School stars impress at Lynn music festival

A rock band formed by students from a Lynn school followed in the footsteps of Feeder, The Darkness, The Vamps, Scouting for Girls, The Sherlocks, The Hoosiers, Blue, and The Stranglers, when they entertained hundreds of music lovers at Festival Too.

Performing on stage in King’s Staithe Square on ‘Lazy Sunday’ 30 June, The Gliders from Springwood High School played a range of rock classics, including ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ by Guns n Roses, ‘My Hero’ by the Foo Fighters, and Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.

Band members Mehdi Bensihem, Hemi Grimsby, Leon Higgins, Josh Newman, and Joseph Palmer, are all in year 8 at Springwood, which is part of the West Norfolk Academies Trust, and have been playing as a group for two years.

Festival Too launched in 1985 as a free music festival and takes place each summer over three consecutive weekends. Other past headliners include Example, Will Young, Reef, KT Tunstall, Busted, Pixie Lott, Marti Pellow, Cast, Deacon Blue, Hayseed Dixie, Bad Manners, and The Human League

Besides The Gliders, this year’s Sunday line up included Red Door Cafe, Jazzsign, Good Company, and The Motor City Vipers, along with Erin Tasker, who graduated from Springwood in 2019.

Having since completed three years at music college, the acoustic singer-songwriter is now working on releasing her own music while gigging in the area, and performed a selection of original material at the festival, as well as some covers.

There were further Springwood connections later in the Festival, when the school’s rock-pop group Walkmen supported Sigala on the main stage on the final Saturday.

“These events give exposure to up and coming bands,” said Pete Cuss, who is Assistant Head at Springwood and a member of the Entertainments Committee for Festival Too. 

“They are given the chance to perform on a massie stage with incredible sound equipment (provided by Chris Coady).

“Hopefully the bands and artists playing will be given more opportunities to perform in the local area from people watching them at the event.”