Kent’s Answer to Glastonbury

Courier Countryside Column for 12^th July 2013

 Under headline:  You could be seeing the next big thing oin that little stage

Kent’s Answer to Glastonbury

Now ‘Glasto’ is over it’s time for superannuated hippies like me and music lovers generally to turn our attention to the plethora of boutique music festivals that have sprung up round here in in recent years.

There are at least a dozen in the Kent and Sussex countryside this summer – from All Tomorrow’s Parties at the prosaic Pontins at Camber Sands, to the more enticing Playgroup, billed as a ‘clandestine bijou fest at a secret location in Sussex’.

Sadly, the granddaddy of them all, Hop Farm, is cancelled. For the past few years my music mad son and I have enjoyed the East Peckham ambience. And when the main stage got too mainstream (Bruce Forsythe for heaven’s sake!) we would tour the Tent and outer stages for excellent Indie music.

My interest in offbeat festivals came about because, extraordinarily,  I have ended up hosting one in a field behind my house. 

A Grateful Dead appreciation group was looking for a venue to hold gatherings and a Deadhead friend wondered if I’d oblige.

From humble beginnings “SOL” (Summer of Love) has grown into a full two-day mini-fest with two stages and real ale bar and a couple of hundred people camping and chilling.  A little gentle persuasion has widened the music selection which this year has a definite folk flavour.  

So far we’ve kept it a deliberately small, membership-only, event with no tickets available on the day and, despite people constantly referring to me as  ‘Eavis’ Barker, my extremely tolerant neighbours need have no worries about expansion.

While our average age is knocking sixty,  just along the valley a music producer son of a friend has ben running an incredibly successful Indy-fest with a clientele closer to twenty.  His magical event, deep ‘In the Woods’ of his dad’s property had, three years ago, an unknown student band, Alt-J, playing on his tiny second stage. The following year they were headlining and, after some astute management, their debut album went to thirteen in the UK charts and won the British Mercury Prize.

Sadly I’ll be away for that festival this year.  But I rather doubt if Alt-J will be playing.  They’ve been too busy performing mainstream venues like Lattitude and Reading and …. yes, Glastonbury.

Perhaps one of the more obscure bands playing in my field this summer is destined for equal success. It would certainly give a vicarious glow.