The Charlatans

Nestled at the foot of the Malvern Hills, Lakefest is an independent music and family festival that takes place in the stunning grounds of Eastnor Castle, Ledbury, Herefordshire. It’s an incredible location to host a festival, even if the recent spate of heatwaves has left the grass looking a little browner than usual.

The festival takes place over four days, bringing 20,000 revellers of all ages to this corner of Herefordshire. Attendees are treated to a wide variety of performances from legendary music artists, award winning cuisine and a vibrant mix of family friendly activities.

The site is conveniently located near junctions 7 and 8 of the M5 motorway, providing straightforward access from Birmingham, Bristol and the Southwest. Lakefest were quick to point out the perils of following Sat Nav en route owing to the A449 between Malvern and Ledbury being closed and advising to allow extra time.

The campsites opened up on Wednesday afternoon, giving attendees new and old the chance to settle into their designated patches and get tents set up ready for action. That being said, a baffling lack of communication from organisers meant details of entry were only posted to social media two hours before gates opened! Considering there’d been plenty of other posts bearing less relevance in the build-up, it seems bonkers to post the important information just prior to opening and on channels available to a limited number – especially if folks are already on the way.

There was the expected amount of traffic as revellers arrived to pitch up ready for the next five days of action – with tailbacks causing some delays (definitely a route to avoid if you’re in the local area and not going to Lakefest!).

If you’re not driving to site, the most convenient train station is Ledbury, which has direct connections to Hereford, Worcester and Birmingham. You then need to get a taxi from Ledbury to the festival site, which is around two miles from the town centre with local services provided by A2B Taxis Ledbury, Ledbury Taxi Service and Ledbury Private Hire.

The Lakefest website referenced buses, but having had a browse online and through Stagecoach’s app I couldn’t find anything. There wasn’t anything referencing buses on the Eastnor Castle website either – so I don’t think that’s a goer.

Arriving on site and collecting wristbands I headed to the designated spot for press and set up my tent before heading off to explore the site.

On the way down the hill to the iconic LOVE LAKEFEST signs, there’s a section of the Berlin Wall sitting overlooking the valley below. It stands alone, next to a massive tree which has a rope swing attached that kids were using all weekend. It’s hard not to be moved by the jarring dichotomy between the concrete structure’s past and its new place in the world.

The site is laid out across a valley with the main arena in the centre and camping options either side. To the north of the site is the area allocated to glamping, accessibility camping, electric campervan pitches and other pitches earmarked by colours. In the south are areas marked out for general camping, fun camping and family camping – ensuring there’s plenty of chance to find the right spot for you and your party.

There was also the option to go All Inclusive, which meant a private camping area with the choice of your own tent, campervan or motorhome – or staying in pre-assembled bell tents. Those opting for the package also received access to a menu of food served throughout the day, including drinks, and perhaps most importantly fancier toilets and a WIFI connection. The latter definitely coming into its own as its pretty much zero coverage down in the valley.

The arena is split in half by a small waterway which has bridges across them. North of the brook is the Abbey Main Stage, VIP area, Cocktail Bar, Yamaha stage, The Greatest Show and Retrospective of House tents, the main bar and the vast majority of food vendors. To the south you had the Funky Town stage, Cheshire Cat Club, Road to Lakefest tent, BMX arena and The Willow garden area. The layout works pretty well, even if there’s a bit of a bottleneck on the bridge nearest to The Greatest Show tent where vendors are set up either side of a narrow walkway (not helped by no-one really paying any attention to which direction they walked in).

There’s even a Ferris Wheel, which is definitely, definitely not the one from Download Festival…

Thursday Highlights

As Lakefest has expanded so has its ability to bring in big name performers and a loyal following of Lakefesters who wouldn’t miss the annual event rain or shine.

This year’s headliners were The Charlatans, Example, Madness and Bananarama – with further performances from festival favourites Scouting for Girls, Lightning Seeds and Newton Faulker as well as dance legends of the 90’s.

It isn’t just well-established acts that get their chance to shine at Lakefest. The Cocktail Club, VIP area, Cheshire Cat Club and the Yamaha stage all offered the chance to see unsigned talent – with the latter effectively operating as an open mic and providing unbooked artists the chance to play on a stage in front of a crowd.

Speaking with one of the organisers, Chris Irvine, he discussed how they had an 11-year-old lad get up to play Nirvana songs and they found other musicians to play with him. What an experience that must have been!? It’s a fantastic idea and a chance to see potential stars of the future.

Each year organisers run ‘Road to Lakefest’ – a chance for emerging bands and artists to play on the Main Stage at the festival, win £1,500 and spend three days in the recording studio with Ride’s Mark Gardener (himself DJing later in the week) at his OX4 Studios. Second place received £750 and third place £500, with 18 bands from over 600 entries selected to play during the weekend.

One of those bands and starting things off for the weekend was Underscore – a youthful four-piece out of Cheltenham who wear their influences on their sleeves. Teething problems with their sound set up meant the lads were five minutes late getting started, which was clearly a frustration – but despite the setback, they quickly hit their stride with a sound that channels Oasis to Fontaines DC via The Strokes.

Catching up with a couple of friends who had given me a lift to site (thank you Tash and James!) it was time to visit the bar.

There are several across the site with booze partners include Wye Valley and Stowford Press, so there’s a broad spectrum available, from lagers to real ales and ciders. Two and a half pints of lager, each with a £2.50 recyclable cup came in at £22.50. Not too bad for a festival. Most of the beers were around the £6 mark, which you’ll pay at most high street pubs these days.

The pint glasses are re-usable with staff not swapping them for clean ones during the course of the weekend on hygiene and reduction of waste basis. It’s not a bad idea at all. You end up with a memento from the festival and it (in theory) means people are less likely to discard the cups around site – which is often noticeable at other festivals. It did mean dropping one accidentally often led to a panic of “Where’s my cup?” and people retracing their steps – but that’s better than leaving it for someone else to deal with.

It isn’t all pints though. At the cocktail bar (which also has an array of performers over the weekend) there are a load of classic options including margaritas, mojitos, old fashioneds, bloody marys and espresso martinis. There’s even a champagne bar with a white limo in it! My personal favourite was the Jam Shed trailer offering samples of their red wine and cola cans, known more commonly as a Calimoxto or poor man’s sangria. Dangerously palatable and available across most of the bars.

This year the Funkytown tent was sponsored by fragrance brand Xerjoff. I caught Midnight Swim, appearing in the BBC Introducing Slot, I think – there was a bit of confusion around that. Their soaring indie anthems, including ‘Bend and Break’, were an unexpected treat.

