Ringmaster Festival are proud to announce the "special guests" for this year's inaugural event as London quintet, Hadouken!
With the likes of Maximo Park, Mystery Jets, Deaf Havana, The Blackout, We Are The Ocean, Ghostpoet, Johnny Borrell & Zazou and host of other rising acts already confirmed Hadouken! will play The Red Baron stage at the big top event taking place on 28th September 2013 on the Whitebourne Estate, near Worcester.
In addition, the festival are currently giving away a limited number of location dependent FREE Shuttle Bus tickets when purchased with a standard entry ticket. For more information vist www.ringmasterfestival.co.uk.
Camp Bestival have even more fun and games to announce, starting with a mega daring Guinness World Record Attempt to launch the most ever paper aeroplanes simultaneously. The festival is hooking up with Disney to celebrate the upcoming release of their new animated film Planes and they need your help.
Roll up, roll up because this is happening on Saturday morning, 3rd August at 10.30am in Camp Bestival’s main arena The Castle Field. This is part of a truly global event with people in countries such as Holland, Germany and Spain also taking part at exactly the same time. Each plane thrown will also have a special code allowing you to enter an exclusive competition to win some truly amazing prizes, including tickets to next year’s Camp Bestival. This is a chance to be a part of history by breaking the world record!
But that’s not all, as Disney will also be hosting a special sing-along screening of The Jungle Book at 10am on Sunday morning.Tthe Castle Field will be filled with the glorious sights and sounds of one of the film world’s all-time greats, The Jungle Book.
Finally, Camp Bestival's favourite baker and cake designer, Lily Vanilli, will be judging the very first Camp Bestival Bake Off! Lily will be based in the Guardian Literary Institute on Friday morning to share her feedback and cast her judgement on your homemade efforts. So you’ll be able to prepare your wares at home before you leave for the festival – just make sure you get yourself a good travelling tin!
The last remaining weekend and day tickets are still on sale but you have to be quick if you want to join Labrinth, Richard Hawley and The Levellers at the four day festival.
The distinctive theme for the Secret Garden Party was surrounded by the idea of losing and finding yourself. Situated in the rural Abbots Ripton, near Huntingdon, people unite as “gardeners” coming together like free atoms colliding along the way. You leave yourself at the boundaries of reality and enter into an innovative multi-dimensional universe. With contagious vibes radiating from the drones of twentieth century hippies that trudged barefoot towards the gates (seeming to be unphased by the crates of Bulmers and four man tents they carried with them) there was a real sense of something exciting in the air. And we were not to be disappointed.
With the distant mumble of a soft rock solo guiding our way, we stumbled across Z Star at the Where The Wild Things Are stage. The crowd themselves however where not quite as wild as the stages name suggested but what became apparent was that the real hustle and bustle was happening just out of focus.
Men and women alike draped in eccentric fancy dress and showered in glitter led the way, drawing us away from the main attractions to the real heart of this unique festival. Sugar skull armies roamed the fields through vintage door frames that stood precariously, despite having no purpose at all. That’s when it really became apparent, secret garden party wasn’t your average festival. This is something that even virgin gardeners became accustomed to be at one with. One pixie like festival goer described the experience as being “an outer body experience” before being gently swept away into the twilight.
We followed suit and were abruptly woken by the dawn and the dew sweeping into our shoddy single layered tent that meant we were frankly sleeping under the stars. A bacon butty soon fixed all of our problems as we strolled through the sleeping souls of the intoxicated gardeners. A surreal air of stillness captivated the acres of land that had previously been flooded with energy but where now defused. We crossed paths with a Mad Scientist who repeatedly called out to no one in particular, “There’s a pile of experiences somewhere and no one can find them. What happened! What happened?”
The morning soon burst back into light as it didn’t take long before the gardeners were refreshed and eager to experience what the bands on their wrists could allow them. Flooding back to the fields meant that the atmosphere was much more electric. Exercise classes being led by mythical creatures in The Forum riled up the children, teens and adults of all ages that were catching the worms. These small, almost insignificant occurrences are almost magnetic in this environment. Gardeners gathered to admire with curiosity as to what was unravelling before them.
The music may be what you think you’re paying for, but the real experiences come in the surreal. Your own handmade postcards would be delivered to anyone who you could describe. So, your mate in the floral tent, with brown hair, wearing a top hat and fox tail would surely receive her mail. Being handed grasshoppers by workers displayed how this festival is all about being at one with nature and to become a true gardener you have to really run free. The more you open up and allow yourself to roam carelessly, the more of this weird and wonderful universe you will unintentionally discover.
