Late nights, warm weather, daylight savings…. All significant features of a summer that has finally arrived! I don’t like to count my chickens before they’ve hatched – April and even May seem to soon to be anticipating good weather from the British climate – but now we’ve entered into June, the outdoor party season is encroaching and it’s time to get hyped! Yes, that’s right, it’s festival season. Music fans everywhere rejoice! Time to escape to the country, pitch up in a field somewhere and spend the subsequent days partying to your heart’s content to the music of your favorite artists.
However, if, like me, your heart’s content lies in the realms of reggae, hip hop and underground electronic music, you will know that the UK options for this festival-wise are pretty slim. Yes you get the small-scale festivals catering, but it is pretty rare to witness any of the big names dedicating stages exclusively to dub-reggae sound systems, dancehall and the finer nuances of UK bass. It can become a negotiation, going stage to stage, genre to genre, festival brochure scrunched in your hand as you’re forced to make potentially life-ruining decisions on who to see regarding inevitable line up clashes.
This is where Boomtown Fair differs somewhat. Spanning the dipped Matterley Bowl site South West of London in Hampshire, each year the Boomtown Mayor and their team construct a multi-district city armed to the teeth with musical stages and mobile sound systems, a maze of alleyways and back streets, and password-protected hidden parties tucked away beneath telephone boxes or behind inconspicuous-looking doors. Each district within the city has its own camp site and caters to a particular musical preference: be that dub reggae, dancehall and hip hop in Trenchtown, grimey bass in Downtown and Barrio Loco, or slick electro-swing on Mayfair Avenue. Pick your district, hunker down, and let the good times roll! No worries when it comes to catching those must-see early sets, just wake up, roll over and you’re sorted!
Born out of a grass roots ethos, Boomtown is entirely independent and self-sufficient: channeling profits into future events and carefully selected charities. Since opening its gates in 2009, the festival has gone from strength to strength and 2014 boasts an incredible line up, including headline sets from dancehall, dub and reggae legends The Wailers, Sister Nancy, Dawn Penn, Shaggy and Lady Saw to name just a few. DJ-wise there’s a fresh selection of upcoming and established talent, with huge dub-reggae sound systems Mungo’s Hi-Fi, Iration Steppas, Red Eye Hi-Fi and Dub Smugglers all featuring on the bill. In true sound-culture style expect freshly crafted and exclusive acetate cuts pushed through finely attuned, custom-built speakers and a selection of fresh MCs on the mic.
From dub reggae to UK bass: for fans of grime, dubstep, jungle and drum and bass, Boomtown’s Barrio Loco’s got it locked down with a host of forward-thinking artists heading things up on the Circo Baile stage. UK garage pioneer Zed Bias and bass innovators My Nu Leng will be in attendance, performing alongside a plethora of DJ’s pushing their own unique flavors of grime and UK bass: watch out for Butterz members Swindle and Royal T going in back to back, Bristolian duo Kahn and Neek repping their ultra-exclusive vinyl collection, East London producer Champion merging UK funky and bassline, and of course Manchester hype-starters Chimpo and Dub Phizix, who are guaranteed to tear up the dance floor with bass-heavy audible treats
At Poco Loco, funk, hip hop and live bass music take center stage. Headline performances come from chillin’ Detroit hip hop group Clear Soul Forces (think Dilla-esque beats and on point, socially astute bars) and rising UK upstarts The Mouse Outfit: a live eight-piece band championing an eclectic combination of classic hip hop beats and funk elements, supported by two of Manchester’s finest spitter’s Dr Syntax and Sparkz. On top of this, look forward to sets from Dr Meaker, The Busy Twist, Lady Leshurr, Buggsy, Skittles and Gardna. Also, hip hop heads should take note of Jam Baxter and Dirty Dike on the Bodyshop stage, bringing back the rave and probably getting suitably messy in its honour.
With nine districts in total, the festival is huge and plays host to a vast range of music. There’s a home amidst the dub, bass and bashment for fans of punk, ska, folk, blues, bluegrass, and a variety of world music. Catch NOFX in Chinatown, wild gypsy music in Oldtown, Cajun and HillBilly in the Wild West, and top-notch English folk from Bellowhead and Eliza Carthy in Whistlers Green. There’s also Kidztown, a district dedicated to entertaining the little ravers of the future!
Boomtown embodies a mix of music, art and culture come to life in a fantastical world set within the beautiful English countryside. An experience not to be missed! Pick up your tickets online here, and we’d advise you not to hang about!
Dates: 7th – 10th August.
