FESTIVAL PREVIEW: Burn It Down Festival 2018

August 31, 2018 James Weaver

Festival season may be drawing to a close but before the cold nights of winter set in, there are still a crop of festivals on offer to keep the positive vibes of the summer flowing. Burn It Down Festival is one such event. Situated in the quaint and idyllic seaside town of Torquay, the inaugural edition of the festival offers alternative music fans one last hurrah before we say goodbye to festival season for another year.

Held across The Foundry, The Attic and The Apple and Parrot venues, Burn It Down Festival might not boast the sheer scope compared to the bigger and more notorious events on the festival calendar, but to dismiss the event is doing it a disservice. MALLORY KNOX have been building a solid base in the UK’s alternative music scene for some time now and in a way, they are a fitting headliner for the first edition of Burn It Down. Expect big choruses and sing-a-longs aplenty. Despite today’s heart-wrenching news that ARCANE ROOTS would be taking a long break, Burn It Down offers one bittersweet chance to see the UK alt rockers one last time. Following breathtaking sets at Download and 2000 Trees earlier in the summer, rising post hardcore crew DREAM STATE hit up Burn It Down and will surely continue to build the hype for what we consider to be one of the best new bands to break out this year.

Aside from the pull of the big headliner, Burn It Down Festival boasts a lineup that encapsulates the wide spectrum of alternative music. On the heavier end of the spectrum, the day’s event packs a bountiful crop of bands that will threaten to pummel you into oblivion. MALEVOLENCE will incite sheer chaos, LOTUS EATER will have bodies moving, DEATH REMAINS will continue to build on their budding reputation and CARCER CITY will blow your ears clean off.

If breakdowns and brutality aren’t your bag then fear not, as Burn It Down Festival has a bunch of bands that opt for soaring melodies over mosh calls. Continuing to support the stellar Here’s To The Fatigue, PRESS TO MECO will perform what we expect to be one of the sets of the day and will surely continue to build on their booming reputation whilst UK pop punk favourites ROAM will give a set that captures those summer festival vibes. Throw in nu-metal/metalcore crew SHVPES who will drop anthems aplenty, the self-described musical style of melodiposipassiongroove from Exeter’s NAPOLEON or the upbeat nature of THE BOTTOM LINE, it’s fair to say that Burn It Down has more than got you covered.

To stand amongst the competition as a successful festival, you’d better have a strong undercard, and in Burn It Down Festival‘s case, not only is theirs strong, it boasts an arsenal of some of the hottest emerging talent. HOMEWRECKED, VERIDIAN, WOLF CULTURE, CONTINENTS, SHADED, AMERICANSIGNLANGUAGE and plenty more will perform throughout the day across the festival’s three stages showcasing that the festival has the pulse on the scene’s next generation of killer bands.

With a diverse lineup, Burn It Down Festival has put together a strong and striking billing for its inaugural year and, if the stars align and the event goes off without a hitch, we may be venturing to the seaside of Torquay on a yearly basis.