BoomTown Fair has sold out for the sixth year in a row! Even after increasing the capacity by over 20% to 38,000, this ever popular event has shifted all of the tickets to the annual Fair and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down! With an astonishing array of musical genres covered by the headliners alone; The Cat Empire, NOFX, Jimmy Cliff, The Wailers, Shaggy, The Skatalites, Tinariwen, Bellowhead, New Model Army, Alabama 3, Lady Saw, Raggasonic, Afro Celt Sound System alongside 400 more artists, this juggernaut of a festival truly does deliver across the board!
BoomTown Fair isn’t your average UK festival, offering its attendees or ‘residents’ a fully interactive pop-up city with boulevards of buildings to explore and various venues to get thoroughly stuck into. The fair has a hugely theatrical feel and delves into the attendee’s psyche to unlock the feelings of childlike wonderment and fantasy, and with the increased revenue from ticket sales being directly reinvested into the artistic and theatrical elements, BoomTown has further built upon its boundary pushing creative environment!! With hundreds of walkabout and sideshow performers, intricate and engaging sets as well as an ethical ethos and a disregard for the norm, over the past six years BoomTown Fair has established itself as one the UKs most spectacular events and unlike any other on the scene at the moment!
With the Fair a few days away it’s time to sum up what to expect at this year’s event, all the new areas, the old favourites and the stealthy shenanigans! New areas to keep an eye open for this year include the Wild West Street, which comes fully stocked with two watering holes, the Crazy Calamities and the Rusty Spur, a rogue Sherriff and some Hill-Billy Bluegrass bands on hand to provide the perfect soundtrack! Across the way in the OldTown district, the ginormous Pirate Ship, The Jolly Dodger has landed and will be the host of many a Pirate band including a full on Pirate Takeover on the Sunday of the festival. The Old Mines will be presiding over the wholesome Whistlers Green District with world class folk artists such as Bellowhead, Tinariwen and Afro Celt Sound System. As you might expect from BoomTown, nothing is totally traditional, much like the festival itself, the acts picked are known for pushing the boundaries and adding their own twist on things!!
BoomTown Fair will return to Matterley Estate from 7th – 10th August with a theme of Outrageous Carnival connecting the nine individual districts, the streets of BoomTown are once again going to be awash with amazing sets, colourful characters and creative communities!
Chapter six of BoomTown’s annual Fair is set to surpass anything they’ve done before, and that is no mean feat for the UKs most boundary pushing festival! New additions to its already immense line-up include one of the biggest crossover successes in dancehall reggae, the one and only Shaggy! As well as blues, country, electro fusion outfit Alabama 3 and the final edition to the bill is legendary Jamaican ska institution The Skatalites, if any one band could be attributed to brining the genre out of its homeland and to the masses, it’s this ever evolving line-up of ska stalwarts! These newly announced acts will be joining the hundreds of artists already announced including headliners The Cat Empire, NOFX, Jimmy Cliff, The Wailers, Tinariwen and Bellowhead.
Boomtown Fair unleashes a massive lineup announcement with over 400 artists joining this years lineup. Check out who joins the far this summer!
Irish-African fusion Afro Celt Sound System, French gypsy gyrators Babylon Circus, pioneering banging bass producer Eats Everything andAmerican ska innovators, The Toasters and Voodoo Glow Skulls. These top notch international acts will appear alongside all previously announced artists including; The Cat Empire, NOFX, Jimmy Cliff, The Wailers, Tinariwen, Bellowhead, Tipper, Raggasonic and hundreds more, plus there is still one extra special Saturday night headliner still to be unveiled!
All eight of the district line ups have now been released covering a huge and diverse range of acts and genres from all over the world: Blues from Mali and Jamaica, dancehall from France and Bermuda, gypsy from Spain and Australia, electro-swing from Italy and Switzerland, big brass bands from Rajasthan and New Orleans, Afro-Funk from Wales and Columbia, Pirate bands from Holland and Texas, ska out of Sweden and Scotland and folk-punks from Canada and Ireland to name just a few! See below for an overview of each district and some of the musical highlights to keep an eye open for!
OldTown District can be found beyond the hustle and bustle of the Town Centre, it houses the ramshackle remnants of the glory days amongst the dilapidated buildings of this once the thriving port from BoomTown’s rise to greatness, however OldTown has long since been the dwelling of pirates and despicable souls!! Saturday will see a full on Pirate takeover of all venues and stages of OldTown, with a total influx of all things pirate! Swashbuckling their way through all the pirate madness are other acts include; Russkaja, WooHoo Revue, The Destroyers, Diving for Sunken Treasureand Tako Lako.
Mayfair Avenue is the hub of high class with its swanky electro-swing clubs and live swing bands, venues include; The Ballroom, The Gentlemen’s Club and Bump (Roller Disco). Get ready for the hottest party in town as the Masked Ball will be swooping into the streets of MayFair on Sunday evening! Top acts to be found mingling with the BoomTown glitterati are: Klischée, The Sweet Life Society and Electric Swing Circus, Smokey Joe & The Kid.
ChinaTown is filled with the most ‘avin it levels of punk: ska punk, rockin’ punk, folk punk and polka punk, as well as a healthy dollop of ‘hell jazz‘n’roll’ thrown in for good measure! The venues include the ChinaTown Courtyard and Devil Kicks Dancehall, acts heading up the bill for the weekend comprise of ground-breaking American Ska band, Voodoo Glow Skulls, pioneering their blend of hard-core and ska these stalwarts have been striding it out since the mid-80s and will give the Devil Kick’s Dancehall one almighty a closing party as the last band on Sunday night! Over on the ChinaTown Courtyard are Jaya the Cat, treating the ChinaTown folks to an uncompromising and original mix of reggae, punk rock and ska!
Whistlers Green has recently been upgraded and rejuvenated. This culture oozing zone of BoomTown is on hand to soothe your aching soul with some of the very best this globe has to offer in folk, blues and world music, all within its very own main stage, The Old Mines. Along with headliners multi-award winning Afro Celt Sound System, Tinarwen, Bellowhead and Playing for Change there will be lesser known, but equally absorbing artists such as Beans on Toast, Treacherous Orchestra, Dizraeli & the Small Gods, Sam Lee & Friends and many more. This area will be providing the soundtrack to a perfect summer’s day with uplifting melodies and triumphant tunes!