Next to the Abbey Main Stage for Sheffield-based Sundress who specialise in a dreamy indie-pop sound that was as glorious in the beaming sun. The half hour slot flew by, almost as swiftly as the wasps tormenting frontwoman Chelsea who, despite the fear, cracked on like the pro she is. Latest single ‘Beach House Baby’ has more than a touch of the band by the same name and wouldn’t be out of place in a scene from an early 00’s movie about a road trip along the California coast. Dreamy.

The winner of the Road to Lakefest was on the Main Stage next. Fran Lusty (“It’s my real name. It’s a weird one.”) was born in Cambridge with Norwegian roots and her music has been described as ‘dreamful’ and ‘truly transformative’.  She kept the sunshine-vibes going, with a set filled with Laura Marling-esque folk music. Her stage patter is knowing, speaking about drifting apart from someone you’re in love with when you’re together in the same room as “a cheerful one” and when switching guitars remarking “it’s getting serious”. Lusty is in the ascendancy and it’ll be exciting to see what comes out of the recording sessions and where she’ll go next.

Wandering through the site I popped in to check the VIP area out. As a first timer, I didn’t have anything to compare it with, but I am assured there was a marked difference this year. Multiple canopies were set up to provide some welcome shade, with picnic benches, deck chairs and hay bales, as well as posh loos, a bar, pizza wagon and their own stage.

Speaking of, while there I caught some of Brighton-based Thimble – playing only their second festival ever. The seven-piece were crammed onto the small stage to play a set of jazz-inspired folk which was an exhilarating watch. They’re clearly all individually brilliant musicians but have managed to create a unique sound through some sort of sonic alchemy. Their new EP ‘That’s a Long Time to Be Caught in the Undertow’ came out at the end of last month and is very good – especially ‘Rebecca’ which would slot in beautifully on BBC Radio 6 Music. They also made an appearance on the Yamaha stage which offered a bit more space for them to spread their wings/strings/woodwind. I’m pretty excited about them.

The VIP area also comes with a viewing platform as well as some more picnic tables. It’s off to the left of the stage giving upgraded punters the chance to sit comfortably and enjoy the show. That said, the gentle rolling hill in front of the Main Stage gives you a decent view wherever you pitch up and with massive screens either side you’re not going to miss much!

Moving away from the new generation for a moment, it was The Bluetones up next. have been doing the rounds for almost as long as I’ve had ears. In fact, I remember a performance by a school band at an open day when visiting as a 10-year-old. Frontman Mark Morriss has still got the vocal ability and 90’s hits ‘Marblehead Johnson’ and ‘Slight Return’ both still sound great.

A brief lull in proceedings gave me an opportunity to pick up an early dinner before the mad rush. All the festival staples are present and correct, Greek Gyros, Fried Chicken, Fish and Chips, Hot Dogs, Pizza etc along with local heroes Beefy Boys – specialists in award-winning burgers – and some interesting other stalls. Gluten free and vegan options were also available from many of the vendors, so there was a lot of choice and anyone with allergies was advised to ask at the truck when ordering to be on the safe side.

I went with pulled lamb shawarma from the Shawarma truck (more on them later). It was tasty, but for £15 was deeply lacking in portion size!

Following a recommendation from a fellow festival-going friend, it was on to the Abbey Stage for Ferocious Dog the Cornishmen’s Celtic-folk infused punk rock sound is tailor made for a sunny festival stage. With all the high energy and Irish influence there were more than a few hints toward Flogging Molly and The Pogues – especially when the penny whistle came out! The crowd were clapping, stomping their feet and having a right good time. A definite festival winner.

Speaking of dogs (seamless), Lakefest is 100% dog friendly! Well behaved pooches are welcome as long as they’re kept on a lead. There’s even a creche for dogs if you need a moment to rejoice in seeing other people’s dogs running about like mad – therapy if ever it were needed. Some concerns have been raised on social media about the welfare of dogs that didn’t necessarily have the most responsible seeming owners. Many were left without shade or water, while the rock hard and baking hot ground was unlikely to have been much fun for our four-legged friends. On top of that there’s the noise issue. Parents don’t think twice about ear defenders for their children, but I didn’t see much in the way of protection with doggos – especially with every stage and fairground ride being in the loud territory.

Originally, I’d have missed a large portion of Tinchy Stryder’s show over in Funkytown, but he was delayed getting on stage – so I followed the not at all suspicious hand drawn signs for the ‘Secret Rave’ stuck to an industrial bin with duct tape.

Admittedly a lot of horror films start this way, but I was mercifully not murdered and thrown into the close by lake (of Lakefest fame) – instead I entered a marquee which had a DJ in there giving it the proverbial largeness. On top of that, in a site that is notoriously lacking in mobile coverage – they offer free WiFi!

I withdrew myself from the most well-advertised secret event I’ve ever seen and joined a packed Funkytown tent for Tinchy Stryder in full flow.

It was a performance heavy on crowd participation, with more than a whiff of a mid-thousands nightclub as the MC whacked the faders down for the singalongs. It was a bit on the cringey side, but the crowd were having a good time and were happy to chant his kids’ names for a video as he dedicated songs to them.

Footage has since emerged of him and his MC partner ribbing the Boardmasters crowd as not being good as the millennials of 16 years ago. Gen-Z could never. To be fair, I was surprised by how many present knew the words to songs but the sliding down of the faders by the MC is best left to dodgy nightclubs in my opinion. He dedicated songs to his kids, which is mad considering he’s still a teenager himself right? RIGHT?!

On the opposite end of the age spectrum were local legends EMF on the Abbey Main Stage. Emerging from Cinderford in the late 80’s, EMF are best known for their debut single ‘Unbelievable’ which went gold in the US and is still undeniably a banger.

The amount of EMF shirts around the site during the day were an indicator as to their popularity hereabouts, and an energetic set featuring their own material and a bit of musical montage blasted through renditions of ‘Everybody Dance Now’, Technotronic’s ‘Pump up the Jam’, The Prodigy’s ‘Breathe’ and New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’.

Bringing out Utah Saints for aforementioned ‘Unbelievable’ and the Cinderford town crier, they rocked out with a punky cover of ‘I’m A Believer’ they ended their innings with Depeche Mode’s ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’.

After their set, frontman James Atkin and guitarist Ian Dench paused the search for food to speak to Summer Festival Guide.

Ian said: “We’ve been playing festivals for a long old time and I think we’ve developed a real killer set list for a festival. It’s different when you’re playing your own shows because you’re playing to the fans. At a festival there’s a lot of people out there who won’t necessarily know the songs – so you’ve got to give them something that’s going to get them excited. Tonight, we’ve had our dear friends Utah Saints on stage and even the Cinderford town crier doing the rap on EMF because Derry is unwell. A couple of covers too to get everyone in the mood as well as the classic EMF songs.”

