Tag: park farm festival

Early Bird Tickets go on Sale for Park Farm Music Festival in Devizes

If Devizes Scooter Rally has already established its base at Whistley Road’s Park Farm and Full-Tone are moving to these new pastures, last year the site saw a superb inaugural festival of its own making, Park Farm Music Festival, with the expert knowledge of the good folk who brought us Mantonfest. It’s happening again this year and looks set to be even better than last year; I kid you not! Early bird tickets went on sale today, and the lineup has been revealed; let’s poke our noses in and pretend summer is on its way, shall we?!

Starter for ten, Mantonfest is a longstanding cherished gem on Marlborough’s event calendar, a family friendly festival which has stood the test of time, and folk return annually like it’s a pilgrimage; you can rest assured you’re in good hands. I hailed Mantonfest as “the friendliest festival you’re ever likely to attend.” 

While Park Farm Music Festival may yet have to establish itself to the same level of excellence, last year’s first time was an absolute blinder, bringing a taste of Mantonfest to Devizes and leaving folk hanging on the hope this would become a regular extravaganza.

This year the stage is set again for Mantonfest’s house band, the awesome groovy vintage blues boys, Barrelhouse, but in essence the organisers are keen not to present something completely Marlborough; we’re in Devizes now, mucker, if we’re going to have blues we NEED Jon Amor to come along too! And they’ve answered this call, The Jon Amor Trio need no introduction to Devizes; I’m glad to see their name on the lineup, I’m certain all of the town will be too.

Onto the headliners, yes, it is tribute act top heavy, which works a treat for Mantonfest. In this you should note, the organisers do not skip on quality when it comes to tributes, all are tried and tested. I’ve bore witness to most of them, and will bet my pet budgerigar’s life that you’re in for a wonderful day. Last year there was an emphasis on hard rock, with astounding AC/DC and Nirvana tributes, while this year looks to have more universal appeal. 

If Queen tributes are two to a penny, despite being a tricky act to replicate, and some I’ve seen were great, One Vision played Mantonfest two years ago, and, just, wow, I’ve never seen it done with such quality, attention to detail and finesse as this one. I could definitely call this the best Queen tribute I’ve seen, perhaps in my top five of all the tributes I’ve seen.

Inferno, an Abba tribute I’ve not seen before, but it’s Abba, what could possibly go wrong? As I said, the organisers take no compromise when it comes to booking only the very best tributes, so, dancing queens, have no concern. The next two I have seen, Madness and Bad Manners tribute, Badness, and Slyde, as you might’ve guessed, a tribute to Slade, are both brilliant, for precisely similar reasons.

Slyde played a Christmas do at Marlborough College Memorial Hall, where support Barrelhouse were on fire, and Sylde polished off the evening with a plethora of, not only Slade hits but just about every seventies singalong pop hit I could imagine, with the sprinkling of glam only Noddy Holder could’ve brought to each classic. And it was Christmas, so he aptly called it, and yes, it was something to behold. If One Vision is on my top five, Slyde must also be.

Now, Badness, ironic name, there’s nothing bad about the performance, but only, perhaps in the way they will totally and utterly rule the audience with a spellbinding show of their own. They do not attempt to mimic Madness, like Slyde they offer a repertoire of classic hits from the era their homage was in their prime, only this time it’s obviously Two-Tone ska and new wave, and you will be skanking. Furthermore, you’ll be under no illusion Badness are attempting to precisely mimic Madness, they only pay homage to them, and are uniquely themselves, add their own spin to it, particularly with the most hilarious stage banter you’re ever likely to witness.

Has that tempted you? Because I’m getting excited just typing this recommendation! They’ll have a big outdoor stage, brilliant sound and lighting, plenty of room to dance, lots of trade stalls, a range of food and drink outlets and showers for those camping. They’ll be running a FREE shuttle bus to and from the The Bear Hotel hourly, gazebos and picnics are welcome, so too are campervans, caravans, and tents.

Early bird tickets are up for grabs: Adults – £30. Youth (Age 13-17) – £20. Child (Age 7-12) – £10. Under 7’s – Free. Campervans/Caravans – £30. Camping – £20. It’s on Saturday 18th July. Book HERE.

