Camp Bestival

The Den returns to Camp Bestival

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This year, The Den team have really pulled it out of the bag for their Talks and Q&As, starting with a total coup – Off the Record with Professor Green. A massive exclusive for The Den –so that means it’s for teens only! – Camp Bestival head honcho, Rob da Bank, will be interviewing Hackney’s finest lyrical genius about everything from breaking into the music business, to topping the charts. Totally unmissable!

The Den will also have the honour of welcoming BBC Radio 1 star, Dr Radha, for a very specialThe Den Surgery with Dr Radha, plus they’ll have the inspirational story of the youngest ever Poetry Slam world champion, Harry Baker – The Sunshine Kid, and everything you need to know about getting yourself heard online, with our Blogging: How To! With Teen Vogue.

You’ll also be able to get the inside track at the Give-It-A-Go Sessions across the weekend. You can perfect your festival swag with DIY Festival Fashion, or enjoy energising morning action with Disco Yoga. Liberate your inner poet with Cecilia Knapp in Spoken Word 101, or use creative writing to try out a bit of self-discovery with Getting To Grips! You can also get involved with the amazing BRIT School to learn the moves from chart-smashing vids with Music Video Masterclass, join Laurie Bolger who will help you create inventive and adventurous poems in Poetry & Lyrics, or learn free-running from the experts and be blown away by their demos with Parkour Pop-Up. The Den will also play host to Spoken Word including coming of age act Finding Home, Roundhouse performance poet, Maria Ferguson, thought provoking verse in an exclusive appearance from Samuel King and Laurie Bolger who has been shortlisted as London's Young Poet Laureate.

If you’re coming for the beats then The Den: Afterhours! is for you, with an amazing array of DJs, live acts, dancers and drummers taking you into the night. Friday night’s flavour isDancehall, and there will be hula madness aplenty with hosts Marawa and the Majorettes, Saturday sees a Totally Tropical Takeover, and Sunday will be Wild! And live music in The Den will come from Rats In Me Kitchen, Pocket Club, Rive, Karyma and Eden Roxx.

And, situated right alongside The Den will be Rob da Bank’s Music Club. Putting on exclusive workshops, demonstrations, inspirational speakers and general chill out, with music and performance for 13 – 17 year-olds – it’s only teens allowed. So, come, be inspired, entertained and learn the occasional thing along the way!

Camp Bestival 2015 DJ Lineup announced

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Making Bollywood his home from home, we’re massively pleased to announce a perennial favourite of our Jurassic Coast amusements, it’s the return of David Rodigan MBE presents Ram Jam, featuring a very special extra appearance from DJ Yoda, and skank-tatsic sets from Prince Fatty, Artwork & Venum Sound and the man himself. We’ll also have Bollywood-based family fun and joy-inducing beats courtesy of Norman Jay MBE presents Good Times, plus late night action with eclectic treats from The Specials’ frontman Terry Hall, and dancefloor spanking bass from Music Mondays & World of Rave with sets from Billy Daniel Bunter, Slipmatt, Rat Pack, Ragga Twins, Uncle Dugs, Jerome Hill, and DJ Faydz.

Keeping Bollywood bouncing all weekend long, we’ll also have epic sets from Camp Bestival’s wildest man Rob da Bank, house music don Ralph Lawson, world music connoisseur Andy Kershaw, and 78 specialists The Shellac Collective, plus we’ll have Big Swing Soundsystem, Balearic Brothers, DJ Dapper Dan and our old friends the Mix It UP DJ Kru.

Bollywood won’t be the only place to cut some rug during the weekend though, you’ll be able to go wild on a sound safari across the site with off the wall behaviour atCaravanserai with Chris Tofu & friends, channel hopping, sing-along-a-madness at the Silent Discos with the Sunday Best Allstars, enjoy naughty After Hours Party Tunes at the Blue Coats Clubhouse and boogie on down to the Showmany Calliope’s Daily Discos!

We know that the kids love nothing more than busting a move or fifty, so we’ve got plenty of dancefloor madness in store for them (and, let’s face it, you), too, with Kids Discos in Bollywood. Featuring daily doses of afternoon fun from Big Fish Little Fish, Friday b-boy shenanigans with Fun DMC, and a series of workshops from Carnival Dance to the lowdown from the BRIT school, it’s all going off!

