Boomtown (music festival)

Last updated

Boomtown Fair
Boomtown Fair logo.svg
Boomtown 2019 Lion's Den night.jpg
The Lion's Den stage at night during Boomtown Chapter 11 (2019)
GenreMusic & Theatre Production
FrequencyAnnually
Location(s)Matterley Estate, Alresford Road, near Winchester, Hampshire, England.
Coordinates 51°03′05″N01°14′44″W / 51.05139°N 1.24556°W / 51.05139; -1.24556 Coordinates: 51°03′05″N01°14′44″W / 51.05139°N 1.24556°W / 51.05139; -1.24556
Years active12 years
Inaugurated7 August 2009 (2009-08-07)
FoundersChris Rutherford, Lak Mitchell [1]
Most recent7 August 2019 (2019-08-07) – 11 August 2019 (2019-08-11)
Next event10 August 2022 (2022-08-10) – 14 August 2022 (2022-08-14)
Capacity76,999 [2]
Organised byBoomtown Festival UK Limited [3]
Website www.boomtownfair.co.uk OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Boomtown (also known as Boomtown Fair) is a British music festival held annually near Winchester, Hampshire on the Matterley Estate in South Downs National Park. It was first held in 2009 and has been held in its current site since 2011. Its diverse line-up of bands, DJs and speakers perform on many different stages each a part of a district with its own individual theming. Each yearly event is known as a Chapter and expands on the storyline from the previous year, told through the sets, live actors and many forms of alternate reality games. The festival site is split into several districts, and the narrative is reflected in the design of the districts, streets and venues, which are populated by hundreds of actors to play the role of inhabitants.

Contents

The event is centered around a set of common beliefs and principles, mainly supporting the progressive ideas of environmentalism and social equality.

The festival is run by Boomtown Festival UK Limited Company Directors Chris Rutherford and Luke Marcus Mitchell, both from Bristol. [3] The large scale of the sets and infrastructure require six weeks of construction, and a month of disassembly for each event. [1]

In July 2019, the organisers were granted a capacity increase by Winchester City Council, bringing the total number of people allowed on site to 76,999. This number consists of 58,000 ticket holders, 17,999 crew, artists, traders and guests plus 1,000 local residents with day tickets. [4] The increase was to come into effect from 2020, until Boomtown 2020 was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. [5] The festival planned a reboot of its storyline for the 2021 festival. However, the festival was cancelled once again due to COVID-19, citing the lack of insurance support from the British government in the event that it would be required to cancel.

History

2000s

Boomtown Fair was first created by Christopher Rutherford and Lak Mitchell in 2009 after having grown up in the festival scene. [3] [1] Their experience with music festivals led them to believe that the events they were attending lacked atmosphere, and that many genres were being overlooked, which became a goal for the pair. [6] The first chapter, Boomtown Begins, took place in 2009 and was held at the Speech House Hotel, Coleford, in Gloucestershire on 7 August. The second event saw the festival move to the Stowe Landscape Gardens in Buckingham, Buckinghamshire and for the third event, the festival was relocated to the Matterley Estate in Winchester, where the festival has remained since.

2010s

The seventh chapter, in 2015, saw the introduction of Psychedelic Forest, the second (first being Tribe of Ffog) psychedelic trance stage. [7] The 2016 fair saw further expansion with Sector 6, introduced as a way to even the spread of bass-heavy music across the site, and Whistler's Green green fields area over the top of the hill between the Lion's Den and Downtown areas, mostly secluded from the rest of the site. [1]

The tenth chapter, in 2018, brought the new districts Disorder Alley, Paradise Heights (in place of Mayfair), and Copper County (in place of the Wild West). The same year, festival organisers hoped to increase the capacity of the festival to 80,000, but the application was rejected. Instead they were allowed to open a day early, but only if attendees arrived using 'sustainable transport', in coaches, shuttle bus or cars with more than three people. [8]

Hippie Highway, a central route through the site, at night in 2019 Boomtown-2019-hippiehighway-night.jpg
Hippie Highway, a central route through the site, at night in 2019
Cigarette butt ballot bins at Paradise Heights in 2019 Paradise Heights sign at Boomtown Fair with cigarette butt ballot box.jpg
Cigarette butt ballot bins at Paradise Heights in 2019

