Boomtown Fair is the Festival You Should Attend This Summer

Summer’s almost here and we all know what that means. Time to slop about in some muddy field at various levels of consciousness and listen to some ‘banging choons!’ That’s right, it’s festival season and Boomtown Fair proves you don’t even have to travel far to have it large.

Nowhere else do you get such an eclectic and adventurous mix of live music and DJs. Ranging from reggae, dub and jungle, to gypsy folk, electro swing, punk and ska, and onto the biggest and baddest beats in drum and bass, hip-hop and electronic music (breathe); Boomtown offers something for even the most audacious of tastes. (Sorry Ed Sheeran fans, this may not be the one for you 🙁 ).

Top acts like the legendary Toots and the Maytals, Parov Stelar Band, Redlight, Foreign Beggars, and Koan Sound will spread throughout the town to play on mesmerising venues like the Hidden Woods, the Sloane Manor speakeasy, the Lion’s Den and the absolutely nuts/incredible/terrifying Arcadia stage.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5_75WO6nBw&w=560&h=315]

Unlike other festivals, Boomtown sets out to create its own unique city within the festival grounds including variously themed ‘city districts’. Imagine some bizarre but inevitably entertaining grand social experiment where the messiest ravers are wildly unleashed upon their very own city and you’re not too far off.

The main stage is appropriately established as the town centre while the site allows endless opportunities for exploration with its very own Chinatown, Mayfair, a Latin Quarter and more including its very own forest. Each district is a hub of activity with live venues, shops, bars, workshops and their very own campsites.

With the ever increasing commercialization of festivals it’s getting harder and harder to find unique musical experiences. I asked a friend about what stood out about his experience of Boomtown and he recounted “I lost myself in a beautiful and thoughtfully created environment, closed off from the outside world completely carefree” adding poetically, “with the perfect music to get mashed to.”

Boomtown is a party that promises to be a mad few days and you can join the fun for just a scratch over 150 quid. Summed up by a much wiser man than myself, Boomtown Fair is “a messy weekend for messy people”. Check out the lineup here and here.