Beautiful Days Festival, Devon, August 2006 : Anyone going??

[William of Walworth]

Tickets now on sale!!

Beautiful Days Festival website

Levellers Website

This is an excellent festival organised by the Levellers (who will headline on one of the days) -- they aim for an old school countercultural Green Fields of Glasto type vibe. Beer provided by an excellent local brewery, Otter Brewery of Honiton. This year the licence looks like it will be expanded to cover approaching 10,000 (instead of 6,000) people, and the festival will become a three dayer instead of just two days as last year.

Dates for 2005 : Friday 19 to Sunday 21 August.

We went for the first time last year, and despite some slightly dodgy weather, we had a great time. Music a good mix of folk/rock/reggae/punk/alternative/political/festival-friendly bands generally. There is also a good dance tent on a hill at the side of the site with class DJs. The festival site is really nice (grounds of Escot, a country house near Exeter, whose owners get on well with the Levellers/festival organisers). If you ever went to Glasto a few years back the vibe and atmosphere is similar to how the Green Fields used to be.


Partially announced lineup for 2005 (more to be added soon) :

LEVELLERS, THE WONDER STUFF, STEELEYE SPAN, BILLY BRAGG, DREADZONE, MAD PROFESSOR VS THE ORB, THE BEAT, PEATBOG FAERIES, NICK HARPER ELECTRIC, HAZEL O'CONNOR, BELLOWHEAD, ELIZA CARTHY, CHAS 'N' DAVE, GLENN TILBROOK and THE CAT EMPIRE (Australia)

Not just about the Levellers, then .....

We booked two tickets on Monday!

These have been on sale from Monday 4, they are apparantly going quite quickly now, with disappointed would be Glasto-goers adding to the demand.

Price £81= for the weekend. Welll worth it!

mmmmm Otter Beer ......

 

[baldrick]

possibly. i'm not going to glasto, would be nice to go to at least one festival this summer. my mate wants to go, haven't given it much thought, but if tickets are going quickly maybe i should get my skates on....

 

[mr steev]

Just booked our tickets... and there's definately money in my account this time!

 

[aqua]

that does look good, but I showed it to bees and his response was

"ARGH hippies "

so i think we're not going

 

[killer b]

it seems to me the line up is getting progressively worse for this - it was pretty good last year, and excellent the year before, but this time the main bands haven't done anything of note for the last 10 years... folk line up is pretty good though - and i understand the atmosphere is second to none, which is what festivals are all about anyway.

 

[William of Walworth]

that does look good, but I showed it to bees and his response was

"ARGH hippies "

so i think we're not going

That's why we ARE going

You'll love it Baldrick, being a bit of a hippy n all !

Steev, I'm still hoping Zion Train (or at least ZT DJs) will be added to the bill later ...

 

[William of Walworth]

it seems to me the line up is getting progressively worse for this - it was pretty good last year, and excellent the year before, but this time the main bands haven't done anything of note for the last 10 years... folk line up is pretty good though - and i understand the atmosphere is second to none, which is what festivals are all about anyway.

Vibe not line up innit. You're right, the atmos is fantastic.

The Beat would get ANYONE dancing anyway, old ain't necessarily bad ...

Plus lineup's not complete yet. No DJs yet mentioned other than Mad Professor vs Orb (who'll be great anyway).

 

[killer b]

yeah - i am tempted just because of the reports i've heard (plus a mate of mine works with the levs & might be able to get me in free...).

do you get soundsystems banging it out all night btw?

 

[Tort]

Having to give this one a miss this year as it clashes with family holidays but can certainly recommend it to anybody looking for the old fashioned Glasto vibe on a smaller scale.

 

[milesy]

THE WONDER STUFF

or rather - Miles Hunt and his backing band

 

[William of Walworth]

or rather - Miles Hunt and his backing band

Well, it wasn't me that typed that, just the Festival website.

I'm happy enough with a few covers of the old Stuffies stuff ... it's not them I'm going for anyway.

 

[William of Walworth]

yeah - i am tempted just because of the reports i've heard (plus a mate of mine works with the levs & might be able to get me in free...).

do you get soundsystems banging it out all night btw?

Not all night, but til pretty late I think

 

[William of Walworth]

More of the line up now announced :

Main Stage
Friday 19 August
Michael Franti and Spearhead - confirmed
Dreadzone - confirmed
I Am Kloot - confirmed
Nick Harper / Sleeper Cell - confirmed

Saturday 20 August
The Wonder Stuff - confirmed
The Cat Empire - confirmed
The Beat - confirmed
AntiProduct - confirmed
Cheetah - confirmed
No Comply - confirmed

Sunday 21 August
Levellers - confirmed
Asian Dub Foundation - confirmed
Glenn Tilbrook & the Fluffers - confirmed
Celloman - confirmed

The Big Top
Friday 19 August
Chas 'n' Dave - confirmed
Bellowhead - confirmed
Drunk in Public - confirmed

Saturday 20 August
Steeleye Span - confirmed
Oysterband - confirmed
Peatbog Faeries - confirmed
Seth Lakeman Trio - confirmed
Emiliana Torrini - confirmed
Dan Donnelly - confirmed
Romney Getty - confirmed

