A Summer of Festivals and Milestones

What a summer it's been for The Busketeers! From intimate performances at smaller venues to massive festival stages, this year has been nothing short of epic for the band. With every strum of the guitar, tap of the cajón, and harmony sung, we’ve had the chance to share our music with more people than ever before.

Here's a look back at three of the most memorable highlights from our recent festival gigs!

Beautiful Days Festival: Performing on Geoff Lakeman's Stage (Fiddlers Arms)

The Beautiful Days Festival, nestled in the heart of Devon, was an experience we’ll never forget. It’s one of the UK’s most celebrated independent festivals, and we had the honor of performing on a stage run by none other than folk legend Geoff Lakeman.

Playing on Geoff's stage brought something special to the experience—a sense of tradition and authenticity. The crowd was intimate but electric, and the energy in the air made us feel right at home. Sharing that moment, surrounded by musicians and festival-goers who truly appreciate live music, was a gift. It’s safe to say this performance marked one of the most down-to-earth and soulful sets of the summer...unfortunatly for Matt he will remember it well as during the performance he became unwell and ended up being sick later on... poor Matt.

Boardmasters: Going Toe to Toe with Tom Odell

The iconic Boardmasters Festival in Cornwall was another standout moment this season, with its stunning views of the Cornish coast and lineup filled with world-renowned acts. We were absolutely buzzing to perform on the Bandstand Stage, a gorgeous spot that draws in festival-goers seeking chilled vibes between surfing and sunset.

But here’s the kicker—our performance overlapped with Tom Odell’s set on the main stage! Despite being up against a musical heavyweight like Tom, we were thankful to the crowd that came to watch us, with a few loyal fans singing along! After we finished we went and Softplay and the amazing The Teskey Brothers who were awesome!

Tunes In The Park: A big crowd for an opener!

And now, for one of the biggest highlights of the summer: Tunes In The Park. We had the honor of opening the second stage at this incredible festival, and we’ve got some news for you—we performed to what stage management said was one of the biggest crowds for an opening set for this stage! We must admit we saw a few fans with our shirts on and singing our songs back to us! Something every musician loves to see.

Walking onto the stage and seeing familiar faces in the crowd and people with our merch was surreal. Tunes In The Park felt like a celebration of everything The Busketeers stand for—good vibes, community, and, of course, a shared love for music.

It’s safe to say this summer has been one of the most memorable for The Busketeers. We’ve had the chance to perform at some of the UK’s top festivals, connect with incredible audiences, and hit milestones we couldn’t have dreamed of just a few years ago. Every festival has been a reminder of why we do what we do: to bring people together, one song at a time.

As we reflect on these amazing experiences, we’re more inspired than ever to keep the momentum going. From the folk-rich vibes of Beautiful Days to the massive stages at Boardmasters and Tunes In The Park, we’re grateful to everyone who has supported us along the way.

If you’ve been at any of our festival gigs this summer, thank you for making it unforgettable. And if not, don’t worry—there’s plenty more to come. The Busketeers are just getting started, and we can’t wait to share the next chapter with you!

Stay tuned for updates, and we’ll see you at the next gig.

Peace, love and music from The Busketeers!

The Busketeers light up the stage at a mud-soaked Bearded Theory Festival!

The day starts at 8am... we all have a bit of a groan due to the wedding gig the night before, early starts aren't for The Busketeers!

Alas, we set off and headed to Derby for Bearded Theory 2024! The line-up was pretty good which included some legends such as Jane's Addiction and some of our favourites such as Future Islands!

It was about a 4.5-hour drive that stretched into 5.5 hours with traffic and breaks, but we finally made it with just under 30 minutes to spare—only to be greeted by a sea of mud.

Mud. Dirt. Sludge. Everywhere. We had no wellies, and Ken was stuck in his Converse. But we had a job to do and couldn’t let our four fans down, so we jumped into action.

After grabbing our wristbands, we cautiously drove through the muddy field, the tires sloshing with each turn. We asked for directions from a few festival-goers since we had no idea where we were going. Eventually, we arrived at the back of the main stage, needing to pass through to reach the Maui Waui stage.

Our timing was terrible. As we approached a security guard, we were told we couldn't access the area for 20 minutes—and we were on in 20 minutes!