Professor Green, Wretch 32 and more join Camp Bestival 2015 lineup

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We are massively excited once again to be able to announce a bill-topping slot from the man, the legend, Mr Tumble. A true force of nature, the utter hysteria surrounding a Mr Tumble performance at Camp Bestival makes Beatlemania look like a Black Lace come back. The wildest high jinx are guaranteed from the number one kids’ clown, so whatever you do, don’t dare miss Mr Tumble when he assumes his throne at Lulworth Castle!

Joining our three previously announced headliners, we’ll have loads more brilliant live music from the likes of Hackney’s finest, Professor Green and lyrical gymnast, Wretch 32, who commented “I’m extremely excited to be coming to play for my fans at Camp Bestival, expect a special show! See you in the summer!”

We’ll also have Mercury Prize nominee and long-time Camp Bestival favourite Kate Tempest, world famous philanthropist and sometime Boomtown Rat Bob Geldof, legendary dance machine Soul II Soul, 80s pop powerhouse, Level 42, incredible chanteuse Alison Moyet, the silky voiced Ella Eyre, funk and rare groove legends, Cymande, proper Manchester rave crew 808 State, original punk-pop geniuses Buzzcocks, turntable maestro DJ Yoda, and funny funkers, The Cuban Brothers.

Bringing new meaning to the word campfire, we’ll also have all out action from psychedelic warriors The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, in your face duo Slaves, bubble gum upstarts Only the Young, BBC Sound of 2015 finalist George the Poet, folk royaltyEliza Carthy, and Australian male vocal group The Spooky Men's Chorale. Plus we’ll have raucous times with Mr Wilson’s Second Liners, Ekkah, The Rajasthan Heritage Brass Band, Weymouth Ukeleleans, Sinful Maggie, Folk Idol andReggaerobics.

Back on board and chomping at the bit to go wild with us, we have a host of Camp Bestival favourites with brand new shows, including the Insect Circus, West End Kids, BRIT School, Royal Albert Hall Albert’s Band and the award winning Funky Little Choir. We’ll have wild workshops aplenty from BRIT School, West End Kids and Workshop Patrol. And brand spanking new for 2015, prepare to be amazed by The Chrysalis Garden, our fabulous new spa and well-being area, and The Train Trip, an astonishing mini carnival on the right side of the tracks, plus there will be truly Wild Adventures with our biggest, bestest and wildest activities yet!

Lego’s Imagination Factory and more set to entertain the kids at Camp Bestival

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No circus is truly complete without a touch of magical miscellany, curious attractions and inexplicable distractions. And so, Camp Bestival’s most aberrant roustabouts have not only created an inspiring world of discovery with Oberon’s Observatory, the LEGO Imagination Factory and the Science Tent, but they’ve also brought together a breathtaking collection of oddities like Caravan of Lost Souls and Britain’s Not Got Talent that will enthral the whole family at Lulworth Castle this July 31-August 3.

Rob da Bank says: “We’ve got all sorts of incredible curiosities coming to Camp Bestival this year. From off the wall circus treats in the Caravan of Lost Souls, LEGO and their brilliant Imagination Factory, and surveying the site with a camp-bestiscope in Oberon’s Observatory to the mayhem of Britain’s Not Got Talent and amazing experiments in the Science Tent, there’s loads of ace stuff for all the family to discover. See you at Lulworth Castle!”

 

Starting with some curious circus fun, we have a true delight for the ears and eyes. Igor Rasputin’s Caravan of Lost Souls is an incredible ape-powered pop-up circus providing wondrous entertainment for your delectation and appreciation. Witness magic, contortion, hula hoop, mime, an amazing array of circus skills and more from this cabaret of curiosity, popping up in all four corners of Camp Bestival!

Entering a world of discovery, we are extremely excited to announce that LEGO will be joining us to kick off the summer holidays in style, with the Imagination Factory. A celebration of ‘free build’, this magical environment will immerse you in the LEGO belief in the power of each individual’s imagination. Doubters might see a pile of bricks and accessories but ‘we’ see a jet fighter, a beautiful flower, an alien monster, our dog called Spike or the skyline of New York. The golden rule of The Imagination Factory is that there are no rules – no rights or wrongs – just inspiration to let LEGO enable you to build anything that your imagination can conjure up.