In August 2019, Boomtown were granted licensing approval to open a 3,500 capacity event space at their Bristol headquarters, which opened in November as Area 404. [9] The year's fair installment, chapter eleven, introduced the new Area 404 district in place of Sector 6 providing the festivals home for techno and acid house music. The event was focused around the "Leave No Trace" mantra. Encouraging attendees to take all their rubbish and tents with them as they leave, and also banning single-use plastics from all of the on-side stalls. As a result of this push, the festival saw a 50% reduction in tents and equipment left behind in 2019. [10] The festival introduced cigarette butt ballot bins as a part of this initiative in an effort to encourage responsible disposal of cigarette butts. Built by TerraCycle, attendees can vote on opinion polls by putting their butt in one of two slots, where their waste will later be recycled into furniture. [11]

2020s

Chapter Twelve was to see the introduction of a new district Forgotten Valley as a replacement for Whistler's Green. The new district was to encapsulate the Kidztown and Floating Lotus stages, but see the replacement of The Lighthouse stage with a new area known as Ancient Futures. [12] On 30 April 2020, Chapter 12 was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. [5]

The festival's return in 2021 saw a storyline reset and, like the very first year, was known as Chapter One, subtitled The Gathering. With this change in canon, the event also saw a redesigned layout, consolidating the site into three main areas: The Main City (located in what was previously Downtown – the Matterley Bowl), The Forests and Woodland areas, and the Campsites and their villages. The move meant that the majority of stages and venues were now located within the natural bowl, with the campsites able to occupy more of the flat land in the surrounding landscape. [13]

After an announcement from Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday, 22 February announcing the roadmap for the removal of restrictions in England, public confidence in the 2021 festival season increased. [14] Following this news, many festivals in the UK saw a huge increase in ticket sales, with the organisers of the Reading and Leeds festivals stating they were 'very confident' the summer's events would go ahead. [15] [16] By Thursday 25 February, all remaining Boomtown tickets had sold out, it was later revealed that 48,000 tickets were sold in total. [17] [18]

On 20 April 2021 however, Boomtown announced that it would be cancelled for the second year in a row. Organisers cited the lack of a government insurance scheme to cover COVID-19-related cancellations of music festivals, stating that "for an independent event as large and complex as Boomtown, this means a huge gamble into an eight-figure sum to lose if we were to venture much further forward, and then not be able to go ahead due to COVID." [19] While the organizers planned to hold a smaller event known as Boom Village in August, on 14 July notwithstanding the lifting of restrictions in the UK, Boom Village was cancelled due to safety concerns over rising numbers of new COVID-19 cases. [20]

Ethos and values

The event is centered around a set of common beliefs and principles, mainly supporting the progressive ideas of environmentalism and social equality.The event explicitly defines these ethos through the event's vision code, referred to as The Six Pillars of Boomtown. [21]

Respect Yourself: In a world that can make us doubt our own worth, we want to provide a space for self-empowerment and freedom of expression.

Respect Each Other: In a world that is deeply scarred by the open wounds of racism and prejudice, we want people of all backgrounds, beliefs, ages, gender identities, sexual orientations, abilities and races to know that you belong and are safe in our city.

Respect the Planet: In a world that is burning, we call on our collective humanity to come together to find solutions and care for nature, as she cares for us.

Creativity: In a world where conformity is valued over creativity, we want to provide a platform that nurtures artistic freedom and pushes the boundaries of creative expression.

Connection: In a world where digital connection so often replaces physical connection, we cherish the depth of togetherness that comes from the gatherings of humans.

Celebration: In a world that can so often feel overloaded with negativity, we want to celebrate the very best this beautiful planet and all humanity can achieve, in one almighty party where everyone's welcome!

Storyline

Prologue

The prospecting geologist Nickolas Boom, having discovered a Gold-bearing vein in the hills, founds the town with settlements of his crew of miners. Word of this discovery spread throughout the region, and soon other prospectors began wanting a piece, marking the beginning of an eternal power struggle for dominance over the vein. Boom tried to bring order to the town but lawless rebels only drove further chaos. [22]

Chapter 1: Boomtown Begins (2009)

In an effort to restore order, local officials succeeded in driving away the rebels. The towns annual fair was set up to unify the community. The fair attracted musicians and entertainers from far and wide. Farmers and merchants from neighbouring villages came to the town, selling their produce and goods. The fair was a success and the people were uplifted. Only that same week, the gold ran out. Once more, violence set in and the streets descended into anarchy. [23]