James added: “It’s just a different experience. It took us a while to figure out what to do and we were doing obscure tracks from our back catalogue – but you could see the confusion in the crowd. We’ve made a conscious effort put some covers in there, some crowd pleasers and get guests up. It’s a different experience (to playing your own shows) but I love both. I do love a sweaty little club and getting stuck into some of the darker tunes – but tonight it was amazing.”

Asked whether the Herefordshire location makes it feel like a “home gig” to the Forest of Dean act, James responded: “A bit yeah, although it’s a long time since we’ve lived here. We’re notorious for calling many gigs home town gigs because I live in the North of England, whenever we play London it’s Ian’s home town so we live all over the place – even LA!”

The band were given a blue plaque in Cinderford in recognition of their success and promotion of the Forest wherever they’ve been in the world – introducing themselves on stage as: “We are EMF from Cinderford in the Forest of Dean and we are the original brave ravers keeping the faith since the 1990’s”

Speaking of the 90’s, we asked what the difference was between touring now rather than back then.

Ian said: “The rider was completely different!” as he stirs a cup of tea. “The riders used to have bottles of Jack Daniels on it and all sorts of other things and now it’s got vegan snacks and oat milk – so that says it all really! I think we’re better for it though, older and wiser. We just enjoy touring for its own sake. The band is in a really great place, we have a great time on the tour bus and we love playing – it’s a lot of fun.”

The band is heading to Europe in the winter to celebrate the 35^th anniversary of debut record ‘Schubert Dip’ playing Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin followed by UK dates and then a West Coast of America tour, but not before putting the finishing touches to a new album.

Since speaking with us, founding member of the band Derry Brownson sadly passed away following a brain tumour diagnosis with Ian paying tribute saying: “I can’t think of anyone who embodied lust for life like Derry did. I mean, he was beautiful inside out.” Our thoughts are with Derry’s family, friends and band mates.

The sun’s retreat was now complete and the temperature dropped off a cliff leaving a ‘stick or twist’ approach to garments for the rest of the day. If you hadn’t made the pre-emptive trip to the tent by now it was likely you were committed to one of two paths – dance hard enough to not need another layer or drink enough not to need another layer. Some managed both, and I imagine they were toasty AF!

Headliners The Charlatans are no strangers to a festival stage and with almost 40 years’ worth of material behind them, would have no issues filling a 90-minute headline slot.

In fact, when you’ve got that sort of back catalogue it’s probably more a challenge picking what to include. The hardcore fans are here for it all, including ‘Weirdo’ and set closer ‘Sproston Green’ but it’s the anthemic indie hits ‘North Country Boy’, ‘One to Another’ and ‘The Only One I Know’ that get the biggest reaction.

They’re not a band I’ve spent hours listening to, I have to admit, but there are some acts who manage to continue to be relevant even with such storied history – and The Charlatans are definitely one of them.

In Tim Burgess they have an engaging frontman, still on top of his game after all this time when many others have tagged out (or should have!). Dressed all in white there’s a messianic quality to his performance – orchestrating the crowd from the low-lying stage which isn’t too far off eye level. They’ve set the bar for the rest of the weekend’s headliners.

Hot footing it across to Funkytown I joined a packed-out tent for General Levy, rejoicing in seeing the legendary ragga DJ and jungle in full flow. The roof nearly lifts off when the opening bars of ‘Incredible’ start. There are lads on shoulders, arms aloft and immaculate renditions all around. It’s an absolute moment.

Woody Cook was giving it full beans in the Cheshire Cat. He’d played the night before to a rapturous crowd and was doing it once again today. Coming from such fine DJing stock (son of Norman ‘Fatboy Slim’ Cook and Zoe Ball) it’s no surprise he’s an ear for a tune and an eye for keeping the crowd going.

Utah Saints had their own slot too, filled with high-energy classic club staples. Catching up with Summer Festival Guide, we asked Jez Willis and Tim Garbutt about how it feels being elder-statesmen of the scene after 35 years in the business:

Tim said: “We’re all about two things: supporting new artists and independent venues because they’re having a hard time of it. We’re playing a lot of places that are like 3-500 capacity and we’re really comfortable doing that. It’s good to support the venues and new music – so its all about pushing things forward for us really.”

Jez added: “Music often gets sidelined as a hobby. Too often its perceived as a nice to have, but if you look at it from a purely economic basis – we’re missing out on a massive pool of talent. We get involved, we’ve gone to speak in parliament about music being valued more and we try and support UK Music and the Association of Independent Festivals. We also mentor people through courses and we’ll try and do that. It’s really hard now and there’s a lot of barriers to music that shouldn’t be there. We need more talent coming through.”

After Lakefest Utah Saints were heading to Guildford to play The Boiler Room and then on to Tunbridge Wells Forum, before more festivals and then Australia later in the year as part of the Ministry of Sound tour. They’re clearly hugely passionate about the work they do, but also about giving back to an industry that’s served them well. Good eggs for sure.

It was time for a late dinner, so a Chicken Kottu Pot from Sri Lankan cuisine stand Korale Kitchen was calling. The pot contained shredded roti, chopped up with stir fried vegetables, scrambled egg and chicken curry. It was absolutely delicious and at £11.99 definitely worth the price.

Over in the Retrospective of House tent, Judge Jules delivered an iconic set to close out proceedings (for me anyway) before I trudged back up the steep hill to my tent with the crew and volunteers. Thankfully for those in general camping the set-up is nowhere near as hilly, sitting in the bosom of the valley – but bloody hell, this one is a killer!

Friday Highlights

We’re not in a heatwave anymore, Toto! The classic early morning chill had me furious with past me for packing so light. Having been at 2000Trees in the middle of a heatwave last month I was convinced I wouldn’t need my additional layers. More fool me!

On went the hoody and beanie hat and after a brief period of shivering I was back to sleep. Thankfully the Lakefest merch tent had us ill-prepared sorts covered. A partnership with Scimitar meant there was a broad selection of clothing ranging from T-Shirts (£25 for adults, £20 for kids) to Hoodies (£40 for adults and £35 kids), caps (£20) and sunnies (£10) and even neckerchiefs for dogs (£10)!

That said, on opening the tent flaps it was back into a hot one, bright sunshine and barely a cloud in the sky. My plan was to store heat from the day like a lizard to guide me through the night. Bound to work. Science innit?

