Festival Season is here; and one of the most poppin’ line ups about is that of BoomTown Fair, once again storming ahead with underground music, taking good morals at the helm, and it must be said; the vibe of this one is nothing short of down right cheeky – everyone is out to have a bit of fun and get mad, with no trouble in sight for miles.
BoomTown embraces the weird and wonderful, getting the best artists from across the globe and sticking them inside a crazy, euphoric trip of a world, with 9 Districts across 4 Zones, boasting street venues which tease you during the day; playing games and messing with your delicate, intoxicated brains. At night, these venues and buildings get taken over and transformed into something very special – just look out for the secret line ups and ask the locals for more info, you might just catch some funky bassline vibes inside the Job Centre at night (for a sneaky peek at the set up in there click here). And for those of you who haven’t been before; we’ve got you sorted at Bloc2Bloc, with some mental pictures and a little insight into the minds of the people behind this crazy, crazy festival – for further treats and little shots to get you excited check out the website here.
REMEMBER THIS; don’t waste time by the tents, there is so much to do you won’t be able to experience it all even if you try – and believe me you don’t want to miss anything, so check the programme and go explore and discover the world out there. And read the storyline HERE – it will help, trust me.
The Wild West home of Grandma's Living Room. Let me hear you say ‘Wahh West’ In front of that Rig inna funky disco tea party stylin!
**Paddy Roberts spoke to the Head of Theatrics and a few of the minds behind the organisation of this crazy world**
Do you believe this display of arts and culture is the future of UK music festivals or do you see the city as a one off?
The only unique way we are using Arts at Boomtown Fair is organising it to push one message or story. Music festivals are a perfect place to play in immersive settings, as the world within a real world is set up for you. Art and festivals work hand in hand. Boomtown offers a journey into the immersive imagined world, giving the audience member the chance to be something different. Something new and involved. Art and culture though has always been present in our old school festivals from the days of Stonehenge and Elephant Fair etc, but now it differentiates festivals. It’s not present in some of the more commercial festivals, and in some ways it would be unfortunate if it becomes so. Art is powerful but when is it just eye candy and when is it inspirational?
What is the selection process for actors and performers, and to what degree do the smaller district performers play a role in the larger storyline of the festival?Are there permanent city traders and natives or are the streets organic, with a constant flow of new residents?
Every performer and artist involved serves the larger picture. At the heart of what we are doing is creating a fictional society which everybody inside including the festival goer has a part to play, feed and ultimately change. We work hard to help develop the existing crews that are with us. Many of our collectives begin as small scale ventures and as we move forward each year they evolve with us and grow. Of course Boomtown has rapidly expanded so each year there are new collaborations being made. Everyone that does come on board though will be creating something bespoke for the city. You will be hard pushed to find our one-off experiences played out elsewhere.
How can such a hectic and seemingly crazy festival be organised? Are these performers simply let loose or do they have assigned areas?
Each of our theatrical districts have strong detailed identities and storylines which a range of artists with various skill sets are in charge of. However a big part of it is letting performers loose in their assigned areas. The beautiful thing with this form of art is that it is made in the moment. Of course we have structure and a strong narrative to guide us but ultimately nothing happens until the audience member starts the game and how they develop it is as important as anything we have pre planned.
What involvement if any does Nickolas Boom have with the Rebels? Will we see him and The Kaptin involved this year?
Ha. No comment
How much of a role will the story line play in people's experience this year and what advice do you have for visitors to help get them involved in the storyline as much as possible?
The storyline is a very important part of what we are creating at Boomtown and it will evolve in a big way over the course of the four day Fair. My biggest piece of advice to visitors is actively explore the city! The more doors you knock on the more you will discover. It’s all there to be found.
Photo Credits:
Trenchtown stage : Benjamin Paul
Wild West : Cal Tristan
Procession Band : Jody Hartley
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