Party At The Races – Brighton

Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover

I know what you’re thinking. Do horse-racing and music festivals actually go that well together? I mean, they’re not the most natural pairing are they? But then again neither is pineapple on a pizza, but everyone seems to love Hawaiian right? (I will never understand how it works, but it just does) So essentially that’s the point I’m getting across. Party At The Races festival is the Hawaiian pizza of the music festival scene. Right… anyway, after that somewhat confused intro, let me tell you why you need to get yourself down to Party At The Races festival, at Brighton racecourse (where else?), on Saturday 1st October.

The Tunes

So, let’s start with the music. And, I’m gonna be honest, I really did not expect a festival at a racecourse to have such a banging line up. I mean, they’ve got Basement Jaxx headlining. The real, actual, electro duo Basement Jaxx. I’m impressed. And the other acts they’ve got lined up aren’t bad either, from the mysterious DJ/production duo Camelphat to the exotic, tropical house vibes of Jonas Blue, to local rock sensation Of Empires. It’s an eclectic mix, that’s for sure, but you don’t want to be listening to the same sh*t all festival do you? And plus, it fits in with the slightly kooky vibe of the festival as a whole. More on that now…

Shirt ‘n’ Chinos, Flowery Hat, or Slightly-Too-Tight-For-Comfort Trousers

The dress code. Yep, I know it sounds weird that the festival encourage you to wear certain things (to be fair, at other festivals pretty much everyone wears the same thing anyway, usually a variation on ‘that horribly garish track top you bought off eBay but have been too embarrassed to wear yet’) but it’s all in keeping with the theme. The website invites ‘party people’ (us, obviously) to dress up for a day at the races, or show off the best and brightest, fancy dress jockey outfits. I think this could actually be pretty jokes – just hear me out. Imagine the scenes. A mixture of suited and booted guys, women wearing ridiculous hats, and thousands of frickin’ jockeys, all raving to Basement Jaxx. Not exactly your most bog-standard festival but, y’know, bog-standard is just kinda boring.

Win Booze (Yes, Really)

Right, and now onto my favourite bit of this festival. I genuinely think this is a masterstroke, and may well start a petition to get this used pretty much everywhere. So the game is virtual horse racing, projected onto massive outdoor screens, with all the horses named after artists performing on the night. I mean, that’s pretty jokes in itself right? But then it gets even better. For those of us who like a little flutter (myself included, don’t tell my mum) you can use your drinks vouchers to place a bet. Let me just clarify that for you. You can bet booze, to win more booze. So, if your 10/1 comes in, essentially, you’re getting f*cking steaming. Incredible.  ‘How was Party At The Races mate?’ ‘Yeah was great, I put two shots of tequila on Basement Jaxx at 10/1 and then don’t really remember anything after that.’ Personally, I can’t wait to place that first boozy bet.

Party In A Pod

And that’s not all. Party At The Races have got even more bang for your buck, with a vintage funfair, gourmet food stalls, and something they call ‘Party In A Pod’.  Described as the ultimate pre-party event, let me explain what’s in store for only 190 lucky clubbers. So, you may or not know that British Airways have recently constructed the i360, the world’s tallest observation tower, and it’s in Brighton. You can see where this is going, right? So Party At The Races have teamed up with BA to stage a unique event, where a special guest DJ will provide a special soundtrack to the spectacular 360 degree views, while the BA Sky Bar will be serving drinks at 450 feet above Brighton. Not bad, eh? Tickets to the festival with the Party In A Pod pres costs only 35 quid, but they’re selling out quick, so get on it!

What’re You Waiting For?

Talking of tickets, they’re all selling out rapidly, so get yourself booked in here asap: http://partyattheraces.com/#ti ckets . The peeps at PATR have put on a whole load of options from standard ticket, to Party In A Pod, to your very own VIP table, so there’s no reason not to get involved! There’s also loads of useful transport info, FAQs and venue information on the website, and there’s even a virtual horse to answer all your queries (honestly, I’m not kidding). So yeah, you  know what to do peeps. Party At The Races is hardly your run-of-the-mill festival but, y’know, variety is the spice of life, so why the hell not?

 

Nick Cooke