Victorious Festival bring a dash of Colour of The Jungle to the Seaside stage

Just recently when they played at Wickham – and last year at Victorious in an entirely different way.

‘Wickham was great, I’d never been before,’ says frontman Jack Evans. The Portsmouth-based alt-rockers were playing in the Quay West Cave on Saturday afternoon.

‘We had a little bit of a touch because it rained just before we came on, so everyone dived into the tent and then we had a really good audience. The rain stopped when we started but they got hooked and everyone stayed.’

And next weekend they’re returning to Victorious, playing at 8pm on the Seaside Stage on Saturday – the same slot they had last year.

‘Last year we had a paint party, I bought a load of powdered paint and got my friends to divvy it out among the audience, and then when the beat dropped on one of our songs, everyone chucked the paint.

‘It went down really well. I was a bit apprehensive thinking, this could go horribly wrong, and I asked (promoter) Nick Courtney’s permission and he said just do it. But do not get it on the stage.

‘Obviously we got it on the stage.

‘But luckily for us, it then rained all day Sunday which washed it off, so we got away with it.

‘I’m told we’re not allowed to do it this year,’ he laughs.

The Seaside stage features a top array of local talent, which helps keep them all on their toes.

‘They’re all our friends, Mudlarks are on after us, Neverman before us, and these are bands we gig with all around Portsmouth, and friendship-wise we go back 10-15 years.

‘It’s nice to have that little bit of rivalry and competition there too, we all get each other pumped up for the gig.

‘We supported Mudlarks recently at the Wedgewood Rooms, so I went on first and gave it the best I could as a showman, just so I knew Ben (Brookes, Mudlarks frontman) would have to best it.’

While the band have been picking up acclaim with their debut EP, The Jungle Book, and recent single Steel Tray, the festival gives them a chance to reach new people.

‘When we started the band, it was just a bit of fun at first. But now we enjoy our own music and we found out that some of our friends enjoy the music, and in the last year we’ve had strangers come up to us and say they like our music too.

‘So now we want to get as many people as possible to hear us and get that bigger following – and for them to get into the lyrics and the songs and get the same buzz out of the music that we do.’

And the positive feedback they’ve been getting has encouraged the band that they’re on the right track.

‘When you’re in the studio and just rehearsing and messing around and you make a good sound, there’s always that thing of: “Is it just us that thinks this is good, or is it actually good?”

‘When we’re in the studio and all five of us have got beaming smiles on our faces and are thinking: “This is something good,” it’s only when you take it out to the public, that’s the real test.

They’ve also been building a distinctive visual identity with their videos. University of Portsmouth photography graduate Martyna Madej has directed the clips for Steel Tray and earlier single Trout Pout. It’s part of the band’s ethic of involving the wider arts community in what they do.

‘We felt really appreciative that we could display her work with ours as a sort of collective, so it’s not just us five, but it’s branching out.

‘We’ve had a couple of other friends in Portsmouth help us out with the artwork – it’s nice to have people expressing themselves through the form our band.

‘It’s been something where everyone who wants to get involved with us among our friends and anyone who wants to join us along the way, can.’

Just as long as they keep any paint away from the stage.

VICTORIOUS FESTIVAL

Castle Field, Southsea

Saturday, August 24

victoriousfestival.co.uk