The first day of Newcastle-under-Lyme’s Lymelight Festival 2014 has been a great day for new music, and a fantastic way to promote the talent of the local area.

A few technical issues plagued opening act The Rising, but after a few delays the set began superbly. The band produce a very likeable folk-rock sound that fans of Mumford & Sons will just love. The band were promptly followed by Ben Owen, an artist who we’ve written about before. Owen kicked things off well with his own single ‘You + Me = ❤‘, which set the tone for the rest of his set. A fantastic funktastic cover of White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’ later and there wasn’t a person around who wasn’t enjoying themself.

Jordan Bates was next up, performing a haphazard set that consisted mostly of covers. His cover of Bastille’s ‘Pompeii’ was phenomenal, but he followed this up with a messy mash-up of Ed Sheeran, Macklemore and Will Smith (‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You’ blended with ‘Thrift Shop’ and ‘Fresh Prince Of Bel Air’).  Rachel Lucy brought the tempo down a bit to a relaxing summery chill, before first band of the day Vienna Sunset arrived with an explosive set of brooding indie-alternative. There was nothing too unexpected, but a great listen either way.

Sea-Based Turtles brought the energy as they took to the stage – they had charisma in spades and were eager to get everybody moving. Just as well that their unique brand of funky hip-rock managed to do just that, with a brilliant cover of Gorillaz’s ‘Clint Eastwood’ going down fantastically.

Later on, Scarlett Arcade gave us one of the best performances of the day. Stunning vocals and beautiful synths, as well as a fantastic cover of Depeche Mode’s ‘Enjoy The Silence’, makes for a great set – although it can be criticised as being a little bit static. This was soon amended though, as penultimate act Moscow are a nuclear bomb of rock energy. Their stage show is exciting, energetic and passionate, and it’s an impeccable performance that draws a huge crowd.

Headliners The Sherry Counsellors take to the stage to close the night, drawing in a bit less of a crowd than Moscow and performing with a little less energy. But the crowd eat it up and get lost in the catchy beats of ‘Dance Of The Birdmen’ and the undeniable groove of ‘Black And Gold’, getting everybody moving. The band are on top form and incredibly well-received. Not even the randomly erupting drunken violence in the crowd can ruin this moment – a fantastic end to a fantastic day.

So day two has a lot to live up to! We’ll be covering the event live on our Facebook page, our Twitter feed and we’ll also be routinely uploading pictures to our (brand new and shiny) Instagram. Be sure to check it all out!