On a wet Friday, after stepping into Tramshed for the first night of Swn Festival 2022, it was clear the rain wasn’t enough to put fans off attending the city shindig. The metropolitan festival took place over the weekend across multiple venues around Cardiff, but on Friday it was solely at Tramshed, and began on a high with a female-dominated lineup of Prima Queen, Lime Garden, Panic Shack and last-minute headliner, Katy J Pearson.

Stepping onstage in colourful dresses that made it hard to avert your eyes, the all-girl Prima Queen’s folksy music recalled First Aid Kit, with singer Kristin McFadden treating the crowd to some violin-playing at one point and set highlight Chew My Cheeks containing chilling riffs. Brighton’s Lime Garden, next up, feel like rising stars: lead singer Chloe Howard’s vocals have a dreamy, hypnotic edge, and after exclaiming to the crowd she was “sweating her arse off” she still kept her furry boa on, in the name of fashion. The band’s casual-but-cool energy is exhibited in the nonchalant opening lyric – “I’m sorry, I ate some cheese” – leading into surf-psych slammer Surf N Turf.

The punky Panic Shack are an all-female Cardiff band with a whole lot to say – or shout. Opening with I Don’t Really Like It, the crowd’s arms were soon flying about to a song that consists of four lines in totality. Angry vocals and riffs contrast with smiles on faces and girl-band-esque dance routines; introducing newest single Meal Deal, frontwoman Sarah Harvey rants about the recent 40p increase to Tesco’s Meal Deals, bringing boos from the crowd. An energetic rendition of Rage Against The Machine’s Killing In The Name follows shortly. Panic Shack were certainly the high of the night; it was hard not to love their grrrl power attitude and with genuine onstage chemistry.

Bristol’s Katy J Pearson not only had the daunting prospect of coming on after such a high-energy set, she was also a last-minute replacement for BC Camplight, unable to attend for personal reasons. Although a shift in genre from the previous acts, Pearson started strong with Take Back The Radio. Her countrifed vocals are unique and powerful, her five-man band talented – nevertheless, this was a comparatively still performance, one lacking interaction. The front of the crowd were certainly bopping and swaying, but it was hard not to compare this to the crazed moshpits earlier in the evening. Still, sometimes it’s good to just take a breather and appreciate the sweet music.
Overall, proof that a fully female-fronted line up can more than compete with more male-centric festival bills; while for Swn Festival, a 2022 opening night that gave high hopes for the rest of the weekend.
Katy J Pearson, Panic Shack, Lime Garden and Prima Queen, Swn Festival, Tramshed, Cardiff, Fri 21 Oct
words INDIA MUNDAY photos NADINE BALLANTYNE