The Labyrinth acted as a winding corridor with unravelling pathways which lead to unique burrows with different purposes. Burrows that acted as living rooms occupied with large restful sofas and dated coffee tables. On your way through, an assortment of books hung from the trees. One titled ‘Reveal your biggest secret’, the pages overflowed with confessions. Mirrors lay and wished to be broken, but no glass was seen scattered amongst the floor. No one gambled to risk the superstition. A fellow explorer explained to me, “the music is the backing track to a whole new realm,” as the hazy music journeyed from deeper within the forest. You wander around like Alice in Wonderland and unearth bands such as The Wytches, Django Django and Dan Crol. This was a mere treat amongst the array of activities such as crafts, sewing and epic mud combat wars.
A remarkable moment of Secret Garden Party gathered thousands of gardeners together; the paint fight. Waves of figures swarmed around the main stage and back into the far distance. The iconic sounds of House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ boomed and the sea of bodies jumped and hurled paint into the air, causing vast clouds of multicolour.
It was a spiritual experience and one band in particular stood out at this festival in a similar way. The Staves’ effortless ethereal aura personified Secret Garden Party, appealing to all ages that basked in the summer sun to soak in this other worldly experience. The Staves called out to the crowd “you all look very sunny” as girls danced about like small pixies, supernaturally moving with fascination to the enchanting guitar strings and the echoing melodies of the three sisters.
The Staves ethereal legacy lived on in the days to come, with bands such as Misty Miller serenading the crowds that persevered through the rain. The weather seemed to act as a pivotal point but the crowds persevered through the down pour. It did not dampen the spirits of most of the gardeners, if anything it brought new life to the festival. One wet gardener stated “the vibe- everyone is over it, or way to into it.”
Something else that people were defiantly ‘into’ was the food. Secret Garden Party prides itself on being diverse, and its catering services did the same. Offering up Ostrich burger for the adventurous, or a tamer pepperoni pizza for those with less experimental taste buds, there was something for everyone.
Secret Garden Party acts as an escape to the reality which we all face on a daily basis. People come here for the experiences beyond the music; to lose themselves and act as free spirits among the beautiful surroundings. The green backdrop becomes a present day Neverland, acting as a metaphor for eternal childhood, immortality and escapism for the gardeners. Time is difficult to track in this world. But when time eventually regains itself come Monday morning and we’ve packed up our dew covered tents; we knew we were leaving behind something monumental. As the masses left towards the gates, one content garden smiled and said “until next year, yeah?”
Global Gathering set at Long Marston airfield in Stratford Upon Avon, Home to biggest UK Electronic music festival. Global Gathering is currently in its 13th year and holds some of the biggest names in both the UK Charts as well as world wide legends; such as the great Paul Oakenfold, Steve Aoki, JohnDigweed, Sasha, Chase and Status the list is endless, it also perfectly sets up new comers to the electronic world looking to get their big break with such a diverse range of sounds and people it is definitely not one to miss. Global Gathering was ranked best Dance Festival 2012 this year was another chance to let loose and set your energy levels to full power! This years main stage headliners include.. Example, Plan B, Rudimental, Disclosure, Katy B, Afro Jack, NERO, Delilah, NetSky.
This wholesomely delicious festival starts on Friday and ends Sunday morning so unlike most typical festivals doesn’t run through the whole weekend. The sheer amount of incredible names packed into this event means you hardly stop! going from tent to tent seeing all your favorite artists provides you with an all you can eat buffet of the best the electronic scene has to offer.
This years event provided the 35,000 people with some great stages along with some great home made stages like the Global Freight Deport which is made into a corridor of freight containers with a cutout for the DJ in the far end. The Bunker which is just as it sounds is a concrete shelter providing you with acts such as Kidnap Kid from Sheffield and many more. This stage is designed for those up and coming artists looking to project themselves to a perfect target audience with a fruitful mix of House, DnB and Dance.
With such a big crowd turn out, organization of this event is of the upmost importance. This year went very smoothly there were however a few bug bears around marshal presence when arriving and leaving the festival which would have made a lot of peoples journeys much quicker and stress free along with large queues at the water points which lacked signage. Other than that the facilities were very good, lots of toilets and food wagons with vast ranges of different delicacies. Girls with chairs offering massages near the main arena was wonderful idea if your sleeping without an airbed and wake up feeling a little stiff. For those who bought VIP Camping tickets had the option to use showers and had a closer water point. This also meant you are closer to the festival itself so if your not a fan of walking long distances from campsite to arena this is a must for 2014.