Olly reversed and parked, and we hurriedly grabbed our instruments and gear, slogging through the thick sludge to our stage. We set up in record time, completed our sound checks, and had one minute to spare. They called us pros, though we didn’t quite agree. But we nailed it and had a good laugh.

Then things took a turn for the worse.

Olly performed an amazing set with some new original material and then Matt gets on... breaks a string after 45 seconds. Usully when this happens, we just grab our spare acoustic guitar, but we had one car, and took minimal gear with us. So we had to improvise and quick! Matt finished the song and Luke took the acoustic fix the string, meanwhile...

Ken jumped on and performed a song we didn't think we would be playing on this day... Killing In The Name by Rage Against The Machine, however it went down well and we got into it!

Once the acoustic is passed back to Matt, he notices quickly the string hasn't been replaced and Luke looking sad, said he couldn't find the pin so... we carried on and cried a little inside.

The crowd still enjoyed it, we put on a great show and did what we could! Our time was short at the festival but it will be a memory for all of us for a very long time!

After the performance, we took a breather and had backstage grub, which was lovely including fresh flowers! Abosulte luxury! (see Gentlemens Dub Club in the background on the image above)

Once we had some scran and drinks we went out into the wild where Ken and Matt had to buy some wellies, this did mean the boys had 2 bags with their muddy boots in and it looked like they had done something in their pants. Shortly after this, we watched a few artists and then headed home!

Also we got to chill out with some dogs... this ones called Gimli!

Until next time, thanks for the support

The Busketeers!

Rattler Fest 2024: Our Unforgettable Experience on the Main Stage

The sun blazed overhead, casting a golden hue over the scene as we geared up with our instruments, sunglasses and ensuring suncream was stashed in the cars. It was the dawn of festival season, and Rattler Fest was about to kick it off in style.

Arriving at different intervals, each of us brought our own vibe to the day. Anticipation mingled with a hint of nerves as we eagerly awaited our moment on the main stage.

Stepping into the festival grounds, we were greeted by familiar faces from backstage – sound techs, and crew. Their presence was like a reassuring embrace, calming our nerves and affirming that we were in good hands.

Just before heading on stage we had a quick catch up with True Foxes as well! They performed earlier on in the day and had a great crowd! Go check them out!

For those unfamiliar with our style, spontaneity is key. While we had a rough set list in mind, it was always subject to change as we fed off the crowd's energy and adjusted accordingly.

Ken kicked off the set with the timeless anthem "Born To be Wild" by Steppenwolf, seamlessly transitioning into one of our originals, "Steam," penned by Ken himself.

The crowd was electric, and Ken spotted a group of lads in orange shirts ripe for some rowdiness, treating them to an Arctic Monkeys cover which they enthusiastically embraced.

Luke took the spotlight next, acknowledging a wedding couple in the audience with a shout-out before leading a sing-along to classics like "Wagon Wheel" and "Country Roads," followed by his original compositions "Ghost In The Wild." and "Hard Days".

Olly then took to the main mic with a blast from the past, performing "Feel Good Inc." by Gorillaz, drawing in a diverse crowd with its infectious energy. We debuted Olly's latest track "1703," much to the delight of our fans, though its official release date remained a mystery.

Matt closed out the set with a nod to the band's roots with "Kansas City," igniting a spark in the audience, followed by the crowd-pleaser "Arrows," with voices joining in from both the front row and the back. Josh Curnow (as seen on Britains Got Talent) loved this one, as he filmed from the side of the stage!

As we wrapped up with "Bittersweet Symphony," the audience sang along with passion, reaffirming the unifying power of music in that moment.

And of course, no performance would be complete without our signature encore – the Thunder Mash-up, a concoction of energy and excitement that left the crowd buzzing. (Watch video below)

Once we finished, the adrenaline was buzzing, we had such a good time and great crowd. Time went so quickly and we wish we were back on the stage as soon as we came off! But as we left, we saw East17 rocking up and tried to scout out... Scouting for Girls but with no luck! Maybe next time!

Honestly, Rattler Fest and the team were nothing short of exceptional. Their dedication and professionalism, combined with their infectious sense of fun, made the experience truly unforgettable. We couldn't help but feel grateful for their support and camaraderie, from the bar, to security, to artists and the crew. Rattler Fest is amazing!