Wild West, amongst the dusty streets and housed in the rickety buildings of this freshly re-discovered area of BoomTown, the ultimate in Hillbilly, Bluegrass, Cajun, Yehaa, Cowpunk, Dirty Blues and of course Scrumpy & Western can be found! Heading up the bill is harmonica and beatboxing blues guru, Son of Dave, festival regulars Pronghorn and along with some of the very best band names on the scene:Lumberjack Cowboy Heartbreak Trucking Company, Screamin' Miss Jackson and the Slap Ya Mama Big Band and Johnny Cage and the Voodoo Groove to mention just a few!!!
TrenchTown not only boasts the best in dub, reggae, dancehall and jungle, but possibly three of the most notable stages that any one district alone has to offer, withThe Lion’s Den Aztec temple, Tangled Roots forest party and the Hidden Woodssun-drenched clearing. TrenchTown is where reggae legends Jimmy Cliff and The Wailers can be found alongside many up and coming gems including Bermudan dancehall MC Uzimon with his borderline parody lyrics that are as funny as they are clever and Brushy One String, if sunshine and smiles were to be combined in human form it would be Brushy and his guitar’s one string of happiness!
DownTown hosts some of the most popular venues for late night shenanigans including Arcadia, BoomBox, the Dance Off, The Bodyshop and ASBO Disco.Lurking within these seedy establishments is the very best in breaks, break-core, drum’n’bass, garage, gabba, grime, jungle etc… Featuring on amongst 100’s of other is one of the most exhilarating talents to come out of the scene in recent times,Rockwell! There will also be a full on Old Skool takeover of DownTown with 2 Bad Mice, Altern8, Billy Bunter, Ray Keith and Aphrodite on the Sunday night.
Barrio Loco, the winning district at the 2013 elections, showcases dirty bass in its multitude of venues including Poco Loco & Circo Baile. With the newest headliner on the bill, the omnivorous beat-maker Eats Everything, currently at the forefront of an emerging wave of talented producers to come out of the West Country’s bass epicentre Bristol, helping define an entirely new genre of forward-thinking underground music. Along with other amazing dance music frontrunners, Special Request, Stanton Warriors, Ms Dynamite and many more!!
Headliners for the festival include:The Cat Empire, NOFX, Jimmy Cliff, The Wailers, Tinariwen, Bellowhead, Afro Celt Sound System, Playing for Change, Raggasonic, Lady Saw, UK Allstars World Debut, Babylon Circus, Toasters, Tipper, Boddika, Special Request, Eats Everything and many more.
OLDTOWN (Jolly Dodger and Town Centre)
Babylon Circus / Russkaja / WooHoo Revue / The Destroyers / La Selva Sur / Rupa & the April Fishes / Sonido Vegetal / Tako Lako / The Baghdaddies / Gypsy Hill / Tom Mason and The Blue Buccaneers / Diving For Sunken Treasure / Gentle Mystics / Veeblefetzer & The Manigolds / Pyrates! / Zorita / Vagalatschk / Gorgeous George / The Penny Black Remedy / Duncan Disorderly & The Scallywags / Drunken Balordi / Seas Of Mirth / Calico Jack / Tantz / Buffo's Wake / The Jack Ratts / East Town Pirates / La Mort Subite / INC.A / Fastabenj / Goulash Disko DJs / Balkan Hotsteppers / DJ Luca Vaga / Petrol Molotov / Emily Dust
NOFX / The Toasters / Voodoo Glow Skulls / Demented Are Go / Mad Sin / Sonic Boom Six / Morning Glory / The Filaments / The Dreadnoughts / Long Tall Texans / Culture Shock / Koffin Kats / Inner Terrestrials Freddie Notes / Lee Thompson Ska Band / Sonido Vegetal / RDF / P.A.I.N / Jaya The Cat / Uptown Ska Collective / Babyhead / Phoenix City Allstars + Rhoda Dakar / The Hotknives / The Pressure Tenants / Original High Five / Will & The People / Beer Orchestra / Blood or Whiskey / Ferocious Dog / Magnus Puto / Random Hand / NewTown Kings / Imperial Leisure / First Degree Burns / Bombskare / Buster Shuffle / The Talks / Dinamo / Anti Vigilante / Dirty Revolution / New Groove Formation/ The Indecision / The Delegators / Popes Of Chillitown / / Roughneck Riot/ Oscillator / Counting Coins / The Snare / Skarsoles / Killamonjambo / The Stiff Joints / Smokey Bastard / Faintest Idea/ Karma Party / ChainSka Brassika / Defektors / The Trojans / The Meow Meows / Will Tun & The Wasters / Largo Embargo / King Punch / Autonomads / Mad Apple Circus / Atterkop / Smiling Ivy. Last Gang In Town DJs.