Chapter 2: External Forces (2010)

Recession struck the town, and looting and fighting were commonplace. [24] The Kaptin began an attempt to contain this anarchy. Boom was outraged at this interference, and with the Pirate Captain and Gypsy King, swore to keep The Kaptin from making progress and ruining their freedoms. [25]

Chapter 3: The Disappearance of Boom (2011)

With new settlers, the town expanded into new districts and brought new attractions. Only the wealthy lacked any areas of prestige, and so the town officials budgeted a huge amount of money from their urban redevelopment fund towards such an area – Mayfair Avenue. Having had enough, Boom returned to the mountains in search of a fabled temple in the forest, with treasure guarded by lions. With this wealth, he would buy the land of town and restore the peace and freedom, without the rules of a state. Boom was never seen again. [26]

Chapter 4: An Alien Presence (2012)

Arcadia stage at Boomtown 2012 Arcadia (7782072552).jpg
Arcadia stage at Boomtown 2012

With further expansion, the town became a city and with this progress came taxes and troubles. With a comet-like crash, an unearthly structure arrived. Arcadia had landed and The Kaptain declared a stage of emergency in the town, declaring himself Mayor. [27]

Chapter 5: Declaration of Democracy (2013)

The docks of Oldtown were revitalised as a wave of trade and immigration hit the port. Travellers from the far east formed a vibrant oriental quarter known as ChinaTown, and those from Latin America founded the Latin Quarter. After pressure from citizens, The Mayor announced free elections with district councillors being appointed, and the following year even the mayoral office would be subject to vote. [28]

Chapter 6: The Loopholes of Time (2014)

From the elections of the year prior, Comrade José became mayor. She introduced the citizenship test, and began on her plans to unite the districts. Defeated and regretful, the ex-mayor turned to the aliens of Arcadia for help, who agreed to send him back in time to the inception of the town. He set off to the west, and reached an isolated town. The ex-mayor told Sheriff Bane of the town about the newly constructed mines and the grand city Boomtown would become. Initiallly skeptical, the Sheriff agreed that if this did come true, that the ex-mayor could call on their aid when he found himself in trouble.

After this agreement, the ex-mayor found himself back in present-day, surrounded by a district that previously hadn't existed – Wild West Street. He once again met Bane who was ready to stick to the promise he had made, and handed over his Sheriff badge making the ex-mayor the new Sheriff of the Wild West. [29]

Chapter 7: The Palace Has Risen (2015)

Chapter 8: The Revolution Starts Now (2016)

Chapter 9: Behind The Mask (2017)

Chapter 10: The Machine Cannot Be Stopped (2018)

Chapter 11: A Radical City (2019)

Chapter 12: New Beginnings (2020)

Chapter One: The Gathering (2021)

Layout

Across the four areas of Temple Valley, Hilltop, Downtown and Forgotten Valley there are 14 separate districts, each with an individual identity seen through the set dressing, wandering theatrical performances, and music genres on show. Each district has at least one main stage and a selection of smaller street or theatrical venues as well as small and medium-sized music venues. [30] The festival contains over 25 'main' stages and an additional 80 street venues. [31]

The large main stages of Relic, Nucleus and Lion's Den differ from standard stages as they are designed to accommodate crowds several thousand strong, with vast stage sets at the centre with food and drink concessions in their own arenas. Kidztown is the dedicated children's area at Boomtown, introduced in the second year, co-ordinated by qualified child and youth experts, including play-workers, early years specialists, artists and performers.

The 2021 installment is set to feature a reworked and scaled-down site layout as a part of the festival's recovery measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Aside from the Forest Party stages, each of the districts will be relocated to inside the Matterley Bowl in a new, more condensed layout for the Downtown area. Some of the campsites will be moved to the fields immediately surrounding the Bowl, and the overall footprint for the event is down-scaled. [32]

View from the top of Hippie Highway, the main route between the areas of Downtown and Hilltop. Boomtown-2019-hippiehighway.jpg
View from the top of Hippie Highway, the main route between the areas of Downtown and Hilltop.

Districts and Stages

Boomtown (music festival)
Map of districts and main stages

The site layout evolves and changes with each installment, with new areas and venues being introduced and previous iterations renewed. A number of the stages have remained consistent throughout the history of the festival, including the Kidztown, Lions Den and Town Centre stages which have featured since the 2011 fair, through many different incarnations.

