Icebreaker Festival brings new Portsmouth artists to droves of music lovers

The annual Icebreaker Festival saw about 1,500 people flock to eight venues along Albert Road and Elm Grove as they opened their doors for musicians to play long into Saturday night.

It was a chance for artists in the area to make a name for themselves and for pubgoers to discover some new music to listen to.

Dave Winslade, 34, from Baffins, joined five friends as they danced and drank their way through what has become an annual tradition for the group.

‘We got to Albert Road at about 11am,’ he said.

‘After getting our wristbands we stayed at The Wedgewood Rooms for a bit and worked our way down the street.

‘We’ve been coming for a good few years now and it’s always great fun.’

Leo Capricorn, 28, from Portsmouth, added: ‘I’m excited to see Neverman and Sven.’

For many music fans, it was Southampton-based band Djuno that won them over the most.

The band, which played at The Wedgewood Rooms halfway through the afternoon, was praised for its energetic talent.

Simona Mariuta, 27, said: ‘I really enjoyed listening to them, they were very good.’

Best friends Rosie Hart and Anna Leng, both from Southsea, fell in love with the band.

The pair had come to Icebreaker Festival for the first time.

Rosie, 21, said: ‘I don’t know the name of the lead singer but I absolutely loved her – they were amazing.

‘Everyone put on a great performance and had so much energy.

‘This is the first time we’ve come to Icebreaker but we’re definitely coming again next year; it’s such a great atmosphere and obviously gets messier as the day goes on.’

Anna added: ‘A few of our friends have been playing so we went to support them too – there’s just generally a lot of love for everyone going around.’

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