MAYFAIR AVENUE (The Gentlemen’s Club, Town Hall, Casino, Fitz-Slone Manor)
The Cat Empire / [dunkelbunt] & Secret Swing Society / Hot 8 Brass Band / Tape Five / Sam & The Womp / Molotov Jukebox / AlgoRhythmik / Klischée / The Sweet Life Society / Hackney Colliery Band / The Carny Villains / Electric Swing Circus / Tankus The Henge / Renegade Brass Band / Dutty Moonshine / Kid Kasino & Shea Soul / DJ Switch / Smokey Joe & The Kid / Bad Capitano / Odjbox / DJ Chris Tofu / World's Tallest DJ / Professor Elemental / The Woohoo Revue / C@ In The H@ / Big Swing Soundsystem feat. Hypeman Sage / Gabby Young & Other Animals / Harleighblu / Formidable Vegetable Sound System / Elle & The Pocket Belles + Mista Trick / Rob Heron & the Tea Pad Orchestra / Jamie Berry / Ecklektik Mick / Chicken Brothers / The Dirty Gentleman / Jon Bongly / Castro / Fresh Dixie Project / Madame Electrifie / Tim Arisu / Phat Bollards / The Ouse Valley Singles Club / Dirty Old Folkers / Rogora Khart / Hot Tin Roofs / The Lounge Kittens / Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band / The Black Kat Boppers / Lunatrix / DJR / A Ray Of Charles /Temple Funk Collective / El-Camino / The Recks / Imperial Works / Big Red Ass / Mr Tea and the Minions / Noah's House Band / Freakeasy Cabaret / Swing Dance Classes
TRENCHTOWN (The Lion’s Den, Hidden Woods, Tangled Roots)
Jimmy Cliff / The Wailers / Lady Saw / UK Allstars: Congo Natty, Tippa Irie, Daddy Freddy, Top Cat, General Levy, Tenorfly, Sweetie Irie, Congo Dubz and Nanci & Phoebe / Raggasonic / Chronixx & Zinc / Fence Redemption / Warrior King / Easy Star Allstars: Dub Side Of The Moon / Irie Maffia / The Skints / Dawn Penn / Macka B & The Roots Ragga Band / Robbo Ranx w/ Stylo G + Sister Nancy / Hollie Cook / Brushy One String / Raging Fyah / Ed Solo / Aries b2b Marcus Visionary ft Navigator MC / Benny Page & Mc Sye / Daddy Skitz & Rodney P present 'Original Fever'. A UK Hip Hop Reggae Showcase, Million Dan, Deadly Hunta, Darrison, Buggsy plus special guests / Trojan Soundsytem / Iration Steppas / Channel One / The Heatwave / Mungos Hi-fi ft Parly B & Charlie P / Soom T / Wrongtom & Ragga Twins / Vic Ruggerio (The Slackers) / Don Letts / Poirier / Jus Now / Pama International / YT & Mr Williamz & The Inner Heart Band / Mouse Outfit feat. Dr Syntax & Sparkz / Digital Nyabinghi / Liondub / Jacky Murda / onlyjoe / Nick Manasseh & Brother Culture / Dubkasm & Solo Banton / Max Powa & Tuffist / Uzimon / By The Rivers / Capitol 1212 / The Drop / Dubheart / Red I Hi-Fi feat. Fox & Kathika / Slowly Rolling Camera / Illbilly Hitech / Barley Mob / Talisman / UNIT 137 / Dub Smugglers / Lionpulse / Dutty Inspectors / Blackstar Dub Collective / Captain Accident / Danny T & Tradesman / Ed West & Parly B / Kelvin 373 & Gardna / Kayanites / One Roots / Shanty / Bahia / Steel City Rhythm / Trinity Lo-Fi / Derw The Damaja / Backyard Rhythm Orchestra / Ben Russell And The Charmers
WHISTLERS GREEN (The Old Mines)
Tinariwen / Bellowhead / Afro Celt Sound System / Playing For Change / Eliza Carthy / Chas & Dave / Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit / Dub FX / The Bad Shepherds / Treacherous Orchestra / Sam Lee & Friends / 3 Daft Monkeys / Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate / Dizraeli & The Small Gods / Beans On Toast / Skinny Lister / La Chiva Gantiva / Urban Folk Quartet / Diving For Sunken Treasure / Rupa & The April Fishes / The John Langan Band / John Fairhurst / The Babar Luck World Citizen Folk Band / London Afrobeat Collective / Afriquoi / Jaipur Kawa Brass Band / Roberta Pia (The Banana Sessions) / CoCo and the Butterfields / Echo + The Empress / The Odd Folk / Dirty Old Folkers / The Fontanas / Toby Thompson / Rumba de Bodas / Perkie / Afro Cluster / Pachango / Miss Maud's Folly / Gypsy Rebel Rabble / Poor Old Dogs / Rusty Shackle / Jess McAllister / La Morte Subite / Ratbags / Adam Kammerling / Wandering Word Poetry Slam
WILD WEST (Rusty Spur & Crazy Calamities)
Hayseed Dixie / Son of Dave/ Pronghorn / Boot Hill Allstars / Rob Heron And The Teapad Orchestra / Cut A Shine Hoedown / Wille and The Bandits / Stompin Dave Allen / Grizzly & The Grasshoppers / The Skimmity Hitchers/ Winter Mountain / The Vagaband/ CC Smugglers / Dirty Cello / JohnnyCage! & The Voodoo Groove / The Doghouse Boat Boys / Chicken Shed Zeppelin / Howlin' Lord / Dr Bluegrass and the Illbilly 8 / Lumberjack Cowboy Heartbreak Trucking Company / Screamin' Miss Jackson and the Slap Ya Mama Big Band / The Montgomerys / The Paper Trains / The Jimmy Hillbillies / Feral Mouth/ land of the giants/ Smiley & The Underclass / Captain Accident / Love Street / The Buffalo Skinners / The Recks/ Crinkle Cuts/ Solko/ Cut Capers/ Carnivala! / Slightly Offensive Steve / The Inexplicables/ Beneath the Reef/ Tree House Fire/ Junior Bill and the Scallies / Shanty / The Piratones/ Backyard Rhythm Orchestra / Broken Boat/ La Mort Subite/ House Of Commoners / Fat Sandwich / Ben Russell And The Charmers / Josephine and The Artizans / Fast Decline / Gecko
BARRIO LOCO (Circa Ballie & Poco Loco)
Eats Everything / Boddika / Special Request / Friend Within / Dub Phizix & Strategy / Ms Dynamite / Kry Wolf / Stanton Warriors / Mele' & Slick Don / Zed Bias / Om Unit / My Nu Leng / Swindle & Royal T / Kahn & Neek / Sam Binga & Redders / Dj Champion / Chimpo / The Busy Twist / Clear Soul Forces / Dr Meaker / Lady Leshurr / Mystro & Cut La Vis / The Mouse Outfit feat. Dr Syntax & Sparkz / JFB / Lazy Habits / Skittles (Live Band) / Dizraeli & Downlow / Mr Woodnote Feat Fernquest + Lil Rhys / Jman / Double Drop / The Allergies / Sophistafunk / The Scribes / Granville Sessions / Endoflevelbaddie / The Fire Beneath The Sea / Mr Phormula Feat. Dybl & DJ E-Ratik / Gardna / Kimberely Newell / Jives (Boom Bap/Sensi-Tize)
DOWNTOWN (The Body Shop, Leisure Centre, Arcadia, ASBO Disco)
Tipper / Black Sun Empire / Opiuo / Aphrodite / Rockwell / Proxy / Audio / Optiv & Btk / Altern8 / Freefall Collective / Atomic Drop / Ray Keith & Carasel MC / Slipmatt & Billy Bunter / 2 Bad Mice / Slamboree Soundsystem / Sub Slayers Takeover (King Yoof & Jay Cunning) / Cause 4 Concern / Bong Ra / North Base / Odjbox / Itchy & Skratchy / Machine Code / Chris Liberator / Dj Producer B2b Death Machine / Se7en Deadly Breaks / Krossbow / Defunk / Caski / Benton / Amy Becker / B-Side / Shepdog / Jinx In Dub / Turntable Dubbers / Mr Benn / Jam Baxter & Dirty Dike / Uncle Dugs / Rowland The Bastard / Panacea / Detest
Mayfair Avenue is the home of BoomTown’s high society, the abode of the glitzy and glamorous, it’s all cocktails and canapés in this swanky part of town… Dust off those sequins, don a Top Hat and get your dancing shoes at the ready, Mayfair Avenue is back with all the Vintage Remix, Electro Swing, Jump Blues, Jive, Twisted Cabaret, Big & Brassy Vibes and Chap Hop our City’s elite will ever need!!! Plus an epic Masked Ball will be taking over the marble streets of Mayfair on the Saturday evening!!
