Bad Pond Festival is back for the third year running. This year they’ve expanded their scope to include more genres than ever, with the line-up encompassing everything from the expected experimental math-rock to dream-pop and electro-punk. Over the past couple of years, Bad Pond Festival has gone from a niche event to a widely appreciated annual staple of Brighton’s music scene, and this year’s line-up is noticeably more diverse than ever before. For 2018 the festival will move into a bigger base on the seafront and will be taking over The Arch for both days.
Rapidly growing local company Small Pond is behind the festival, and the multi-hyphenate musical crew is also behind a record label, recording studio and bustling rehearsal rooms in the centre of Brighton. The diversity of their offerings – video services, tour support, equipment rentals and a merch shop are available too – is reflected into the increasingly diverse line-up at Bad Pond this year, which features local bands and those from further afield.
The line-up so far is as follows, with more to be added:
TTNG
Delta Sleep
The Physics House Band
Slabdragger
Tangled Hair
Suffer Like G Did
Cousin Kula
Chiyoda Ku
CLT DRP
Yumi And The Weather
InTechnicolour
The Brackish
Wild Cat Strike
Gender Roles
TOSKA
USA Nails
Our top recommendations for the weekend are Yumi And The Weather, who layer soulful grooves over earthy guitars and glimmering electronica, the gloriously hazy indie-punk from Gender Roles and dreamy Bristolian psych-pop from Cousin Kula. If you’re still not convinced, check out this mammoth free compilation, featuring twenty-two full tracks from the bands playing.
Tickets are selling fast and are already down to the last release, so snap one up here.
(Oh, and don’t miss the after-party at C:\Side Quest on the Saturday night, with a live set from Adam Betts, live ambient techno from Inwards, and a DJ set from The Physics House Band’s Samuel Organ. Free entry with a Bad Pond wristband, but limited capacity, so you’ll need to be quick.)
The Arch, Friday 27th – Saturday 28th April 2018
Words by Jessica Marshall McHattie
