Boardmasters Festival is an annual event held in Cornwall, United Kingdom, usually held over four days in mid-August. The event is a combination of live music and surfing/skateboarding competitions in and around the town of Newquay. The festival has a heritage that goes back to 1981 and with a current capacity of over 30,000 it's one of the UK's biggest music festivals.

© Andrew Hobbs Photography www.andrewhobbsphotography.co.uk — © Andrew Hobbs Photography www.andrewhobbsphotography.co.uk

The music side of the festival has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 2005 where you were entertained by James Blunt, Razorlight, Donovan Frankenreiter & Rooster, that's it! From 2005 to now, there have been some amazing bands and acts perform at the event including Snoop Dogg, Chase & Status, Basement Jaxx and Ben Howard.

The event was held this year from August 5th – 9th and the musical lineup was pretty amazing, a great eclectic blend of genres and styles to keep even the fussiest muso entertained all day long, checkout the full lineup below;

Due to ex-hurricane Bertha causing chaos across Britain, the organisers of the festival were forced to cancel the final day of Boardmasters 2014 at the Watergate Bay site, judging by the stunning weather seen on the Saturday, let's hope that the last night of the 2015 event would go according to plan!

Although we weren't there to capture the event unfolding, we have some amazing images covering most of the major bands that played at the festival.

Friday 7th August

REEF

Reef are a 4 piece band from Glastonbury, England. The band members include Gary Stringer on vocals, Jesse Wood on guitar, Jack Bessant on bass and Dominic Greensmith on drums. Past hits include 'Good Feeling', 'Naked' and 'Place Your Hands'. Their 'Naked' track was used to help promote Sony's MiniDisc in the mid 90's (it worked as I bought one!).

Looking more surf/hobo than their clean cut image of yesteryear, they performed an immense set full of classics that kept the audience bouncing for the duration.

RALEIGH RICHIE

Jacob Anderson also known by his stage name Raleigh Ritchie, is a British actor and singer best known for his role as Omen in the film Adulthood and as Grey Worm in the television series Game of Thrones.

His debut album has just been finished and will be released soon, I recently heard that he has a link to Kanye West, he used Rosie Danvers, who Mr Gold-Digga himself has used when it comes to an orchestral sound over his bars.

CIRCA WAVES

Circa Waves is a British indie-rock band formed in Liverpool in 2013. The band consists of frontman Kieran Shudall (vocals, guitar), Sam Rourke (bass), Colin Jones (drums) and Joe Falconer (guitarist).

The band released their debut album 'Young Chasers' in March 2015 and have had a very successful time gracing festival stages across the planet and supporting the likes of The 1975 and The Libertines.

LOWER THAN ATLANTIS

Lower Than Atlantis is an English rock band which formed in 2007 and are based in Watford, Hertfordshire. The band currently consists of lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Mike Duce, bassist Declan Hart, drummer Eddy Thrower and lead guitarist Ben Sansom.

Five years into their career, they have so far notched up 4 studio albums and a plethora of singles and EP's, if you like what you've read so far, they're playing a bunch of UK dates in December 2015.

NICK MULVEY

Nick Mulvey is an English musician, singer and songwriter who studied music in Havana, Cuba. He played the Hang as a founder member of 2008 Mercury Prize nominated band Portico Quartet, until 2011 when he left to pursue his career as a singer-songwriter releasing the EPs The Trellis (2012) and Fever to the Form (2013) and his studio album First Mind in 2014 which received a Mercury Music Prize.

He toured UK's symphony halls alongside Laura Marling and has long since been a firm addition to the festival circuit.

EVERYTHING EVERYTHING

Everything Everything is an English art rock band that formed in late 2007. They originate from Northumberland, Kent and Guernsey and reside in Manchester.

The band has released three albums to date – 2010's Man Alive, 2013's Arc and 2015's Get To Heaven – and have been widely critically acclaimed. Their work was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize and received three nominations for the Ivor Novello Award.

Firm favourites of the festival circuit, these guys really are a hard working band who bring joy and pleasure to anyone fortunate enough to be standing in front of them for an hour at a live show! If you haven't checked out their latest album (Get To Heaven), you really should, it fully deserves the 5 star reviews it has been picking up!

FAITHLESS

Faithless is a British electronica band consisting of Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and Rollo. The group is best known for their dance songs ("Salva Mea", "Insomnia", "God Is a DJ" and "We Come 1").

