Good For The Soul

If you want to take a small stroll from Mancunia and dancing out in a field is your thing then you could do no better than heading to the Beatherder festival in the Ribble Valley (north of Burnley for you non map readers).

With no official sponsorship, no egos, not a scrap of branding and cheap food and local booze all in tow, Beat-Herder is hedonism stripped right down to its underpants! Medieval flags waft in the breeze as colourful crowds dance till dawn amongst the trees and hand made installations to a soundtrack of the finest DJs and bands around.

With everything onsite hand made to the finest detail, Beat-Herder is not about platinum selling artists on huge stages but about creative festival fun and super friendly crowds in intimate and breathtaking surroundings.

Beat-Herder legend has it that in the beginning there was the Toil Trees where the Toil Sound system brought friends together to party beneath the trees. The landowner was set to cut down the forest but he enjoyed himself so much that he couldn’t bear to chop it down. And so Beat- Herder was born.

Amongst the acts already confirmed for the back to basics bonanza are band of the moment, South London indie electro pop trio Chew Lips, psychedelic art pop quartet Django Django, incredible reggae outfit Easy Star All stars, lord of the floor filler Alex Metric, Leeds rave veterans Utah Saints and electronic duo Layo and Bushwacka. Added to the bill is the amazing Erol Alkan, Dan Le Sac V’s Scroobius Pip, Lancashire Hotpots and Paul Daley from Leftfield. Also heading into the forest will be the amazing Cagedbaby, West London folk pop boy King Charles and Manchester house heavyweight Krysko amongst others.

And when your legs tire of dancing to this little lot why not check out the amazing extras… Being small and intimate there’s never far to walk but there are still plenty of stages, interactive nonsense and hidden surprises to satisfy even the most curious of Beat-Herders!

Stop off for a brew or a beer at Mikey’s Tea Shack, sit down beneath the hanging baskets on one of the famous Beat-Herder vibrating benches (a favourite with the older lady) or check out Grandad’s room which is back with a brand new look for 2010 and can be found deep in the heart of the forest complete with all manner of surprises and Beat-Herder tomfoolery!

Easily heard but not as easy to find, the Toil Trees stage which this year has a new and improved crispy clear sound system can be found tucked snuggly amongst the trees, the epicenter of the festival. Get amongst it and dance to the eclectic beats that last throughout the night.

With it’s intimate fun atmosphere and amazing facilities Beat-Herder strikes the perfect balance between ‘up for it crowd’ and family friendly vibe. With a new and improved Kids field and super cheap kid’s tickets, Beat Herder’s of every age are warmly welcomed!

Article used courtesy of Skiddle.com

SAWLEY, RIBBLE VALLEY LANCASHIRE
2-4 JULY 2010
www.beatherder.co.uk