First up, is the welcome return to the UK festival circuit after a seven year hiatus, The Cat Empire! Other headliners of this incredibly diverse festival include one of the biggest names in Californian ska-punk NOFX, the most well-known band in the history of reggae The Wailers, another reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, Grammy Award winning Mali musicians Tinariwen, eight-time winners at the BBC Folk awards Bellowhead and at the other end of the musical spectrum; queen of the dancehall Lady Saw, French ragga supremoes Raggasonic, the world debut outing of the UK Allstars, electronic mastermind Tipper and the raw electronic sounds of Boddika. This is one seriously hot initial line-up looking to set the summer on fire! BoomTown Fair is held over 7th – 10th August at the Matterly Estate, Winchester and caters for a huge amount of musical tastes from folk and world music, all the way through to the soul penetrating bass of ragga and jungle.
Accompanying the headliners The Cat Empire and NOFX on the ska, swing and punk stages are: New Orleans Hot 8 Brass Band, bringing their version of the traditional marching band right up-to-date with bass, funk and hip-hop sounds.There will also be cheeky cockney chappies Chas n Dave with their special blend of ‘Rockney’; Hayseed Dixie will be bringing a unique take on AC/DC classics with their very own genre of ‘Rockgrass’. The irrepressible[dunkelbunt] and the Secret Swing Society, five piece folk-punk outfit The Dreadnoughts; lost legend of Ska Freddie Notes, along with; Tape Five, Phoenix City Allstars feat Rhoda Dakar, Russkaja, Woohoo Revue, The Destroyers, The Trojans, Molotov Jukebox, La Selva Sur, Babyhead and Horace Panter's Uptown Ska Collective.
In addition to very welcome return of Jimmy Cliff, the inaugural appearance at BoomTown of French trio Raggasonic and the first-lady of dancehall and GRAMMY winner Lady Saw, the reggae, dub and jungle stages are going to be shacking to the sound of some of the meatiest basslines in the world of reggae and dub! One of the most exciting acts to venture into the Lion’s Den, is the world debut of the UK Allstars, as the name suggests, this line up consists of the ultimate selection of originators from UK dancehall; Congo Natty, Congo Dubz, Tippa Irie, Top Cat, General Levy, Daddy Freddy, Sweetie, Irie, Tenor Fly and Nanci & Pheobe!!! Also bringing the full force of their bass to the incredible Lion’s Den temple stage will be Warrior King, Easy Star All Stars performing the entirety of‘Dub Side of the Moon’, Chronixx & Zinc Fence Redemption, Dawn Penn, The Skints, Mungo’s Hi-Fi Full Sound System, Macka B & The Roots Ragga Band, Benny Page, Raging Fyah, The Heatwave, Robbo Ranx & Stylo G & Sister Nancy.
With folk and world music a key focus for BoomTown this year and a dedicated brand new stage to host it all, there is set to be a huge influx of live acts to the festival with much more acoustic music available to soak up and chill out in one place; with international big hitters such as Tinariwen and Bellowhead the first announced headliners, along with global music movement Playing For Change Band, created to inspire and connect the world through music and with some of the most recognisable names in world music involved this is one collective of musicians not to miss! Mercury Award nominee Sam Lee and Friends, the incredible Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate, the whirling dervishes of English folk 3 Daft Monkeys, BoomTown favourite Dub FX, along with Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit, Eliza Carthy, The Bad Shepherds, Treacherous Orchestra, Dizraeli & The Small Gods, Skinny Lister, La Chiva Gantiva and Beans On Toast.
Meanwhile, down in the depths of DownTown, amongst the Arcadia Spider BoomBox and the BodyShop is where the bassiest of bass and the most broken of beats can be found!! Confirmed so far are: Tipper, Boddika, Special Request, Hannah Wants, Dub Phizix & Strategy, Ms Dynamite, Mele’ & Slick Don, Friend Within, Rockwell, Stanton Warriors, Kahn & Neek, Proxy, Optiv & Btk, Black Sun Empire, Aphrodite, Bong Ra, Kry Wolf, Zed Bias, My Nu Leng, Swindle & Royal T, Altern8, Machine Code, Panachea, DJ Champion, Mouse Outfit, Jus Now,.
FULL LINE UP SO FAR:
SKA, SWING AND PUNK STAGES:
The Cat Empire / NOFX / Hot 8 Brass Band / Chas and Dave / Hayseed Dixie
/ [dunkelbunt] and the Secret Swing Society / The Dreadnoughts / Freddie Notes / Tape Five / Phoenix City / Allstars feat Rhoda Dakar / Russkaja / Woohoo Revue / The Destroyers / The Trojans / Molotov Jukebox / La Selva Sur / Babyhead / Horace Panter's Upown Ska Collective
REGGAE, DUB AND JUNGLE STAGES:
Jimmy Cliff / Raggasonic / Lady Saw / UK Allstars – feat: Congo Natty, Congo Dubz, Tippa Irie, Top Cat, General Levy, Daddy Freddy, Sweetie Irie, Tenor Fly, Nanci & Pheobe / Warrior King / Easy Star All Stars / Chronixx / Dawn Penn / The Skints / Mungo’s Hi-Fi full Sound System / Raging Fyah / The Heatwave / Robbo Ranx & Stylo G / Jus Now
FOLK AND WORLD STAGES:
Tinariwen / Bellowhead / Playing For Change Band / Dub FX / Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit / Eliza Carthy / The Bad Shepherds / Treacherous Orchestra / Sam Lee and Friends / Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate / 3 Daft Monkeys / Dizraeli & The Small Gods / Skinny Lister / La Chiva Gantiva / Beans On Toast
BREAK AND BASS STAGES:
Tipper / Boddika / Special Request / Hannah Wants / Dub Phizix & Strategy / Ms Dynamite / Mele’ & Slick Don / Friend Within / Stanton Warriors / Kahn & Neek / Proxy / Optiv & Btk / Black Sun Empire / Aphrodite / Altern8 / Kry Wolf / Zed Bias / My Nu Leng / Rockwell / Swindle & Royal T / Bong Ra / Machine Code / Panachea / DJ Champion / Mouse Outfit feat. Dr Syntax & Sparkz
The Summer Festival Guide is excited to let you all know that Boomtown Fair have announced their fancy dress theme for 2014. This year's theme will be Carnival so expect a explosion of color influenced by the South American festival.
