Fun at the Fair: Boomtown 2017
We don’t like Mondays, so it’s a good thing this year’s Boomtown Fair is on from Thursday to Saturday! Taking place over August Bank Holiday Weekend in South Downs National Park, Hampshire, there’s more than enough to explore.
May the Odds be Ever in Your Favour
With eleven districts, including an insane 25 stages and 80 additional venues, this behemoth of a festival is more of a village in its own right. At the Town Centre, you can rave it up with a dazzling combination of folk, ska, balkan, hip hop and 2-tone. Trenchtown vibrates with reggae and dancehall, decorated with waterfalls and flaming towers (exotic!). Pirates of the Caribbean fans rejoice — Oldtown is the place for you! You’ll be free to explore a variety of shops and taverns, as well as intriguing rum houses and port buildings. You can also embrace your inner Will Smith at the Wild West, where you’ll weave your way through classic saloons on a current of folk, hillbilly and bluegrass music.
Make your way to ultra-classy Mayfair for Ballrooms, Sky Bars, and an incredible combination of swing and soul music. Don’t forget to make it rain with Monopoly money while you’re there! At Whistler’s Green you’ll get fully involved. Hot tubs and holistic healing fields? We’re there. Head to the Speakers’ Corner for thought-provoking discussion sessions, or chill at the Floating Lotus and Lizard Lounge to catch, folk, funk & soul, and reggae sounds.
Get your face painted at Kidztown, wave your lighters at the Sandcastle Stage, and then make your way to Forest Parties, where you can vibe to psy-trance and acid techno in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (which doesn’t just refer to where we’ll be during the festival). Explore Sector 6, an industrially-styled Nuclear Facility plot hub (more on that later) with a dizzying selection of bass, garage, and drum & bass. Move on to Dstrkt 5, a hardcore D&B paradise ruled by the cyborg Mob Boss Muuti (of course). Then check out Barrio Loco for techno and hip hop alongside crazy street parties and circus acts. And, finally, chill in Chinatown, a vibrant neon-lit ska punk haven.
The Story So what’s going on?
Each of Boomtown’s festivals are arranged in immersive-theatre chapters. 2017 beckons Chapter 9, Behind the Mask. What does this mean? Basically ... God, it’s confusing. Like, jumping in at The Deathly Hallows status confusing. To give you an overview, the people have risen to end Jose’s regime (good/bad?) and, in order to keep the city running, the suspiciously Umbella-Corp-vibing Bang Hai Industries has stepped in. They might not be all bad, though, because the message they’re sending to the citizens of Boomtown is this: The future belongs to us, and the world is ours. We can get behind that!
Music?
The biggest names in each district’s genre are showing up, so get ready! We’ve got the world-famous Specials, Cypress Hill, London bad girl MIA, Toots & the Maytals, and Ziggy Marley. Electronic superstars Boys Noize are making an appearance, as well as Dusky, My Nu Leng and Dread MC, Shy FX, and chart-toppers Toddla T. Check out Loyle Carner and AJ Tracey at Barrio Loco, and Newton Faulker and Alabama 3 in the Wild West. We’re confident there’s a big enough selection to accommodate anyone’s tastes!
So there you have it! The gorgeous and gargantuan Boomtown Fair will be here before you know it, so be sure to book tickets here in advance. For more information on the festival, break out your Katniss gear and check out http://www.boomtownfair.co.uk/ .
See you there!
Sian Kitchener