AreaKeyDistrict / Main stagePictureStage(s) and Venue(s)Main Genre(s)
Temple Valley1Area 404Acid Leak •Fallout Disco •The Grid •Nucleus •SP:23 Street Party Techno  • Acid house • Rave
2Forest PartiesPsychedelic Forest Psychedelic trance
3Lion's Den The Lion's Den at Boomtown Fair.jpg Lion's Den Reggae  •Ska  •Mixed Genre
Hilltop4Copper CountyCroaker Club •Flying Moustache •Foggers Mill •The Forge •Wrong Side of the Tracks Ska  • Folk  • Blues  • Drum & Bass
5Forest PartiesTangled roots Psychedelic trance  • Dub  • Dancehall  • Reggae
6Tribe of Frog
7Old TownBuskers Wharf •Mama Jynx •Oldtown Square •Rimski's Yard •Shamrock Folk  • Punk • Rock music
8Paradise Heights Paradise Heights at Boomtown Fair.jpg Copper Feel Cabaret •Hotel Paradiso •Paradise Ballroom •The Bandstand •Villa Avarice Disco  • Soul  • Jazz  • Afrobeats
9Town Centre Town Centre stage at Boomtown Fair.jpg Bad Apple Bar •Boomtown Bobbies •Job Centre •Town Centre Pop  • Hip-hop  •Mixed Genre
Downtown10Barrio Loco24 Hour Garage Girls •Kaotik Kartel •Loose Lips Block Party •Pirate Studios •Poco Loco
(+ an unannounced stage new for 2020)		 Garage  • Hip-hop
11Diss-order Alley Diss-order Alley at Boomtown Fair 2019 01.jpg Earache Factory •Hangar 161 •The Bunker •The Freak Boutique
(+ an unannounced stage new for 2020)		 Metal  •Rock
12Dstrkt 5Broken Core •Cyberdrone •Dystopia •Scrapyard •Sub Lab Gabba  • Hardcore  • Jungletek  • Drum & Bass
13Forest Parties Boomtown-2019-hiddenwoods.jpg Hidden Woods Dub  • Dancehall  • Reggae
14MetropolisDubtendo •Fashion Haus •Little Pharma •Pagoda Plaza •Zenith House  • Funk  • Disco
15Relic Boomtown-2019-relic.jpg Relic Drum & Bass • Jungle
Forgotten Valley16Forgotten ValleyAncient Futures •Floating Lotus •Speakers Corner Acoustic  •Soul  •Folk  • Spoken word  • Spirituality  •Activism
KidztownRaucous RascalsFamily friendly performances of

Drum & Bass • Hip-hop • Regae • Dancehall

Evolution of districts and main stages (at Matterley Estate)
2011201220132014201520162017201820192020
Lion's Den
Kidstown
Town Centre
Mayfair
Arcadia
Hidden Woods
ChinaTown
Barrio Loco
Oldtown
HolditDown District
Tangled Roots
Tribe of Frog
Wild West
Bang Hai Palace
DSTRKT 5
Psychedelic Forest
Whistlers Green
Disorder Alley
Sector 6
Metropolis
Paradise Heights
Bang Hai Towers
Copper County
Area 404
Relic
Forgotten Valley

 – Previous district / main stage.  – Current district / main stage.

Location

Hampshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Map showing the location of Boomtown within Hampshire.

The festival takes place in South West England on the Matterley Estate in Hampshire on the grounds of the South Downs National Park, 3 miles from Winchester. The grounds are situated between the A31 and A272. [33]

The grounds have been the home of a number of music festivals and concerts over the years, including Creamfields in its inaugural year of 1998, Homelands from 1999 till 2005 and Glade Festival in 2009. Because of this long history with a number of iconic events, many consider the grounds to be firmly entrenched in the roots of many notable acts and genres, especially with regards to dance music, underground dance music and other electronic music. [34]

The bottom of The Stairs, another route between Downtown and Hilltop The steps at Boomtown Fair.jpg
The bottom of The Stairs, another route between Downtown and Hilltop

The fair is situated at grid reference SU 52919 28297 . The site is split into 3 areas: the Downtown area is contained within the Matterley Bowl, the natural valley Temple Valley features the area of the same name, and the Hilltop area extends across the crest of the hill that is the mid-ground between these two areas – it is also the geographical centre of the site. [35] The site is divided by the steep hill between the Downtown and Hilltop areas with participants taking either Hippie Highway or The Stairs to travel between the two. A number of stages feature within the natural features of the sites. The Hidden Woods, Tribe of Frog, Tangled Roots and Psychedelic Forest stages are set within forests under tree canopies. The Lions Den stage is also set within a natural amphitheatre.