The first line up announcement will be made on Tuesday4th February, tickets are down to the third and final tier at £150 (+BF & EcoBond) and available via the website.
One of the major components of BoomTown’s appeal is the backstory and interactive theatre that runs alongside all the memorising sets, incredible acts and outright crazy characters! Last year saw the seven diverse and distinctive districts going head-to-head in the first ever onsite festival elections, resulting in Barrio Loco (the Latin Quarter) taking the title of Town Mayor! Plans by the new Mayor for 2014 event are heavily themed towards a carnival-esque atmosphere, bringing in a bright and colourful, vibrant energy to the entire festival site. However, whilst the new Mayor is busy planning, the ex-Mayor has been preoccupied with plotting! In a twist to the official plans the disgruntled, ousted ex-Mayor will be re-introducing The Wild West to the streets of BoomTown through the power of time travel! For full details, Chapter Six can be found on the festival website along with all five previous chapters. http://www.boomtownfair.co.uk/tourist-info/town-history
BoomTown has now has nine districts in total, each one celebrating different cultures and musical genres, here’s an overview of what’s what, who’s who and most importantly, what to wear!
Districts for BoomTown 2014:
Barrio Loco
The new Town Council in charge of BoomTown with Mayoress Burrita Jose
Barrio Loco brings some bad ass bass music to soak up into the soul and get you poppin’ ‘n’ hoppin’ all weekend long! Now in charge of the whole city, expect to see some overspill of all things Barrio into the rest of the festival – Carnival floats and maraca’s at the ready!
Dress Code: Carnival
The Wild West (The ex-Mayor of BoomTown is now Sherriff of these dusty streets)
Brimming with top notch dosey-doe inducing genres including; bluegrass, country and scrumpy & western; The Wild West will be rife with toe-tapping ceilidh’s and is the sure-fire place to find your inner straw gnawing, yeehaa-ing hillbilly! The original settlement founded by the first residents of BoomTown during prosperous times of the gold rush… The devious ex-Mayor of BoomTown, via an exceptional use of time-travel, has bought the Wild West to the 21st Century, but are the existing occupants of Crazy Calamities saloon and Rusty Spur Avenue ready for what the new millennia has to offer?
Dress Code: Spurs, Stetsons, Buxom Wenches, Cowboys, Indians and scoundrels…
NewKidzTown
A dedicated mini-festival within a festival, KidzTown, which is specifically for the little boomers, it offers a secure environment that can be enjoyed by the whole family, but foremost it is a place where children and their fun come first! Due to public demand, BoomTown will see a brand new stage in KidzTown for 2014 and the festival is on the hunt for an eye catching, headline grabbing name for this new stage and are running a competition for families to come up with a name together to be in with the chance to win a the whole family tickets to the festival in August! For more details head to the festival website:www.boomtownfair.co.uk/city-guide/kidztown-2/kidz-competition
Mayfair Avenue (prosperous and decedent with Ballroom, The Park Hotel and the almighty House Party), Run by husband and wife Mr and Mrs Fitz-Sloane, MayFair is an exclusive area hosting slightly out of hand dinner parties with only the 'the right people' in attendance. Electro-Swing and all things glitzy and glamorous can be found here!
Dress Code: 1920s, Top hats, Glitter and Glam
Holditdown Town (chilled out folk and family friendly area where silliness is the law and hemp is the order) – Run by the Flower pot family. Holditdown Town is getting an overhaul this year with its very own Main Stage, prepare for some of the very best folk and world artists on the scene at the moment.
Dress Code: Hippy Chic
TrenchTown(the roots and reggae Mecca sent from the gods) – With the unearthing of the original Aztec temple last year, TrenchTown cemented its reputation as the hottest spot in town to feel the bass and submerge the brain in the best roots and reggae BoomTown and the world has to offer!
Dress Code: Tribal, Jungle, Aztec
OldTown – (the dusty, rusty area of BoomTown where things ‘were better in my day’ and pirates are pirates because they aaaarrrrrrr…) For all those skankin’, dancin’, knee pumpin’ pirates out there OldTown is the place to be! With the OldTown Theatre, Town Centre stage and Devils Kicks, if TrenchTown is the Soul of BoomTown, OldTown is the heart, pumping out a furious soundtrack of ska to the most dedicated BoomTown resident’s ears!
Dress Code: Pirates and Pensioners
DownTown
The seedy underbelly of BoomTown, home to alien invaders Arcadia, The Body Shop and many more social deviants! Coming alive as the sun sets, BoomTown’s down and outs explode out of their dank lairs to wreak havoc upon any unsuspecting tourist that should wander into their warped streets of debauchery: they have been warned. Many have ventured, few have returned…
Dress Code: Pimps and Hoes
ChinaTown
Flavour from the Far East, jam packed with mystical mayhem
ChinaTown filled with the most ‘avin it ska, ska punk, rockin punk, folk punk, polka punk, hell jazz n’roll around town!
BoomTown Fair is once again retuning to its home of the Matterly Estate, Winchester from 7th – 10th August 2014 and the Early Bird tickets are on sale from7pm today!!! The coveted discount Early Bird tickets will be available via the website, starting at £110 (plus booking fee and eco bond). The early bird tickets usually get snapped up in super-fast time, last year all of them were gone in just six minutes! This year, to help eager BoomTown residents get their hands on these prized tickets, BoomTown Fair town council have issued the following helpful ‘buyers guide’: http://www.boomtownfair.co.uk/news/boomtown-fair-2014-ticket-guide-191
There have already been some exciting announcements made for this much celebrated arts, music, performance and theatre festival that explores a whole range of different musical genres; new additions include a brand new huge folk stage, a Wild West zone and with the new Town Mayor, Burria Jose from Barrio Loco district plotting her first move as town mayor, the 2014 event will see some very interesting developments! To keep an eye on allupdates follow the festival on facebook, twitter and sign up to the BoomTown Chronicle via the website.
