A Music Lovers Survival Guide to studying at the Penryn Campus

By Kingsley Hunt, Evolutionary Biology PhD Student

On Thursday 31^st October 2019, Halloween night, a small corner of the internet imploded. My Chemical Romance, the iconic New Jersey rock band, had announced their unexpected return with a one-off show at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Tickets promptly sold out in seconds. For a self-confessed emo* kid (yes, hair-straightened fringe and all) just starting my Masters degree on the other side of the Atlantic, all I could do was watch on with jealousy…and wait.

Three years later – following a minor, global pandemic-sized delay – my favourite childhood band finally kicked off their reunion world tour by playing in…Cornwall?! As a student at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus, I couldn’t believe my luck: they’d be playing not one, but two, back-to-back shows just down the road at the Eden Project.

Seeing My Chemical Romance is just one (well okay, technically two – of course I went to both..) of the many great gigs that I’ve been to since I arrived in Falmouth as an undergraduate student in Zoology.  Originally from the West Midlands, I grew up under the influence of Kerrang!, whose Birmingham-based radio station helped shape my music tastes towards ever louder and faster guitars. Before long, my bedroom walls were covered in magazine posters of rock bands – including one of Danger Days era My Chemical Romance positioned proudly just above my desk – and I’d caught the bug for live music, attending gigs and festivals as often as I could.

However, after finishing up my A-levels and confirming my place at the University of Exeter, I had a bit of a wobble. I loved the idea of a coastal campus near Falmouth, my course looked perfect with field trips and opportunities to study abroad, but a key question remained. Where would all the bands be? Was it time for me to say So Long and Goodnight to the gig-going lifestyle I’d enjoyed? My academic life and musical interests hadn’t clashed this much since I’d gone to see Taking Back Sunday the day before my Maths A Level exam. Thankfully, I was wrong and very pleasantly surprised by the vibrant music scene that awaited me in this not so quiet corner of Cornwall.

The following guide is what I’ve put together from over A Decade Under the Influence of a live music obsession while studying at the Penryn Campus: through my undergrad, a Masters and now PhD. Let’s just hope Fugazi don’t reunite a day before my Viva.

The Cornish Bank

It’d be remiss to start any blog about the Falmouth music scene without mentioning The Cornish Bank. Situated right in the heart of the high street, The Bank is a grassroots, not-for-profit community arts space. The gigs offered here are eclectic. Not in a dating app bio “I’m trying to impress you” kind of way, but in a truly diverse, genre-spanning and globe-trotting sense. There really is something for everyone: examples from just the next few months of events include Malian desert blues, Irish alt-folk, Palestinian jazz and Philadelphian punk. The Cornish Bank are also big believers in local talent too. Regular events include:

•  Klub Nos Lowen – a joyous night of Cornish dancing and Celtic traditions
• EMON – with no guitars or Wonderwall covers allowed, this open mic night with a twist is totally free and designed for local electronic producers to collaborate and demo their latest tracks.
• A regular folk club featuring both contemporary and traditional folk for all ages and abilities.
• Clunk Presents – a series curated by Cornwall’s indie music magazine typically shining a spotlight on up-and-coming indie and punk bands

The Cornish Bank is highly accessible and affordable to students, with cheap drinks at the bar, cheaper unwaged ticket options and even totally free shows regularly advertised under their ‘Feed the Toucan’ banner. The reach of The Cornish Bank isn’t just limited to the one venue. Across the road they also put on more intimate, stripped-back shows at the highly atmospheric KCM Church. Just a few weeks back I saw The Golden Dregs, a Falmouth-formed, now South-London based band, play the first date of their tour celebrating their excellent new album ‘Godspeed’ here. Benjamin Woods, the lead songwriter and distinctive baritone vocalist for The Golden Dregs is somewhat of a hometown hero, having graduated from the BA Creative Music Technology Course at Falmouth University. This is a great aside to mention the close relationship that exists between Falmouth University and the University of Exeter, as although all teaching and research is separate, the social lives of students from both institutions are very much intertwined: sharing a Students’ Union, societies and accommodation together on the Penryn Campus. This means that many of your housemates and friends could be Falmouth students studying courses like Popular Music or Music Production, and there’s wave after wave of student bands to join or go out and support. After all, who doesn’t want the bragging rights and indie credibility of being able to say “I was there” when that next big band breaks. I don’t know about you, James Murphy, but I’m not losing my edge.

But back on topic to The Cornish Bank. They also organise and promote the weekend-long and town-wide Wanderfal festival, which has become a recurring annual event in April, right at the start of the summer festival season. With an emphasis on new talent, this two-day event involves a wide mix of artists playing across multiple venues in Falmouth. As the name suggests, the joy of this event is wandering around town from venue to venue catching one act after another on a sort of musical treasure hunt. Despite only being three years old, recent graduates of Wanderfal festival include This Is the Kit, Squid and Snapped Ankles. Later in the summer, The Cornish Bank also promote a series of gigs across the water as part of their ‘Summer Camp’ festival at the picturesque Trefusis Estate in Flushing, and in the spectacular cliff-top settings of the open-air Minack Theatre near Penzance. If you’re lucky, you might even be treated with a support act of pods of wild dolphins passing through before the main act takes the stage. Now that’s something you don’t get to see at your local O2 Academy.

