Misery Loves Company Festival
The Hara, Yonaka and more!
Bristol, England // 30 September, 2023
Photos and review by Sophie Jones
Bronnie
After a two-hour drive down to Bristol, I finally arrive at Misery Loves Company Festival and the area was filled with people buzzing about the streets, going from venue to venue, meeting band members that were casually walking around.
To start my day off, I headed over to see Raiders perform at The Lanes. It was a bizarre experience from the get-go because as the band played, just off to the left of the stage (facing it), there were people who were coming into the venue to play a game of bowling which you can see through the archway to which Sean Smith made comment on.
Despite this, their set was high energy with people moshing about and, at one point during the set, Sean happened to cut his head open as his head collided with Chris Davies’s cymbal.
Raiders
Next, I headed over to The Station to check out an artist called Kid Bookie, who I’ve only ever heard good things about, so I wanted to see for myself. Also, in the same venue was Cody Frost, another artist who was recommended for me to check out on the lineup.
Cody Frost
Kid Bookie
Bronnie
As the evening was drawing in, I headed over to The Courtyard in The Lanes to catch Bronnie’s acoustic headline set, which was an intimate setting.
From there, I dashed off to catch Yonaka at the SWX stage. The room for Yonaka was packed, and was a squeeze to get anywhere near the front. They opened their set with “By The Time You’re Reading This” followed by “Greedy” and “Punchbag,” which were all set amongst moody blue lighting with bursts of light. Their set was high energy, filled with fan favourites and classic single tracks. Yonaka know what they’re doing and how to command a room, giving everyone a good time which is no wonder they were headliners for this stage.
Yonaka
The final band I caught was The Hara. Now, if you’re late to the party and don’t know who The Hara yet, they’re a three-piece band hailing from Manchester, England; they’re made up of Josh Taylor (vocalist), Zack Breen (lead guitar) and Jack Kennedy (drums).
With the recent success of their debut album SURVIVAL MODE, the band’s popularity and success keeps gaining momentum and you can see why they have been selected to headline the stage at The Station.
During their set, they announced they decided to bring back an old track; which happened to be “Tramp Brain,” the title track of their EP which was released in 2019. This earned a massive response from fans.
The Hara are gearing up to head back out on the road this November to complete a further 9 dates across the UK; so I’d advise you to get your tickets soon as these are shows you won’t want to miss.
The Hara
