Wakefield’s community-run festival delights one last time.

Shaking the dust of novelty off of alighting at Wakefield Westgate Station, I was welcomed into a charming bubble built upon the best of the town’s arts community. It is a great shame that this year’s Long Division Festival will be the last; it was a joy from start to finish, emitting the inspiring and fun atmosphere DIY festivals are there for.

Upstairs at the multi-purpose community centre Unity Hall, the bill was strong enough for one to bounce between its large and small halls all day. In the early afternoon even the bar staff hopped from one room to the other following the crowds. Ellie Bleach took to the stage with her solo setup, playing through tracks from last year’s ‘No Elegant Way to Sell Out’ EP along with new single ‘Pamela’ and a couple of tantalising unreleased new ones.

Up next was Vanity Fairy, a fixture on London’s live scene making what she explained was a rare foray North. I last saw her supporting Bleach at The Moth Club, which provides an useful reference point. In the sparkling glitz artifice of Moth Club, her idiosyncratic take on disco, elaborate stage getup and routinely fresh antics clambering around gig room mid-song are unusual enough. In the less affected Unity Minor Hall,, before gray curtains, the dépaysement brought on by her music and the camp glamour of her sparkly kaftan felt complete. Her set was like the best Bollywood music scenes, those which are completely removed from plot and setting, little pearls of living magic. The incongruity was underlined when her ritual distribution of pornographic playing cards with delicately placed stickers was interrupted when she spotted the two young children in the front, and had to call their parents to come and take the cards from them. Fairy dust is strictly for over-18s.

The next stop was Venue23, where Long Division wedged between a schedule dominated by covers bands and also Fun Lovin’ Criminals (21^st July, get on down!). Under slightly-too-bright lights, Opus Kink marched on stage. Feeling the sweltering heat of the mid-afternoon, Angus Rogers was already shirtless, and most of the band (with the exception of the ever-elegant Jed Morgans) was dressed for the inevitable sweat their set would involve. Though relatively early in the day, the band naturally kicked up a ferocious storm, blasting through the deviously simple hooks of debut EP ‘Til the Stream Runs Dry’ as well as new cuts from ‘My Eyes, Brother!’. Closing on the deluge of noise and pathos that is ‘1.18’, the band transcended the homely feel of the festival, leaving their happily filthy stamp upon it. Although it was their first time in Wakefield, one enraptured fan a fair bit older than me (and not exactly dressed like your average punk gig-goer) excitedly told me that was her thirteenth time seeing the band. Awlright!

Once the band had towelled down backstage, I joined them for a quick interview (stay tuned on that), cooling down with what may well have been Folly Group’s rider Guinnesses (they didn’t mind). Boogaloo Radio were about too, checking in about the band members’ hair care routines. Vanity Fairy was also in attendance, asking as many questions as me.

With Opus packed back into the van repairing to London (check word), I headed back to Unity Hall, joined by Vanity Fairy, for Stanley Brinks. Known to me only as a frequent collaborator of Freschard (who I was very excited to be seeing later that day), I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. Arriving to the 50-year-old French performer on stage in polo shirt and bucket hat, looking much like my dad on holiday, I was assured my instinct was correct. Perhaps I am tired of young men looking cool all set long. Stanley Brinks writes with the same impression of off-the-cuff simplicity as Jonathan Richman, twinning it with a similar brand of clanky gentle rock ‘n’ roll guitar. Drinking straight vodka was a recurrent theme (“Sober in Barcelona, not me”), and he even opened with a song about hanging out in Wakefield! This was an enlightening set, speaking of the grand career a DIY rockstar can still have.

From there, a quick explore of Wakefield’s bustling high street was in order as I set out for dinner along with Vanity Fairy (still in glittering kaftan). Wondering whether Wakefield is in fact the tapas capital of the UK, we parted ways, her for Naima Bock while I opted for The Orielles. Having seen Bock’s undeniably wonderful set at plenty of festivals this past year, I wanted to try something different. The Theatre Royal is a great setting, a classic small English theatre with painted signs and golden detailing around the building. The room was fantastic, sat in a tight arc around the stage to watch the band. Unfortunately, the sound was decidedly lacking, though whether that is the fault of the venue or the band I couldn’t say. Either way, it was hard to buy into Henry Carlye’s energetic guitar performance when it came through so quietly. For a band defined by their rich soundscaping, it was a shame to only really hear the bass and drums. These issues explained the scene on the stairs on the way in, where I overheard one woman leaving the venue entertainingly remarking, “All the girl singers are just a bit namby pamby aren’t they?”

Back in the Unity Hall building, Freschard was setting up in the bar downstairs, Lobby 1867. Accompanied by Stanley Brinks, her set was a delight, holding a crowd of devout fans and general bar fare alike. A call-and-response of “I’m the boss here / Who’s the boss here?” was swiftly established, bringing hip-hop hype to a jangling indie guitar set.

Having only a brief moment to look in on Skinny Pelembe in the other Unity Hall Room, it was then time to head over to The Lovely Eggs, who were closing the festival in style back at Venue23. Deadletter clashed and having caught their fierce late-night set at Great Escape it felt worthwhile to check out something different this time around. Filling the room with a mix of affirming joy and terse fury, the set made for a perfect final bow for Long Division, which has always gotten along somehow on its own terms.

This sunny day in Wakefield was a slice of indie magic. Multi-venue festivals are always a great way to explore a new place through its venues and gig-goers, and this had the further charm of spaces less well-prepared to host the day’s bands. Let us hope that the small but trusty team behind the event bring its gold dust with them to future pursuits.