BoomTown Fair is a 30,000 capacity festival that has been running since 2009. Its home since 2011 is Matterly Estate in Winchester. Expanding over the bowl to incorporate the surrounding woodland, BoomTown Fair is a pop-up city that provides immersive escapism to all that attend. With fully interactive purpose build buildings and outside areas, each and every of the 300 mini venues has secrets lurking inside, just waiting to be discovered! With mysterious telephones scatted across the site providing impromptu treasure hunts, tardis like venues that lead the explorer on a wondrous journey into the depth of the unknown, gargantuan 30ft hidden temple, sun soaked woodland beach parties and a whole host of madness and mystery, BoomTown Fair is a festival unlike any other! In addition to the hundreds of micro venues, the 25 large venues, seven distinct districts and three main stages, the festivals also pays great attention to building upon the narrative each year, exploring storylines in greater detail, adding to the richness of the BoomTown experience!
With exactly one month to go until BoomTown Fair returns, the festival has now sold out for the fifth year running and over 26,000 eagerly expectant residents are gearing up for four days of unadulterated escapism in the UKs maddest city! For those without tickets there is a last chance saloon to get involved when the unclaimed deposit tickets go on resale at 7pm this Friday, 12th July… After searching high and low, Julian Marley has been announced as a very fitting replacement for Toots and the Maytals, and two top notch reggae super stars are confirmed as secret headliners for the newly discovered Lion’s Den temple! Other highlights to expect from BoomTown Fair include the full Arcadia Spectacular show, seven diverse districts to align with, more than 30 mini venues to be discovered and over 300 party-tastic musical acts on hand to provide the perfect soundtrack to a long weekend of fully immersive indulgence!
With tickets selling at a record speed for 2013, BoomTown Fair has now officially sold out. However, all is not lost for those who still wish to get their hands on one of the coveted resident passes to the ‘UKs Maddest City’, the unclaimed deposit tickets will go on re-sale this Friday (12th July) from 7pm via the BoomTown website, but be sure to get in there early as the amount is limited and expected to disappear at some pace!
In answer to Toots and the Maytals unexpectedly cancelling their European tour and no longer able to attend BoomTown, the town council have been beavering away to find a suitable replacement and are giddy with excitement to welcome Julian Marley to the Town Centre! Julian is the only son of Bob Marley to be born and raised in the UK and is a Grammy Award nominated, roots-reggae musician, singer-songwriter, producer and humanitarian in his own right. A selection of other acts to be joining Julian on the UK’s only reggae and ska focussed main stage are; Parov Stelar Band, Mad Caddies, Ozomatli, Arrested Development and The Neville Staple Band. There are also two extra special secret headliners for the Lion’s Den to be announced onsite who will be sharing the bill with already announced reggae legends; Gentlemen and the Revolution, Richie Spice, Lee Scratch Perry and Collie Buddz, plus many more!
Moving on from the mind-blowing line-up to the mind-blowing installations that BoomTown has to offer, fresh from the fields of Pilton is the mega beast of Arcadia, all set to fire up with the full Spectacular show (only seen at Glastonbury and BoomTown), which includes astounding aerial acrobatics, projection mapping, lasers and flame throwing pyrotechnical displays, dishing out a hefty dollop of shock and awe, it is the perfect opener for hours of uninterrupted high octane DJ sets from the likes of South Central, Calyx & Teebee, LTJ Buken, Slipmatt & Billy Daniel Bunter, DJ Zinc plus many more, including BoomTown’s very own Mayor! To get a sense of what to expect from Arcadia check out this video from Glastonbury 2013: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDhNBF35fFw
With the city splitting into seven distinctly different and fully immersive districts, each with its own unique take on complete and utter madness, it is up to the BoomTown residents to choose which area they wish to align themselves with for the duration of the festival. Residents are encouraged to pick their fancy dress outfits around the district they ‘belong to’ and there will even be onsite elections for the post of Town Mayor… Here’s a recap of the districts and what can be expected:
With the first line-up announcement consisting of heavyweights such as TheParov Stelar Band, Ozomatli, Toots and the Maytals, Mad Caddies, Arrested Development, Richie Spice and Collie Buddz, new headline acts include Bad Manners and Gentleman and the Evolution. Also freshly announced are an abundance of acts that may not be on the usual festival goer’s radar but are guaranteed to provide some of the most magical moments at BoomTown 2013! Taking place over 8th – 12thAugust in the Matterly Estate, Winchester, BoomTown will envelope its residents in a handpicked world of ska, punk, bass, folk, gypsy, swing, reggae, roots, jungle and drum ‘n’ bass, for four days of unadulterated escapism and musical indulgence!
Bad Manners will once again be gracing the streets of BoomTown after their high octane headline performance back in 2011, the ska legends will be taking to the Town Centre (Main Stage) ahead of The Parov Stelar band on Sunday evening to ramp up proceedings, ensuring that the festival is seen out in true BoomTown style! Whilst over in TrenchTown, BoomTown reggae fans will be treated to the sublime roots reggae delights of Gentleman and the Evolution to guarantee the sunshine vibes are blasted out good ‘n proper!
Although BoomTown packs in some superstar big hitters from ska, reggae and bass cultures, they also dedicate a big chunk of their line up to the lesser known, grass roots talents that make the scenes they celebrate so loved throughout the globe! With an abundance of acts on the bill for this year, it is hard to know where to start when faced with such an impressive range of top-notch international acts from a vast spectrum of awesome genres. To help with this, the Mayor of BoomTown has picked out a selection of acts from each of the seven districts as top tips to keep an ear out for – this is just the tip of the iceberg but we’ve got to start somewhere!
