Festival review: Venture Fest 2026

On the last weekend of the summer, the bank holiday weekend which unofficially marks the end of the festival season, Venture Concerts delivered an incredible event, a celebration of grassroots music, with young upcoming musicians having the opportunity to play at a festival and be on the same poster as some of the great musicians they look up to. Venture Fest 2026 was such a great party made memories for life for those who attended.

In the build up to the festival, I was avoiding putting a certain song in the instagram stories. Andrew Cushin's song Waiting For The Rain. I was hoping it would rather be a reflection of Sunny Sunday by Calaveras. But we still didn't avoid the rain. In fact, Andrew Cushin found himself waiting for the rain to stop, before starting his set. Thankfully, the rain stopped and in the end, the added anticipation, just increased the excitment for the fans in the later stages of the festival.

And the fans were not just excited about the big names on the poster, including Andrew Cushin. A lot of them, especially young musicians, were really excited to see Johnny Bond play guitar with Andrew Cushin. Yet another bonus to all the treats Venture Fest had to offer to the fans.

Calaveras

Sunny Sunday they said. It was indeed a Sunny Sunday when they were playing the song, so it was correct when they said it. But the weather changed a lot during the day, with short spells of heavy rain.

The Sick Fix

Two weeks after I saw them and interviewed them in London, I had the pleasure of seeing them again. Out of all the musicians that played at this festival, they are the only ones I had already seen live before. The Sick Fix are a very promising young band with unlimited potential. Once again, they demonstrated they have everything it takes to go very far and build a solid fan base.

Shoe Shopping is one of the two songs they recently released as a double A-side. They plan to do the same with Tomorrow and Tale Of Two Cities.

The Cove

 When I went to see them perform, it was the end of their song Patience, so unfortunately I wasn't able to film it. But I cought up with them later and had a chat with them. 

Crook On The Wall

A Band that I had been monitoring for quite a while. They're now signed to Venture's record label. I had a chat with them and also filmed them playing their latest single The Russell Club, as well as a previous single, Foundations Of Sand.

Selica

Another young band with great potential, Selica are in the process of producing music and they're expected to release their debut single soon. They have also appeared with Alex Spencer in one of his music videos, as they're good friends of his. I had a conversation with them and also filmed them playing a couple of songs they are expected to release.

Kian Coggins

Since moving on from his former band Northway to go solo, Kian had been working on new material. The following 2 songs will be the first 2 singles he's going to release under his own name. Black Heart will be released first, followed by New York Calling Your Name.

Interview with Kian Coggins

Andrew Cushin

One of the big attractions of the Festival. A singer / songwriter who inspires a lot of young upcoming musicians. Andrew Cushin delivered a feel-good set full of bangers, in the later stages of the festival. His communication with the fans, his charm and sense of humour, were added to his amazing vocals and incredible songs. The fans loved every second of his set.

His new single, Goodbye

Interview

I managed to have a quick chat with him after his set, before he got on his way back to Newcastle. I hope he made it back on time for last orders.

N-Trance

The headliners N-Trance brought the party at the end of the festival, with vibes from the 90's and festive energy throughout. They closed the festival with their massive hit, Set You Free.

Interview with N-Trance

I was lucky enough to have access to the dressing room of the cricket ground and interview N-Trance before they got on stage. I found them incredibly down to earth and friendly, with a good mood, like they were just about to have a party. Because they were. When we stopped filming, they even gave advice and guidance to the young artist and Future Hits Radio presenter, JM, about his music career. All 3 of them were absolute class.

Interview with festival owner, Harrison Lord

Conclusion: only love can set you free

Venture Fest was a massive success and will live in the memories of fans and musicians for many years. Despite the weather not being too collaborative, people still enjoyed a great event, with abundance of talent on both stages throughout the day. There was so much happening on two stages, while I was also doing interviews. With The Sick Fix playing at the same time as The Cove, Kian Coggins playing at the same time as Paradyme, I would need two of me to see all the performances I wanted. I didn't manage to catch the set of The Fairway, but I know they're a great band too and I have already played their new single Caught In The Crossfire on Future Hits Radio.

The festival was quite expensive and stressful for owner Harrison Lord, but he pulled it off and delivered an incredible event, despite the bad weather. The fans had a wonderful time, the young musicians had a much needed experience and the opportunity to play at a festival, being on the same bill as Andrew Cushin with Johnny Bond, as well as 90's legends N-Trance.

People supported eachother and cheered for eachother, making sure everyone had the best experience.  At the end of the day, only love can set you free. And that was in fact the song at the end of the day.