeing us live, so we have them to thank for that! We'll be releasing a single with the label imminently, and an album not too long after that. We can't wait!

A band that likes to explore, trekking around Europe with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and plans for New York's Popfest in June, what's it like travelling as a band? Does anybody have any bad habits? (I am a serial snorer and complainer when it comes to lifting things.)

We all get on ridiculously well. We also all live together, and somehow we've never had even a minor argument about anything!

Playing Indietracks do you have any secret weapons for your set? Pyrotechnics? Backing-dancers?

Sticking to songs ourselves, I think! But anyone coming can do whatever makes them happy as long as it's not too dangerous.

If you could have the perfect rider what would it be? (I would have beer, buckfast, and a boardgame)

The last tour we just asked for water, fizzy water, beer when possible and fruit... We later added wine as Jordan wanted to learn to appreciate it.

SCENARIO: Zombies are attacking just as Flowers take to the stage, you looking out into the crowd and see an undead horde making everybody frown (and die), how will you save the day?

Just play our set as usual. Our songs are very short, and from what I've seen in films the undead move incredibly slowly, so I bet we could finish our set anyway, and then tell everyone to move to a different and less hazardous position somewhere else.

If I were to try and marry all of Flowers what kind of bouquet would work best to seduce you?

Sam and I have hay fever, and Jordan's never mentioned any kind of penchant for bouquets, so let's just be friends : )    

Sunday 2 June 2013

10 things to do at Indietracks this year!


(Photo: missekawasaki)

Indietracks isn’t just about the amazing bands, inspiring workshops, crazy discos, fine food and carefully selected real ales! There’s also a wide range of attractions at the steam railway site.  Many of these will already be familiar to some Indietracks visitors, but we just thought it would be worth posting up about a few things for anyone visiting for the first time this year!

1. Take advantage of the free steam train rides
Seven years on from the first Indietracks, and we still get excited by the train whistles, puffs of steam and the old style train carriages! You can watch a band or two playing in one of the carriages, or just gaze dreamily out of the window at the glorious Derbyshire countryside! Steam train rides are free all day.

Most visitors will arrive at the Butterley entrance to the Midland Railway (unless  you’re camping), in which case your first Indietracks experience will be taking a short steam train trip to our main festival site at Swanwick Junction – a great way to start the weekend!

2. Take a walk in the country park
This is less well known than the steam train rides, of course, but just as wonderful. Beyond the Swanwick Junction museum area, there’s 35 acres of gorgeous woodland, with a wide range of wildlife areas and great views of the steam trains. There’s further details and suggested walking routes here: Midland Railway Country Park

3. Impromptu performances in the merchandise tent
The merchandise tent is not only a treasure trove of indiepop bargains and other fabulous stalls. There’s also the occasional impromptu acoustic performance, as coordinated by our favourite record labels during the weekend, and sometimes advertised via a lovingly crafted piece of A4 paper displayed among the records, CDs and cassettes.  We’ll try and tweet about them over the weekend, but it will be a mystery to us too!   


(White Town performing in our merch tent in 2011. Photo: Another Form Of Relief)

4. Visit the Matthew Kirtley Museum
Sometimes overlooked among all the bands and workshops, we’d definitely recommend taking a look around amazing museum. There’s a unique collection of locomotives and rolling stock covering steam, diesel and electric power from the 1860s to the present day. It also houses a significant collection of vintage carriages restored at the Midland Railway!



(Photo: davidwilsonclarke)  

5. Hit the railway memorabilia shop
A chance to stock up on railway-themed souvenirs. You can buy proper train driver caps, "choo choo" kazoo-style whistles, postcards, posters and all sorts! The shop is nestled in the newly-built Swanwick station building, which was of course refurbished with the support of generous donations from Indietracks visitors a couple of years ago – thank you again!

6. Enjoy the Golden Valley Light Railway
This narrow gauge train ride runs through the nearby country park. On its journey, it also goes past our outdoor  stage, so you can wave at the audience as you glide past in style.  There’s bonus points if you can get a band to wave at you from the stage!

7. Hit the Road Transport Gallery
The large building below Johnson’s Buffet houses a collection of historic fork lift trucks and road vehicles. Last year, they were using a vintage restored steamroller to crush empty drink cans, and there’s also lots of buses from way back in the day.

8. Children’s play area
Allow your children to let off some of their own steam (ha!) at the railway’s play area, next to the church stage. There’s even a wooden replica train and carriages. Useful if you want to distract a child from asking you to buy them a ukulele.

9. Visit the town of Ripley
Ripley is more than just somewhere to stock up on camping supplies, sun cream and whichever clothes you forgot to pack. As well as high street shops and a couple of pubs, there’s some 19th-century architecture such as Butterley Hall, and the rather impressive Church of All Saints, erected near to the market place in 1820-21, which has a distinctive tower. If you’re feeling adventurous, you could even visit the Denby Pottery Visitor Centre.

10. Ride the Butterley Miniature Railway
This might be the best kept secret at Indietracks. In fact, we haven’t actually been on this ourselves, or even met anyone that has actually been on the miniature railway. Anyway, there’s a path leading from either side of the Matthew Kirtley Building up to the Butterley Park Miniature Railway. This line goes around a park behind the museum and operates every Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday from Easter to the end of September, so it should be open on the last day of Indietracks.

There’s a map of the Swanwick Junction site here, which shows where to find the museums, miniature railway, light railway and country park (our outdoor stage will be right in the middle!): Swanwick Junction map

Do tell us if you think there's anything we've missed! Write to indietracksfestival@gmail.com or just leave a comment here!