Elsewhere on-site, the motocross track within the Matterley Basin has in the past held the British round of the World Championship, as well as the Motocross of Nations. [36] The site has also hosted the Tough Mudder endurance test series. [37]

Line-ups

ChapterDatesHeadlinersTicket price
Boomtown Begins (2009)7–9 AugustIncrease Negative.svg £45 [38]
External Forces (2010)13–15 AugustIncrease Negative.svg £58 [39]
The Disappearance of Boom (2011)11–14 August Gogol Bordello, DJ Zinc and Ms. Dynamite [40] Increase Negative.svg £93 [41]
An Alien Presence (2012)9–12 August Reel Big Fish, Caravan Palace and Shy FX [40] Decrease Positive.svg £63 [42]
Declaration of Democracy (2013)8–11 AugustIncrease Negative.svg £149 [43]
The Loopholes of Time (2014)7–10 August The Cat Empire, General Levy and Chas & Dave [40] Steady2.svg £149 [44]
The Palace Has Risen (2015)13–16 August Protoje, Noisia and Mr. Scruff [45] Decrease Positive.svg £120 [46]
The Revolution Starts Now (2016)11–14 August Madness and Damian Marley [40] Increase Negative.svg £135 [47]
Behind The Mask (2017)10–13 August The Specials, M.I.A. and Cypress Hill [48] Increase Negative.svg £195 [49]
The Machine Cannot Be Stopped (2018)8–12 August Gorillaz, Die Antwoord and Limp Bizkit [50] Increase Negative.svg £246 [51]
A Radical City (2019) 7–11 August Lauryn Hill, Prophets of Rage, The Streets, Chronixx, Chase & Status and Groove Armada Decrease Positive.svg £244 [52]
New Beginnings (2020) 12–16 August Wu-Tang Clan, Underworld, Kelis and Pendulum Trinity [53] Increase Negative.svg £249 [54]
The Gathering (2021)11–15 AugustNot yet releasedDecrease Positive.svg £199 [55]

Charitable activities

Donations to various charities are made each year from the festival's profits; [56] in 2015 these were the Energy Revolution Initiative, Winchester Youth Counselling and Trinity Winchester. Tickets are donated to charity for raffles and competitions, and the festival works with Oxfam, MyCauseUK and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance who provide stewards. The festival also produces a fundraising CD at Christmas. [57] Since 2014, the festival have provided free children's arts & craft workshops at a pop-up event in nearby Winchester. [58]

For the 2019 event, Boomtown partnered with TreeSisters, an organisation focusing on reforestation with women, to plant one tree for every ticket bought (48,000). After the event, it was announced that the partnership planted 71,725 trees. [59]

Incidents and deaths

During the 2011 festival, Deborah Jeffery, 45 from Winchester suffered a fatal heart attack after taking ecstasy. [60]

In 2013, Ellie Rowe, 18 from Glastonbury, Somerset, died after consuming alcohol and ketamine. The incident occurred the same day Ketamine was reclassified from a class C to class B drug in the UK. [61] In the years following the tragedy, Wendy Teasdill, Ellie's mother, has become an advocate for on-site drug testing, saying the facilities may have saved her life. [62]

The following year, Lisa Williamson, 31 from Hereford, was found hanged in a campsite toilet after using drugs. [63]

In 2016, Olivia Christopher, 18, from Chesham, Buckinghamshire, was discovered dead in her tent after a suspected drug overdose. It is believed she had consumed a cocktail of cocaine, ketamine, LSD and MDMA as well as alcohol while at the festival. The police seized £79,000 of drugs at the festival, with an additional £55,000 worth being placed in amnesty bins at the gates. [64] The same year, a discarded cigarette started a fire which destroyed more than 80 cars. [65]

In the weeks leading up to the 2017 event, the construction of the city was hampered by bad weather, which contributed to delays at the gates, with some guests queuing for up to 10 hours to enter the site. Despite the problems on the gates, the rest of the event proceeded without incident. [66]