Faithless recorded six studio albums, with total sales exceeding 15 million records worldwide. The band announced it would split up after their 'Passing The Baton' dates at Brixton Academy on 7 and 8 April 2011, however, in February 2015 they reunited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band.

Saturday 8th August

RAG N BONE MAN

London based Rag n' Bone Man cites his influences as (and certainly not limited to) Sam Cooke, BB King and Muddy Waters. After realising that people liked what he had to offer, he started to perform regularly at local jam nights.

When his blues and beats worlds collided, the sound of Rag N' Bone perfected an artistic dualism of old and new. His output packs an eruptive mixture of hip hop and electronic thunder, with a golden coating of soul. He may have honed his trade underground, but Rag ‘N’ Bone Man is now stepping out of the shadows.

RHODES

RHODES is a British musician, singer and songwriter from Baldock in Hertfordshire. He released his debut EP Raise Your Love on Hometown Records in October 2013 and released his second EP Morning on Rhodes Music on 12 May 2014. His debut album Wishes is set to be released on 18th September 2015.

In March and April 2014, RHODES completed his first UK headline tour, including 3 sold out gigs at London's Sebright Arms on 8th, 9 & 10 April 2014. He supported London Grammar on their UK tour (including one of the O2 Academy Brixton Academy shows) as well as Sam Smith in the UK (at the Roundhouse) and in Europe (Amsterdam and Paris). RHODES also performed at BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Glasgow on the BBC Introducing stage on May 25 and at the Glastonbury Festival on June 29 on the Rabbit Hole stage.

We're looking forward to seeing him when he hits Exeter later in 2015.

MNEK

Uzo Emenike, professionally known as MNEK, is a Grammy-nominated British singer, songwriter, record producer and remixer of Nigerian descent, signed to Virgin EMI Records

His recent writing and production credits include Kylie Minogue, Chris Malinchak, Bondax, Becky Hill, Oliver Heldens, Karen Harding, Tieks, Naughty Boy, Gorgon City, Sub Focus, Clean Bandit, Duke Dumont, Rudimental, Little Mix, A*M*E among others and his remixes include Duran Duran, Olly Murs, Bastille and Tinie Tempah. He has also contributed vocals on the song "Living for Love" by Madonna.

His debut EP 'Small Talk' was released in March 2015, expect lots more from this talented individual soon.

RAE MORRIS

Rachel Anne "Rae" Morris is a super talented and beautiful English singer-songwriter. She released her debut album, Unguarded, in 2015.

Hailing from the town of Blackpool in Lancashire, Rae went on to be mentored by Karima Francis who helped to develop her songwriting skills. Later in 2015, Morris appeared in a television advertisement for fashion retailer Boohoo that featured the album's fifth single, "Love Again". She featured on Sivu's single "The Nile" and has performed at festivals including Bestival, Glastonbury, Lytham Festival, T in the Park, and Truck Festival.

I saw Rae perform a couple of times in Totnes years back, it was great to see her in such intimate surroundings and to see how she has grown musically to produce what she has done, a brilliant young lady who deserves your attention.

SEASICK STEVE

Steven Gene Wold, commonly known as Seasick Steve, is an American blues musician. He plays mostly personalised guitars made out of cigar boxes and biscuit tins and sings, usually about his early life doing casual work.

He is a longtime friend of Jools Holland and can be seen helping to bring in the new year at Jools' annual Hootenanny bash (pre-recorded I will add...), he has graced the stages of the majority of larger festivals all over the world including Glastonbury, been a 'star in a reasonably priced car' on Top Gear and shares Norway and the UK as 'home'.

DE LA SOUL

De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop sub-genres.

The members are Kelvin Mercer, David Jude Jolicoeur and Vincent Mason. The three formed the group in high school and caught the attention of producer Prince Paul with a demo tape of the song "Plug Tunin'". With its playful wordplay, innovative sampling, and witty skits, the band's debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, has been called "a hip hop masterpiece."

I first heard this album way back in 1988 and think that it formed the soundtrack to my last ever holiday to Majorca with my parents, great stuff!

