Music > Live Reviews
Houghton Festival 2017
30/08/17
The day before Houghton was due to begin we had torrential rain here in Norfolk and for the first time ever in my 20+ years attending dozens of festivals, I was seriously considering not going, just staying home rather than traipsing through mud all weekend. Our small group of ravers decided to wait out the Thursday and head down first thing Friday morning - we hoped it would have dried out a little by then.
When we arrived on site you wouldn't have known it had rained at all. The large single campsite is lush and green and most importantly dry, surrounded by forest on all sides with one of the stages in full swing in the distance. We set up camp to the sounds of Horse Meat Disco's typically eclectic and fun set. Once our tent was pitched we wasted no time in getting down to the arena to get our bearings, Horse Meat Disco still playing on what we discover was the Derren Smart Stage, named in honour of the London promoter and Houghton curator Craig Richards' close friend who passed away in 2014.
Comparable in size and shape to Latitude's Lake Stage it's the largest and only traditional festival stage here. A large, round lake sits in the middle of the arena - we followed the path around it and came to The Warehouse, closed until 11pm. What just looked like an old animal feed store tucked away behind the trees transformed into a full on warehouse party after dark and reminded me of the illegal raves I attended in the 90's in woods much like this, not that far away.
Next we came to The Orchard, a relaxation area for when the relentless raving got too much. There were massages, a sauna, yoga sessions in a tent, chai tea, deckchairs and everything else you needed to unwind after hours of partying. Continuing round the lake we passed a tiki bar serving rum in pineapples and headed into the woods where we found The Pavillion Stage, an unassuming small wooden structure amongst the trees with the lake as a backdrop. The Trojan Dub Soundsystem was just round the corner based in a tiny yurt that probably only held up to 100 people at a time. Heading back into the main arena away from the lake there were a handful of smaller stages, a good selection of food vendors, a stall selling Houghton T-shirts and that was it! No stalls selling itchy blankets or lighters on lanyards, no getting your face painted for £10 or funfair rides, just the basic essentials needed for an endless weekend of hard dancing.
With that in mind we headed off to the only place we hadn't been yet, The Quarry Stage. At the stage's entrance the ground sloped down and down and down until we were in a bowl cut into the landscape with another small wooden stage set up at the far end. Trees lined the natural ampitheatre and the sound from the impressive sound system reverberated off the side of the quarry. As this was the most impressive of the stages we settled here and enjoyed one of Craig Richards' numerous sets of the weekend.
With lengthy back to back sets promised over the weekend and a fairly narrow selection of genres on offer, I was worried that it was all going to blend into one - luckily that wasn't the case at all. Down to a combination of a well curated bill, picturesque stages in unique settings and simple yet brilliantly effective lighting when the sun went down, each set really had a distinct personality and feel. From the sunny, spring-break, beach-party atmosphere of Mr Scruff in The Quarry to the brooding, nightclub quality of Andrew Weatherall on the same stage just a couple of hours later, to Vilod's spectacular UK debut on the Derren Smart stage and Radioactive Man's techno barrage in The Pavillion, each set had its own distinct personality which not only made the weekend more enjoyable, it also made it so much more memorable.
There was a small social media uproar about the ban on campfires and camping stoves, and the alcohol allowed on site limited to eight cans per person before the festival, but if anything it helped. Yes, it was more expensive having to buy all of our food and drink in the arena, but it meant that we rarely committed that festival sin of just hanging out at the tent, drinking and chatting. The bars had a decent variety and were reasonably priced - luckily they served Amstel which is by far the most palatable of the festival lagers. All of the food we had was delicious, not too expensive and came in generous portions. Mac and cheese from the Mac and Cheese Co, a visit to the Paellaria for, you guessed it, paella, and one of the best burgers I've ever had, lovingly crafted by the guys from Steak and Honour. The best was saved for Sunday when we paid a visit to The Nest, a secluded floating restaurant on the edge of the lake, for Prosecco and sharing plates of restaurant quality nibbles.
All the staff and security were friendly and relaxed as were the revellers - everyone was there to have a good time and an infectious atmosphere of goodwill was present for the entire festival. The closest I saw to any trouble was an impromptu competition to see who could be the first to scale the side of the quarry. A health and safety nightmare for security, it was over fairly quickly with the victor earning the biggest cheer of the weekend.
The only slight slight niggles I have are just that, slight problems that are easily fixed for next time. More toilets. Only a couple of stages had signs saying which stage was which. And strangest of all there was no programme or guide, and set times weren't displayed anywhere on site. I have no idea where and when Hercules And Love Affair played and completely forgot about Nightmares On Wax until I got home and looked at the line up again. There was even one stage that we never even heard about until after it closed on the Sunday. Set times were posted on social media channels in the days preceding the festival but with no phone or Internet signal across the entire site that wasn't really much help. However, no signal certainly helped us to immerse ourselves in the festival and avoid the outside distractions of the real world.
Considering the quality of the festival and how smoothly it all ran, it would be easy to forget that this was the first one. The team behind Houghton have spotted a gap in a crowded festival scene and delivered an experience like no other I've had before. A stripped back weekend that focuses purely on the music, in a beautiful setting with real charm and personality, with world class music through world class sound systems. Because let's face it, who wants to get a henna tattoo and ride the waltzers before seeing some guy who was on Mock The Week once, when you could be dancing to Ricardo Villalobos in a forest, with glitter in your beard at 10 in the morning?
Gorgeous, relaxed, utterly unique and banging from start to finish, Houghton is my new favourite festival. When do early bird tickets go on sale for next year?
Photos: Jake Davis