For the last few years, Nottingham’s Hit The Deck Festival has marked the start of the summer festival calendar for us here at Punktastic. It has consistently bagged big names and pulled in crowds from miles around. Since adding a date in Bristol, the festival has been moving from strength to strength.
Never more so than this year, with Brand New leading the charge as part of their UK jaunt alongside the likes of Hawthorne Heights playing ‘The Silence In Black & White’ in full, hardcore mob Brutality Will Prevail headlining what is likely to be the most brutal stage of the day, and loads of Punktastic favourites – including The Xcerts, Seahaven, Gnarwolves, Neck Deep, Kids In Glass Houses, Save Your Breath, The Front Bottoms…
Hit The Deck takes on the same structure as the most famous inner city festivals, such as The Great Escape, SXSW, Camden Crawl or FEST in Gainsville. Take six main venues (alongside one or two secondary venues for one-off acoustic sets or films), cram them full of bands and sell wristbands that allow access to any or all, capacity dependant.
To make navigating on the day slightly easier, here’s a brief guide to both cities to help you decide the best course of action. Part of any festival’s charm is stumbling around and bumping into new music, but this information might be useful to make sure you don’t miss the unmissable. Here’s a brief breakdown of what’s happening on each stage, and an idea of how long it will take you to get from one venue to the next. The rest is down to you.
To keep track of what’s going down over the weekend, keep those eyes on our Twitter feed.
Bristol
Nottingham
O2 Academy (Bristol) / Rock City (Nottingham)
Acting as the main stage for the festival, this is where to head for the heavy hitters. Brand New are bound to put on a great performance, led by their excellent back-catalogue and some die-hard fans, but keep an eye out for The Xcerts earlier in the day, and Pulled Apart By Horses waking up the crowds between The Front Bottoms and Saves The Day. Nottingham emo fans should also check out Hawthorne Heights play their debut in full mid-afternoon.
O2 Academy 2 (Bristol) / Rock City Basement (Nottingham)
A few variations between the two cities mean that only Bristol fans have the opportunity to catch Verses at the main venues little brother, but both can enjoy the unapologetic shenanigans brought by The Blackout as an alternative to Brand New. William Becket, frontman of The Academy Is, is likely to break some hearts, and Save Your Breath are the ones to catch for all pop-punk aficionados.
The Exchange (Bristol) / Stealth (Nottingham)
Hosting the majority of the weekend’s hardcore bands, there’s some heavyweights here to sink teeth into. With their ‘Bedfellows’ EPs exploding over the last year and a half, Bastions are well worth a look, as are More Than Life following their recently released ‘What’s Left Of Me’ via Holy Roar. For those with heavier tastes, The Exchange and Stealth are likely to be the sweatiest places over the two cities.
The Fleece (Bristol) / Rescue Rooms (Nottingham)
Housing a selection of bands across various genres, this is the place to go to hear something either new or different. The excellent Seahaven will be showcasing down-tempo emotional tracks from their recent LP, while The World Alive are on hand to please fans with a more hardcore persuasion. Punktastic favourites Gnarwolves and Neck Deep also find themselves playing on this stage, and getting down early to catch loud punk from Dublin’s Wounds is highly recommended.
Thekla (Bristol) / The Forum (Nottingham)
With some of the bigger names of the festival taking to the stage, this is bound to be a big attraction over the weekend. Revellers in Bristol can catch Hawthorne Heights here, while both see Memphis May Fire offer a heavier alternative to Brand New. Patent Pending will keep pop-punk fans happy, and Kids In Glass Houses play one of their first shows since announcing their split.
Thekla Car Park (Bristol) / Rescue Rooms Bar (Nottingham)
Acoustic stages have become all the rage at festivals, and rightly so – offering the opportunity to relax and to see some acts in a more intimate environment. Kristopher Roe of The Ataris takes the top spot with Thomas Nicholas and Matt Kennedy of American Pie and The Dangerous Summer respectively below. There’s some significant differences between the two cities, not least that the Thekla crowd can hopefully enjoy some sunshine.
Maps and Distances
BEN TIPPLE