I picked up a coffee from Cheltenham-based Ritual Roasters, managing to beat the queue that rapidly formed behind me. It’s a rare thing to get good coffee at a festival, so the flat white was a perfect kick start.

One thing I noticed that I haven’t clocked at other festivals before was the separation of toilets into male and female sections. This meant the urinals were surrounded by cubicles for the gents, while there were more Portaloos available for women. I think it worked, but I’m not sure it’ll be an option at festivals with a smaller footprint.

We then got the chance to chat with festival organiser Lee Martin about all things Lakefest, from the spiralling costs, to challenges of picking a line-up to cater to a multi-generational audience.

Lee said: “Festivals are a high-risk business. That risk is quite addictive, but it’s horrendously stressful.

“We do a legends slot on the Thursday, then we try and go a bit more dance-y on Friday night. Saturday we have like a big name, so this year we’ve got Madness. And then Sunday it’s a bit more pop-based, a bit old school. We’ve had Busted before and this year it’s Bananarama.”

On the financial challenges, Lee said: “The money from large corporate sponsors is difficult to ignore but we’re staunchly independent and I wouldn’t want to be controlled by other people. We’re trying to make it a better event for people rather than growing. We’ve put more money into the welfare side of things, so more showers for example. The plan is to make it a bit more boutique – but obviously that comes with a cost and can be difficult to achieve.”

Having put so much effort into planning the festival, it’s nice to see Lee able to relax a little now as he hands over the day to day running of the event to the “professionals” as he puts it. It’s well deserved and he can spend the rest of the weekend enjoying everything the festival has to offer. Including Professor Yaffle (the Liverpool-based band, not the woodpecker from the classic television series Bagpuss) were tight psychedelic act offering a very enjoyable soundtrack.

At the same time, the total icon that is Paul Chuckle was spinning discs in the Cheshire Cat. Wall to wall bangers had a full dancefloor and he was clearly having a whale of time up there putting on a show.

Fair play to him for keeping going after the sad passing of his elder brother and other half of the Chuckle Brothers, Barry in 2018. Talking with SFG after the show, Paul discussed how much he enjoyed playing festivals:

“It’s great, I love it. I’ve been doing it ever since Barry passed away. We used to do festivals and clubs and stuff, meet and greets and what have you. I’ve just carried on and now doing the DJ stuff. It’s great to do an hour set then a Q&A afterwards.

“It really was an odd transition (after Barry’s death). Barry did a pantomime with Craig Revell-Horwood in Southampton just before he passed away and he invited me to get involved, so I was straight in doing it on my own. Being on stage for the first time on my own in 57 years without Barry was a bit heartbreaking. But I swear I saw him on the other side of the stage giving me a thumbs up. It was only four months since he passed and I got a huge cheer from the crowd. It reassured me I could do it on my own.”

He’s been raising money for Marie Curie’s Great Daffodil Appeal who looked after Barry when he was unwell, including taking the Daff Bike on a UK-wide ‘Thank You’ tour to raise £40,000 for the cause. He received an MBE for his charity work and announced that his next ambition is for a Knighthood “for all the catchphrases I’ve given to the country!”. From me, to you Paul – thank you for everything you’ve done and continue to do. You’re a legend.

South West Wrestling were in the house, more specifically The Greatest Show circus tent, throughout the weekend offering a dose of something completely different to attendees. The square circle was a massive draw as people of all ages came to watch the drama unfold. The crowd was baying for blood, which they received in the form of a “split open” eyebrow (it’s real, honest).

The ‘heel’ (what they call a bad guy) didn’t stand a chance once the claret was spilled and he was soon pinned to the delight of the assembled throng. It was awesome fun and I will be starting a petition to lobby for every music festival to have wrestling from here on!

Another non-music related activity at Lakefest is the BMX tricks set up which was genuinely cool! The ramp was set up to allow bikers and boarders to fly down the hill and pull all manner of gnarly tricks that were then ranked through a scientific process of “cheer loudness”. Thankfully, in the event of anything going awry, the medical tent wasn’t too far away…

Back over on the Abbey Main Stage was Erica, a rocky three-piece who have been around the block for a while. It’s radio friendly indie-rock but the most interesting part of the set is their matching orange NASA jumpsuits. Pretty meh besides the threads. Not for me.

A refreshing alternative to that was Amity in their Road to Lakefest slot. Dressed all in white with red bloody handprints all over them, the band was captivating from the off as they delivered a set of dramatic, piano-led songs filled with rage covering topics from politics to religious hypocrisy and abuse. Amity dedicates ‘To Make a Man’ to “anyone who has ever been scared to walk home at night, or to leave their drink alone” – belying their 19 years on this Earth. As one of the quotes about their work says “You know that we are living in dark times when the art gets this good” – so there’s a silver lining at least and their name is Amity. Shout out to the guitarist who was channelling his inner Jonny Greenwood too.

It was time for a taste of Nashville as Harleymoon Kemp brought country and western to Lakefest. Musical talent clearly runs in the family, as Harleymoon is the daughter of Spandau Ballet’s Martin Kemp and Shirlie Holliman of Wham – but she’s carving out her own path and the volume of cowboy hats and boots in the audience meant she was preaching to the converted here.

Country music has enjoyed something of a renaissance in the UK in recent years, undoubtedly driven by TV shows such as Yellowstone, with US megastar Luke Combs recently playing sold out arenas across the country including multiple nights at Wembley as part of his My Kinda Saturday Night Tour (a show Harleymoon herself was at).

Rocking out on stage with silver tassels and a black Stetson, she looked every part the C&W singer – no surprise considering the amount of time spent in the States working on new material. Newest single ‘Wash’ is a break-up anthem dedicated to anyone who has “ever cut your hair, joined the gym or hoovered the house down after a breakup you’ll get it”. Speaking with SFG after coming off stage, she spoke about growth in popularity of country music in the UK, her experiences in Nashville, the inspiration for her music and her secret weapon…

She said: “Country music is taking over! More and more when I look out in the crowd I’m seeing cowboy hats and it’s like ‘Yes! My people have arrived!’.

“When I got told I was going to Nashville I only had a few songs and had only just learned guitar. I thought country was Dolly Parton. So, there I was in tassels, in glitter. I looked like I was going to my Hen Party – and that was all I’d packed! And I get there and it was very much more jeans and t-shirt but felt like I needed to keep up the act. You just walk down any bar, any restaurant and there’s really, really talented singers and songwriters. I remember being in a café in the middle of the afternoon and this guy is singing a Taylor Swift song. Finishes and says; ‘That’s one I wrote for Taylor!”. He’s this Grammy award winning songwriter and he’s just playing in a café because they LOVE music and there’s an ego-free environment. I think if you’re an actor you go to LA, if you’re a songwriter you’re in Nashville – it’s so inspiring you go to bed with your head buzzing with ideas for songs.”