Along with the Global Freight Deport and the Bunker one very important stage I haven’t yet mentioned is the anticipated GodsKitchen Fusion Cube which was one of this years most anticipated of all the 9 Main tents. Covered in LED panels and equipped with all the best party weapons, Multiple CO2 Jets, confetti canons, multi coloured Laser systems it was one of the best places to be! Especially watching the likes of Paul Oakenfold, Markus Schulz, Ferry Corsten and more the atmosphere at stages of every performance was so intense it makes your hair stand on end, and shivers run down your spine. With the beat running hard and fast it will burn the sensation of what it is to take part at Global Gathering into your mind forever.
Playing peak daytime on Friday only suited to a main stage were Disclosure in full glory of the rare British summer, the young but infinitely talented Brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence smashed an incredible set with a very energetic and endless crowd. Playing their electro-sweet sounds of ‘White Noise’ in current charts this year hitting number 2 UK Singles chart but then in Uk Dance hit number 1.
Friday nights performance from Plan B set the main stage and festival atmosphere to
an ever electric finale, making the best of the beautiful remains of the sun setting slowly over the hill at Long Marston Airfield illuminating the heads of the thousands gathered to watch the last main stage performance, before making their way to one of the other tents for the after party. Plan B played their Number 1 in 2011 for the R&B Charts UK ‘She Said’
Rita Ora performing on the 1Xtra stage Friday night, with some interesting props that included men dressed in what looked like gas masks with make shift ghost buster outfits firing CO2 from their pulse guns showered the crowds with a cool wind. While the beautiful Rita Ora dressed in a Pink leather body suit with a triangle hood singing her chart smashing collision with DJ Fresh who produced ‘Hot Right Now’ which reached number 1 in 2012.
Example hit the stage in poring rain bringing with them an ever impressive light show playing some of the new and some of the original work. Ending beautifully on ‘Changed the way you kiss me’ bringing with the final line a burst of pyrotechnics from the main stage illuminating the pooling field of die hard soaked fans.
I cannot wait for 2014 Global Gathering rain or shine will always put a smile on your face and give you some amazing memories. There are always such a great number of amazing artists its one of the biggest and best highlights of the year. There are alot of festivals out there that could learn a great deal from Global Gathering!
Photos by James Bridle from Global Gathering 2013 here
IT’S OFFICIAL! ALL TICKETS FOR SATURDAY AT SOUTH WEST FOUR 2013 HAVE NOW COMPLETELY SOLD OUT.
South West Four would like to thank everyone who has booked their place for our landmark event and helped make SW4 Saturday sell out for the 10th consecutive year! If you missed out on both Saturday and weekend tickets, don’t panic just yet. There is one last chance for you to experience our 10th Anniversary. SW4 Sunday tickets are still available but selling extremely fast.
Currently priced £52.50 + BF, SW4 Sunday will welcome yet more of the world’s greatest DJs and live electronic acts to Clapham Common. This includes headliners Example and Knife Party, UK festival exclusives from Boys Noize [Live] and Erick Morillo, Eric Prydz makes his only London date of 2013 at SW4, whilst Groove Armada play their first London festival outside of Lovebox in over a decade. These are just a handful of the dozens of outstanding acts performing this year, as they help make SW4’s 10th Anniversary an unforgettable, ground-breaking weekend.
The final line up announcement of Bingley Music Live has revealed that Wilko Johnson has been added to the bill for this year’s edition of the festival.
The former Dr Feelgood guitarist was sadly diagnosed with terminal cancer in January. Fortunately he has remained healthy enough to undertake a series of live performances over the summer. This includes an appearance on the Main Stage at Myrtle Park on Saturday 31st August.
Since the 1970s the singer, guitarist and songwriter has been credited for his enormous contribution to the British rhythm and blues scene, firstly in Dr Feelgood and later as a member of Ian Dury and The Blockheads.
Widely hailed as one of the founding influences of the punk movement, Wilko conceded in a recent interview with The Guardian that his illness has lent him fresh perspective and given rise a particularly fertile creative period, admitting: 'I still feel like a hero on stage'.
Being a national rock'n'roll hero is what Wilko does best and Bingley can revel in Wilko’s distinctive choppy guitar sound and famous ‘duck walk’ one final time.
Wilko will be joined by the likes of Primal Scream, Chic feat. Nile Rodgers, The Human League, The Cribs, The Fratellis, The Neville Staple Band, Tinchy Stryder and Katy B during the much loved, three day Yorkshire festival which runs between Friday, 30 August and Sunday, 1 September.
