Get Together Festival Review: A day of indie delight in the Steel City sun

Get Together, Sheffield's annual multi-venue indie soiree, took over the venues of Kelham Island this Saturday, transforming the historic industrial surrounds of the Steel City’s coolest neighbourhood - their second edition at the site - into a vibrant sun-soaked hub of excellent music, great food (Peddler never disappoint), and a healthy serving of quality booze. 

The lineup saw country pop extraordinaire CMAT in her first-ever headline show, with acts like Gruff Rhys, Porij, The Bug Club, Home Counties, Heartworms, Dolores Forever and so many more across the eight venues. 

The people of Sheffield came in their forces too. With a cloudless sky overhead and the masses clad in t-shirts from the diverse acts playing throughout the day; and from what we saw, they packed out every single venue no matter who was playing.

It truly felt like a testament to the organisers and their booking policies, and despite quite a few cancellations and replacements last minute, we didn't run into a single person who wasn't having the best day. Check out who we saw and what we thought below!

Our day began at The Get Together Stage in Peddlers on a high choral note with the wonderful Neighbourhood Voices. A local, female-led, modern pop choir; the group opened the main stage with grace and style as their harmonious vibes, bright pink dress code, and infectious smiles stole the hearts and ears of the crowd that had come to watch. Their choral renditions of pop tracks old and new set the perfect tone for the day, and was the first of three sets the group would do across the festival. 

Staying put on the Get Together Stage, the seamless transition from the choral harmonies of Neighbourhood Voices to the emotionally charged set from Dolores Forever showcased the festival's eclectic range right from the start.

Dolores Forever were a band we singled out as a must-see, and they more than lived up to expectations. Their driving and cathartic brand of indie pop explored themes of love and relationships, and the dual vocals from close friends Hannah Wilson, hailing from Yorkshire, and Julia Fabrin, originally from Copenhagen, were effervescent. From teaching us the wholesome reprise of "Shut Up and Eat the Pasta" from their track ‘Someday Best’, to the standout unreleased track ‘Split Lip’ which blew an entranced audience away; their set was pure magic and packed out the Get Together Stage.

After a quick food and ice cream (needed) break and an unfortunate cancellation from City Parking, we had our schedule thrown for a loop, so we just decided to pop into the closest venue and headed over to Temple of Fun for Sailor Honeymoon, a band we’d never heard of but the promise of all-female Korean punk more than had us intrigued. 

Hailing all the way from Seoul, Sailor Honeymoon embodied all the classic punk sensibilities but with a playful and non-conformist edge that saw their wicked instrumentation gnaw through tracks like the barbed ‘PMS Police’, another track which they hilariously noted was the price of tofu at their local market, and their set closer ‘Fuck Yourself’, an incendiary track about a cheating ex, which saw them invite girls from the audience on stage to dance with them and go crazy (see picture above). A true festival moment that saw a packed-out Temple of Fun lap-up. 

Now, throughout the day, Grafters Bar had a little outdoor pop-up, where some of the festival acts would come and do some secret, stripped-back sets, and we were buzzing to find out one of our favourites (who due to clashes we would unfortunately have to miss later on) Home Counties, would be one of them. 

Set in the intimate courtyard of Grafters, three of the six members of Home Counties, armed with a guitar, a synth, and a drum machine gave the lucky few who piled in a stripped-back set to remember. The reworkings of their oft high-octane tracks for their relaxed setting provided a refreshing change of pace and displayed an innovation that their artistry shine. Plus, finishing off with a cover of Britney Spears's "Toxic" was a deft touch and provided many a smile. 

Back over on the Get Together Stage in Peddlers, we caught the end of The Bug Club, who brought their wavy, guitar-fueled surf rock, and collective attire to match their sound. The shift from Home Counties' intimate acoustic melodies to The Bug Club's energetic surf rock delivers a dynamic livewire into our bones that kept us in check after being soothed in the sun for an hour. 

Then swiftly after we got treated to the legend himself Gruff Rhys. With him and his band presenting themselves as a fictional logistics company, clad in all-white, reminiscent of the coolest waste disposal men ever, the Super Furry Animals frontman brought humour and charisma to the stage in a way only a seasoned vet of his stature could. The band had audience prompt cards that had the masses in stitches, whether it was for applause breaks, the shout-out of Pang during the song of the same title, or a brilliant caricature of a Welsh explorer from the 1770s (see picture above); his set was an unforgettable blend of skilled musicianship and satire that combined for one of the coolest sets at the whole festival.

Then, it was time for CMAT, and it’s fair to say she absolutely killed her first-ever headline show. Backed by an ornate mirror in which she frequently jaunted in front of, and her band, dressed in striped tees and neckties that matched by her own checkerboard vest, her set was a country-fuelled extravaganza with a palpable energy that was backed ten-fold by the adorning crowd. 

Whether she was fawning over the audience member who had CMAT written across her chest; stealing cowboy hats from the crowd for the toe-tapping “I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby!”; or calling out a girl called Matilda in the crowd who had said if she didn't do her doted cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ - having recently played it in London - she hated the North (luckily for the North she did, and it was an entrancing and theatrical romp); CMAT tore up every last part of that stage. 

With band members joining in for duets (namely the “gay man who was ruining her life” that was on keys), lying on the floor, and just being straight-up wizards on their respective instruments, CMAT's theatrical sensibilities shone through each of them, and not even the absence of an encore didn't dampen spirits as she ended with "Stay For Something," which had everyone, including bar staff and security, two-stepping along. 

We are certain that this will be the first of many many headline sets from the Irish singer and songwriter, we were just very glad we were there to witness this one. 

Get Together Festival is getting better each year, and we simply cannot wait to see what happens next year. Until then Sheffield!

Check out our What's On Guide to discover more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.

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