In 2019, the festival saw very high winds, causing widespread damage to tents in all camping areas, as a result of fencing barriers blown into the festival. In addition, the Relic main-stage stage was closed during a performance by Shy FX on Friday after a piece of debris from the stage fell onto the crowd during the high winds. All subsequent acts that day being moved to the Lion's Den stage. It was re-opened the next day. No injury was reported. [67]

Awards and nominations

DJ Magazine's top 50 Festivals

YearCategoryWorkResultRef.
2019World's Best FestivalBoomtown Fair23rd [68]

Drum&Bass Awards

YearCategoryWorkResultRef.
2017Best FestivalBoomtown Fair2 [69]
2018Best Event 20173 [70]
Best Festival1
2019Best Festival2 [71]
2020Best Event 20191 [72]
Best Festival2

A Greener Festival

YearCategoryWorkResultRef.
2019A Greener FestivalBoomtown FairCommended [73]
2020Commended

UK Festival Awards

YearCategoryWorkResultRef.
2018Best Festival ProductionBoomtown FairNominated [74]
2019Best Festival ProductionNominated [75]
The Greener Festival AwardNominated

See also

Related Research Articles

Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from the British new-age music scene and the early 1990s German techno and hardcore scenes.

Woodstock 1969 music festival in New York, United States

Woodstock was a music festival held August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, 40 miles (65 km) southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music" and alternatively referred to as the Woodstock Rock Festival, it attracted an audience of more than 400,000. Thirty-two acts performed outdoors despite sporadic rain.

Glastonbury Festival Performing arts festival in Somerset, England

Glastonbury Festival is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, in England. In addition to contemporary music, the festival hosts dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret, and other arts. Leading pop and rock artists have headlined, alongside thousands of others appearing on smaller stages and performance areas. Films and albums recorded at Glastonbury have been released, and the festival receives extensive television and newspaper coverage. Glastonbury is attended by around 200,000 people, requiring extensive infrastructure in terms of security, transport, water, and electricity supply. The majority of staff are volunteers, helping the festival to raise millions of pounds for charity organisations.

World of Music, Arts and Dance

WOMAD is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance.

Reading and Leeds Festivals Pair of annual music festivals in England

The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm on Richfield Avenue in central Reading, near Caversham Bridge. The Leeds event is held in Bramham Park, near Wetherby, the grounds of a historic house. Campsites are available at both sites and weekend tickets include camping. Day tickets are also sold.

Download Festival English music festival

Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at Donington Park in Leicestershire, England ; in Paris, France ; at Parramatta Park, Sydney ; and at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.

Ballinasloe Town in Connacht, Ireland

Ballinasloe is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. It is one of the largest towns in County Galway with a population of 6,662 people as of the 2016 census.

Earache Records is an independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. It helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing early grindcore and death metal records between 1988 and 1994. The label roster has since diversified into more mainstream guitar music, working with bands such as Rival Sons, the Temperance Movement, Blackberry Smoke and the White Buffalo. The company also hosted the 'Earache Express' stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2017 and 'The Earache Factory' at Boomtown Fair 2018.

Glade Festival was an electronic dance music festival, founded by Nick Ladd and Ans Guise, which originally started out as Glastonbury Festival's Glade Stage, which was established by Luke Piper and Mark Parsons who also became founding partners in Glade Festival itself. Exeter breakbeat promoter Biff Mitchell also played an important role in the event's development. The annual festival took place for the first time over four days in the summer of 2004, attracting 22,500 people by 2007. The festival's home for the first five years was the Wasing Estate, in Berkshire. In 2009 it was held in Winchester, and in 2011 and 2012 its location was at Houghton Hall in Norfolk. The festival was cancelled in 2013, it did not reappear as was planned in 2014, however the Glade Stage at the main Glastonbury festival continues.

A boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth.

Creamfields is an electronic dance music festival series founded and organised by British club promoter Cream, with its UK edition taking place on August Bank Holiday weekend, with a number of international editions held across various territories worldwide.

Brighton Pride Annual LGBT event in Brighton and Hove, England

Brighton and Hove Pride is an annual LGBT pride event held in the city of Brighton and Hove, England, organised by Brighton Pride, a community interest company (CIC) who promote equality and diversity, and advance education to eliminate discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) community.

