Boomtown Fair 2013. The ‘UK’s Maddest City’

8th-11th August 2013

Once a year, for four days and nights the beautiful fields of Winchester, Hampshire are transformed into the most surreal and insane town in England. The name of that town is Boomtown. 

A madcap carnival for the civilly disobedient, Boomtown certainly lived up to its self-proclaimed title as the UK’s maddest city. A love for lunacy, a thirst for madness and a hunger for music united thousands of revellers, brought together temporarily, in this carnival of anarchy. Wonderfully crafted buildings created specifically for the festival built up the town, their unique decor providing the eyeballs with constant visual nourishment whilst their sound systems fulfilled everybody's auditory desires.

Visible in every direction there was a wonderfully abnormal sight , transvestite pirates, fully-gowned popes, Native Americans in tights, girls wearing nipple tassels, zombie doctors providing a small insight into the attire of the attendees.

Hugely dismayed when Toots & the Maytals were forced to pull out of this years festival, it turned out that even the absence of the legendary band could not dishearten the atmosphere. Their cancellation was due to the fact Toots Hibbert received a glass bottle to the head whilst  performing earlier this summer.

The Toots last minute replacement came in the form of Julian Marley, who opened the festival on the Lion’s Den stage. The stage was a magnificent Aztec temple,the height of a four-storey building and surrounded by woodland. From this temporary temple Julian performed a mixture of his own songs, such as 'Boom Draw,' alongside his legendary fathers work, singing 'covers of 'War' and 'Natty Dread'. The Daily Mail reported that Maximo Park and the Mystery Jets headlined the mainly reggae and dub festival, I can assure you that this was not the case.

A short wander around the site's several districts provided such wondrous novelties as a fire breathing mechanical dragon, a man playing a contraption made from a piano and a bicycle, whilst elsewhere a crazy dentist lured happy trippers into a placebo procedure.

An experience that will live with me forever will be The Arcadia Spectacular Stage. The Arcadia stage was incredibly surreal to witness, providing a futuristic stage and atmosphere like no other.  A magnificent, gigantic, metallic, fire-breathing, arachnid DJ booth, previously seen at this year’s Glastonbury festival the spectacle was truly mesmerizing .

I can only imagine what it is like to be an acrobat on the Arcadia Spectacular, performing maneuvers high above the crowd as heavy bass, flamethrowers and powerful strobe lights surround you.

The Arcadia Stage was to set the scene for the final leg of my Boomtown journey. Fire, fireworks and fluorescent lights lit up the southern sky as DJ Zinc played a highly varied set that included anything from DJ Hazard to the Fugees before handing the reigns to Calyx & Teebee.

Calyx & Teebee, closed the festival in excellent style offering all sorts of auditory and visual delights to stimulate the crowds senses. After returning to reality after the fair, I was to notice that the duo were quick to proclaim their appreciation for the colossal stage, using their official Facebook page to express their gratitude:

"MASSIVE thanks to everyone at Arcadia Spectacular - such a great collective of sincere and passionate people running the most incredible stage in existence."

Paper lanterns, sand and trees made up The hidden woods stage. The tropical enviroment offered a chilled, alternative vibe and played host to acts such as Musical Youth, Laid Blak, Solo Banton and General roots. 

 The vibrant Poco Loco stage was a new addition to this year's festival, playing a selection of funk, hip-hop and live bass music. The stage hosted a showcase set from emerging UK hip-hop label high focus and bands such as the Mad Caddies and China Shop Bull.

A giant boombox and a boxing ring made up the Boombox stage. The boxing ring provided a space for revellers to forget their inhibitions and get lost in the music and also a platform for dance-offs. This giant boombox contained the DJ booth, which was the platform for the likes of Stenchman to showcase their talents. His set turned out to be one of the surprise highlights of my festival, as he dropped music of any genre or tempo imaginable, mixed together perfectly. 

I also enjoyed exploring a great number of the smaller 'Inna-City Mini Venues,' as they were called in the programme. The Airport, Bodyshop, The Prohibition Den, the Rave Yard, Bling Bar, Funkington Manor, Town Hall all provided a hugely diverse selection of atmosphere and music within their own unique world.

I could have chosen to partake in anything ranging from African drumming circles, roller discos, Spiritual healing, carnival rides, dance-off competitions or a workshop teaching how to make a bean tin rocket stove. I didn't do any off these, things, but they were all on offer and combined together perfectly to broaden the activities available.

Outrageously named shops and stalls could not fail to be noticed, for instance the word 'Pootopia’ , will live with me for ever. 'Pootopia' was the name of an eco-friendly alternative to the dreaded public portaloos ran by a group of men with dreads. Another memory that will live with me forever is when,  relatively sober one morning I heard a siren and turned, my gaze met the ‘Police Rave Unit.’ A modified police DJ booth roaming the festival, starting miniature raves wherever it saw fit.

Now that I have re-entered civilization I am certain that I will never forget my visit to Boomtown, or anything else quite like it elsewhere. A world where normality ceased to exist, where there were no rules to be broken and thousands of souls were set free Boomtown represented to me a fully liberated society.