Pub in the Park 2024: St. Albans

Pub in The Park:

2024 has been yet another huge year for Pub in the Park, with epic weekends of food-loving entertainment already going down a treat in Marlow, Chiswick and Reigate. This weekend saw Pub In The Park put on their last event of the year, taking over the stunning Verulamium Park in St. Albans. Pub In The Park is a unique festival which showcases some of the most beloved musicians around, alongside some mind-blowing chef-demonstrations from world renowned chefs.

The festival site is crammed full of various stages, so whether you want to discover your new favourite artist, see some of music's biggest names, or live your wildest foodie fantasies, this festival has something for you. I was lucky enough to be in attendance for both Saturday Sessions, being treated to an absolutely stacked line-up. Celebrity chefs like Simon Rimmer, Matt Tebbutt and Tom Kerridge were joined
by two brilliant musical headliners, Scouting For Girls, and Olly Murs.

Scouting for Girls: 

Saturday's afternoon session had a real focus on live music, with Rolo Vango and Jamie Grey both smashing it on the main stage. They were followed by an energetic DJ set from Levi Roots, which got the crowd more than warmed up. This provided the perfect point for the afternoon session's headliners to take to the stage; indie-icons, Scouting for Girls. 

This was Scouting for Girls' last festival show of the summer, and they made the most of it. I was lucky enough to cover their Cambridge Corn Exchange show last year, describing it as "High level musicality delivered in the most infectious way". That rang true that night, but it is always easier to perform to an audience who have paid exclusively to see you. Headlining a festival is a whole different challenge, but it took less than one verse for Roy Stride to have the crowd in the palm of his hands. Set opener 'Heartbeat' immediately had the crowd in fine voice, with groups of friends and families dancing no matter which direction you looked. This was a trend which continued throughout
the entirety of this truly epic headline set.

All of Scouting for Girls' biggest hits were on show, as beloved songs like 'This Ain't a Love Song' and 'Posh Girls were mixed amongst a handful of offerings from the bands most recent record, 'The Place We Used to Meet'. These songs may not have been as instantly recognisable to some audience members, but you can be rest assured that as each one finished, they'd become firm audience favourites. The singalong to 'Song I Can't Forget' was one of the loudest of the night, and a camera on the audience meant energy levels were taken to a whole new level.

As the set progressed, the audience were treated to a cover of Busted's 'Year 3000', before two further songs closed the set. The first of which was the atmospheric Glow, which for me is the pick from last year's album. This was then followed by set closer 'She's So Lovely', a song which is firmly etched as one of the country's biggest indie-pop songs. This gave the audience one more time to sing before the afternoon session ended, and they took that opportunity in abundance. A rapturous singalong ended what is undoubtedly one of the best Pub in the Park headline sets to date.

Olly Murs:

After a brilliant afternoon session, the pressure was well and truly on for the evening session to top it. The main stage was opened by local hotshot Matt McClafferty who delivered a spell-binding set showcasing his vocal prowess. He was followed by string of energetic DJ sets which kept the excitement going. Firstly, Toby Anstis brought his Heart Club Classics to the stage, before the session's workhorse Chris Stark took over the decks. There was then a takeover set from Guilty Pleasures to make sure the crowd were as hyped as they could possibly be.

Now that the crowd were suitably warmed up, it was time for Saturday Night headliner to take the stage. The energy was palpable even before Olly Murs took to the stage, meaning the moment he appeared the crowd went stratospheric. He opened his set with 'Change Is Gonna Come' which was sung back in fine voice, but the party really kicked off when second song 'Wrapped Up' began. From that
point onwards, Verulamium Park became one giant dance floor, with Olly Murs at the helm.

Despite having only an hour to play with, Olly managed to showcase several of his biggest and best songs. The latter part of the set saw Olly and his incredible live band perform an extended medley section, covering some of pop's most recognisable songs. Whilst for my personal taste I may have enjoyed seeing more of Murs' original music over an extensive range of covers, it cannot be denied that the audience lapped up every single word, becoming completely hooked on the showmanship on offer.

'Troublemaker' brought an end to the night's proceedings, which saw Olly Murs and his band at their musical best. The chemistry between them was so infectious, with each member looking like they were having the time of their life; a feeling which was reflected in Murs too.

As he heads into the year of his fifteenth anniversary, it is clear Murs is as loved as he ever has been, and this shows no signs of fading soon. Olly Murs is born to be on the stage, and you only had to take one look at the adoring crowd in St. Albans to see why

Pod in The Park:

In amongst the hustle and bustle of live music and chef demonstrations was the Park Inn, a fictional pub setting which played host to the 'Pod In The Park' podcast. This live podcast setting, hosted by the iconic Simon Rimmer, provided an intimate setting for some of the biggest names in food and entertainment to talk about their experiences around pubs. The premise of the podcast was for the guests to talk about the components of their dream pub, however as all good podcasts do, it soon descended into chaos. The afternoon session saw Rimmer joined by comedian Richard Herring and dancer Karen Hauer, who both provided fascinating, and often hilarious, anecdotes around their drinking experience.

However, it was the evening's podcast which really saw the chaos begin. Chef Matt Tebbutt, and DJ Chris Starks were the guests, both of whom welcomed the chaotic nature of the show, downing mouth-wash looking drinks, recalling hilarious stories from throughout their careers, and essentially doing anything but the proper podcast layout. This was entertainment at its finest, which had the crowd in stitches

Firepit Stage:

One of the most interesting and deeply entertaining stages at Pub In The Park was the Firepit Stage. The stage was hosted by the brilliant duo of DJ BBQ (Christian Stevenson) and Chris Chops' Taylor, both of whom brought so much charisma to the stage, but also made sure every guest joining them could enjoy their moment in the limelight. I was lucky enough to attend two sessions at the Firepit stage, the first of which saw the Reggae Reggae legend Levi Roots take to the stage.

Levi had personality in abundance, as he talked about his experience mixing food with music, and staying true to his Caribbean routes. The evening session saw Chris Starks and Tom Kerridge (both of whom were absolute workhorses, covering multiple stages) showcase a number of offerings from Tom's new book. The cooking skills on show were mesmerising, made even more impressive given that Kerridge had to put up with the hysterically funny bedlam that was unravelling around him. The highlight of this bedlam was Chops and Starks duetting on a cover of Moana's 'You're Welcome'