© Mick Drulang
Another stunning edition of the Siren's Call festival might have come to and end, but thanks to our hard-working (or hardly working?) colleagues from Today Radio, you can relive some of the highlights from Saturday's shows down below!
Our colleagues from Today Radio spent the evening catching you up on the all the latest from the Siren's Call festival at Neumünster Abbey. Sam Steen, Meredith Moss, Melissa Dalton, and Natalie Von Laufenburg were on site dancing, sweating, and singing along to the bands performing at another stunning edition of the festival.
'Lovely start to the day'
Getting things going in the main stage, one of Luxembourg’s newer acts, ENGLBRT eased us into the day with a chilled out set.
One of the most striking things about this project is the variety of sounds and styles Georges Goerens and Niels Engel bring to the stage, with Georges’ multi-instrumental talents being shown off.
It's clear that the skills he learned in his somewhat more experimental project Bartleby Delicate have been honed and sharpened here, perhaps reined in by Engel, which gives the songs a better flow.
Sharp beats and splashy jazzy cymbals along with a thumping bass drum marry nicely with the guitar and sometimes dancy synths that George brings and honestly, having watched Georges for years in various guises, (Seed to Tree and Bartleby Delicate), here he was sounding better than ever.
A really lovely start to the day.
Sweaty from beginning to end
Sprints don't have a full-length album out yet, but what they do have is a tight 40-minute set that rips from beginning to end. It only took until the second song before a slightly reticent, first gig of the day crowd, were right up at the front of the stage and dancing and singing along to every song.
Don't know the words? Didn't matter, all you had to do was shout and throw yourself about a bit because the energy, joy, and all around awesomeness of this band carried an enraptured audience through the pain barrier and out the other side. Sweaty, smiling, and calling for more!
The band were clearly having a great time too. "Honestly", said frontwoman Karla Chubb, "this is the best crowd we've had in Europe."
They all say that, don't they? But it really seemed like they meant it, they were genuinely chuffed to be playing in front of a full room as the first band of the day and truth be told, they set the bar very high.
We'll have an interview coming with them soon!
Of fairies and sirens
Looking more like a fairy than a siren, Michelle Zauner from Japanese Breakfast opened the show with 'Paprika' and a massive gong on stage - rarely has it seemed that someone can have that much fun hitting a percussive instrument over and over again.
Her voice however couldn't have been more fitting for the Siren’s Call festival, drawing every person (and insect) closer to the stage. So did her strong eye contact with the audience, which had the entire first rows blushing and smiling from ear to ear.
By the time they played 'Be Sweet', they had the entire crowd dancing and jumping. In addition to the fact that each band member is musically out of this world - they got your regular indie band setup with saxophone and violin - the chemistry between all six members was magical.
And as if we all needed more reasons to love the band, guitarist Peter Bradley came back on stage to hand us the setlist while the frontwoman came out to chat to her fans, sign hats, and take photos.
Starstruck indeed
Melusina was packed full of excited fans when North London five piece band Sorry took to the stage. The cool air inside the venue came as a welcome relief from the sweltering evening sun outside. The band presented themselves in calm manner, opening with a quiet hello and letting their music do the talking instead.
After a strong start they launched into one of their most popular songs, 'Starstruck', which got the crowd jumping around and prompting them to gravitate closer to the stage. That seemed to ease the band into their set with guitarist Louis O'Bryen announcing it was their first-ever time in Luxembourg, which got a huge cheer from the delighted audience.
A particular highlight was the song 'Screaming in the Rain Again'. It began with lead singer Asha Lorenz softly singing a refrain of "my body, my body" which gradually built up to a guttural and intense vocal with O'Bryen then joining in with her.
After most songs the band signalled to the sound desk at the back to turn the volume up. They got their wish granted just in time for the final few songs as the bass and the volume cranked up while the atmosphere and the audience numbers also increased. Lorenz then quietly asked the sound desk if she could have a shot of tequila, but the answer appeared to be no.
A few minutes later a fan approached the stage with two shots of tequila complete with lemon slices! O'Bryen asked his name and the audience gave the generous fan, (named Luc) a massive cheer and there were even some enthusiastic cries of "Lucky Luc"!
The band then launched into their penultimate song 'Closer' which got the crowd singing along and finished the set with 'Jive'. Just as it was time to leave audience members screamed "we love you", O'Bryen leaned into the mic and softly said in his understated way "we love you too".
