Music > Live Reviews

Red Rooster Festival 2017

Euston Park Estate

05/06/17

Heading just a mere half an hour out of Norwich to Euston Hall, myself and my +1 had, pretty much, zero expectations for Red Rooster Festival. Having only been to Reading Festival twice, I’d admit my experience with alternative festivals was pretty lacklustre, hence I eagerly anticipated what this was all going to be about.

After walking alongside fellow newbies into the campsite and pitching our tent, a neighbour offered to trade a couple of beers to help her assemble her humble abode, at which I sprang into action far too rapidly. Once we got chatting to our surrounding campers, we were quick to understand how laidback, friendly and family-orientated Red Rooster was going to be as just about everyone was up for a conversation, trading beers and… donating hay-fever tablets to me. Trust me, I was suffering.

Making our way into the main arena in the evening – crossing the bridge, walking under a banner of dungarees and navigating our way through a woodland area – you’re instantly hit with this ‘secret society’ or ‘secret getaway’ vibe that you don’t often experience with the big-budget, high-ticket-value festivals. Everyone you talk to will either be a four year strong Red Rooster veteran who has seen it grow from strength to strength, or a newbie, like ourselves who was recommended to it by a friend. And this is what instantly captivated my attention and my appreciation and, eventually, my heart for Red Rooster Festival.

Proudly owning only two stages and a dance tent, the arena is still spread out across the grounds of Euston Hall, requiring you to circle its large lake, to walk through its green fields and find hidden paths that lead you to different chill-out sections. Although the main stage was home to the larger, louder bands such as The CC Smugglers, Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys (a personal favourite of mine) and the much talked-about Barrence Whitfield & The Savages, the Little Red Rooster stage still gave way to some fairly superb acts like The Wandering Hearts and Big Steve, which offered smaller, stripped-back sets that you can lay down and stare at the sky to.

Honestly it was like some kind of nostalgic American paradise. Kids swam in the cool, clean lake, jumping off diving boards, I managed to purchase my first pair of dungarees for a tenner and the food was out of this world. It had everything from mac n' cheese to a gourmet hot dog van to a traditional American BBQ. Let’s put it this way, you certainly won’t be spending your weekend hungry, but you may be spending a long time deciding what it is you’re actually going to eat as the choices are phenomenal.

A memory that I will cherish for several years to come is when we headed down to a fire pit by the lake, as the sun had just set moments ago and we were joined by a group of family friends who kindly shared their marshmallows with us.

We roasted marshmallows together, and chatted about where we came from, how we heard about the festival and why we were there. One of the family members explained to me that he wasn’t necessarily there for the music, but for the ‘ethos’ that the festival has and how it was an appropriate alternative to the legendary Glastonbury; how it was a friendly, atmospheric place to bring his kids and share some quality time together. When he learned that I was there to write a review for it, he pleaded, “Oh, please give it a bad one – tell everyone it’s terrible” as people were happy enough the way it was. It doesn’t need to be any bigger or any better as it seems to hit the nail firmly on the head.

At Red Rooster Festival, I feel like I got to learn what music festivals are really all about. It doesn’t matter about the line-up, or the genre, or its profile. What matters is getting away and having a good time, making and sharing memories with your fellow man. Snap elections, terror attacks and presidents such as Donald Trump would lead you to believe that the world is a pretty awful place. But humans can still be loving, peaceful creatures and small, tucked-away festivals such as Red Rooster really showed me that we’re still capable of coming together and doing pretty cool things.