Best of the Rest of Falmouth

Alongside the Cornish Bank, Falmouth is also home to multiple other venues that lead to it punching well above its weight in live music for a town of its size. The largest is the Princess Pavilion, located just a stone’s throw back from the iconic Gyllyngvase Beach. Once again, you can find a mix of acts here, as the Pavilion regularly hosts a range of theatre, comedy and music, including hosting Falmouth’s two-day long Reggae Festival each October. Recently  I was very  excited to be heading here to see Irish pop sensation CMAT – you might recognise her tunes from the recently viral ‘Woke Macerana’ Tik Tok dance – play a special intimate warm-up gig before she takes to the main Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. Back on the High Street, other notable venues in Falmouth include…

•  The Poly – a live arts centre home to a cinema, pottery workshop, pop-up galleries and co-host of the Wanderfal festival.
• The Chintz and Underland – a two-storey cocktail bar, creative space and music venue. Chintz and Underland downstairs are home to regular DJ nights, indie bands and a weekly Monday night jazz club.
• The Front – perhaps the best pub in Falmouth, situated right on the harbourside at Custom House Quay and home to weekly folk nights and open mic nights.
• Fish Factory Arts Space – located in Penryn, rather than Falmouth, The Fish Factory is another community arts space home to regular live music, exhibitions and residencies. They’re also partnered with local gender inclusive recording studio, Siren Studio, if you fancy making any music of your own.
• Kona – a tropical themed cocktail bar and restaurant with regular live music Sunday sessions, typically featuring stripped back acoustic sets and surf vibes.

I’ve even been to see punk bands in a barbers, through shows put on by Black Dog Haircutters in Falmouth, so I think it’s fair to say that Falmouth really does have a little bit of everything if you go out looking for it.

Eden Sessions

Alongside My Chemical Romance already mentioned, I’ve been lucky enough to see many other acts perform in front of Eden’s iconic biomes. These include ‘sad dad’ US indie rockers The National (unfortunately no, Taylor Swift didn’t make a surprise appearance…), US indie rockers The War on Drugs and.. okay, you know what, there might be a theme here. But, for those of you who don’t like your music quite as brooding, introspective and full of guitars, don’t worry. Each year, Eden Sessions lineup includes a solid variety in the 7 or 8 shows that take place throughout the summer. Recent years have included everything from the dancefloor anthems of Fatboy Slim to Idles’ noisy punk catharsis, to bona fide rock royalty The Who, and even a healthy dose of boyband nostalgia courtesy of JLS – a reunion tour that my housemate was much more emotionally invested in than maybe she’d admit. Even better? Every Eden Sessions ticket comes with a free pass to explore the rest of the Eden Project, either on the day of your gig or afterwards. So you can spend your afternoon wandering through tropical rainforests and Mediterranean greenhouses, before spending the night dancing, moshing or singing along in front of glowing biomes. It’s a uniquely Cornish combination of biomes, bangers and a buzzing atmosphere, and no, that isn’t just because of all the pollinators.

Boardmasters

Arguably the biggest musical event in Cornwall each year is the Newquay-based Boardmasters festival, easily accessible in under an hour from Falmouth. Set across the stunning backdrop of Fistral Beach and Watergate Bay, Boardies is responsible for consistently booking some of the biggest acts to play in the South West. Recent headliners include the likes of Sam Fender, Stormzy, Lorde, Liam Gallagher, Chase and Status and more. Musically, most of the focus is on indie, grime and drum and bass, but you can also catch a range of surf and skating competitions, visit wellness areas or get involved in beach yoga. Boardmasters is set up as a full festival with camping for up to five days, a shopping village and food trucks galore, the convenient location from Falmouth means it’s also easy to go for just a day ticket. Previously they’ve also been known to offer discounted tickets to locals, making it an even better deal for students studying at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus.

Other festivals in Cornwall

While Boardmasters might steal the spotlight as the biggest festival in Cornwall’s calendar, there are a wide range of others to check out during the long summer break between university terms. These include Falmouth’s own International Sea Shanty festival, the largest of its kind in Europe and totally free. For a whole weekend in June, every venue, bar and square in the town is overtaken with sea shanty groups to celebrate Falmouth’s nautical heritage. Audience participation and pirate fancy dress are both very much encouraged. Elsewhere in Cornwall, Tunes in the Dunes is a three-day summer festival held right on the middle of Perranporth Beach, one of Cornwall’s longest stretches of sand. The emphasis here is on chart-topping hits and nostalgia, with previous acts including McFly, Busted, Craig David and Jess Glynne. Once again, I think this might be one for my former housemate… Further inland, The Great Estate Festival is also held each year at the grounds of Scorrier House, near Redruth. Described as Cornwall’s “most rambunctious garden fête”, this weekend-long festival recently hosted headliners such as Madchester pioneers The Happy Mondays and Welsh icons Manic Street Preachers. Debuting for the first time this year is Kernowfornia festival, held on Looe Beach, with an emphasis on sustainability, zero waste and  an independent ethos. The vibe very much leans towards the laid back and chilled out, with acts such as Nick Mulvey, Newton Faulkner and A Blaze of Feather (featuring another Falmouth alumni, Ben Howard!) all set to perform in September.

So, if you’re a music lover worried that choosing the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus means giving up gigs for geology lectures or trading setlists for seminar notes—don’t be. From up-and-coming acts at The Cornish Bank to sea shanties in the streets and international icons at the Eden Project, there’s a music scene here for everyone. Falmouth might look like a quieter coastal town at first, but trust me, once you know where to go it’s anything but. Don’t forget your earplugs, and I’ll see you down the front.

*Author’s note: debates over what counts as “true” emo will have to be saved for a follow up blog post…