Strawberry Fair

Strawberry Fair is a local festival of music, entertainments, arts and crafts which has been held in Cambridge, England, since 1974. The fair is held on Midsummer Common on the first Saturday in June. It is open to the public and free.

Godiva Festival Three day music festival held each year in Coventry, England

The Godiva Festival is a three-day music festival held each year in the War Memorial Park, Coventry, England, named after the city's famous former inhabitant Lady Godiva. It first appeared as a day-long event in 1997 and became a 3-day event the following year in 1998. It is the largest family music festival in the UK, and is made up of two fields; a Main Field and a Family field, which each offer a different experience.

Cheesefoot Head


Cheesefoot Head is a large natural amphitheatre and beauty spot just outside Winchester, England. It is situated on the A272 road. There are three bowl barrows on the site. The east, south and west walls of the amphitheatre are a 13.4-hectare (33-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Tomorrowland (festival) Annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium

Tomorrowland is a Belgian electronic dance music festival held in Boom, Flanders, Belgium since 2005.

Boomtown 2020 British theatrical musical festival (12 to 16 August)

Boomtown 2020, also known as Boomtown Chapter 12: New Beginnings, was to be the 2020 production of an immersive annual five-day theatrical music festival that takes place near Winchester, Hampshire on the Matterley Estate in South Downs National Park. Boomtown Chapter 12 was set to take place from Wednesday until Sunday, 12–16 August 2020, but was cancelled on April 30 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Boomtown 2019 British theatrical musical festival (7 to 11 August 2019)

