Bloodstock Festival 2024 – Friday. It has been a hectic day, and as excitement built towards the evening’s headliners, The Vintage Caravan special guest slot in the Sophie Tent was the perfect appetiser.
Bloodstock Festival 2024
Catton Park, Derbyshire – Friday 9 August 2024
The Vintage Caravan
I have followed Icelandic trio The Vintage Caravan for several years and have seen them in small venues and on the stage at both Damnation and Steelhouse Festival. They are a band that fits both, and over an enjoyable hour, they can now add Bloodstock to that list.
They may present somewhat flamboyantly, with stand-in bassist Matthías Hlífar Mogensen’s double denim and cowboy boots a hopefully intentional tribute to the legendary photo of Lemmy in his Daisy Dukes.
Founder member Óskar Logi Ágústsson is almost ‘hippy chick’ in outfit, floppy hat and droopy sleeves Blackmore-esque. He could be part of Blackmore’s Knight. Not to be outdone, drummer Stefán Ari Stefánsson has a beautifully garish shirt and flares. 
Image is one thing, but there is the music to tie into as well, and The Vintage Caravan have the songs in spades. They switch from ’70s psychedelia to ’80s hard rock through to contemporary styles with organic ease, from the opening bars of Whispers, one of four drawn from the excellent Monuments album.
Ágústsson is the main focal point for most of the set, his searing guitar work and soaring vocals something of astonishment to those in the tent unfamiliar with the band. You will soon be humming along whilst the army of fans who have sported the band’s t-shirts over the day are singing along to the likes of Crystallized, Midnight Meditation and On The Run.
There is energy that belies their tough tour schedule, with further events scheduled around the festival.
A slow burn of a set that grows in intensity, it is impossible to tear your eyes away from the stage, and by the end, the audience has once more swollen with the curious.
It is an assured show, intricately crafted and beautifully delivered. Hard and heavy, soft and gentle, The Vintage Caravan prove to be a huge hit, something impressively delivered and the perfect starter before a masterful 90-minutes from Swedes Opeth.
Bloodstock 2024 will be held over the long weekend of 8-11 August 2024. MetalTalk’s Paul Hutchings, Adrian Stonley, Paul Monkhouse and Keith Conlin will be reporting from Catton Park.
Take Part: Are you at Bloodstock this year? Who are you looking forward to seeing? Want to get in touch and tell us how it’s going? Email MetalTalk Editor Steve Ritchie to tell us how it’s going for you. Bloodstock@MetalTalk.net
#boa24. For more information, visit bloodstock.uk.com. You can view a map of Bloodstock at bloodstock.uk.com/bloodstock_map.jpg
MetalTalk Bloodstock 2024 coverage is at https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/bloodstock-2024.
You can read all the MetalTalk Bloodstock 2023 coverage at https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/bloodstock-2023.
You can read all the MetalTalk Bloodstock 2022 coverage at metaltalk.net/tag/bloodstock-2022.
Weekend early bird tickets (Thu-Sun) for Bloodstock 2025 are available to purchase at the box office on-site for £175. Child weekend early bird’s are £45 (ages 4 -11). Mini moshers under age four can come for free.
Wednesday early access is also available for those who want to max out their Bloodstock experience – an early bird adult Wed-Sun ticket costs £200. There is no additional cost for children under 4, or aged 4-11, to arrive with a parent on Wednesday.
Bloodstock 2025 tickets can be purchased online from the official Bloodstock website.