Penrith, home to Kendal Calling, in its 8th year this small boutique festival transports you into a fantasy playground. Expect house parties, fancy dress, entertainers and an array of hidden gems that will brighten up the beautiful surronding’s that is Cumbria, the Lake District.
Spread across 8 areas – main stage, glow tent, calling out, chai wallah, house party, riot jazz, woodlands, jagermesiter, and songsmith solar, there is plenty of music and activities to chose from.
The site itself is conveniently laid out, and considering the size of the small size of the festival, it offers a wide varitey of activities to chose from. For families with young children, there is a ladybird kids area where parenets can relax whilst the kids have fun, and if ale is your chosen tipple, head straight to the ale tent where you will find a selection of local ales.
The main stage on Friday saw the likes of Clean Bandit, Willy Moon, Public Enemy and Basement Jaxx take to the stage whilst The Lightning Seeds played an acoustic set in the calling out tent, shortly followed by Theme Park. And if dance music is more your thing then head straight to the glow tent, where you were treated to music by Artwork, Jackmaster, Bondax, Oneman and Dismantle spinning tunes into the early hours of the morning.
Public Enemy provided an energetic performance that had the crowd jumping in unison. Flava Flav was last to make an appearance onto the 10 strong band line up, and he’s energy and stage presence was worth the wait. Working the crowd and jumping around, he entertained and the crowd followed pursuit. At one point he asked the photographers to stay for an extra song as he didn’t want them to miss out on the next performance. A hard act to follow, but Basement Jaxx were next on the bill, closing the main stage on friday, The brightly colourful dance duo walked onto the stage and blew the audience away. Playing an array of feel good anthems such as Romeo, Where’s Your Head At, Oh My Gosh and Rendevous along with special guests Vula Malinga and lisa Kekaula, a perfect ending to a sun kissed evening.
Saturday’s line up included Mickey P Kerr, Dutch Uncles, The Twang, The D.O.T, Ash, I am Kloot, The Charlatans, Dub Pistols and British Sea Power gracing the stages in the heavy down poor. Mickey P Kerr provided the audience with an entertaining set, including a track called Banned from Morrisons that had everyone joining in with the chorus and it wasn’t long before everyone was in fits of laughter.
Ash played a mixture of old classics and some tracks from their latest album that got everyone in the mood for the evenings headliner, The Charlatans. Playing a string of hits including The Only One I Know, One to Another, My Beautiful Friend, Tellin’ Stories and North Country Boy. An impressive set from a legendary band who proved why the main stage belonged to them and rocked the crowd into a frenzy.
By Sunday a lot of revellers had left the site due to the heavy rain, but the majority of people stuck it out in anticipation for seeing some iconic artists including the legendary Primal Scream. But before the nights headliners, a great selection of bands were on offer, including the witty Beans on Toast, who sang about sex, drugs, Tesco’s and politics. Entertaining the crowd, he had everyone in fits of laughter. Irish newcomers Kodaline took to the main stage to provide audiences with a selection of songs including High Hopes, to be shortly followed by The Mystery Jets.
The iconic and infamous Johnny Marr made an entrance onto the main stage and second song in he sang The Smiths classic Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before, followed by I Fought the Law and Bigmouth Strikes Again.
The amazing bluesman Seasick Steve wowed the crowds with his personalised guitars and soulful voice, whilst The 1975 had the teenage girls screaming for more. And as the sun settled over Lowther Deer Park Primal Scream made a late entrance onto the main stage. Singing their classic hits including Movin’ On Up, Loaded, Jailbird and Rocks, they entertained and closed the festival in style.
If you’re looking for a small family friendly festival then head to Kendal Calling, it offers everything you can expect from a festival with a fancy dress theme on Saturday. Let your fun side out and join in the fun!
Photos by Olivia Frayman from Kendal Calling are here
Following an absolute classic SECRET GARDEN PARTY last weekend organisers have decided to put EARLY BIRD TICKETS on sale today.
Organiser Fred Fellowes summed up :
‘I think this year had the best atmosphere yet. A lot of love came to the Party this year and I like to think we returned it with some great content, so a big thank you from the bottom of my heart to all our Gardeners for making it an outstanding event. Definitely a classic.’
Dates for next year are 24-27 July 2014. Tickets will be same price as Tier 1 tickets this year. (£137.50 plus booking fee). They can be purchased from Ticket link: http://sgp.seetickets.com
After releasing details of the epic new production set for Creamfields 2013, the UK’s biggest electronic festival has now issued their final ticket warning as the event is expected to be completely sold out in the next 14 days.
