Stendhal: ‘Something has to change or there won’t be a festival’

The festival’s name is a reference to Stendhal syndrome – a psychological condition in which people experience dizziness or being overwhelmed when exposed to works of exceptional beauty.

One up-and-coming band hoping to make an impression with their Stendhal debut is Growing Pains from Londonderry.

The band is made up of Aidan, Sean, Marty and Turlough, all of whom are aged 15 and 17 years old.

“We’ve been playing for over a year now,” said guitarist and singer, Aidan.

“Me and Sean, our bass player, became friends through music and did courses together at the Nerve Centre in Derry, so it all grew from there.

“We’re playing on Saturday on the Woolly Woodland Stage, and we’re buzzing.

“We’ve been going to Stendhal for years, but this is our first time playing as a band, so it’s really exciting.

“It’s the biggest stage we’ve played on. We’ve done youth club gigs before, but this is our first proper festival.

“It’ll be amazing to play on a stage where we’ve seen so many bands we look up to.”