Kieran Webber
Director and Founder of CLUNK Magazine, CLUNK Events, and other CLUNK affiliate businesses. You’ll probably find me tucked away somewhere sending emails, listening to music, and creating content.
CloseUp Festival returns for its 11th edition and will showcase some of the UK’s most exciting new artists
CloseUp Festival returns for its 11th edition on May 22nd – 24th and guarantees a weekend of pure music discovery. The festival continues to platform new and emerging artists, while giving audiences the chance to see tomorrow’s headliners in a rare, up close and intimate setting of Colours Hoxton in London. This year brings some of the very best to the city including Jimothy Lacoste, Pale Blue Eyes, and many more. We dive through the line up to highlight just SOME of the artists you need to check out.
Pale Blue Eyes
Arguably one of the best bands from the South-West of the country (the best part if you ask us). Pale Blue Eyes have been crafting music since around 2022 which saw the release of their debut album ‘Souvenirs’. Since then the band has gone on to release two other albums ‘This House’ and ‘New Place’, all of which boast their mellowed out, intrinsic, deeply thought out out sound that is equal parts serene and groovy. London it is utterly vital you watch Pale Blue Eyes live, they’re one of the most ethereal and awe-inspiring artists around.
FFO: The Horrors, Miki Berenyi Trio, W.H Lung
Girl Group
The Liverpudlian group has been causing a stir of late and are likely going to be one of the biggest artists to come out of the UK since Wet Leg. It’s a fun, bouncy, poignant, and daringly relatable sound that has the bands experience of being a woman at the forefront of their music. Sonically, the band are able to shift from guitar driven indie through to more electronic, synth driven sounds, this is particularly felt in ‘Shut Your Mouth (Sometimes)’. Most of all, their music is incredibly infectious and is destined for that larger stage. This is going to be a formative moment in the artists career and yours as a fan (new or old) as it is likely that they’ll be playing larger stages within the year.
FFO: Wet Leg, Chloe Slater, Lime Garden
Jimothy Lacoste
Arguably one of the most hilarious and brilliant artists to come out of the UK in recent years. Is it a joke? I don’t know but what it is at the baseline is incredibly entertaining. I guess that’s the point of Jimothy’s art is that you can’t tell if he is serious (like really serious) or if the joke is on you for unironically liking his music. It’s lowkey kind of brilliant. Jimothy Lacoste is an artist that has gone viral multiple times due to his monotone delivery with surreal visual creatives. They normally include someone very tall, older than expected, or young roadmen. This visual is backed by an incredibly infectious house/EDM tune. It’s pretty surreal and frankly I have no idea how this translates to a live setting. What is guaranteed though is a good time there is no doubt about that.
FFO: The Streets, Getdown Services, Bob Mortimer
Just For Fun
Imagine if Confidence Man approached you at an indie sleaze party back in the 2010’s and gave you a cheeky bump. That’s the only way I can truly explain Just For Fun. It’s cunty dance music that is wonderfully entertaining and fun. Their latest cut ‘Paris’ literally had me dancing around the living room reminiscing about the house party era that I grew up in. There no doubt going to be bringing the party to CloseUp Festival.
FFO: Confidence Man, Baby Berserk, Fcuckers
Home Counties
Home Counties have been chipping away and become one a pretty exciting outfit within the new indie scene. The band started off delving into the ‘wonky indie’ sound but quickly developed that into a more synth driven sound. However, at the core was a tongue-in-cheek, conscious and mature songwriting, this has remained. Previous two albums ‘Exactly As It Seems’ and ‘Humdrum’ have boasted this new sound and its one that transfers brilliantly live. After having them play a show in Cornwall a few years ago we can attest to this first hand. Get ready for an upbeat, driven sound that is daringly infectious.
FFO: FEET, Courting, Franz Ferdinand