TrenchTown boasts the best in dub, reggae, dance hall and ‘Jungle-is-massive’ sounds throughout its three unique venues; The Lion’s Den, Aztec Bar and the Hidden Woods. A selection of the esteemed guests heading in from the various corners of Europe to visit this district include; Swedish reggae superstar, Million Stylez, the Polish reggae and hip hop mashups of Dreadsquad, the versatile and unique approach to all sub genres of reggae & bass music from Croatia’s Balkan Hi-Fi, Radikal Guru’s combination of dubstep with roots reggae and UK dub, French heavyweight crew Dub Inc’s combo of dub, reggae, ska and rap, and mega stars within the German-speaking reggae scene, I-Fire; plus one of this country’s own bonafide reggae legends, the mighty Jah Shaka, will be bringing his full soundsystem and hosting a massive street party.
DownTown hosts some of the most popular venues for late night shenanigans including Arcadia, BoomBox – where the infamous Dance Off can be found, The Bodyshop, and the ever debauched Asbo Disco. Keep an eye out for; The Outside Agency, hailing from Holland, they fit the bill of The Bodyshop perfectly by delivering a perfect blend of dark and industrial elements at almost every conceivable speed, covering everything from old acid to breakcore and anything in between! Lady Waks, a one woman industry: a promoter, producer (winning best breakthrough producer in Breakspoll 2009) and DJ (nominated Best Breakthrough DJ at Breakspoll) she is at the top of her game for anything she turns her hand to and one to experience live! Also be sure to watch out for Riddim Fruit Records,they will be taking over the Boombox with some of the most exciting new names in ghetto-funk, breaks and general big chunky beat bumping goodness!
El Barrio Loco, one of the new districts for BoomTown 2013, showcases dirty bass in its multitude of venues including Poco Loco, Circo Baile & Samedia. The Major’s picks for this district include a globetrotting array of bass junkie, hip-hop, jungleist stylers; French DJ quintet and hip-hop masters, Chinese Man; The Bristol / Trinidad carnival connection of Jus Now whose sound, which mixes up UK bass and Caribbean Soca, has been tearing up the clubs and radio airways recently and are certain to do the same to the streets of BoomTown; UK hip-hop super-group Problem Child will be pumping out their glitched up beats to bring a refreshingly futuristic take on the formula, whilst rappers Dubbledge, Dabbla and Illaman manage to drop some seriously good rhymes without taking themselves too seriously!
The Town Centre is the epicentre of all things ska, party and fun! Known for the being the hub of the action, this stage has welcomed the likes of Gogol Bordello, Jimmy Cliff, Caravan Palace (to name a few) over previous years and will be the backdrop for headliners:Toots and the Maytals,Arrested Development, The Parov Stelar Band, Mad Caddies and Ozomatli this year. Also under the famous Town Centre orbit, keeping the party swinging and the knees skanking, will be massive Scandinavian bands such as: Hoffmaestro, the Swedish ska, electronic and alternative pop band who dare to go where few have been before, mixing up ska with reggae, techno, New Orleans-funk with a dash of country, and Ska ‘N’ Ska, who know how to get things started and make that BoomTown feeling run through the veins! Plus from France, uber cool Parisian sextet – Les Yeux D'la Tete and Bordeaux’s Les Hurlements D’Leo both blend gypsy rhythms, traditional melodies, jazz leanings and rock sensibilities into musical journeys of love, humour and party madness!
ChinaTown, another new area for 2013, picks up from where OldTown feared to venture, filled with the most ‘avin it levels of punk: ska punk, rockin punk, folk punk and polka punk, as well as a healthy dollop of ‘hell jazz ‘n’roll’ thrown in for good measure! The venues include the ChinaTown Theatre and Devil Kicks Dance Hall, where top spots for the weekend include; the anarchic and often comically political German ska-punk RotFront and folk-meets-global-gypsy royalty – Crash Nomada, who project a unique hybrid of folk music from around the world, supercharged with electric punk-rock energy, this truly international folk-punk outfit from Stockholm have been labelled as Sweden’s best live band numerous times over the years and BoomTown can’t wait to ensnare them in the city walls and keep them forever!
OldTown is filled with Balkan, gypsy, pirate and skankin’ beatz; The Fat B*stard Gang Band – this mighty fine French Balkan Electro Punk band are known for blowing their audience’s away with their all powerful brass ensemble and a fat rhythm section… Another act to keep an eye for in the heart of OldTown is Räfven, at first glance seemingly a collection of eight odd ball Gypsy Punks, but once on stage they morph into one single organism that delivers a frenetic and untamed mix of music that's guaranteed to send people just a little bit silly!
Mayfair Avenue is the hub of high class – its swanky electro swing clubs and live swing bands venues include; The Fitz-Sloane Manor, The Bank, The Park Hotel, Bump (Roller Disco), The Bling Bar and Last Aid; acts to watch out for amongst the BoomTown glitterati are: Swingrowers, a young, dynamic Italian duo from Palermo in Sicily, who have taken vintage swing and buffed its spats up to a dazzling shine, then thrown a glitter ball in for good measure, resulting a respectful update of a beloved genre that has seen them tour with the likes of Parov Stelar and Caravan Palace! And finally, Mac Abbé et le Zombi Orchestr a French rock’n’swing outfit that have a striking stage presence and put on one hell of a show!
These are just a tiny splattering of all that is on offer at BoomTown Fair, see below for a full list of the booked line-up for 2013 and head to the website to start looking into who might be a personal highlight for this year’s global phenomenon that is BoomTown Fair!
