Mahatma Music - The Summer Fête

On a seemingly quiet Monday night in Exeter, within the Cavern, Mahatma Music presented Exeter with a perfect post exam treat – the Summer Fête. I cannot emphasise enough how many of you missed an absolute belter of a night. Yet again, PearShaped has nothing but praise for the Mahatma Music team for bring together such an awesome line-up.

The night started with Tom Elliott (supported by Dom Ford) who provided the perfect start to the evening. With his signature folk/indie sound echoing throughout Cavern which drew in the crowd towards the stage. Elliott performed tracks from his first EP, Out There, which is well worth a listen, but hearing the songs live is another experience all together. The crescendo of Tom’s performance was the crowd favourite, Harbour. The audience participation singing out the chorus: “I will be your harbour if you will just let me through” was touching upon magic.

Then Battle of the Band winners Bloom burst onto the stage. It is hard to believe that they are a student band, since they are musically so tight and in harmony with each other.  The air of Friendly Fires about them, mixed with the electronic infused Bloc Party influences proved the audience with an enjoyable gigging experience. A highlight of Bloom’s set was definitely the performance of their song Oceans, in which it was clear the audience resonated with the slight melancholy tone.

Bklyn were the final act before headliners Youth Club. Only a couple of days after they were awarded Upload Of The Week from BBC Introducing in Devon for their song, I Want, so it was clear they were ready to burst onto the Exeter music scene with a bang. The climax of their set was 19 of their If I Dont EP, which replicated the summer vibes all the acts exuded. The calling of “And I’ll stay, Even though you don’t want me to” rung out throughout the Cavern to great effect. The energy that Bklyn displayed on stage was commendable and was, in part, responsible for bringing the crowd back towards the stage after the small interlude.

The final and headline act of the evening was of course Youth Club, fresh from their Radio One Big Weekend Gig, and they were ready to give Exeter a real taste of summer! Having announced just before they graced the stage that they were the third shared act of the weekend (even beating Taylor Swift), the excitement of the crowd was building to the point of hysteria for some members of the audience. Starting of their set with Breathe, the audience remained excited and the sounds of summer were well and truly engulfing Cavern. The set contained songs from both EP’s, Brothers and Colours, and the summery nature was the perfect end to Mahatma’s Summer Fête. The electric nature of Youth Club lit up the Cavern’s dark interior, with highlights included Filling It Up To Go and She’s A Dancer - I was in awe.

Overall, Mahatma Music presented Exeter with yet another excellent music night. I cannot emphasis enough how enjoyable my night was – and I shall certainty be attending the next one of their events in the future.