Asking whether she ever gets into any mischief for the autobiographical nature of her songs, Harleymoon replied: “I’m only writing the truth! I don’t know I can make something up that isn’t my own real story. Every single song is generally written after something bizarre has happened.

“With ‘My Girl’, it hit me one day just how much my best friends have looked after me in my life. They’ve loved me since I was 15 years old. They’ve been with me forever with the ‘You got this’ energy. They are the group chat, they are the therapist, we have got each other’s backs for the rest of our lives and that deserves a song! Someone will ask me: ‘Were you not upset about that?’ and I say: ‘Yeah I was, but now I’m shaking tassels!’”

Harleymoon is playing The Long Road festival at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire alongside her idol Maren Morris (“I won’t wear my I heart Maren Morris t-shirt to the festival, but if she ever wanted to do a song with me or just let me be her backing singer I’ll be there!”) and other big names such as Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and Ronnie Wood with Imelda May.

On plans for new music, she said: “I’m finishing my song ‘My Ex Gave Me My Next Best Friend’ which is about when you realise you dated the same guy and you become best friends! It’s actually happened to me twice! I feel like my next EP might have more love in it, rather than throwing men under the bus but we’ll find out – all will be revealed!”

Speaking about how she decompresses after shows, Harleymoon reveals her secret weapon is an early bedtime!

“Honestly, I go to bed really early. Like a six-year old’s bedtime. Most nights I’m in bed at 8pm. I have dinner at 5pm and bed by 8pm. I need it! I need the calm as much as I need the chaos. I can be wild and rock n roll, but on the weekdays – yeah, I’m asleep!”

With that, it was time for Harleymoon to wrap up media duties and get herself something to eat – so I followed suit, picking myself up a massive portion of Jerk Chicken, Rice and Pea with salad for £15 from the Jerk Chicken stall – which is a more than fair rate considering what I paid for a tiny shawarma yesterday! They even threw some Goat curry on there too, which was banging!

The stall also offered full English breakfasts and kids meals for the less adventurous kiddos (and let’s be honest, quite a few adults) out there, including chicken nuggets, chips and beans.

The Undertones were on the Abbey Main Stage next. The five-piece have been rocking out since emerging from Derry in the 70’s and are still giving it full welly. Although Feargal Sharkey is no longer part of the band, devoting his time to lobbying for government intervention in water companies dumping sewage into UK waterways, Paul McLoon has fronted the group since 1999 and is a fine frontman himself.

The set was filled with their instantly recognisable, Ramones aping punk riffs on anthems such as ‘Teenage Kicks’, ‘Jimmy Jimmy’, ‘Get Over You’ and ‘Here Comes the Summer’. It finished with ‘My Perfect Cousin’ and there were smiles galore as the OG fans bounced around, arms aloft singing all the words back. Leaving the stage, they soaked up the applause and thanked the crowd for sticking around and not throwing things at them, but it was a great show from a band still giving their all 50 years after first hitting the scene.

Bez from the Happy Mondays had dropped in to see the photographers and spoke with SFG briefly. “I’ve had great times at Lakefest. It’s a great audience, a lovely location and we’ve got beautiful weather. I don’t know what people are expecting, but I know what I’m expecting!”. Falling off stage was probably not on his bingo card, but thankfully he was alright! The Cheshire Cat Club was packed as Bez’s son played a set of 90’s anthems, while Bez leads the crowd in a sing-along.

One would hope the majority of the fee goes to his lad who was doing the actual hard work up there, but Bez has always been a draw for the crowds so is a safe booking. Fair play to him for maximising what he’s got – even referencing Yosser Hughes’ catchphrase “Gizza job!” with regards to his willingness to do most things.

Soul II Soul have similar longevity and are widely regarded as one of the most inspirational bands ever. The two-time Grammy award winners have been on the scene since the 80’s and with Jazzie B at the helm have created a community around the band. Their soulful R&B sound is every bit as relevant as it ever was – and with so much division in the country, cultivating a sense of community is one to be sniffed at.

Skipping out on the set midway through I headed across to Newton Faulkner (who I missed at Wychwood earlier in the summer so wanted to catch here) at Funkytown. The long dreadlocks may well be a thing of the past, but his ability to captivate an audience definitely isn’t. You can hear a pin drop at times, aside from when the singalongs and backing vocals are encouraged. His stunning cover of Massive Attack’s ‘Teardrop’ is still the bees’ knees and ‘Dream Catch Me’ is as stirring as ever.

I managed to get back Main Stage side in time for Soul II Soul’s absolutely iconic ‘Back to Life’ from 1989. The song enjoyed a bit of a profile boost in recent years thanks to its featuring on the brilliant Derry Girls soundtrack and is still as fresh sounding as ever even after all this time.

I managed to make my way back via the VIP where The Mark Walby Band was playing. Mark had played my friend’s wedding and delivered a set filled with excellent covers including an epic ‘Purple Rain’ and Three Non-Blondes’ ‘What’s Up?’.

Example was our Friday night headliner and a big draw with a massive crowd stretching out in front of the Abbey Main Stage. His crossover anthems were nigh on inescapable in the early 2010’s in what felt like an altogether more innocent time. Collaborations with Calvin Harris sent his stock soaring every higher, although his own Bonafide smashes ‘Kickstarts’ and ‘Changed The Way You Kissed Me’ are in the mix here. The latter triggers a huge bounce-along and the light show will have been visible from space…or maybe only Wales, but still.

Example’s DJ worked through a set of up-tempo dance tracks interspersed with covers of The Killers, MGMT, Kings of Leon, Depeche Mode and Red Hot Chilli Peppers leaving the headliner to “MC” over the tracks. He spent more time talking than actually singing tbh – encouraging the crowd to hug each other, dropping a fair few swears into the mix and irking more than a few with the latter. When I say “singing” what I actually mean is lip synching. He spends the whole set holding the mic to his lips and “singing” to the backing track, his spoken interactions with the crowd often overlapped with the vocals he was supposedly “singing”. It stinks to be perfectly honest with you and I’m definitely not the only one who felt short changed.

That said, the crowd absolutely loved it – so Lakefest won’t be too fussed HOW Example did it when the end product was a mass of people having the time of their lives. Still – come on. You’re taking the pay cheque at the end of the day, have a bit of respect for the event and bother to perform. He actually walked off stage leaving the DJ to finish up. This was definitely an Example of how NOT to be a headliner.

