Bloodstock 2021 Countdown : 30 Bands not to Miss : 5. Skindred

It has been one hell of a eighteen months. Some of us have had to isolate away in fear of our very lives. Others have lost family members or at very least watched people we care about become very ill. And for good many of us we have had the very things we take for granted and use as emotional crutches to get through this thing called life, taken away from us.

At diddy Download, Skindred managed to articulate all the clashing emotions in an hour long set. It was quite an extraordinary sixty minutes, contemplative and measured whilst also simultaneously euphoric and triumphant. They channelled those contrary feelings of the enormity of what we had collectively been through and mixed them with the pent up need to let loose and celebrate.

Benji expressed beautifully that shared existential terror that by being locked up we were losing a essential part of who we are when he proclaimed " I started to forget altogether that i was a singer and instead I just Julie's boyfriend who popped to Asda to get stuff". The whole show was a melting pot of emotional resonation, irreverent comedic turns and catchy tunes. It just felt right and was exactly what we needed.

Skindred head to Bloodstock determined to play the same cathartic role. They will be act that units and soothes, whilst simultaneously bring the party. Be prepared to laugh, be prepare to cry, be prepared to leap up and down and be prepared to whirl your t-shirt around your heads. It is going to be a moment.

Playing: Friday, 7th August 2020

Stage: Ronnie James Dio Stage