Arriving at the deceptively huge venue ‘The Epic’ in the centre of Dalston was perfect to begin the festival watching NZCA Lines. After an unsure start the band pulled it together to deliver a powerful electric performance bringing the audience closer and creating interaction from the start. The band led by lead singer Michael Lovett, brought together a visually strong aesthetic that compliments their music- a good example of using image to deliver the bands identity.

I’ve been a long fan of Tom Vek ever since hosting the artist at a club night called The Wolfgang Bopp at the Montague Arms in Peckham in 2007 and so it was bringing back all sorts of nostalgic memories as he played an impeccable set at The Refreshment Centre. Tracks from his latest album ‘Luck’ were mixed perfectly with tracks such as ‘C-C (You Set the Fire in Me) and ‘I Ain’t Saying My Goodbyes’ from his very first album ‘We Have Sound’. The venue seemed perfect for hosting Vek’s crisp transitional visuals acting as a striking backdrop to what became such a personal gig.

My highlight of the festival was getting the chance to see Brolin– an artist I’ve been following since seeing him support Gold Panda at St Johns Church in Clapton nearly a year ago. Birthday’s hosted the gig allowing the performance to become intimate (the best attribute of the festival) with a lot of interaction and northern humour from Brolin between songs.  He’s hugely developed as an artist and having just released his EP ‘Swim Deep’ I’m really excited for his future success labelling him as someone to watch.

Overall I was genuinely impressed with the festival and it’s down to good planning. I had a fear that it would be difficult to get into venues due to queuing and that I would miss out on new talent but with very helpful staff everything ran smoothly. At a price of £25, this festival is unbelievably good value and I can only see good things for the Land of Kings Festival.

Words & Images: LXN