By Max Wooldridge
June 2008
Music festivals have always been as much about self-expression as about chilling-out in a field (or skidding in a mudpool) with friends and listening to top bands. But when tickets to some of these events sell out within minutes, or the events themselves have become too big, corporate or lost their original meaning, it’s time to seek out more boutique-like festivals. In recent years, many smaller and more intimate music festivals have sprung up to cater for festival-goers seeking an alternative to festivals like Reading or Glastonbury.
What d’you get if you cross a music festival with a watersports competition? The result is Wakestock (27-29 June) held in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, Oxford. While this year’s top music acts include Mark Ronson, Supergrass, The Streets and Groove Armada, the wakeboarding - a cross between snowboarding and waterskiing - takes place on the lake in front of the palace.
Not all music festivals are suitable for children or older folk but Guilfest (4-6 July), at Stoke Park, Guildford, scores well in providing entertainment for all ages with music, comedy, arts and crafts. Kidzone is jam-packed full of fun for the little ones: stilt-walking, face-painting and balloon-modelling, and there’s also a Kids Parade, where youngsters can show off their creations to other festival-goers. And, not forgetting, there’s some top-notch live music too - this year’s quality line-up includes Blondie, the Levellers, The Damned and Richie Havens.
The five-day Larmer Tree Festival (16-20 July) in Salisbury, Wiltshire, has a chilled-out atmosphere and straddles varied musical genres such as world, blues, jazz, Americana, reggae and more. Now in its 18th year, it is child and family-friendly withlots of creative workshops for kids and grown-ups, a dressing-up day and street-theatre troupes. Set in a lovely Victorian estate near Tollard Royal, with pleasure gardens with resident peacocks and toilets voted ‘best loos’ in the 2006 UK Festival Awards. The festival has only a 4,000 capacity, so as well as a more intimate atmosphere you’re guaranteed a shorter wait for the loos. This year’s acts include Jools Holland & his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, Marc Almond, Bellowhead and bluesman Eric Bibb.
Latitude Festival (17-20 July) takes place in the beautiful setting of Henham Park, Southwold on the Suffolk coast. Voted best music festival by BBC 6 Music listeners in its very first year, it’s been described as a more laid-back Glastonbury with smaller crowds, this year’s musical line-up includes Franz Ferdinand, Sigur Ros, Martha Wainwright. Beth Orton and Julian Cope. Great live music acts are far from the sum of Latitude’s parts, with strong poetry, literary, cabaret/comedy and theatre performances too.
For the second year running, CampBestival (18-20 July) brings ashore all the success and revelry of the Isle of Wight's September festival to the mainland - at Lulworth Castle in Dorset. As the festival name suggests there’s plenty of groovy camping options - camper vans, tepees and bivouacs, or even a solar powered podpad with fitted carpet, shelving and a lockable front door. Musically, there’s a diverse line-up too!
Another laid-back, family-friendly music festival is The Big Chill (1-3 August) at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire, which features top music, dance stages and top comedy acts like Bill Bailey and The Mighty Boosh. This year’s bands include electronic acts such as Bomb the Bass and Plaid.
Music festival promoters can rarely resist a good pun and inevitably there had to be one called Endorse-It In-Dorset (8-10 August). This small 5,000-capacity weekend event captures an eclectic mix of ska, dub and punk amid the beautiful rural setting of Oakley Park, near Sixpenny Handley in the heart of Dorset’s historic and picturesque Cranborne Chase. This year’s quality acts include the Beat, the Buzzcocks and Dreadzone and many more. There are two tented stages plus an open-air stage for music and comedy, plus childrens’, healing and chill-out areas.
Folk music meets psychedelic rock in a beautiful part of Wales at the award-winning Green Man Festival (15-17 August) at Glanusk Park, nr Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons. This year’s headliners are the British folk/jazz super group Pentangle, performing in their original line up that includes Bert Jansch and John Renbourn. James Yorkston will also appear, making his Green Man debut.
On the same weekend is one of the UK’s best up-and-coming festivals, Beautiful Days (15-17 August) at Escot Park, Ottery St Mary, Devon. It was created in 2003 by folk-punk band the Levellers who wanted an old-fashioned festival with a strong sense of community spirit. This 10,000 capacity mini-Glastonbury Festival won the Best Grassroots Festival at the 2006 UK Festival Awards and confirmed acts this year include Squeeze, Supergrass, Nouvelle Vague, Turin Brakes, Seth Lakeman and of course, the Levellers.
Fatboy Slim, Peter Tong, Kasabian and Ian Brown headline this year’s 10th anniversary Creamfields (23-24 August) at the Daresbury Estate, Halton in Cheshire. This two-day festival is the UK's biggest dance and electronic event, having been voted the UK’s best dance festival two years running in the UK Festival Awards and Festival Event of the Year in the House Music Awards. The festival attracts the biggest names in the DJ world as well as a great line-up of major live acts.
Bestival (5-7 September) is a three-day jamboree on the Isle of Wightbased on the island’s larger and more famous music festival. Still only in its fifth year it isalready hugely popular amongst festival-goers, having been voted best medium-sized festival two years running at the UK Festival Awards.This year's varied musical talent ranges from Gary Numan and the Human League to My Bloody Valentine, Aphex Twin and Chas and Dave. Along with good music and fancy dress silliness, once again festival organisers clearly enjoy good puns; ‘Restival’ is a quiet chill-out zone featuring hammocks inside Mongolian yurt tents and ‘Breastival’ an area reserved for new and expectant mothers. It takes place at Robin Hill Country Park, near Newport.
ditors are welcome to print, broadcast or edit this material in any reasonable way.
Images available todownload from Britain on View photolibrary, www.britainonview.com
Press contact: Damian Nixey. Tel: +44(0)20 8563 3228 E-mail: damian.nixey@visitbritain.org