Beautiful Days 2010

Simon and family head down to Devon hoping for some late-summer Beautiful Days…check out his glorious pictures in the Beautiful Days Gallery.

We were all really looking forward to going this year but the weather forecast didn’t look good… are we cursed ?

We arrived on site, entry was quick and easy however those that arrived early while being able to get the pick of the pitches on the sloping campsite had to park quite some distance away. If you are planning to go to this festival bring some spare tent pegs, the earth is very stony just below the surface, bent pegs are inevitable. The campsite did become very crowded with guy ropes interweaving making late night returns tricky at times with little ones. Camp near a path is my advice but not right next to it.

Once we’d set up camp it was off to the arena to catch The Levellers acoustic set in the Big Top tent, always the opening event of the weekend. This was really popular as ever, so much so that even arriving in plenty of time we couldn’t get in to the tent but judging from the cheers it was a good set. First act for us was Hobo Jones and the Junkyard Dogs on the main stage. Highly entertaining and a Beautiful Days success story, they first appeared as buskers a few years ago, now a main stage event. As well as original material their covers ranged from rousing versions of J Lo and Led Zeppelin songs. Newton Faulkner later in the evening was extremely talented and funny, quite a surprise for me, even if he did go into too much detail at times into how he put the show together.

There were many acts across the weekend on the various stages from the well known to an open mic timetabled on Dirty Davey’s bandstand giving amateurs an opportunity to play in front of a receptive crowd. Most musical tastes were catered for from Arthur Brown from the 60’s to drum n’ bass DJ’s at the Bimble Inn at the far side of the site. This did lead to some inevitable clashes and dashes across the site to see some artists but everyone’s really good natured and the site is well laid out and not overcrowded.

Politics plays a big part in the culture at this festival with many politically savvy artists such as New Model Army and Billy Bragg performing and various interviews with political figures as well. Counter to this are acts such as The Wurzels, their house version of Brand New Combine Harvester had to be heard to be believed, and the thong incident seen to be believed. This is a family website, I can’t go into detail.

The main stage is in a natural amphitheatre, the view is excellent and the pa superb. If you have small children you can set up camp towards the back, kids will have room and you will be able to see and hear the bands. For Dreadzone I could see, hear and enjoy their set while my 8 year old started off sitting down with a book but the infectious tunes soon had her up and dancing too. My only criticism of the stages this year is that when an act was on Dirty Davey’s bandstand the sound spilled out and vice versa main stage to Dirty Davey’s. On Saturday night this was a particular problem for James fans as Don Letts DJ set could be heard in the main arena and I heard many complaints about this throughout the weekend when other artists performed.

Kids are well catered for, there are plenty of activities across the site for them, climbing frames, drums, jugglers and circus acts and probably more I didn’t come across, and workshops and other activities that variously were free or chargeable but none that needed booking in advance. The family campsite was quiet once the music had stopped and had a kids library, play area, story telling tent, face painting and a 24 hour café. These facilities did not include a crèche, kids had to be accompanied.

In common with many festivals there are performance artists wandering through the crowd all weekend, sometimes stopping for shows. Particular mention must be made of the Village Disco, a gloriously camp 70’s mobile style disco. Along with that the crowd were really involved with lots of fancy dress, especially Sunday which had a theme of stripes.

Food and drink was varied and fairly priced, and the pub priced beer didn’t run out. Toilets were cleaned regularly and queues were always short, there were a number of disabled toilets too.

So, Beautiful Days, were they ? The weather teased us all weekend with sunny strips of sky on the hills surrounding the site. It didn’t actually rain worth speaking about until Sunday, which dawned clear with blue skies but by the time the Levellers came on Sunday evening we were under an absolute downpour. It didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the fans or the fireworks which closed the show and the festival.

A brilliant weekend despite the grey skies and odd shower and a good festival for families. The crowd are all friendly, there’s a definite punk ethic and there’s no corporate sponsorship at all. I’m told that the vibe is very similar to the early small Glastonbury festivals. It always sells out fairly early so don’t wait for the final artist line up to be announced before deciding to buy tickets, look at the website and get a feel for the style of artists that have performed over the years, if you like what you see you won’t be disappointed with whatever line up is finally announced. Go with an open mind and you’ll have a good time, no matter what the weather.

More information: Beautiful Days website.