A BEWILDERING array of bands, singer-songwriters and DJs specialising in a medley of musical genres plied their trade on three stages and 10 venues at the Stroud Fringe Festival.

The main stage in Bank Gardens played host to the weekend’s top acts, including veteran performers Ska Daddy, Ruth Royall and Patsy Gamble, while the Crown and Sceptre pub in Horns Road welcomed the likes of Chinese Burn, The Jaam and The Holy Sinners.

West Country ragga hip-hop collective Aranka’s Cackle provided the soundtrack at the Star Anise Café in Gloucester Street as Jack The Biscuit, Bazooka Joe and The Who’s Next Quadrophenia tribute band pleased the neighbouring crowd in the Queen Victoria pub.

This year also saw the return of pop-up venue The Bird’s Nest in Cornhill, which welcomed homegrown indie art rockers Spictoria Vonge and Korean lo-fi duo Wagwak.

At the Market Tavern pub, blues and R’n’B specialists The Hitchhoppers, DJ JuanG and Global Beat Network kept the party alive until the early hours, while the bandstand in Stratford Park was the serene setting for singer-songwriter James Hollingsworth, Dysfunktional and Waiting for Kate.

A one-day Oxjam music festival was staged at the Duke of York in Nelson Street on Saturday, including stalls, games and music from local acts Sean Delahay, Paul Farrar and Bryony Hill, followed by a medley of DJ sets from 10pm onwards.

 

Watch a video below of Ska Daddy performing Josephine on the Bank Gardens stage during the Stroud Fringe Festival on Friday evening. Video by Rufus Fry.