This will be Creamfields 5th consecutive sell-out which will attract a record 60,000 dance fans with performances from the likes of The Prodigy, AVICII, Tiësto, David Guetta, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Above & Beyond, Eric Prydz, Knife Party, Paul van Dyk, Groove Armada, Pete Tong, Annie Mac, Richie Hawtin, Loco Dice, Sub Focus plus more.
LOTF is your typical local festival and the title of the festival explains it all, you lounge on Merton farm and enjoy great music! So much so, there were sofas dotted around the farm for festival fans to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. As well as this, a variety of street food stalls from Indian, Mexican, Thai and even local Merton burgers from the farm were available. Not only was there music to enjoy over five stages, there was also a family funfair and craft stalls where sewing classes and craft classes were available should you wish to partake.
To kick Friday off, the line-up included, amongst others Coco and The Butterfields, who gave a quirky performance with their mix of hip-hop and folk sound; Beans on Toast, who sings about sex, drugs and politics… nevertheless, you cannot ignore the man’s witty song writing abilities which had the crowd both laughing and singing along at the same time and Lucy Rose who gave a chilled out performance, which captivated the audience and certainly had everyone excited for Friday’s headliner.
Whilst waiting for Seasick Steve to arrive on stage the crowd were surprised suddenly by a flash mob style brass band who started playing amongst them. The band played contemporary hits, with their own twist. They made several appearances over the weekend popping up all over the festival in various places to play their set to the festival go-ers.
Seasick Steve was the first headliner to perform on the main stage at LOFT. Performing with his many customised guitars and accompanied by his drummer, he gave an intimate and relaxed performance. His set included hits ‘Self-Sufficient Man’, ‘Don’t Know Why She Loves Me But She Do’ and ‘Started Out With Nothin’, which rounded off a great first day on the main stage.
However the festival still carried on until the early hours of the morning, so I checked out DJ legend David Rodigan’s performance in the Hoe Down tent. The tent was packed with people of all ages raving out to Rodigan’s selection of Reggae and Dancehall hits.
Saturday arrived and with it euphoric indie band, Eliza and The Bear, Tribes who rocked out the main stage, Willy Moon who gave a classy performance, which involved his hit ‘Yeah Yeah’, which most people would recognise from the Apple iPod advert. By the time Man Like Me took to the stage, the heavens opened and Lounge on the Farm was flooded with torrential down pour and thunderstorms. However this didn’t stop the crowd enjoying Man like Me’s energetic performance.
Although the wellies had to come out, by the time Jessie Ware graced the stage the rain eventually stopped, which topped off her performance. The up and coming star sang all her hits from her debut album ‘Devotion’ including ‘Wildest Moments’, ‘Imagine It Was Us’ and ‘If You’re Never Gonna Move’. Ware mentioned that LOTF was the first festival that she has headlined, with this in mind, I though she gave an excellent performance and was one of the highlights of the whole weekend.
After Jessie Ware’s performance and for a change of scenery I checked out the Boom and Bang Circus feat. Kitty Bang Bang. The show consisted of eccentric and show-stopping acts, including burlesque dancing, comedy acts and fire-eaters to name a few. It certainly was a different style of entertainment to see at a festival, but nevertheless extremely entertaining.
The last day of the festival arrived all too quickly and I must admit, I was a little sad by this point but excited at the same time as the last day consisted of a few musical legends. The day’s line-up included indie/rock band Siblings, Art Ferguson’s Big Blues Band, who gave an amazing show that had the crowd dancing merrily, Reggae legends, Aswad who gave a jammin’ performance and Dub Pistols, a lively show that had the crowd jumping and dancing throughout their entire set.
Soul II Soul feat. Caron Wheeler closed the festival. Despite the late start, the group gave a performance worthy of their closing spot and rounded off the end of the festival nicely. Their set including their renowned hits ‘Keep on Movin’ and ‘Back to Life’ which had the older members of crowd dancing and singing along to their heart’s content.
It was hard to fault LOTF, it has the whole package for a small festival. I particularly liked the real local festival vibe, which some big festivals sometimes lack due to their size and the size of the attending crowd. Despite this year’s headliners not being as ‘renowned’ as the festival’s past headliners (Ellie Goulding, Emelie Sande, The Streets), I still feel the headliners this year gave top-notch performances all round and were worthy of their spots. The only criticism I could possibly give the festival, is the distance between the main stage and the crowd was unnecessarily wide, so much so Jessie Ware and Seasick Steve to name a few even complained at how far away they were from the crowd. This almost defeated the point of the intimate feel small festivals are meant to give, so let’s hope this is an improvement that is made for LOTF 2014!
For images of Lounge on the Farm 2013 please click here.
