Tonic Music @ Icebreaker Festival
- Team Tonic
- 6 hours ago
- 4 min read
Tonic Music made its debut at Icebreaker Festival in Southsea.
Think of all the reasons you love attending local live music gigs - the warm welcome of entering a grassroot venue, the thrill of discovering your new favourite band, meeting like-minded music fans scouting for more music to love, and of course, brilliant live music performed by local talent.
Combine all of these elements together and you have made Icebreaker Festival - Southsea’s very own unsigned music festival.
On Saturday 31st January, Tonic Music attended Icebreaker Festival for the very first time and was based in The One Eyed Dog, one of eight venues that was involved. Other venues included The Wedgewood Rooms, Vaults, The Loft, Lord John Russell, The Atrium, and The Deco, all within a half mile radius of each other.
With this year being its 12th year running, and 80 sets played across eight iconic venues, the festival is all about “getting new talent out, it is in the name Icebreaker” said Billy Colburn, one of the Directors of the festival.
↑ Billy Colburn, Icebreaker Festival
“It is about breaking the ice in Southsea – getting everyone out of the house and getting the buzz of new music and enjoying what we have here locally.”
When you first entered the One Eyed Dog, the right side of the venue was its main stage that had nine acts performing throughout the day, and the left side was where Team Tonic brought the Tonic Music Live Lounge to life.
It was in a cosy corner of the venue that musicians had the opportunity to perform on our stage, as well as playing on our founding patron Terry Hall’s piano.
The Tonic Music Live Lounge lineup included; Dom Elton & Hannah Reem, Mimi Rae, Naomi Campbell, Olly Hite, Fake Empire, Rosewater, and Fast Trains.
↑ Hannah Reem
When chatting to singer-songwriter Hannah Reem, she described her performance as “nervewracking.”
“When performing in intimate spaces like this, you can feel quite vulnerable,” she explained, “Dom (founder of Mayfield Records) and I write our own original music, and it comes very much from the heart. There was a song we just performed called Radiant Fires which is about friends that we had lost through suicide, so it becomes very personal.”
↑ Dom Elton
“But we had such lovely feedback from the audience and it was wonderful. We are so grateful for Tonic Music for inviting us.”
Opposite the stage was the bar, which was transformed into a merch stall by Team Tonic. Attendees could purchase an array of Tonic Music merch, as well as speaking to our team for information on the mental health services that we provide.
Located at the back of the venue was the Tonic Lounge – a quiet space for anyone to use if and when needed.
When speaking with the artists after their set had finished, all of them emphasised how important music was to their mental wellbeing, whether it is through songwriting or playing music live.
↑ Olly Hite
Singer songwriter Olly Hite, who described himself as a “modern day Billy Joel with a twist of tequila” explained how music has a positive impact on his mental wellbeing. “I grew up with my nan’s piano in my bedroom,” he said, “it was almost like a PlayStation to me, it was there to be played.”
“I feel fortunate that I can take how I am feeling, turn it into a song, and after I have written a song, nine times out of ten I feel better.”
George Donoghue, co-vocalist and guitarist from Icebreaker’s headliner Wrex, opened up about his relationship with music acting as a “safety net” for his mental health.
“Music has been my coping mechanism my entire life,” he explained, “playing music and going to gigs is an opportunity to connect with others. It is my outlet, almost like a safety net, I feel safe with music.”
Watch the full interview below.
Every piece of Tonic Music merch purchased at Icebreaker Festival aids us to support music communities access to free therapy sessions, peer groups, skills workshops and training courses. Any donation made is greatly appreciated– thank you to everyone who stopped by our stall to have a chat, buy merch, and listen to great live music throughout the day.
“This charity means so much to me due to my personal loss,” explained Hannah Reem, “so many of my friends who are musicians struggle with their mental health so much. The work Tonic Music does is vital.”
↑ Fake Empire
↑ Naomi Campbell
↑ Mimi Rae
↑ Rosewater
↑ Fast Trains
Icebreaker Festival was truly a special day for Team Tonic - especially having Terry Hall’s piano involved with many of the Tonic Music Live Lounge performances.
“It was great to make our debut at such a wonderful event in a superb venue,” says Tonic Music’s Event Coordinator Dave Clark, “thanks to all at Icebreaker and the One Eyed Dog for making it happen. And a big thanks to all of the artists who played for us and gave their time so generously, without them it could not have been as good as it was.”
“Final thanks goes to everyone who stopped by to watch, listen, join in, chat, grab some info and buy some merch… it was a lovely day all round!”
