Lounge on the Farm Festival! (Canterbury) Ideal for 20's
You may have heard a lot recently about the ‘over saturation’ of music festivals. Year upon year we see the already busy summer schedule being more and more inflated by some kind of new day or weekend festival all with very similar acts and little to differentiate between them. We all love an underdog, something that succeeds and grows without giving in to the influences around them whilst keep their principals at the forefront of everything they do. Lounge on the Farm is an excellent example of such an underdog. It may not come with all the hype and flashy social media campaigns that many fly-by-night festivals pump so much money into but when it comes down to the essence of what many agree a festival should really be, they’ve hit the nail on the head. Celebrating their eighth anniversary this year stands as testament to their hard work and dedication.
What Lounge On The Farm lacks in terms of big hitting dance and UK Top 10 acts it more than makes up in the welcoming atmosphere and blissful setting of the festival site. Based down at Merton Farm in Canterbury, the festival site is laden with hay bales, creative designs and décor from local artists, delicious food stalls serving up the best in regional produce and of course Kentish cider, which all combines perfectly to create a unique atmosphere amongst the thousands in attendance. The name itself sums up the festival perfectly. This won’t be a festival whose campsite turns into a post-apocalyptic wasteland run by teenagers by the close, rather imagine a sun drenched Saturday afternoon fuelled by excellent cider and amazing food, excellent musical choices and plenty of hidden gems to keep you entertained.
This year’s festival will be headlined by none other than New York based fun trio the Fun with more than able support from festival stalwarts such as Dub Pistols, Congo Natty and DJ Yoda, who will be bringing his Trans-Siberian Marching band with him down to Kent. Alongside the bigger names will be a whole host of local and emerging talent. The organisers have an excellent knack for unearthing new acts, having previously booked The XX, The Horrors and beat box wizard Beardyman. If you fancy a break from the music, don’t fear, Lounge on the Farm has got it covered with a wide array of attractions and secret tents dotted around. Why not pop down to the comedy cabaret and see established comedians such as Stephen K. Amos or enter the weird and wonderful realm of The Playhouse to feast your eyes on everything from circus acts to spoken word.
Lounge on the Farm is definitely one for a different demographic than the hoards of young twenty year olds who, by the first day of a festiva,l have successfully managed to lose all their worldly possessions. Lounge very much caters for the crowd that now want something a little different from a festival, no longer the bottle of vodka smugglers but rather those who want to enjoy good music with good people in a good setting. It’s not surprising then to see couples in straw trilby sipping on cold cider with their son in tow wearing the ever-adorable set of oversized ear protectors. This is the section of society that the festival thrives on and who maintain the atmosphere and sense of community around the site.
Tickets start at a very modest £55 with an extra £10 for one of the limited camping spots. Due to being a fully operational farm, organisers have decided, sadly, to scale back the event to be able to focus more on the farming side of things, so this year will only see one day of music, but if this has to be done to be able to ensure the safety of the festival in the future then so be it. In the now crazy world of music festivals, with money pushing further to the front of many promoters minds, it’s so refreshing to see a festival that doesn’t conform to trends as it so easily could just to stay afloat. Lounge on the Farm are dedicated to their principles and their dedication to the local community is really something to be admired.
By Jack Evans