Its that time of year when the endless hours spent hitting the refresh and redial buttons finally pay off as bags, tents and macs are packed ready for a weekend of live music paired with hours of overwhelming enjoyment and maybe some rain, that's right, It's festival time! Glastonbury may be absent from this year's festival calendar but that hasn't dampened the spirit of 2012 with so many more live events to choose from both in the UK and overseas. I was lucky enough to visit the FIB festival in Benicassim, an unforgettable weekend that fills me with bittersweet feeling every time I think of it. This year sees a huge variety of festivals from Cochella to Lovebox, Download to V Fest, Reading and Leeds; some have been and satisfied others are happening now, while some are yet to spread their infectious magic.
One UK based festival to mention just because it look so darn good and also happens to be the next in the line of fab live music events, is Hop Farm; during Benicassim we had the pleasure of meeting some rather lovely people, including Bev Burton. Bev is MD of her company Killer Bee she's the lady in charge when it comes to festival management with a tale for every tattoo she possesses. Known to many as Queen B, Bev mixes her passion for Music with her work, responsible for the overall organisation and programming at the Hop Farm event held at Paddock Wood in Kent.
The general ethos surrounding Hop farm and what sets it aside from other festivals is the desire to focus the festival purely on the music and it's audience, little to-no branding, sponsors or other commercial interference, just good real music! This year the intimately presented festival started by Vince Power in 1998 features artists such as Suede, Richard Ashcroft, Damien Rice, Bob Dylan, Billy Ocean, Athlete & Gomez... the list goes on...and on!
Outside of the fantastic line up Hop Farm features late night comedy and an Indie Disco for those wishing to continue their festival fever into the night. All weekend camping and a huge headline act rounds off the whole event in true festival style. Find out more about the festival 29th June-1st July here.