In 2014, the year that modern man will try and harpoon a comet, Camp Bestival is proud to present Oberon's Observatory. A ramshackle but beautiful edifice with a stargazer's viewing platform, there will be camp-bestiscopes for studying the curiosities happening across the festival and searching for the stars. Hidden in the heart of Oberon's Observatory is an old projection room where Camp Bestival will screen 21st century windows into other worlds, space and art. For the period of one lunation only, Camp Bestival invites you to come and explore this extraordinary building.

Leaping headlong into the truly odd, the Showmany Calliope is mixture of traditional fairground showman heritage, pyrotechnics, a full independently powered 4K sound system and a bowtop caravan themed stage, that will play host to the devilish Mosschops and Sidewicket’s Britain’s Not Got Talent. So, do you want to perform on the craziest stage of all time? Have you got a talent? Have you not got talent? We don't care, because we haven't; so anything goes! From Dutch didgeridoo dancing to skateboarding budgerigars; panpipe duets to five-year-old Frank Carson impersonators (keep it clean please), we need you! Terms and Conditions do not apply.

And combining amazing discovery with the downright bizarre, the Science Tent is certainly not for boffins only and is definitely not to be missed! It’s a glorious mix of science-based performances like now>press>play and Rock Guitar in 11 Dimensions, timetabled science including programming robots, 3D printing your favourite Minecraft designs, being amazed by a Rapsberry Pi and lots, lots more and drop in sessions where you can make video games with Play-doh, power an alarm clock with fruit, pre-programme a robot arm and so much more. There’s tons to stimulate and fascinate every age group! And that includes you mums and dads!

The comedians come to Camp Bestival

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One of the years family friendly summer festivals Camp Bestival brings together a top lineup of comedians to keep everyone laughing throughout the weekend.

Everyone loves a laugh, so we are particularly please that top comedian Milton Jones will be leading a side-splitting line-up of clowns at this year’s Camp Bestival. Renowned for his deadpan delivery and surrealistic flights of fancy, all encapsulated in the most sublime one liners, Milton is a regular star of Mock the Week, as well as a stalwart of BBC Radio 4s comedy output and he has a natty line in very loud shirts too, so don’t miss him. There will also be funny business throughout the weekend with comedy sets from The Pajama Men, Nat Luurtsema, Ben Norris, Markus Birdman, Colin Hoult, Matt Reed, Jim Smallman, George Egg, Sarah Bennetto and the amazing Comedy Club 4 Kids!

We’ve also got even more incendiary live music to get you and the kids jumping from intergalactic punk rock hip-hoppers Pop Will Eat Itself, cutting edge producer and Gorgon City and Rudimental collaborator MNEK, British Jazz legend Courtney Pine, Northern Irish 90s pop behemoth D:Ream, New Orleans hip-hop Brass Band Hot 8 Brass Band and internet sensation Brushy One String, whose Chicken in the Corn video was a worldwide phenomenon earlier this year. There will also be sets from Ady Suleiman, Beans On Toast, Bo Saris, Rory Mcleod, Indiana, Lucky Elephant, Too Many T’s, Dream Themes, Coco And The Butterfields, Cut A Shine and Feckless.

Joining our ever-growing throng of DJs will be cut & paste genius DJ Yoda, Top Ten gracing drum n basser Wilkinson, wide-screen hip-hopper Cholombian, family-friendly rave experts Big Fish Little Fish and Camp Bestival ringmaster Rob da Bank who will be teaming up with our favourite funky dread Tayo, to present Purple Rave: A Prince Tribute!

There’s still plenty more circus charms and enchantments coming your way, so keep your eyes peeled for all the latest news.

De La Soul to headline Camp Bestival 2014

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Ringmaster in chief Rob da Bank says: “De La Soul have soundtracked my life for the past 25 years since the dayglo hippy daisy age glory of 3 Feet High and Rising first found its way onto my first plastic turntable. I’ve seen them loads of times since then and they are just one of the best party acts imaginable. Camp Bestival is gonna be a very, very fun place on Saturday night!”

Saturday, it's a Saturday, Saturday, it's a Saturday! Yes, yes! Daisy age hip-hop kings De La Soul are coming to Camp Bestival to headline Saturday night. One of the most popular bands from the golden age of hip-hop, De La Soul’s all-out, sample-tastic treats are guaranteed party starters. From The Magic Number and Me, Myself & I to A Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays’ and Stakes Is High, Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove and Maseo deliver the good vibes by the bucket load and we can’t wait to dance to this fix and flex every muscle!