The Bandstand was a new innovation for the 2006 festival. The Platform One music school programmed more than 50 acts over the three days of the festival at a specially constructed bandstand stage in the Strawberry Fields.  | | The Bandstand |
Tens of thousands of festival goers caught an earful of the local bands on their way to the main arena. For director David Pontin it was a big boost for the local music scene: "The stage represents the range of talent amongst young people on the Isle of Wight. The standard is absolutely fantastic. It's always been difficult for Island bands - the Solent is such a barrier when it comes to playing gigs so this is an amazing opportunity for Island acts to be seen by a large audience." On the main stage, the Sunday line up was kicked off with sets from local bands Skyline Heroes and The Windows. The Windows, who have only been playing together for a month won the opportunity at the Wight Noize auditions and were naturally excited about sharing a stage with the likes of Coldplay and Lou Reed: "It was wicked - we were quite nervous backstage but once we got up there and saw the crowd, all the nerves went and we got right into it. We played our first gig at Niton Village Hall - so it's quite a big step to the Isle of Wight Festival. We didn't think we'd win, we just did it for the feedback from the judges - we completely didn't believe it." | 