Boomtown 2019, also known as Boomtown Chapter 11: A Radical City, is the 2019 production of an immersive annual five-day theatrical music festival that takes place near Winchester, Hampshire on the Matterley Estate in South Downs National Park. Boomtown Chapter 11 took place from Wednesday, 7 August, until Sunday, 11 August 2019.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Taylor, Kat (23 February 2017). "Interview with Boomtown co-founder Lak Mitchell". Festivalmag. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  2. ↑ "Boomtown 2020: Organisers granted 76,999 capacity". Boomtown Source. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 "BOOMTOWN FESTIVAL UK LIMITED Company number 07871423". Companies House . Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  4. ↑ Warrenger, Sam (31 July 2019). "Boomtown capacity increase to 76,999 approved by council". TheFestivals. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Boomtown Update 2020". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "People profile: Lak Mitchell". Leisure Management. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  7. ↑ "For those who haven't seen the line up for our brand new Psychedelic Forest area. #psytrance #psychedelic #boomtownfai… | Boomtown fair, Boomtown, Perfect strangers". Pinterest.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  8. ↑ "Road rules set for festival's extra day". BBC News. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  9. ↑ Murray, Robin (1 August 2019). "Bristol looks set to get new 3,500-capacity event space from Boomtown". Bristol Post . Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  10. ↑ "Green Mission". boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  11. ↑ "Boomtown to trial cigarette butt ballot bins". TheFestivals. Retrieved 12 March 2020. furniture
  12. ↑ "Forgotten Valley Lineup Announcement | District 2/15". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  13. ↑ "Chapter One has landed!". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  14. ↑ "Lockdown: Boris Johnson unveils plan to end England restrictions by 21 June". BBC News. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  15. ↑ "Festivals selling out after map to end England's lockdown announced". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  16. ↑ "Reading and Leeds boss 'very confident' festivals will happen". BBC News. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  17. ↑ "We are SOLD OUT!!". boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  18. ↑ "World at One - 01/03/2021 - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  19. ↑ "Boomtown festival cancelled amid Covid insurance row". BBC Hampshire. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  20. ↑ "Covid: Boom Village festival cancelled amid rising cases". BBC News. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  21. ↑ "Ethos". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  22. ↑ "Prologue | Town History | Boomtown Fair 2012". 17 June 2012. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  23. ↑ "Chapter One | Town History | Boomtown Fair 2012". 17 June 2012. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  24. ↑ "Chapter Two | Town History | Boomtown Fair 2012". 17 June 2012. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  25. ↑ "EXTERNAL FORCES chapter 2". www.boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  26. ↑ "EXTERNAL FORCES chapter 3". www.boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  27. ↑ "An Alien Presence". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  28. ↑ "EXTERNAL FORCES chapter 5". www.boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  29. ↑ "CHAPTER 6 – A NEW TWIST | Town History | Tourist Info | Boomtown Fair – Explore Our World". 12 July 2014. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  30. ↑ "Boomtown's new Metropolis area". Mixmag. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  31. ↑ "Stages & Venues". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  32. ↑ "The City". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  33. ↑ "Travel". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  34. ↑ "Previous events". The Matterley Bowl. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  35. ↑ "Boomtown CH 11 map is here!". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  36. ↑ "The Matterley Basin". The Matterley Estate. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2021.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  37. ↑ "The Matterley Estate". The Matterley Estate. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2021. The official website for Matterley Estate, home of the Matterley Bowl and hosts of Boomtown Festival, Tough Mudder and Juniper Leisure.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  38. ↑ "Boomtown Begins". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  39. ↑ "BoomTown Fair 2010". eFestivals . Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  40. 1 2 3 4 "Boomtown 2014 announce first acts! – Psychedelic Press". Psychedelic Press. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  41. ↑ "The Disappearance of Boom". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  42. ↑ "An Alien Presence". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  43. ↑ "Declaration of Democracy". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  44. ↑ "The Loopholes of Time". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  45. ↑ "Interview; why Boomtown festival 2015 will rock – Liftshare Blog". Liftshare Blog. May 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  46. ↑ "The Palace Has Risen". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  47. ↑ "The Revolution Starts Now". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  48. ↑ "Festivalgoers left queuing for six hours". BBC News. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  49. ↑ "Boomtown Fair 2017". eFestivals . Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  50. ↑ "Boomtown Festival Live Artists Poster – NextFest". NextFest. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  51. ↑ "Boomtown Fair 2018". eFestivals . Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  52. ↑ "Boomtown Fair 2019". eFestivals . Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  53. ↑ "Boomtown 2020 Line up and rumours – Boomtown Source". Boomtown Source. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  54. ↑ "Boomtown Fair 2020". eFestivals . Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  55. ↑ "Boomtown tickets reduced in price for 2021 🎉". Boomtownfair.co.uk. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  56. ↑ Porter, Hilary (9 October 2017). "BOOMTOWN FAIR RAISES OVER £116,303 FOR CHARITY". Southern Daily Echo . Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  57. ↑ "Charity Support". BoomTown. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  58. ↑ Neal, Charlotte (31 May 2015). "Boomtown Fair organisers bring carnival fun at Winchester workshops". Hampshire Chronicle . Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  59. ↑ Hatherley, Sam (18 February 2020). "Boomtown festival aims to plant one million trees this year". Hampshire Chronicle . Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  60. ↑ Streatfield, Emma (10 March 2012). "Mum, 45, died from Ecstasy overdose at music festival". Southern Daily Echo . Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  61. ↑ "Teenager died after taking ketamine at festival, inquest hears". The Guardian . 12 February 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  62. ↑ "Boomtown Fair: Front of house drug tests delay 'ludicrous'". BBC News . 7 August 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  63. ↑ "Woman dies in tent at Boomtown Fair festival". BBC News . 16 August 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  64. ↑ "Woman dies at BoomTown Fair music festival in Hampshire". The Guardian . 16 August 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  65. ↑ Cockburn, Harry (13 August 2016). "Fire at Boomtown music festival in Hampshire destroys 80 cars". The Independent . Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  66. ↑ Horton, Helena (11 August 2017). "Festivalgoers reportedly faint in queue for Boomtown fair after festival ramps up security". Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  67. ↑ Murray, Robin (12 August 2019). "Piece of stage 'ripped off' and landed on crowd at festival". Bristol Post . Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  68. ↑ "DJ Mag's Top 50 festivals 2019". Djmag.com. 3 January 2021.
  69. ↑ "Drum&Bass Awards 2017 Results". Drum&Bass Awards. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  70. ↑ "Drum&Bass Awards 2018 Results". Drum&Bass Awards. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  71. ↑ "Drum&BassArena Awards 2019: The Results". UKF. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  72. ↑ "Drum&Bass Awards". Drum&Bass Awards 2020 Results. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  73. ↑ "A Greener Festival announce 2018 award winners – Powerful Thinking". Powerful Thinking. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  74. ↑ "Shortlists 2018 | UK Festival Awards 2019". UK Festival Awards 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  75. ↑ "UK Festival Awards reveals 2019 shortlists – CGA". CGA. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.