By Vicky Greer.
What’s better than a brand-new festival for 2024? A multi-venue musical festival right on your doorstep, held in three of Southampton’s favourite local grassroots venues, that’s what!
Welcome to Wanderlust, the event that’s taking over Southampton on the 4th May with 30 artists taking to stages across Heartbreakers, The Joiners and The 1865. Showcasing well-established names and exciting up-and-comers across the indie, post-punk and alternative scene, we can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday. You can’t go wrong with any of the acts playing at Wanderlust, but we’ve put together 7 artists you definitely shouldn’t miss.
Willie J Healey
Willie J Healey (pictured top) is well accustomed to playing huge stages these days – he spent a good chunk of last year touring stadiums with Arctic Monkeys and a night supporting Jamie T at the legendary Finsbury Park. This makes his headline set at Heartbreakers all the more exciting – see him bring his funk-infused indie pop to the cosy vibes of the gig space above the bar to share songs from his critically acclaimed 2023 album Bunny. Willie J Healey has been dazzling audiences since his debut album in 2017, picking up famous fans like IDLES and Florence and the Machine along the way. He’s also been teasing some new music on Instagram recently, so if we’re lucky, we’ll be hearing some new tracks.
Ellie Bleach
Ellie Bleach is one artist that you can’t miss at Wanderlust. Her recent EP, Now Leaving West Feldwood is a character-driven concept EP that’s been taking over my playlists and is fast becoming one of my favourite releases of the year. In it, she creates an ambiguous town filled with doomsday preppers, local celebrities and bored housewives. From the apocalyptic ‘Pamela’ to the smooth – if unnerving – vibes of ‘Hottest Man Alive 1995’, Ellie Bleach will be casting a hypnotic spell over her audience in Heartbreakers. Be prepared to fall in love with her music and the stories she tells through her songs.
Shame
Perhaps the biggest name on the lineup, Shame’s three albums Songs of Praise, Drunk Tank Pink and Food For Worms have each taken the indie scene by storm, quickly turning them into one of the hottest names in post-punk. They’ll be bringing the night to a close at The 1865, the biggest venue of the trio hosting Wanderlust, and if previous Shame sets are anything to go off, they’re a force to be reckoned with on the stage. They’re a thrilling name to have at the top of the lineup, and hopefully a good omen for the festival becoming a yearly staple of the Southampton scene.
Dream Wife
Another name I was delighted to see in the announcement, Dream Wife will be appearing as special guests early in the day at the Joiners. Fusing pop, punk and indie together in their compelling sound, their album Social Lubrication was a highlight of 2023, particularly their tongue-in-cheek life advice on ‘Don’t Date A Musician.’ They’ve been described as one of the best live bands around, bringing raucous punk energy to their shows, so make sure you squeeze into The Joiners to catch their set.
Man/Woman/Chainsaw
They’ve only got three songs out on Spotify, but Man/Woman/Chainsaw are a name I’ve been hearing everywhere lately. The London-based six-piece deals in art punk, mixing traditional rock sounds with strings to add a new and exciting dimension to alternative music as we know it. They’re making their way around a few of the big festivals this summer, including Green Man and Manchester Psych Fest, and you can catch their exhilarating, unpredictable set at The Joiners.
Opus Kink
Opus Kink are no stranger to Southampton, and they’ve visited a few of the city’s venues before. But if you missed them the first couple of times, you’ll be able to catch them at Wanderlust playing at The 1865. Fusing punk and jazz in new and exciting ways, they even find the time to inject mariachi, Latin and funk into their sound. Apparently, they’re unlike anything you’ve seen before, so if you’re looking for something a bit off the beaten track in the evening, get yourself down to the 1865.
L’objectif
Appearing not long after the release of their record The Left Side, L’objectif have been garnering praise from across the industry as an up-and-coming name in post-punk, following in the footsteps of bands like Fontaines D.C. and The Murder Capital. Specialising in brooding guitar music with a twist of anthemic indie, they established themselves as impressive musicians while they were still at school. They’ll be appearing at The 1865, sandwiched between Dream Wife at the Joiners and Ellie Bleach at Heartbreakers, so wear comfortable shoes you can sprint back and forth between venues in – you don’t want to miss a second.
- In Common is not for profit. We rely on donations from readers to keep the site running. Could you help to support us for as little as 25p a week? Please help us to carry on offering independent grass roots media. Visit: https://www.patreon.com/incommonsoton