Local teen plays guitar on stage with The Kooks

A 16-year-old member of a young musicians’ programme at Frome’s Cheese and Grain achieved a festival dream after his homemade sign caught the attention of indie band The Kooks at Boardmasters. 

Alfie Crinion was invited on stage by frontman Luke Pritchard to play guitar with the band in front of thousands of people during their set at the Cornwall festival.

Alfie had taken a sign asking The Kooks if he could play Seaside after seeing a video of someone doing something similar at a Sam Fender set at Boardmasters in 2024.

“I thought that was really cool and that if I could do that, not only would that be a really cool experience playing with The Kooks, but it could also give me a bit more of a platform to promote my music,” said Alfie. “I got some cardboard and made the sign using a Sharpie!”

He and his friends got to the stage early on Friday 7th August to ensure they were close to the stage and that his sign was visible. They watched two sets before The Kooks came on.

“It was in the first song where Luke, the lead singer, he looked at me and gave me a wink, and I thought maybe that means he’ll let me up, so I was quite excited then,” said Alfie.

Alfie continued to hold up his sign for seven songs before the band members left the stage ahead of Seaside.

Luke then invited him on stage, saying, “I think he’s going to be really good. I’ve got a feeling; I can see it in his eyes.”

Alfie was lifted over the barricade by security guards and handed a guitar before addressing the thousands in the crowd over the microphone, something he said he had always wanted to do.

“I was over the moon,” said Alfie. “A lot of people asked if I was nervous, but my mindset was that if I do mess up, or it’s not good, at the end of the day, they haven’t paid to see me, they’ve paid to see The Kooks, and it’s just one song so it’s not a big loss. I thought I might as well just try and be confident and enjoy it.

“When I got up and everyone was cheering my name, it felt really cool. It’s only four chords, so it’s quite easy. Towards the end, I just tried jazzing it up a bit and playing it my own way, and Luke said after that he’d never had anyone play it like that.”

This was Alfie’s first time at Boardmasters festival in Cornwall and he said the experience has inspired him to pursue a career in music.

“When we’d been going around the festival and I’d seen that stage, I was like, this is definitely where I want to play in the future, this is just awesome,” said Alfie. “And then when I got up on stage and played with The Kooks, it just kind made me realise that this is definitely what I want to do because it’s always been a dream.

“Recently I had my GCSEs and so I’ve been focussing more on them than my music. I haven’t posted a song in a while, and this basically just got me back into thinking that this is definitely the aim for me to actually play on that main stage as my own act.”

Alfie is part of a programme which gives young people the chance to make and record music in the Cheese and Grain’s Bert Jansch Studio.

He is hoping to apply to play at Boardmasters next year and hopes his experience on stage with The Kooks might help him secure a set.

In the meantime, he will continue to busk locally and record and release songs as part of the young musicians’ programme at the Cheese and Grain. He is also planning to take music as an A-level when he returns to Warminster School in September.

Alfie shares his music online via his social media. His TikTok is available at https://www.tiktok.com/@alfie.crinion

His music is also available to listen to on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/artist/1cOuLGqToySb3p97P9c0Dj