Sunday 21 August
Billy Bragg - confirmed

Little Big Top -- Dance Tent/Bar on the hill (no breakdown for days, with these) :

DJ SOULSONIC SPIN
SOUL OF MAN
DUB PISTOLS SOUNDSYSTEM
N-TOPIC
RENNIE PILGREM & THE TCR ALLSTARS
DIB DUB SOUNDSYSTEM
DJ BOSTIN POWERS
EATSTATIC
DJ AMBIESSENCE
HYBRID
MAD ORB
SUNFISH
TOM REAL
ROSSI
DJ MIKE JAMES
BEN & LEX
CHEMICAL DUB THEORY
BITESIZE
TRASH CITY
JAMES GILL
SCRATCHY
DOOZER LIVE
BREAKING EVEN
RICH MAN'S PLAYTHING
DIB DUB SOUNDSYSTEM

FREEBORN JOHN [performance featuring the Rev MC Hammer]

That is by no means a full lineup -- a few gaps left (Billy Bragg won't be carrying the Big Top on Sunday on his own!!).

Still clinging on to ever fainter hopes that Zion Train might be added ....

But looking a healthier, more complete lineup now .... Tickets still available!!

 

[Dubversion]

i've checked my diary and it seems i'm rearranging my sock draw for that whole weekend.

 

[William of Walworth]

i've checked my diary and it seems i'm rearranging my sock draw for that whole weekend.

In the nicest possible way ... piss off!!

Some of us aren't too proud to be hippies ...

'Latest' addition to lineup :

FULL RANGE OF PROPER BEERS FROM THE (local) OTTER BREWERY HONITON, all beer tents, all days ...

 

[Dubversion]

FULL RANGE OF PROPER BEERS FROM THE (local) OTTER BREWERY HONITON, all beer tents, all days ...

well that might just have changed my mind.









ahem

 

[aqua]

*shows bees thread now*

 

[William of Walworth]

well that might just have changed my mind.









ahem

 

[milesy]

Well, it wasn't me that typed that, just the Festival website.

the rolleyes was aimed at miles hunt, not at you

 

[Helga]

might well be doing this, since i singularly failed to get glasto tickets...is it likely to sell out while i'm dithering?

 

[Roadkill]

Oooh, the Oysterband are playing!

I could well be tempted, if I've the money. Lots of good people in that line-up.

 

[djbombscare]

well as this is going to be literally about 10 mins form where I live in Devon we better meet up with some of ya's

Dunno if I can hack the levellers tho

 

[William of Walworth]

You can go to the DJ tent during the Levs, Bombscare, or just hang around the beer tent ...
Plus one day tickets are available.

Twill be good, honest. Lovely atmosphere at this festival.

Helga and Roadkill : I don't know how fast tickets are selling, but I'm told that failed would-be Glastogoers have added to the demand. The licence is for around 8 or 9,000 this year, ie expanded from last, but I'd advise not delaying too long.

http://www.beautifuldays.org
http://www.levellers.co.uk

 

[William of Walworth]

the rolleyes was aimed at miles hunt, not at you

No problems ...

 

[William of Walworth]

I've been working from two different lists ...

3 More names for the Big Top (second stage), days not specified.

Eliza Carthy and the Ratcatchers
Hazel O'Connor
Yat Kha

Plus on a post with the official line up posted on the Beautiful Days chat forum on efestivals by 'The Knowledge' (someone who works for the Beautiful Days festival office) we also have for the main stage (day not specified) 'Very Special Guests'

I've compared both lists properly now (the one I posted above was from the 'News' bit of the EFestivals home page) and Very Special Guests are not there, all the other names are on The Knowledge's list.

Let's hope it's someone really good ....such as Zion Train, he posts, in the hope that repetition makes it so ...

 

[rennie]

so you can get a day ticket??? i'd love to go but cannot take time off work

 

[Helga]

Eliza Carthy as well as the Oysterband and the Peatbog Faeries??

Right, that's me sold. See you all there

 

[William of Walworth]

Twill be good to see you

I owe you a beer or two for that tunes for a dead Thatcher CD ...

Looks like we may have a small Urban gathering building up ... several other Urbanites are committed to this fest ...

Oh yes, I now suspect the Very Special Guests may well be the Ozrics. Seen em 2003 and 2004 at Off The Tracks, so I'm not that excited. But it may be someone rarer and more interesting!

 

[William of Walworth]

so you can get a day ticket??? i'd love to go but cannot take time off work

Yes (see link to websites above) ... but if you camped over Saturday night to take in Sunday as well as Saturday, you'd need to get tickets for two days, which might not be such good value.

Also reNnIe, be aware it's near Exeter -- the train journey is at least three hours one way, a lift would be quicker, but not incredibly quick ...

Not trying to put you off, but if you can contrive to get a spare day, it would help you .... a weekend ticket is so much more relaxing, and Friday stuff probably won't srat til late afternoon/early evening .....

 

[Xanadu]

That looks like a really good festival. I wish I could make it, but I'll be barely starting work, so I'll feel guilty if I start asking for time off that early.