Live Review: Supersonic Festival 2024 – Day 3, Sunday | Digbeth, Birmingham | 01/09/2024

With the final day coming around fast, the Sunday of Supersonic Festival 2024 takes a slightly more relaxed pace, presenting a day firmly planted in the folk world, with a few exceptions. However, despite the slightly more serene musical focus, today isn’t any less experimental.

It’s quite hard to “review” the XOYO’s opening act Womb x Water, as it is a fairly unique affair. Paying tribute to Manchester DIY instigator, artist and icon of the scene Louise Bolla (formerly Woodcock), two fem/NB musical collectives they founded Womb and Water join forces to celebrate Louise’s legacy. Using a range of synths, guitars and feedback, drums and woodwind instruments to create ethereal and avant garde compositions over which Louise’s last poetry book TANK is performed spoken word. There are as many as eleven artists on stage and despite how abrasive some of these compositions can be, its an enthralling piece of performance art. Towards the end of the set, one of the speakers announces “anyone who is Fem or NB is welcome on stage and take our instruments”, encouraging crowd members join them onstage. Its a little messy and awkward as the participants shake off nerves and get into it, but turns into a heartwarming showcase of the artistic community spirit celebrating the life of someone taken to soon.

Opening the o2 Institute main stage for the final day is Cornish folk artist Daisy Rickman, who’s encouraged a healthy crowd to gather early on a Sunday afternoon. Performing as a four piece band, they open the set with “Falling Through The Rising Sun” from recent album Howl. It’s a very soft and soulful folk affair, incredibly emotive both musically and with Daisy’s stunning vocals. They’re rich and distinctive, sitting within the contralto vocal register, quite low and warm, feeling very distinctive. Rickman herself sticks to acoustic guitar for the set as her band members switch instruments between songs, either playing guitars themselves, or switching to a bass or banjo respectively. There are subtle harmonies everywhere, cultivating a rather ethereal and dreamy atmosphere, helped by the unique sound of hearing a bowed banjo. It’s a moving start to the Sunday and a perfect indicator of the level of talent in the alternative folk sphere on display at Supersonic’s final day.

Photo Credit:
Taya Llewellyn

Next up in XOYO, its considerably busy for composer and solo harpist Mary Lattimore. Performing with the backdrop of some gorgeous visuals and thick fog; between the intricate beauty of the harp melodies, you can see Mary setting up and manipulating loops on a pedal in her lap, building the layers of the stunning compositions. It’s sounding magnificent, a mild bleed of hard EDM coming from the DJ’s playing on the balcony outside, detracting from the quaint beauty somewhat without harming the impressive performance. The Institute continues to retain a healthy crowd, which stays that way for the rest of the day, for award winning young Scottish piper Bríghde Chaimbeul. Striking prolonged drones from the pipes introduce the set, setting an atmosphere as touching melodies break through. The visuals behind Chaimbeul reflect the soulful poignant longing on show in their compositions; Visions of vast emptiness in nature, barren trees devoid of leaves or a small house slowly burning in the middle of nowhere. As the melodies become more complex the visuals switch to a woman dancing alone, bolstering the tone of the songs. With such a moving live experience, its easy to see why Chaimbeul is highly regarded in her field with such superb playing and incredible sound.

Another artist who’s welcomed back to Supersonic with open arms and a packed out XOYO is experimental jazz artist and award winning musician Matana Roberts. It’s less of a strict set, part freeform jazz, part storytelling and part platform for activist messages and as Roberts themselves repeats through the performance “this is an improvisation”. They regularly remind the audience to join in by humming a drone, using their claps as the rhythmic backbone and setting up various harmonies and call and response lines to the performance. Roberts’ freeform approach to live instrumental performance reflects and expresses the chaos, sorrow and heartbreak of the topics their poetic activist lyricism. This is a perfect showcase of Supersonic’s community spirit; a renowned artist using their platform to call out historic and ongoing injustices for the betterment of all people, inspiring crowd participation, collaboration and unity between all watching and participating. It is beautiful and joyous, soulful and heartwarming, a truly shared experience by those in the room.

