Paul Golder writes for the Brentwood Gazette
Last weekend was our second major festival extravaganza of the summer as a team of Phoenix FM presenters braved the rain and the mud at Standon Calling.
This four-day event is situated just over the Essex border in Standon Lordship, Hertfordshire and is the brainchild of organiser Alex Trenchard – over the last 14 years he has grown the festival from a small birthday bash in his back garden to the 15,000-capacity event it is today.
For a small “boutique” festival they always manage to get some big hitters headlining too. This year the main acts were Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, current Mercury Music prize winners Wolf Alice and Nile Rodgers and Chic – three very different acts which all had great crowds.
Standon Calling is a great fit for the music we play too – it seems like every stage or event could easily fit on one of our various mainstream or specialist radio shows. This is why we’ve covered it for the last five years, and been proud to be the festival’s media partner for the last two years.
Our team this year included fellow presenters Steve Robertson, Nick Field, Stewart Pink, Matt Horton and Jonny Gurnett. We spoke to a number of national and local artists, comedians and charities and all of the interviews can be heard again on our website at phoenixfm.com.
* Lots more events coming up on air over the next week on 98 FM. Laura Coyle from Saint Francis Hospice will be talking to Ian Leigh about the Hospice’s latest fundraising and events on Drive.
* There will also be live music and chat in the studio from Gen Irving, Daniel Lumley, Trevor Newnham, Bob Collum, Lewis Hammond and James Balcombe.
