'Art in the Park' 2026
Review
I think that I'll start by stating that I did see several excellent acts on the two main stages at ‘Art in the Park' 2026 in Leamington: that is to say the ones which got a mention in the brochure and other promotion. I enjoyed Twin Flames, Shanade. Hokum & Hooch/Orange River Remedy, Izzie Derry & WLDFLWRS. All top notch acts who've featured & celebrated over the years. (Actually considering the personal constraints I was under, I was delighted for once to catch all the acts I wanted to (which I usually fail to do) though admittedly & sadly not always for full sets.)
However for me, the key stage was the Youth one which operated on the Sunday down by the River Leam. This epitomised much of what I value: young artists having the confidence to create their own original music & offering such hope for the future. Several, such as Project Overload, The New Obsession & StereoTypical have featured already many times in reviews, on compilations and at our fundraising gigs for The Tin. They were joined by Liv Mundy, The Thorns, Havona, Lovless and Harmony in the Doll House from various great local youth projects including Leamington LAMP & The Tin/Coventry Music's ‘Live On Stage'
It's not the first time this stage has operated & it's sad & frustrating that the main festival organisers marginalise it: the artists are never mentioned by name nor publicised & for me this is the beating heart of what musical art should be: original creation. Equally when bands such as Project Overload who are already much bigger names than most of those in the booklet are on your bill, you think one might use them as a draw.
Nevertheless, the stage drew the discerning crowds who like new music & the stage crew (sound by Joe McAvoy-Boss aided by Preston Matchett of The New Obsession after his band had finished their set) were able to get on with a tightly run sequence free from the frustrations of the usual peculiarities of the other stages. (Though it was great to see Nina McLean-Ellman running the Mill Gardens Stage especially given the historic problems down there). Plus I think in some ways operating slightly outside the mainstream and in fact on another hot day, this stage had the best shade.. such as it was.
The whole point about these young bands is they have been supported & encouraged to be themselves as writers & performers and so diversity is baked into their identities as a collection of acts. Nevertheless, in a point I return to frequently, there is commonality in the form of the staggering degree of confidence which the schemes help them build. I have yet to see one of the bands coming through these projects who has been fazed by having gig opportunities while members are unavailable: they just adjust & play regardless. On this occasion The Thorns (whom I have particularly wished to catch) played sans drummer and as for lovless… Well to explain their act as briefly as possible, lovsüm are a new band featuring members of Project Overload, Loophole & The Illusion (though not necessarily playing the same instruments they do in those bands) but three of the five members were away so Gracie (vocals) and Lucas (guitar and vocals) simply went ahead as a duo with a witty name tweak for the day.
The stunning thing about both these bands was just had great they were under constraints: I can't wait to report on them in full lineup modes. Not only were the performances superb & totally unique, but the quality of the songs was astounding. Both have plans for recording & I can't wait to share the outcomes with you via reviews, compilations & gigs as appropriate. These are definitely the next two young bands coming through who have such potential for success and they alone vindicated the existence of the youth stage.
In fact there is plenty to look forwards to from the artists I really rate whom I saw: a hallmark of their creativity. Shanade played several great new songs which must be among her best ever: look out for the eventual recordings. Izzie & WLDFLWRS treated us to (free) local performances ahead of national tours & dates (Izzie is at the LTB next Saturday as part of hers) and she also unveiled newer material ahead of recording.
Hokum & Hooch have a new EP on its way & you will all know about the debut EP from StereoTypical (‘Goodnight Rousseau') which they tell me is going down as well as it deserves and which provided the backbone of their characteristically intense set.
Project Overload have now got so many crowd pleasers that at times their set sounded like a "greatest hits" one but they also slipped some new material in. As for rumours of a third album, a spokesperson for the band told me that she could "neither confirm nor deny" these.
Whatever the concerns over certain aspects of the musical scene & business, it was hard not to come away uplifted about the present and especially the future when you saw the artists I saw. There are these great projects underway locally who are helping talent realise itself in ways which previous generations could only have done via trial, error and frustration: the pay off for us is an ever increasing number of unique original musical voices telling their own stories in their own ways.
