The rain may have poured at various points throughout the day, but that didn’t stop the party at Balado for our second session at T in the Park.
It wouldn’t be a trip to T without some rain and Saturday’s scattered spells certainly provided enough. Despite this, it’s safe to say the rain didn’t dampen the crowds spirits as they geared up with ponchos and umbrellas to enjoy the day’s music.
We made our way to the main stage to catch Twin Atlantic and it was easy to see their fans were out in force. Before the band intro began, the crowd were already chanting ‘here we f-ing go’. And when they arrived on stage, considering the time of day the band were on, the crowd loved every moment as the bold Scottish accent filled the air and some interesting dance moves were unleashed. People danced with their umbrellas while holding up their poncho hoods, especially encouraged when frontman Sam McTrusty shouted “F**k the rain, we live in Scotland, we’re made of water!”.
After his earlier packed out set at King Tuts’ tent, George Ezra performed a secret set in the BBC Introducing tent. The very small crowd provided an intimate atmosphere as festival go-ers gathered right at the front of the stage and scattered across the tent sitting on the grass admiring his outstanding vocals. His voice easily enchanted the tent and it was fantastic catching him in such a small venue with the level his music is at.
The additional beauty of the BBC Introducing tent is the chance to catch newer bands on the festival circuit. After we recommended them in our ones to watch, we stayed in the tent for Dundee’s Copper Lungs and it’s safe to say they proved their place on the top bands in the tent. The crowd were singing along in force throughout the set, pints were in the air and fans were on each others shoulders. It seemed it was not only the crowd who enjoyed the set, as the band’s beaming smiles and high energy projected through the tent. The set was perfectly blended together and frontman Darren Lindsay’s vocals were strong throughout. A very promising band that we’re going to keep an eye on – and we reckon you should too.
Over on the Radio 1 stage, The 1975 arrived on stage as the rain decided to pour. Instead of taking shelter in nearby tents, the rain seemed to encourage the crowd even more as fans abandoned their umbrellas and raised their hands in the air. Frontman Matty Healy strolled onto the stage with his usual bottle of wine in hand and a cigarette in the other greeted by screams and cheers. On this occasion, it seemed there were are a lot of 1975 fans at the festival as they sang their way through the tunes. The band knew exactly how to work a festival crowd after numerous appearances across the globe and Matty Healy even jumped down for a quick snap with the front row. It was the perfect set to get your feet moving and allowing you a moment to forget the rain.
Paolo Nutini owned the stage crooning his way through his hit singles and tracks from his latest release as girls were falling for him and guys were wanting to become his best friend. The singer easily won over the T in the Park stage.
And a real party began as the crowd was taken on a trip to Ibiza with Calvin Harris. Introduced on stage by none other than his new pal Will Smith, Calvin set the tone for the tunes ahead as he had the Balado crowd off their feet the whole night. The new late night licence worked exactly in his favour as the crowd partied the night away with lasers filling the sky and tunes blasting across the field.
If you fancied a break from the madness, Ben Howard headlined the King Tut’s tent with his beautiful tones packing out the tent space. As phones lit the air and friends climbed on each others shoulders, it was hard to believe there was a manic set outside. The tent provided the perfect chilled out atmosphere as the crowd took a moment to catch their breath after a packed day’s action.