FULL FESTIVAL LINE UP:
SKA, SWING, FOLK AND PUNK STAGES:
Town Centre:
FRIDAY: Toots and the Maytals / Arrested Development / Ozomatli /The Neville Staple Band / Ska N Ska / RotFront / The Wurzels / Gentle Mystics
SATURDAY: Mad Caddies / The Skints / Les Hurlements D' Leo / Babyhead / Slamboree / Ska Cubano / Orkestra Del Sol /The Magnus Puto Band
SUNDAY: The Parov Stelar Band / Bad Manners / Hoffmaestro / The Selecter / Les Yeux d'la Tete / Orquestra Voadora / The Dualers / Skamanians
MayFair Avenue:
Molotov Jukebox / Dutty Moonshine / Flap! / Electric Swing Circus / Swing Growers / Freakeasy! / The Top Shelf and Gypsy Hill / The Zen Hussies / Odjbox & Pierre / Kitten & the Hip / Max Pashm / DJ Wolfie Razzmatazz / Mac Abbe et le Zombi Orchestra / Ta Mere / Beans On Toast / Carpetface & Audible 1 / Johnny Cage & The Voodoo Groove / Heymoonshaker / Don Johnston & Leo Wood / DJ Jon Bongly / DJ Chris Tofu / Big Swing Sound System / Circo Swing / DJ Dodgy-Style / 8 Foot Felix / Big Red Ass / The Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band / The Rinky Dinks / The Skimmity Hitchers / World’s Tallest DJ / CC Smugglers / Ducie / Burnitov / Castro / Lunatrix
ChinaTown:
Smerin's Anti Social Club / Crash Nomada / The Magnus Puto / Bison / First Degree Burns / Guns Of Navarone / The JB Conspiracy / Counting Coins / Outl4w / Hallouminati / The Jargonauts / New Groove Formation / Tyrannosaurus Alan / The Tatsmiths / Oscillator / Melosa / Rasta 4 Eyes / Royal Gala Band / Upbeat Allstars / ChainSka Brassika / Popes Of Chillitown / Chewing On Tinfoil / The Rude Em Outs / Bad Transmission / Shoot The Moon
Devils Kicks Dancehall (District: ChinaTown)
King Prawn / L.O.C / Demented Are Go / Street Dogs / The Creepshow / RotFront / Suicide Bid / Inner Terrestrials / The Casualties / Sicknote / Random Hand / Citizen Fish / Worldly Savages / The Brains / New Town Kings / The Peacocks / The Mahones / The Restarts / Graveyard Johnnys / Neck / Roughneck Riot / Dirty Revolution / Will Tun and the Wasters / The Junk / Beat the Redlight / Faintest Idea
OldTown
Räfven / The Fat B*stard Gang Band / Gadjo / Flap! / Tragic Roundabout / Carny Villains / The Zen Hussies / Gypsy Hill / Mad Dog Mcrea / Pás de Problème / Gypsy Fever / Pronghorn / Bootscrapers / Worldly Savages / The Great Malarkey / Johnny Kowalski + The Sexy Wierdos / Boot Hill Allstars / Seas Of Mirth Pirate Band / Drunken Balordi / Calico Jack / The Binewski Murder / Buffo's Wake / Biere De Luxe / Invisible Circus Show / Emily Dust
REGGAE/ DUB AND JUNGLE STAGES:
TrenchTown:
Secret Headliner / Gentleman and the Evolution / Richie Spice / Collie Buddz & New Kingston / Dub Inc
Lee Scratch Perry / Million Stylez / Jah Shaka (Full Soundsystem) / Gentleman's Dub Club / Prince Fatty and Horseman / I-Fire / Iration Steppas meets Channel One in a Dubwise Fashion / Mungo's Hi Fi feat. YT + Mr / Williamz / Musical Youth / Robbo Ranx / Dreadsquad ft Dr Ring Ding + Kasia Malenda + El Fata / Necessary Mayhem ft Tippa Irie + Mr Williamz / Solo Banton & The Upper Cut Band / Radikal Guru / David Boomah / Chris Murray / Reggae Roast / Laid Blak / Buggsy / Chopstick Dubplate Showcase feat. Demolition Man / Marcus Visionary / Serial Killaz / Psychofreud + Navigator / The Resonators / OnlyJoe / Friendly Fire Band / Babydub / Nucleus Roots / The Drop / Backbeat Soundsystem / Aries, Nanci & Pheobe + DJ Wulu / Adam Prescott feat Parly B / Afriquoi / Dub Boy feat Tenja / Jah Mirikle / Dope Ammo / Rebel Control / Dub Heart / The Majestic / More Like Trees / Samsara / General Roots / Balkan Hi-fi / Dubkasm / Kelvin 373 / Eva Lazarus / By The Rivers / Captain Accident / Treehouse Fire / Bigtopp / Black Star Dub Collective / Regime
BREAK AND BASS STAGES:
DOWNTOWN:
Friction / Calyx & Teebee / LTJ Bukem / Hot Cakes Live (Deekline – Ed Solo – MC Rubi Dan) / Zinc / South Central Live / Lady Waks & MC Chickaboo / DJ Die & INJA / Freq Nasty / Culprate FEAT. Maksim / Featurecast / Micky Finn / Slipmatt & Billy Bunter * / Monkey3logic / The Outide Agency / Stay Up / Orever Takeover / Slamboree Soundsystem / Dub Boy & Tenja / Remarc / Current Value / Loftgroover / The Sect / MC Ribbz / Jacky Murda / Lionfire (Aries & Gold) / Blackout JA / Mach One / Itchy & Skratchy / Run Tingz Cru FT Redskin / The Allergies / Hong Kong Ping Pong / Major Triadz / Jayglo / MR 50 / Dephicit / Hidden Riddim / Cut La Vis / Dropsteady Freddy / DJ Roast Beatz / Sarantis + MC Dialect / Deville + Parly B / Fly Walker / Vandal / Weasel Buster / Parasite / Junglefever / Mark EG / FFF / Broken Note / Audio Spaien / Wonka-Vision / Spongebob -Phatoworld / Satta Sounds / JMan / Scamp / Skalliwaggles /The Mayor of BoomTown
EL BARRIO LOCO DISTRICT:
CIRCO BAILE
Secret Special Guest / Foreign Beggars / Redlight & Mc Dread / Digital Mystikz / Koan Sound / Chinese Man Live / Opiuo / B.Traits / Woz B2b Rack N Ruin / Mak & Pasteman / Sticky / Reso / Randomer / Jinx In Dub Live / Jus Now / Snareophobe Feat Eva Lazarus / Lenkemz / La La & The Boo Ya / Bassline Circus Takeover
POCO LOCO
High Focus Records Showcase (Fliptrix, Verb T, Leaf Dog, BVA, Jam Baxter, Dirty Dike, Edward Scissortongue, DJ Sammy B-Side, DJ Madnice) / DJ Vadim / DJ Format / Skitz & Deadly Hunta / LDZ (London Zoo) / Problem Child / Freefall Collective / Step 13 / Elro / Mouse Outfit ft. Dr Syntax + Sparkz / Dirty Dubsters / Central Spillz / Jman & DJ Fingerfood ft. Res & Gravity / Split Prophets / Astroid Boys / Born in a Barn / Gypsy Unit / Gardna / Afro Cluster / Bahia / Deadsilence Syndicate / Disco Panther / China Shop Bull
