Festival Q&A: Shadow Palace

Harry Lavin (lead singer, guitarist) from the Oldham post-punk four piece chats ahead of their set at Cotton Clouds in Saddleworth, 12 August

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Who else are you excited to see at Cotton Clouds festival this year?
We are all very excited to see The Coral and Sugarhill Gang blow the flat caps off the locals. Ethan And The Reformation will be sure to put in a top class set too, so I’ll be looking forward to catching them. The bill is absolutely fantastic and the organisers should be proud of the calibre of names they’ve managed to attract.

What’s your best festival memory?

The pure chaos surrounding the campsite at Party In The Pines in Scunthorpe last year was unforgettable. The drinking of cocktails started at approximately 11am. This led to a series of events that included a food fight with frozen sausages and a two-hour argument with a local hooligan about race relations, which led to a poor nearby couple having to leave early at 5am after their furniture was thrown over a hedge. We eventually got rid of the bigot and celebrated by opening another bottle of bubbly whilst invading the backstage area during the Pigeon Detectives’ set. This led to us being chased off by a crazy lady with Dracula teeth. Although it must be said – having a beer with Bez from the Happy Mondays was also pretty cool at Blackthorn festival last year.

What are your festival essentials?
Bitter, lager, cider, ale, stout, tin of spam, a sleeping bag and maybe a tent. Avoiding cheap vodka is essential if you still want a working stomach by the end of the festival.

How does playing a festival differ from playing your own gig?
A festival brings about a more collective atmosphere. It’s a platform to be exposed to audiences that may not have seen you before. It’s also nice to be out in the elements in what are often quite beautiful settings.

What are you planning for your Cotton Clouds set?

We want to blow each and every single person who watches us away. There’s no band out there that sounds like us, so we are planning to just to turn up and to play our usual brand of big, dark, angry and intense anthems. After that we are gonna get around and watch as many of the other bands as possible whilst singing the Jeremy Corbyn chant.

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