Hultsfred Festival 2009: Rated!

Folkets Park, Hultsfred, Sweden - 8-11 July

Sweden Sweden | 16 July 2009

Hultsfred Festival has a history of attracting some of the most important bands in the world to Sweden but much less is made of the great array of home talent and diversity on show, writes Howard Jones.

Overall–8/10

The line up is strong on paper but the scheduling appears lopsided over the four days. Thursday and Friday are heavyweight days leaving the fear that Friday and Saturday appear on the light side as most 'big' acts are lording it up at T in the Park and Oxegen. These fears are erased as the depth in home talent over Saturday and Sunday makes it a richer cultural experience than expected.

Headliners The Killers, Kings of Leon, Mando Diao and Lars Winnerback don't leap out as outstanding choices, yet the diversity is refreshing. All four acts are popular choices amongst the crowd as each headliner brings something different to the table. Away from the main stage, there are four other stages with a raft of home talent entertaining the crowds. Madness, Ice Cube and The Gossip rubbing shoulders with Timbuktu, Kid Cudi and Jenny Wilson all perform strongly demonstrating that variety can triumph over a lack of A-list names when it comes to putting on a big festival on the Friday and Saturday.

The site - 8/10

The site is a mini synopsis of the country given that 30,000 people are here, but it does feel like there is enough space for everyone. The site is located in the verdant setting of Folkets Park with a river splitting up the arena. The site is well laid out with the bulk of people drawn to the two main stages leaving lots of space for the three smaller stages to breathe. Camping is split into various sections including a quiet camping area created for those festival-goers looking for that piece of tranquillity amongst the chaos.

Getting there and back - 7/10

They say that the journey is sometimes as fun as the destination. Flights to the festival are reasonable even at a week's notice. Flying into Copenhagen or Stockholm leaves you four hours away from the festival either by road or train. A special festival bus can take you anywhere from Sweden or Oslo to the festival site, whereas the train from Copenhagen is expensive but clean and efficient. If that lacks a sense of adventure, then hitchhiking back to catch a flight on Sunday morning is possible but not advised as it was learnt that even the beautiful Swedes stink out a Volvo after five days. Key tip: book everything well in advance!

Atmosphere–9/10

The crowd's biggest response over the weekend goes to the goliaths of modern music in Kings Of Leon and The Killers who got frenetic responses. There was a real sense of appreciation that two of the world's biggest bands have come to Hultsfred this year. On the flipside, the smaller acts on the three smaller stages get great support from the home crowd and people seem to revel in the fun of enjoying sets that vary so differently from stage to stage.

Music

Uppers

Ice Cube - 7/10
The N.W.A legend may not know exactly where the hell he is but certainly appears stoked at the amount of people loving his hits. His set is a reminder of his past greatness but also of his recent clangers. 'It Was A Good Day' is the classic side of Ice Cube with a remixed version of 'You Can Do It' evidence of the more ugly modern version. He may not be the rap royalty that he once was but he seems to have some spark and passion back in his music which is a welcome sight if its stops him from making 'Anaconda 2'.

Klaxons 7/10
The Mercury prize winners face a challenge backing up their hugely successful debut now the buzz has gone and scores of other bands have ridden on their 'Nu Rave wave' (try saying that drunk). 'Atlantis To Interzone' and 'Gravity's Rainbow still sound as exciting as when they burst onto the scene and the set reminds the crowd just how many tunes were on 'Myths Of The Near Future' and we can only hope for another four or five on the new LP.

Madness - 9/10
Madness will never be taken seriously as a band but whilst a classic ska band like The Specials seem shackled by their illustrious past, Madness can return with a new album with the stakes significantly lower. The crowd clearly love ska and anything with a political edge so Madness can do no wrong. The new songs from 'The Liberty Of Norton Folgate' fit into the set nicely alongside the sing along classics. Madness have proved that they can still create some of the best party music now as they did 25 years ago.

Mando Diao - 7/10
Friday's headliners seemingly missed out on being given any stardust when God made bands as outside of Sweden and the Alps they are still relatively unknown. Nevertheless, who can begrudge them headlining a Friday night at their home festival? New single 'Dance With Somebody' draws one of the biggest cheers of the day as they bounce through their back catalogue of garage rock with real dynamism clearly revelling in the limelight - a job well done in the circumstances.

Timbuktu - 8/10
If you used one act to demonstrate the festival's diversity then Timbuktu would do the job best. The Swedish reggae rapper whips up the liberal crowd into a frenzy with his political ideologies displaying the energy that everyone had thought would leave with the ghost of Mando Diao who had headlined on the main stage hours before. Instead everyone has a dance as his music perfectly sets us up for the twilight hours with the right blend of tear up and chill out.

By Howard Jones.