9 of the best boutique festivals
15th Jun 2012 | 14:08
Farmfestival
Farmfestival
Dates: 27 - 28 July
Location: Bruton, Somerset
Tickets: £40 for the weekend (buy tickets)
Headliners: Submotion Orchestra, The Boy Least Likely To
Other line-up highlights: Man Like Me, Trophy Wife, The Blood Arm, My Tiger My Timing (full line-up)
Embracing the true spirit of festival hosting, Farmfestival started as a party for friends, before it grew to encompass friends of friends, friends of friends of friends and so on. It supports local producers and suppliers, gives a chunk of the proceeds to charity and is known for its all-embracing friendliness.
Don’t miss: The Best Hat competition. The simplest ideas are usually the best.
MusicRadar festival guide 2012
Summer Sundae Weekender
Summer Sundae Weekender
Dates: 17 - 19 August
Location: De Montfort Hall and Gardens, Leicester
Tickets: £105 for the weekend (plus £10 camping fee) (buy tickets)
Headliners: Public Image Limited, Billy Bragg, Katy B, Patrick Wolf
Other line-up highlights: Y Niwl, Jake Bugg, Friends, Akala, Tune-Yards, Dog Is Dead, Ghostpoet, Adam Ant (full line-up)
Now in its 12th year, Summer Sundae brings a discerning mish mash of musical genres to the midlands, all presented within the picturesque and family-friendly setting of De Montfort Hall and Gardens.
Don’t miss: Twisting to Y Niwl, the Welsh surf quartet beloved by Huw Stephens and Gruff Rhys
MusicRadar festival guide 2012
Hevy Music Festival
Hevy Music Festival
Dates: 3 - 6 August
Location: Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, Kent
Tickets: £96 for the weekend (including Animal Park entry!) (buy tickets)
Headliners: Descendents, Andrew WK, Glassjaw, Converge, Hundred Reasons
Other line-up highlights: 7 Seconds, Hundred Reasons, Meshuggah, Lower Than Atlantis, Hawk Eyes (full line-up)
A bona fide punk-fest bringing together the best of US and UK talent, not to mention some rare festival exclusives (Descendents!), without getting all ‘Warped Tour’ on everything.
Don’t miss: Hundred Reasons playing Ideas Above Our Station in full. And also the elephants…
MusicRadar festival guide 2012
Secret Garden Party
Secret Garden Party
Dates: 19 - 22 July
Location: Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
Tickets: Sold Out
Headliners: Orbital, Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeroes, Tim Minchin
Other line-up highlights: Alabama Shakes, The Jim Jones Revue, Summer Camp, Little Roy, Krafty Kuts, James Lavelle, Daughter, Adam F (full line-up)
This year’s theme is ‘Standing On Ceremony’ and we expect it to be as wholeheartedly embraced as ever in a variety of weird costumes, set-pieces and spectacle. If you like your festivals colourful, exhibitionist and full of invention, this could be for you.
Don’t miss: Much like Burning Man in the US, the centre-piece of SGP is the spectacular burning of a gigantic sacrificial sculpture on the Saturday night. Bow at the feet of your fiery god.
MusicRadar festival guide 2012
Beacons Festival
Beacons Festival
Dates: 17 - 19 August
Location: Funkirk Estate, Yorkshire
Tickets: £84.50 for the weekend (buy tickets)
Headliners: Toots And The Maytals, Wild Beasts, Roots Manuva
Other line-up highlights: Mount Kimbie, The Felice Brothers, Factory Floor, Willy Mason, Cloud Nothings, Japandroids, Willis Earl Beal (full line-up)
A high brow selection of indie, dance and hip hop hosted within the scenic confines of the Funkirk Estate in Yorkshire. Beacons appeals to the serious muso without being po-faced – conveying a relaxed air and a very definite sense of fun.
Don’t miss: Into The Woods – a series of workshops, theatre stages, zine workshops and other cabaret all within the woods of the estate.
MusicRadar festival guide 2012
Boardmasters
Boardmasters
Dates: 8 - 12 August
Location: Watergate Bay, Cornwall
Tickets: £89 for the weekend (buy tickets)
Headliners: Ed Sheeran, Dizzee Rascal, DJ Fresh, The Ting Tings, Maverick Sabre
Other line-up highlights: Maximo Park, Spector, Pulled Apart By Horses, Zinc, Young Guns (full line-up)
There’s (a really quite valid) argument that, with sponsorship from Vans and Relentless and a capacity of 14,500, Boardmasters is not a boutique festival at all. We’ve included it here because it offers big festival names in a top location for under £90 and its popularity with extreme sports types gives it a flavour of its own. A definite alternative.
Don’t miss: Extreme sports - namely surfing, skating and BMX - are very much a part of Boardmasters’ offering. The 6 Star Men’s Surfing Series brings some of the world’s best surfers to nearby Fistral Beach and special buses run between the events.
MusicRadar festival guide 2012
Standon Calling
Standon Calling
Dates: 3 - 5 August
Location: Standon, Hertfordshire
Tickets: £99 for the weekend (buy tickets)
Headliners: Beardyman, Death In Vegas, Fat Freddys Drop
Other line-up highlights: Shy FX, Toddla T, Willy Mason, !!!, Crazy P, Field Music, Casiokids, King Charles, The Nextmen (full line-up)
Hosted in the grounds of founder Alex Trenchard’s manor house, Standon is one of the flagship ‘boutiques’. Its ‘DIY ‘til I die’ attitude, Standon-only quirkiness (swimming pool with sound system, disco in the cowshed) and late-running schedule, create an experience that events charging twice the price can’t match.
Don’t miss: This year's theme is Journey To The Ends Of The Earth, so naturally there'll be the opportunity to bag a ride in a hot air balloon.
MusicRadar festival guide 2012
Leopallooza
Leopallooza
Dates: 27 - 29 July
Location: Week St Mary, Cornwall
Tickets: £50 for the weekend (buy tickets)
Headliners: Chew Lips, Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Fenech Soler
Other line-up highlights: Lucy Rose, The Computers, Dog Is Dead, Imperial Leisure, Turbowolf, Flash Fiktion, Steve Smyth (full line-up)
Morphing from a house party (in a field) that sort of spun out of control into a fully-fledged festival, Leopallooza now aims to showcase local bands and entice acts to play an area full of music lovers, but somehow always missed by touring bands.
Don’t miss: The burning car. Usually a sign of something going vastly wrong, the inaugural Leopallooza ended in a spontaneous vehicle sacrifice and said automobile is now religiously rolled out every year.
MusicRadar festival guide 2012
Truck
Truck
Dates: 20 - 21 July
Location: Steventon, Oxford
Tickets: £69 for the weekend (buy tickets)
Headliners: The Temper Trap, Mystery Jets, Tim Minchin, British Sea Power
Other line-up highlights: The Low Anthem, Villagers, 65 Days Of Static, Guillemots, Future Of The Left (full line-up)
One of the first of the current wave of boutique festivals, Truck celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. It has a capacity of just 5,000 and it’s famed for its community spirit, great bands and friendly vibe.
Don’t miss: Future Of The Left destroying The Barn Stage, which is, you guessed it, contained within a barn.
