Stereofunk festival to mark its 5th birthday

Apr 1 2010 by Chris Clements, Hamilton Advertiser

LOCAL DJ Stevie Lennon has spoken to the Advertiser about this year’s excitingStereofunk fifth anniversary line-up.

The 31-year-old from Bellshill has been working hard over recent months to top last May’s sell-outStereofunk festival at Strathclyde Park.

This year’s impressive array of bands include the Complete Stone Roses, who wowed the crowds last year, top tribute acts the Kings Of Lyon and the Underground Jam, and local heroes The Vigo Thieves.

Also joining them this year on the Unsigned Live Stage are up-and-coming bands such as the Banter Thiefs, Rockburn and the Statler Project.

Along with the band stage, there will be four other arenas: theStereofunk main arena, the Old Skool tent, the ZooTech tent and the Carling VIP area.

A host of top DJs will play, including Clyde 1’s George Bowie and Bob Jeffries from the Southport Weekender.

Joining them are Stevie Lennon, along with his Stereofunk co-founder Craig Kelman, and Ibiza DJs Jem Haynes and Rebecca Vasmant.

The event will take place at Strathclyde Park on Sunday, May 2, from noon until 10.30pm.

Stevie, from Bellshill, said: “This year we’ve added an extra arena, and we’re making a bigger deal about the VIP tent.

“But we still have great bands performing. We have the Complete Stone Roses coming along after they blew the crowd away last year.

“A lot of the younger members of the audience weren’t as familiar with the Stone Roses, but at the end of the night, they were raving on about how good the tribute band were.

“I fully expect the Kings Of Lyon to steal the show, however. They will be performing all of the Kings of Leon’s biggest hits, and they are recognised as one of the best tribute acts about at the moment. They are definitely ones to watch.”

Stevie explained that he has been working hard to build on the success of the last four events, and hopes the fifth will be the best.

“It’s brilliant for us to reach five years, but to be honest, it has taken a lot of hard work.

“The event is growing all the time, and people now know it is there. It sort of sells itself.

“When Craig and I started out, the biggest challenge was letting people know it was there and what was happening.

“But when they came, they enjoyed themselves and left with smiles on their faces. They know how good a time they had.

“I hope we can continue with it for another five years. You never know.

“But what I think makes this festival great is the fact that it’s local. We’d like to try to keep it that way.

“This is all about showcasing local talent, the best young DJs and bands in the area, and we think we have to keep that up.”

For ticket information, visit www.stereofunkevents.com or contact Ticket Scotland on 0141 204 5151.