Festival Overview
Where It's Happening
The Secret Garden Party, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, 21st-24th August, 2011
“Happiness isn’t good enough for me!” Boasts The Secret Garden Party’s homepage, “I demand euphoria!” And so begins another year of madness; the last one entailed grown men dressed as old women, grown women dressed as old men, cider and a lot of face paint and glitter. To say that this boutique festival is probably the oddest in the UK is an understatement. But as the several thousand dedicated Garden Party-ers will testify, it’s probably the most fun you’ll have without being sectioned. In years gone by they’ve seen Grace Jones, I Blame Coco, Marina and the Diamonds and Othello Woolf all perform, so perhaps you should give it a whirl.
Inside Tip: Inspired by the art and philosophy of French artist, Paul Gauguin, this year’s fancy dress theme will be 'Origins And Frontiers'… Make of that what you will, but generally speaking, any costumes involving metallic colours and spandex usually go down well.
Featured Artists
Bear's Den
Andrew Davie’s old band, Cherbourg, was one of the breakthrough acts of 2010, wowing fans with just a pair of stunning EPs.
Cate Le Bon
Last year belonged to Cardiff’s Nico-obsessed Cate le Bon, and 2011 is shaping up to follow suit. Having spent most of 2009 touring with Super Fury Animal’s frontman, Gruff Rhys...
Dog is Dead
"We are a mess! We are failures! And we love it!" Declares Nottingham’s Dog is Dead on 'Glockenspiel Song'.
Let's Buy Happiness
The history of Let’s Buy Happiness looks like this: a younger brother and an older sister fight, bicker and scrap for most of their life. Then, the younger brother forms band.
Lu Lu & The Lampshades
Lu Lu & The Lampshades started life in 2009 as a funny idea between two London hipsters, Heloise and Louisa.
Spector
Spector have pretty much done it all, now they have just been named as one of fifteen rising stars on the BBC Sound of 2012 artists list.
Spectrals
Manchester’s lo-fi psychedelic stars Spectrals are less interested in tweaking out on acid and quoting passages from The Door of Perception as they are releasing beautifully crafted...
The Agitator
Couched in the language of revolution, 24-year-old David Mein’s music as The Agitator occupies a space between New Kids on the Block and classic house
The Chapman Family Album
“People probably think that we're horrible northern monsters that are going to come down and eat their children, but there’s more to it than that,”...
Two Wounded Birds
Holding an obsession for the blissful sound of American west coast pop à la The Beach Boys but trapped in the seaside town of Margate...