Photo Credit:
Taya Llewellyn

Back at the o2 Institute is an act at the forefront of Ireland’s burgeoning folk scene revival, singer/songwriter John Francis Flynn. Taking traditional Irish folk songwriting and bringing in experimental influences in an attempt to modernise a traditional sound palette. Tonight is an uncommon treat, as Flynn is joined by a full backing band on stage, with an additional guitarist/clarinetist, a double bass and drummer. It sounds suitably massive with the backing band, Flynn’s deep hushed baritone resonating through the room and pulling you deep into the performance. He’s an imposing figure, standing tall amongst a crowd but even more so on the stage, but is clearly a warm soul joking with the crowd and speaking with passion for traditional Irish music. John Francis Flynn is deserving of all the attention and praise surrounding his career so far, more than delivering on the live stage with stirring and emotive experimental trad folk.

Photo Credit:
Taya Llewellyn

There is clearly a lot of buzz about Irish experimental doom folk foursome ØXN. Formed of various members of Ireland’s alternative music scene, including Radie Peat of last year’s headliners Lankum, alongside singer/songwriter Katie Kim, producer John ‘Spud’ Murphey and fellow Percolator member Eleanor Myler. The stage is littered with a cavalcade of instruments to perform cuts from their debut album CYRM; guitars, drums, synths, an accordion, there is a lot going on but it leads to an unbelievable live sound. Each member of the four piece has a microphone as well, allowing for some monumental harmonies over the detailed instrumentals. The band are fully aware of how melancholy their songs are, with Kim joking at one point: “This one’s another cheery folk song… it’s about infanticide” while introducing devastating album opener “Cruel Mother”. The emotional weight is felt through their performance, the thick textures of the instrumental and heartbreaking vocals driving home the intensity. There is significant beauty in the harrowing devastation of ØXN, standing out as a highlight of the weekend.

Much like the previous act on the main stage, One Leg One Eye are another spin-off from last year’s headliners Lankum. With the music composed by Lankum founding member Ian Lynch, as a live unit One Leg One Eye are a two piece, with the analogue synthesis and explorative sample work being too much for a solo performer. With only a single album released, the chilling …And Take The Black Worm With Me, One Leg One Eye quickly get to work building the deep droning layers and samples used to create their challenging experimental folk-drone. The drones are built up of live samples created by Lynch’s Uilleann Pipes (traditional Irish Pipes), manipulated and stretched out into expansive tracks, bolstered by bleak spoken word sample manipulation and Lynch’s distinctive and powerful vocals. The lighting and backgrounds are kept simple, the focus staying purely on the mesmeric and at times caustic soundscapes inspired by desolate emptiness. It sends shivers through the packed out crowd, who stay completely absorbed in the otherworldly worship.

Photo Credit:
Taya Llewellyn

Tonight’s headliner is a alt-country/indie-folk veteran, Will Oldham, better known by their billed name as Bonnie “Prince” Billy. His career spanning headline set touches on various favourites across Oldham’s various projects. Opening tonight’s headline set with a unreleased track, referred to by fans as “Boise, Idaho”, making for a beautiful introduction to the world of Bonnie “Prince” Billy. Always at the forefront of the DIY indie-folk scene since the 90’s, his songs on the joys and failings of human nature equally influenced by the likes of Bob Dylan or Dinosaur Jr. Sat with just a nylon string guitar and his voice, he’s joined on stage for the whole set by guitarist/clarinetist/backing vocalist Thomas Deacon and later by keys player John Ashton. It feels very personal, laid back almost with both Oldham and Deacon staying sat for the set. The atmosphere is helped by the singer/songwriter’s inviting charisma, holding a certain presence and aura as a seasoned performer.

The performance is rather polite, playing at a comfortable volume and the crowd is fully engaged, you could hear a pin drop in the room, not being interrupted by anything but the hum of the AC unit. Oldham sounds magnificent live, having incredible control over his voice and whistling and coming through with clarity. The simple folk song structures expanded upon with his guest musicians on stage for gripping melodies over the passionate storytelling weaved through Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s compositions. The hour long headline set flies by in a technicolour blur, regularly adding certain eccentricities to the performances of known and unknown tracks, making them feel alive and unique when budding from the PA. With Supersonic describing this to be an effective “bucket-list” booking for them, it seems as though all the years waiting have paid off. Oldham puts on a masterclass performance, electrifying and gripping, closing the weekend out in style.

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