I spoke with an attendee using a mobility scooter to ask how they found accessibility on site and was given a balanced response, shall we say. There was some criticism of the location of the disabled toilets and lack of them around site, especially when (they allege) people were using the one in the main arena despite not having accessibility passes. Some questions were raised around the amount of people being allowed to be added to accessibility passes too – alleging that a lot of people were essentially freeloading by getting added to the access. I suggested they passed the feedback on to organisers, which I am sure they will.

Dance music is a huge part of Lakefest, and the Retrospective of House tent was hosting massive names including Seb Fontaine, Judge Jules and Todd Terry over the course of the weekend – with an Ibiza classics session all day Sunday bringing a taste of the Balearic isles to Herefordshire.

Lisa Lashes kept the momentum up for the Friday night crowd hyped up post Example. The tent was filled with trance fans clinging to their youths as the Euphoria legend played a light show filled tent that was doing a passable impression of a superclub in the 90’s.

At the Cocktail Tent were Worcester’s The Monroes – playing for the fourth time in this corner of Lakefest. They were entertaining the well-oiled revellers including what can only be described as the entire population of Bredon, the village where Lakefest first started all those years ago. Their set of well-polished covers were a joy, sparking singalongs and bringing people together through the power of music alone…music and cocktails…music and cocktails and exposure to the sun.

The set ended at 1:30am and on I went in search of food before bed. I’d missed out on quite a few, so followed (literally) my gut back to the Shawarma van for a chicken shawarma pot which came with fries and was all the salty deliciousness I had craved. And so, to bed.

Saturday Highlights

“O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus, with a kiss I die!” although in this instance no drugs nor kisses were involved (nor did I actually die). I was instead betrayed by shawarma. While delicious, it disagreed with me in the most aggressive of ways – causing a panicked visit to the toilet followed by some exorcist style projectile vomiting out the side flap of my Decathlon Fresh + Black tent. It may not have been developed to provide a quick escape, but in my online review I will most definitely be adding that.

It’s by no means Yorkshire Pudding-gate from Download or Truck, and when I spoke to the vendor about it, he reassured me they probe everything before serving, but it definitely put a severe dampener on things and left me bed/Portaloo ridden for most of Saturday. In 20 years of festival going, I have never experienced anything of the like, nor do I ever wish to again. At time of writing this after the festival I am still feeling the effects and have lost half a stone…fringe benefits.

Dragging myself out of the tent in the mid-afternoon I put on a Hawaiian shirt to join in the floral fun and accessorised with a brave face, Imodium and painkillers – plus the occasional dry heave.

Each year there’s a fancy-dress theme and 2026’s was ‘Flower Power’. Entering site, the 60’s were in full swing – flares, floral prints, wigs, waistcoats, Hawaiian shirts, leis, peace signs and some taking it in another direction, literally embracing plants as a theme. It’s a worthwhile undertaking, as judges check out the efforts with winners receiving a ticket to next year’s festival! I, for one, am delighted I didn’t partake – I can’t imagine having to squeeze into a Portaloo in a plant pot costume at the best of times.

Gloucester collective, Dub Catalyst, were on the late afternoon Main Stage slot and have been working away to land these opportunities in recent years. The 11-piece fuse Dub sounds and rap bars from JDPL with brass arrangements, boosting the sound further still. Dub is always a winner in the sunshine, and the crowd lapped it up. The joy on the faces of the band was clear to see.

Then it was over to the Road to Lakefest stage which was sponsored by Tim Peaks Diner for Saturday. Tim Peaks Diner is a pop-up music venue and coffee shop created by Thursday night headliners The Charlatans’ frontman Tim Burgess and inspired by the TV show Twin Peaks. The funds raised from all the sales across the weekend goes straight towards Tim’s Help Us Help Bands fund which aids up and coming acts with the costs of recording, touring and other expenses.

Nadia Sheikh had been due to perform with her full band, but the drummer’s car broke down on the M3, throwing the plan into full blown disarray! Whether the Help Up Help Bands fund stretches to car repairs I don’t know, but worth an ask, right? Sheikh writes guitar driven pop-rock with choruses capable of being one of those never-ending earworms. Not only that, but she also sings in both English and Spanish. Quite the talent!

I felt hungry, but was scared to eat following the exploits of the morning – still, as the horrors persists so must I. I’d had my eye on Deathrow Sandwiches and thought bread might help. I went for £15.50 deal of a sandwich (I opted for the slow cooked beef brisket, caramelised onion, cheddar and mustard), side (Cajun Hash Browns) and dip (their delicious Deathrow Hot sauce). It all tasted amazing and I managed to keep it down – worth the risk,

Over on the Abbey Main Stage it was time for The Entitled Sons. Swaggering out onto the stage they certainly looked the part, all bleached hair, leather jackets, skinny jeans and cowboy boots. The band of brothers (and their dad Graham on bass) Billy, Charlie, Rafferty and Laurie arrived on site with their own branded van and caravan. They weren’t just here to rock out; they were here to party too!

The indie-rockers have been working to cast off the shackles of being Sara Beeny’s boys and have been perfecting their own brand of high-energy live performances that have landed them a raft of new fans. Songs called ‘Lover Boy’, ‘Rockstar’ and ‘Listened to my Mother’ are all foot stomping rockers, but their latest single ‘Epitaph (Not There)’ is a departure from the balls to the wall rock n’ roll. It finds the band in introspective mode and frontman Charlie’s raw vocals channelling the autobiographical nature of the track. Their cover of Katy Perry’s ‘I Kissed A Girl (And I Liked It)’ was more on brand and with a UK tour this winter I’m sure they’ll have plenty of new followers afterwards.

I’ve seen Scouting for Girls more in the last few years than pretty much any other band. If you’d told me this in 2007 then I’d have snorted with derision, such was my indie-boy snobbery. As I have matured, I have recognised them for what they are – bloody excellent. Like developing a liking for dark chocolate and black coffee as you grow older, my palate has shifted and I am a fully paid-up member of the Scouting for Girls appreciation collective.

Charismatic frontman Roy Stride spoke to Summer Festival Guide ahead of their slot and discussed the positive reception to the new album ‘These Are The Good Days’ and their plans for 20^th Anniversary arena shows in Manchester and London next year.

Roy said: “’These Are The Good Days’ is about appreciating moments like these, when you’re here with your family and having an amazing time with your friends. I was really hoping to beat the last album which also charted at 17 as I was way more involved in the promo for this one!”

Speaking about how the process of recording an album today differs to 20 years ago, he said: “With the first album those songs were written over a really long period of time where they were refined playing them live. Whereas now I write a song in the studio and then we record it maybe separately then we play it live. So, I think one of the things with the next record would be play it live before recording – so it is a different process.

