Indian Summer Festival 2009: Rated!

Broek op Langedijk, Holland - 20 June

Netherlands | 23 June 2009

Holland celebrates the start of a beautiful summer with a record breaking edition of the Indian Summer Festival says Roy Kasius.

Overall - 7/10

The Indian Summer Festival boasts to be the biggest festival in the north - the north of Holland, obviously. Now I wouldn’t go as far as that, but the event has definately grown over the last couple of years. With three dance areas, two pop/rock stages and even a comedy club, the festival has steadily become an attraction to people from all over the country. It’s not just for the locals anymore.

Going there and back - 5/10

Having never been to the Indian Summer Festival before, I started off in high spirits having boarded a shuttle bus at the local train station. But my good spirits soon faded as the journey took a lot longer than expected. But hey, at least I was now at the festival site. Or so I thought. Having been dropped off by the bus driver, I still had to walk for almost 30 minutes to get to actual festival site.

The Site - 7/10

Huge damp grassy fields and the inevitable mudslides are out of the question for the Indian Summer Festival. Instead it’s located in what seems to be some kind of nature reserve, along the sandy shores of an immense lake. These features give the festival that extra special taste of the outdoors, but because the actual area of the festival itself is very narrow, making it appear to be overcrowded wherever you are.

Atmosphere - 9/10

23,000 visitors just proved that you don’t have to have an amazing or surprising line-up to have a successful festival. A lot of times the atmosphere really does make or break the whole event and if there’s one thing the Indian Summer Festival doesn’t lack, it’s atmosphere!

Giant dream catchers, sand sculptures and Indian tents feature heavily around the festival site. It breathes summer festival, which is underlined by the beautiful hot weather. People seemed to be relaxed and really enjoying the festival.

Music - 7/10

With a line-up that included many of the favourite Dutch acts, such as Kane, Blöf and Junkie XL, the organisers of the Indian Summer Festival were playing things safe, very safe. Most of the acts can be spotted on the Dutch festival scene throughout the year. Belgian singer Milow even performed at two different festivals on the same day, but safe isn’t always a bad thing. For the organisers it ensures a heavy flow of visitors and with 23,000 people at the festival last Saturday, the Indian Summer Festival broke their own attendance record. And for the visitors it ensures a day of good music and the occasional sing-a-long.

The festival had something to offer for all visitors. The blackout tent, which featured the heavier dance music, was filled to breaking point. I, for one, found myself revisiting the 80’s/90’s tent again and again, reminiscing to all the hits of the days. The talent stage proved a big success as well with up and coming acts. But the biggest names were to be found on the pop/rock stage where popular acts such as Kraak And Smaak and Novastar were the heroes of the day.

Frank Boeijen - 9/10
If you’re not from Holland, or possibly Belgium, this act would have gone straight over your head. But in Holland, singer Frank Boeijen has been a legend since the early eighties. With over 30 years of experience he knows how to please a crowd. With just the right amount of rock, ballads, hit songs, audience participation and even the occasional stage antic, good old Frank Boeijen was by far the best act of the festival.

Dr Lektroluv - 9/10
Lektroluv’s performance was absolutely wicked. And I’m not just saying that because he always wears a green mask. He’s a DJ like no other. The crowds gather to hear his eclectic and electro beats and they’re rewarded with a flawless show.

Kraak And Smaak - 8/10
Kraak And Smaak belong to the rare breed of dance acts that function exceptionally well as a live act. With two singers and a full live band, there is more than enough for the audience to enjoy. The band had a perfect mixture of popular songs, such as their hit single ‘Squeeze Me’, musical intermezzos and even the occasional cover version. In line with the festival ‘s heritage Kraak And Smaak’s beautiful lead singer bolted out a gripping version of Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’.

Milow - 7/10
With two top ten hits in the last few weeks, it’s no wonder that Milow draws quite a crowd. Together with a rendition of Van Morrison’s ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ you would almost think that Milow had become one with the festival, as the relaxed summery vibe echoes around the site. At some point during the performance, however, it became almost a bit too relaxed. A little extra spice never hurt anyone.

Novastar - 6/10
“Where did we go wrong? Was it somewhere along this trip to Miami?” The lyrics to Novastar’s first hit single ‘Wrong’ were very appropriate for this performance. Anyone who has seen Novastar before would agree that today’s performance was hardly his best ever show. The Dutch singer from Belgium (or was it the Belgian singer from Holland?) seemed to have lost interest in his audience. The occasional muttering of the words “thank” and “you” made up almost 100% of his vocabulary. Luckily this didn’t affect his music much, and the audience were still treated to a stirring performance.

By Roy Kasius