RUDIMENTAL

Rudimental is an English drum and bass band who were nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2013, and won several awards including the Brit Award, and the Mobo Award for Best Album. They also received nominations at the MTV Europe Music Awards for Best New Act, and Best UK and Ireland act. Rudimental have achieved multiple Platinum awards.

The group rose to prominence in 2012 when their single "Feel the Love", featuring singer John Newman, topped the UK Singles Chart and for which they were also nominated for a BRIT Award in 2013.

The group have released further singles, including "Not Giving In" (featuring Newman and Alex Clare) and 2013 single "Waiting All Night" (featuring Ella Eyre) which also topped the chart in the UK. More recently the group released "Right Here" featuring Foxes, "Free" featuring Emeli Sandé and "Powerless" featuring Becky Hill. Rudimental were named by the BBC as the festival band of the summer. In 2013 Rudimental's album Home debuted at number 1 in the UK albums chart and was also nominated for a Mercury Music Prize.

They go on to wow crowds all over the world and are most definitely, one of THE bands to catch at a live music festival.

Sunday 9th August

KIM CHURCHILL

Kim Churchill is an Australian bare footed one man band, fortunately, not the type that walks around with a bass drum strapped to his back and a pair of cymbals between his knees. We've seen Kim a couple of times in Devon over the past 12 months and every time he plays, he wins more fans as a result, maybe that golden sun bleached hair and general great attitude to life has something to do with it?

Kim plays a great range of songs that showcase his voice which can go from tender to thunderous in a matter of seconds, his unique guitar playing skills coupled with some great harmonic and finger tapping guarantee the audience a great time. I dare say that Kim would have taken the opportunity to have a bit of a surf as he was on the doorstep of some of the UK's finest waves!

PRIDES

This Glasgow based synth-pop trio were riding high on the recent release of their debut album 'The Way Back Up' and entertained the audience with a selection of material which kept them dancing throughout their set.

Head over to their website where you can lay your hands on their new CD, T-Shirts, bags and other branded goodies and remember, they're just getting started!

LUCY ROSE

Releasing her 2nd album 'Work it Out' in July, Lucy Rose wowed the audience with her music, she'll be heading to Reading and Leeds festivals prior to heading out on the road in Europe before ending up back in Blighty mid October for a string of UK shows, goodness me this girl is BUSY!

I read that Lucy is a big fan of tea and began selling her own blend named 'Builder Grey' (two part English Breakfast and one part Earl Grey) at her shows as a substitute for merchandise or CDs. Why not brew yourself up a mug of the brown stuff whilst listening to her new CD?

SUNSET SONS

These guys hail from the UK and Australia via Hossegor in France, I do hope they live nearer each other these days as arranging a band practice must be a nightmare! They hit up the crowd with their uplifting rock music that they seemed to lap up like a kitten to a bowl of cream.

If you missed them at Boardmasters, fret not as they'll soon be embarking on a UK/European tour, opening for Imagine Dragons, more info available from their website.

CLEAN BANDIT

Clean Bandit is an English electronic group consisting of Jack Patterson, Luke Patterson, Grace Chatto, and Neil Amin-Smith.

Their 2010 single "Mozart's House", reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart. In January 2014, they scored their first UK Singles Chart-topping single with "Rather Be", a collaboration with Jess Glynne, featuring elements of both classical and dance music. "Rather Be" remained at the top of the chart for four weeks.

BASTILLE

Bastille is an English indie band formed in 2010. They began as a solo project by singer-songwriter Dan Smith, who later decided to form a band. The four-piece is completed by Chris 'Woody' Wood, William Farquarson and Kyle Simmons. They recently added a touring member to the band, Charlie Barnes. The name of the band derives from Bastille Day, which is celebrated on 14 July, Smith's birthday.

After an independently released debut single and a self-released EP, the band signed to Virgin Records. Their first studio album, Bad Blood, was released in March 2013 and entered the UK Albums Chart at number 1. The band was nominated for four Brit Awards at the 2014 ceremony, winning the British Breakthrough Act. As of November 2014, Bastille have sold over 5 million records in the US and 2.5 million records in the UK alone.

So there you have it folks, another year goes by, another Board Masters Festival comes to a close, we hope that you enjoyed the event and that some of the quality images above have bought back some memories that will stay with you for a long long time.

If you'd like to purchase any of the images from the festival, please click HERE and check out the gallery.

Words by Steve Muscutt

Photography by Andrew Hobbs