Swindon’s finest Chicago and Texas blues covers band Last Train Smokin’ are also on the fantastic roster, along with rock covers band Strange Horizons. Is it summer yet?!

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Park Farm; Mantonfest Came to Devizes!

The first Park Farm Festival happened Saturday, it was fabulouso, and in some way Mantonfest came to Devizes; conveniently for me as I had to unfortunately miss Marlborough’s gem a fortnight ago…..

Weather and festival organisers aren’t besties. Organisers quiveringly check forecasts months prior, usual concern being moisture. Daytime at the inaugural Park Farm Festival just outside Devizes, where they positioned a professional looking stage some distance between where punters took shelter in beer tents and sun-shaded tables, Southwest’s premier Chicago blues replicators, aptly named Chicago 9 blasted a wonderful set to distant onlookers whilst the zone between better resembled an African savanna where no man dare tread from fear of being frazzled!

I suspected many events this weekend subtly suffered from the heatwave despite the prospect favoured over torrential downpours, and one look during the day might suggest placing the stage so far away was an error. But by sunset that area will be filled with a selection of locals particularly from surrounding villages, heavy rock or grunge fans, regular Mantonfest attendees knowledgeable these guys have 25+ years of experience at hosting the most hospitable and welcoming local festival we could namedrop, or perhaps those who ticked more than one of those multiple choices. It was at this point you realised, despite July’s event clashes, a flooding of the festival market, and Park Farm being a first timer, numbers in attendance was averagely high and everyone was up for a good time.

I met with Mantonfest’s organisers some months ago where I was concerned replicating Mantonfest this side of Devizes might have a dubious impact, yet it seemed all was alright on the night, tribute acts are welcomed once the beer flows and Park Farm Festival set a high bar, recreating the friendly atmosphere expected at Mantonfests of yore, where everyone had an amazing day. It now takes me to blow the secret, this intends to return annually and I would seriously consider jotting it onto your calendar.

If Lower Park Farm will be a camping site for freewheeling soul and ska mods and skins in a fortnight, when the Devizes Scooter Club’s celebrated annual rally takes hold, this weekend is dedicated to a range of rock aficionados. Sadly I missed Essex’s finest Jamie Williams & The Roots Collective, welcomed regulars to The Southgate, though, I’m safe in the knowledge these guys know what strings to pull.

Barrelhouse followed Chicago 9, keeping the blues flow with the unique yet highly entertaining hoedown of  groovy vintage blues, standard issue at Mantonfest now adored throughout the county.

Double-booked as usual, at this point I took advantage of the free shuttle bus, headed into town to poke my nose into The Three Crowns’ fundraiser, details set to follow. Meanwhile here, Josie & The Radiotones played and I returned for sixties heroes The Swinging Blue Jeans.

Seen these before, legendary rock n rollers who make universally entertaining a crowd look like childsplay, blasting their timeless hits and others which influenced them, as even the younger dared to dance under the beating sun.

Legends ticked it was time for the evening’s tributes, and judging the amount of Nirvana t-shirts against those of AC-DC ones was tight. A sudden quantum leap forward three decades and Nirvana UK did the most accomplished task of recreating those pioneers of grunge, loudly and proudly. Yet if you came here for authenticity in a tribute, AC/DC.UK might’ve thrown contemporary sound engineers with their usage of original eighties amps, but they sublimely recreated the heavy metal sound of the period and knocked it out of Park Farm!

Personally, heavy metal was never my bag, and through Swindon’s modern grunge scene, bands like I See Orange, The Belladonna Treatment and Liddington Hill have turned my head onto something I also sorely missed in the ravey nineties. Therefore my preference lay in Nirvana UK rather than the headliner, but judging on doing what it says on the tin, AC/DC.UK absolutely rocked that finale.

Yet the whole shebang must be hailed as putting this inguinal festival on the map for following years. For anyone who winces at the price tag, it’s standard in this era of hyperinflation, blame a government not organisers, and know, just like big sister Mantonfest, you’ll see where your money was spent if you attend; quality tried and tested acts, the highest quality production and nice touches like clean toilets and the shuttle bus.

For Grist and his team, financial risk is a thing in any competitive market and it can be surprising how narrow festivals can be; it’s a five-year plan minimal where research is crucial, and the reward is  you’ve created enjoyment. Hats off to them, for this was an amazing beginning.