“I think it’s usually two to three years between the album – we’ll have one song which we love, and once we’ve got a song we all really love then we’ll put an album around it – so there’s a reason for the album. So, the single is a bit of a ballad, so then we need some livelier stuff and we want to make it sound cohesive as well, so that’s what we’ve done recently.”

Praising Lakefest, Roy said: “It’s a proper local festival which is still run for people and for music and the musicians and supporting new bands coming through and not just for making as much money as possible.

“You see a lot of festivals slowly changing – I sometimes think I’m just getting old, but when I was a kid I would go to a festival, and it was £50 and there were loads of different stages and it was nothing to do with making money. I know that things have changed but you know it’s lovely that there are festivals like this.

“I couldn’t think of anything harder than putting on a festival. It’s bad enough trying to choose the bands, arranging all the stages, then you’ve got to do fencing, book the toilets and security – like, what? It stresses me out just thinking about it! My hat goes off to anyone who has ever got a festival off the ground.”

A brief spell of drizzle disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived and it was on to the Abbey Main Stage. The set kicked off at breakneck speed with ‘Everybody Wants to be On TV’, it doesn’t slow any as Roy leads the crowd in some friendly competition (right side was definitely the strong side) with singalongs and chants. It’s a set full of hits including ‘This Ain’t a Love Song’, ‘Posh Girls’ and even a cover of ‘Come on Eileen’. It’s the finale ‘She’s So Lovely’ that sends the crowd into fever pitch though and the boys leave the stage with fans new and old satisfied.

Pottering about post set I couldn’t get over how ridiculously loud each of the fairground rides were playing their “music”. It was ridiculous. Please know, if you operate a fairground ride at a festival and play your rubbish EDM louder than the Main Stage, I hate you. No-one wants to hear your rubbish MCing when they’re trying to listen to actually talented performers on the Yamaha stage or a Q&A in the Cheshire Cat tent. Lakefest need to put limits in place for them to avoid it ruining the sonic experience for everyone.

Madness were definitely the big draw of the day as, despite the ‘Flower Power’ fancy dress theme, two-tone colours flooded into Eastnor Deer Park. The merch stand was even selling Fez’s to allow for some cultural appropriation/Tommy Cooper impersonations (RIP).

The biggest crowd of the weekend bolstered by those with day tickets were stood in anticipation before the lights dimmed and the unmistakable intro to ‘One Step Beyond’ kicked in. It was definitely the loudest the crowd had been over the weekend so far, and few would have been disappointed with an impressive setlist spanning the band’s legacy. ‘Embarrassment’, ‘Wings of a Dove’, ‘House of Fun’, ‘Baggy Trousers’, ‘Our House’ and ‘It Must Be Love’ are all there.

Despite some fairly long-winded rambling in between songs, they still managed to rattle through a set almost 20 songs long – impressive however you look at it. Closing out with ‘Night Boat to Cairo’ I could literally hear the saxophones getting louder, so it was back to bed for this reviewer.

Sunday Highlights

Well, the heat has returned! Sunday started hot and didn’t stop, offering little respite to those with sore heads from the madness of the night before. A lot of people gathered in the main bar tent to the right of stage, giving them the chance for a shady corner and a view of the stage while others fled to the Funkytown and Cheshire Cat tents for more 360-degree coverage.

The soothing sound of i-Sing Choir were first on the Abbey Main Stage bringing a wholesome start to the day. The choir was founded in 2021 by Helen Jones with the premise of creating a safe and friendly environment to sing, regardless of experience. They believe that “everyone has a voice and should have the opportunity to find it and use it” and run 11 weekly sessions across Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. Their gorgeous rendition of Elbow’s ‘One Day Like This’ was a highlight of the weekend for me as the crowd sang along heartily to one of the best festival songs there ever has been.

I made my way to the Cotswold Salt Beef team who were doing a Sunday Roast special that I 100% needed in my life! I got there in time to savour the giant Yorkshire pudding stuffed with perfectly cooked salt beef, delicious gravy and potatoes. It may have been hot as hell out, but it was Sunday – who am I to turn down a roast?

Chris Hawkins a.k.a. The Hawk is the early morning presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music and was one of the judges of the Road to Lakefest competition. No stranger to DJ-ing at festivals, The Hawk specialises in mash-ups, rock classics and indie bangers – the latter of which went down a storm! Speaking to him briefly post set he said he would have leaned into the latter more had he known it would have gone down so well, but no-one was grumbling.

I took a walk over to the section known as The Willows and watched on as a blacksmith made a bottle opener using traditional tools – yes including a bloody hot furnace. There were wood carving workshops, dance classes, yoga sessions and even circus classes. It might be a festival, but you can leave with new skills too. You definitely get your money’s worth at Lakefest!

Chesney Hawkes is another festival veteran and knows how to get the crowd going. His set was filled with excellent indie-rock covers Kaiser Chiefs, Fountains of Wayne and The Killers – the latter’s ‘Human’ being given a genuinely excellent do-over.

He’s a very self-aware performer remarking on ‘I’m a Man Not a Boy’, the follow up to ‘I Am the One and Only’, with a “Do you remember this one?”. That charm endears him to the crowd, even if they were waiting for him to play ‘The One and Only’ which he duly does – saving it until the penultimate song. There’s also more to him than covers, as the success of his most recent album ‘Living Arrows’ has shown, and clearly an appetite for more from his fans.

We spoke with Chesney on his tour bus after the slot about playing festivals, nostalgia and his new album ‘Living Arrows’.

“Today was particularly good because the weather is perfect, but I really enjoyed it” he said. “The crowd was fantastic. There’s something beautiful about these festivals because they’re community-based. What I also love about it is local pubs have got pop- restaurants, things like that and it’s really helping the community financially too.”

On nostalgia, Chesney said: “People want to leave their inhibitions on the door and all their problems and woes and war and bad news and cost of living and relive their youth. That’s the beauty of music, it can do that take you back to that ‘age of innocence’ before all the internet and all the craziness – before health and safety!”

Speaking about writing Living Arrows’, he said: “I think musically when I’m writing I do it for me still – and I think that’s important for an artist and if I’m writing about things that have happened to me and are important to me. You know there are topics on ‘Living Arrows’ that are deep. There’s suicide and loss and darker kinds of subjects as well as the kick the doors down pop bangers. But the truth is that’s what people relate to. They’ve been through the same stuff. When I played the song ‘Loud!’ today, I could see people in the audience holding hands and I thought ‘I bet you they’ve lost somebody and they’re having a moment there’.

