Summer Summer Summer Time!
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Before you know it’s June and you are back in the fields of the English countryside. Overall we got pretty lucky with the weather this year. Nothing too extreme thank goodness!
We started off the season with Kite Festival again. I can’t say the vibe or the line up was as good as last year. They ended up closing the main stage so all acts got downgraded to smaller stages. But it kind of worked as punters were thin on the ground. Made it a little more intimate.
Next up was the mega festival marathon Glastonbury of course. 10 days on Middle Farm. I love the pre-festival part. All the crew are there and it already feels like a festival. At the end we usually stay another night too just to wind down and make the drive a little easier. Line up wise I only really saw Elton John on the bigger stages. Glastonbury for me is all about the smaller acts. Unheard grooves and bumping into acts you never heard of. Oh and venue-wise Mez Yard was the one for me this year. The Copperdollar crew and their DJ’s smashed it!
With only two days rest at home we headed to Love Supreme Festival This one always feels like a village fate after Glastonbury. Nice and chilled, short drive from home. Yussef Dayez, Grace Jones and Little Simz amongt lots of other talented artists.
We were back at Latitude Festival this year after a years break. Not sure I will be applying to trade there again. It has become so commercial. Barclay Card is one of their main sponsors. They are ramming in about 200 traders, lots of them selling mass produced sweatshop tat. Lame. Plus the line up is never really my bag either, so no loss.
Like we didn’t have enough festivals booked already we went to We Are Love just for fun! Well, I got booked to DJ and lots of our Brighton friends were there so why then heck not?! Intimate little festival in Sussex with great line-up. Highly recommended.
Straight up after there was Wilderness Festival. Weak line up as usual but hey, I guess that means less distraction away from the stall. Beautiful site though.. Those oak trees are magical.
A festival we were really excited to trade at this year was We Out Here Festival. I actually went as a punter last year as the line up is always up my alley. Trading- wise it wasn’t the highlight of the season but music and vibes-wise it was a delight.
Then of course the little Brighton local Brunswick Festival. I get to sleep at home for that one! Shared the stall with Purple Community Fund and it was lovely to have Jane there and to see all the positive interest to their ringpull products.
Lost Village is all the way in Lincolnshire, so that is quite a drive from Brighton. Worth it though? Yes, its a cool little festival. Very young, mainly dance music and less live acts. But still ticking a lot of boxes. Basically there isn’t really anywhere to sit down, rest your legs, listen to some acoustic stuff while having a chai. You got to keep up with them youngsters. Its just dance dance dance! Crazy P, Bonobo, Ibibio Sound Machine and Mr Scruff were there. Always a joy.
Yet again we ended the season with End Of The Road. Or shall I call it middle of the road? Don’t get me wrong, the amount bands you can see in one weekend is more than your brain and feet can handle. But personally I find it all to be mainly “white man’s guitar music” Not enough funk. I dont mind a bit of rock and indie, but not four days on the trot. Kokoroko was there though. I guess they are groovy. EOTR does have a late night “dance” stage. Its hit and miss, but hey, Im there to work aren’t I? So no FOMO here.
And that’s a wrap! Overall that was a good season. I have never done 3 in a row, a little break and then followed by 7 in a row before. Thats intense! But it was fun. Well, they mostly are fun but when the weather is right, and your friends are being the best crew it doesn’t really matter that much if the headliners aren’t what you would have paid to go and see. Im there to work and I love seeing my crew enjoying themselves. Less festivals next year though.. Ten is way to many!
