"boutique festivals" : a buzz phrase has rippled across the wire a lot in the last few months.
basically these are small, low profile festivals that seem to be wanting to take the vibe of a festival back to the love of music, where corporate branding, overt commercialism is kept at bay, excessive numbers avoided, and no zane lowe coverage.
one of the best weekends in recent times for ireallylovemusic was the first end of the road festival back in 2006 (more detail : here) when the media friendly phrase had yet to be dreamt up, and now look, that’s a well established, big name puller on its way to become one of the seasons most respected festivals.
so what about the new ones that have populated the diary ?
well, due to the low profile of many of these events, it’s often very easy to miss out on some excellent setup happening in some hidden idyllic spot of the countryside. however ireallylovemusic has been given the nod in regards to one of the most interesting line ups going, so thought it best to pass on this information.
combining mainstream indie (mystery jets, super furry animals, and glasvegas) and off the wall japanese psychedelic noise overload (melt banana, acid mothers temple), the not-for-profit standon calling festival looks to be a fascinating, rather special way to spend a weekend in the grounds of a beautiful 16th century hertfordshire manor house.
so if you find yourself at a loose end the first weekend of august, you now have an far more exciting alternative to the usual demands of cutting the lawn, or is that just me ?
after all, surely by then we will be in the middle of a much needed heat wave ?
more detail : here