“But that’s what music does. It brings people together and that’s for them, that side of it. These songs are very close to my heart because I’m writing about what’s happened to me and my people and it relates. I get so many messages about that kind of stuff. When a song becomes important to someone for whatever reason, that belongs to them. I give up ownership of it in a way. It’s their story. That’s important to me actually, and when people send me messages saying ‘Thank you for that song’ because I just lost my mum and it helped me in my grief. And that helps me in my own grief. It feels like a big collective hug from around the country.”

Asked about how much he remembers about suddenly being thrown into the limelight back in 1991, he’s clear this was always the plan. He said: “I always wanted to do this. My dad says I came out singing. I was writing songs from 9 years old. It wasn’t the path I had envisaged. I had bands from 13, my first gig was in a Brownie hut and I just thought I was going to be in a band. That’s how I saw my path – but I guess that’s what happens. As John Lennon said: ‘Life’s what happens when you’re making other plans.”

Speaking about his family (his father Len was in The Tremaloes and brother tours with him) he remarked on having his son playing on stage at Wychwood as being: “One of my favourite things in life! It’s less and less now as he’s 20 years old and has his own band now. It’s amazing. I had it with my dad. The other day we did a gig where it was me, my brother, my son, my sister and dad and we were all in a row singing (the Tremeloes song) ‘Silence is Golden’ – it was the best experience ever – never to be repeated probably.”

Set time clashes are the bane of a festival-goers life, and Sunday delivered one of the more curious ones I’ve come across. Nineties boyband East17 versus a Nirvana tribute act dressed like Elvis (Elvana) – they don’t make ‘em like that at Glastonbury!

The line-up of the former is a lot different to their heyday. Brian and Tony aren’t there anymore, leaving original member Terry Coldwell to carry on the legacy, but that didn’t stop the tent for being well up for it. Ahead of Christmas classic ‘Stay’, they apologised for not bringing the white jackets and asked whether white towels would suffice.

That was more than enough for me, so it was over to Elvana and BOY am I glad I went back.

When workshopping the concept, I can imagine it was a fairly tough sell. “So, I’ll dress up as Elvis”” “Right…” “And then you guys will play a mix of Elvis and Nirvana songs and I’ll sing them” “Are you alright mate?” but judging by the response from the crowd there will be no regrets – it’s absolute alchemy!

Rattling through a set that included classics like ‘Lithium’, ‘In Bloom’ and ‘Come As You Are’ at one point Elvis gets down into the crowd and opens up a pit and gets everyone down on their haunches before launching into it. There were some, shall we say, more “senior” chaps having the absolute time of their lives reliving their youths – pogoing and moshing with the best of them. It was an inspired addition to the line-up.

The aforementioned nostalgia kept coming, this time in the shape of Lightning Seeds who proved a big draw for the crowd seeking sugar sweet, summery pop tunes in the sunshine. Ian Broudie and band rolled back the years delivering infectious hits including ‘Sugar Coated Iceberg’, ‘Lucky You’, ‘Pure’ and ‘The Life of Riley’. They even played ‘Three Lions’, which felt a bit on the nose considering England’s most recent failure, changing the lyrics to 60 years of hurt. Sniggering could be heard from the Welsh Marches…there’s always next time.

I got a ham and mushroom pizza from the Pizza Rocket truck in the VIP area (£14) which was alright, but nothing special – even if it did come with a side of glittery graffiti – and then it was our final headliners.

Pop legends Bananarama were the final headliner of the weekend. There were plenty of 80’s fans gathered to see the now duo in action, including poised with inflatable bananas, but they were at least quarter of an hour late getting on stage. A hurried sound check was probably the last thing needed at that point, but that’s what we got.

I’ll freely admit to not remembering quite how many genuine classic songs they had in their arsenal. From ‘Cruel Summer’ to ‘Robert De Niro’s Waiting’ – they were a force to be reckoned with, dominating the charts long before Girl Power took over in 1996.

We also got ‘Really Sayin’ Something’, ‘Last Thing on My Mind’ and ‘Love in the First Degree’ amongst others and there was plenty of dancing and singing along going on in the audience, many of whom were reliving their youth. But there was something deeply amiss. It looked like they’ve followed the bad example of Example and were miming too! The microphones were very quiet during the (frankly awful) patter between songs but suddenly the volume was up and the audio was flawless for the singing. How curious?

Miming at a festival should be outlawed, especially if you are an actual mime because they’re creepy as all hell, but especially if you’re the headliners! We all know Siobhan was the talented one, but good grief. On the odd occasion the mics were left on for songs within their range, the pitchiness was something to behold. Even a flat as hell version of Dead or Alive’s ‘You Spin me Round (Like a Record)’ straight into ‘Venus’ couldn’t save proceedings and unfortunately, Lakefest organisers were short-changed by another headliner. It was a car crash of a set and the ladies walked off stage with barely a “good night” while the band carried on, summing things up nicely. Dreadful.

The fun carried on into the wee smalls beyond that debacle, but for me it was time to exit stage left and get home. My friend parked in the day parking area, which meant it was a short walk through the general camping area before we were in the car and in a short queue to leave site. The security teams were controlling the flow of traffic, which meant we weren’t waiting long before hitting the road and bidding Lakefest good night (unlike Bananarama).

Lakefest 2026 once again delivered one of the UK’s strongest family-friendly festival experiences. The Eastnor Castle location remains exceptional, the atmosphere was welcoming and multi-generational, and organisers clearly acted on attendee feedback from previous years. While some accessibility issues and underwhelming headline performances prevented perfection, Lakefest continues to stand out as one of Britain’s best independent festivals.

It’s abundantly clear there is a mutual love in between Lakefest and Lakefesters. Numerous attendees are well into their double digits for visits to the festival and wear it as a badge of honour. The feedback on socials was also overwhelmingly positive, with particular praise reserved for organisers having listened to last year’s comments and acted on them. Almost every comment I saw in the official group was followed up with a link to a feedback form, giving everyone an opportunity to let the organisers know what they’d improve. That’s a sign of a festival keen to futureproof itself and provide the best possible experience for all attendees.

Lakefest is best suited to families, first-time festivalgoers, and music fans seeking a relaxed atmosphere rather than a high-intensity camping experience. The mix of heritage acts, dance music, children’s activities and food options makes it particularly attractive to multi-generational groups. The fact it’s such a family friendly festival is another major positive for families looking for a festival to go to. They’ve also announced Under-12’s go free – so there’s even more of an incentive now.

Next year’s event is taking place between 11-15^th August 2027 with tickets on sale on the Lakefest website.