Our rundown of the best music festivals within a short hop of Cambridgeshire
Secret Garden Party
20-23 July Abbots Ripton
An eccentric, fun-loving fiesta in a stunningly beautiful setting, Cambridgeshire’s own Secret Garden Party (SGP) has set the creative benchmark for festivals around
the world during its colourful 15-year tenure. A shimmering lake takes centre stage, surrounded by rolling meadows and woodland that are filled with art installations, silly games, raves, hot tubs, floating dance floors, paint fights, dance-offs and anything else your imagination can conjure. All good things must sadly come to an end though, and after a glorious run, the organisers have announced that this year’s festival, taking place in July, will be the last.
If you’ve ever fancied going along, this is truly your last chance. It’s going to come as heartbreaking news to the many local fans this festival has, but loyal ‘gardeners’ are likely to be encouraged by founder Freddie Fellowes’ teaser of a ‘phoenix’ which will be raised from the ashes of SGP.
One thing’s for sure, the organisers will be pulling out all the stops to make sure that this is the ultimate party – make sure you’re there! Headliners include Wild Beasts, Peaches and Crystal Fighters. Adult weekend tickets are currently available for £197.
Cambridge Folk Festival
27-30 July Cherry Hinton Hall
Probably our city’s most famous musical happening, Cambridge Folk Festival has been pitching up at Cherry Hinton Hall for over 50 years. The festival’s come a long way since its debut event, when a few hundred gathered around one small stage (even if they were entertained by Paul Simon). It’s earned a reputation for serving up a fabulously eclectic mix of folky talent, and this years’ offering will be no exception.
Having made his first appearance at the festival’s smallest stage, The Den, back in 2012, Jake Bugg is back to headline on the Sunday night with an acoustic set. He’s joined on the bill by British folk icon Shirley Collins, American duo Indigo Girls and singer and actress Olivia Newton-John (a Cambridge native!), who’ll be performing a unique collaboration with Beth Nielsen Chapman and Amy Sky.
Elsewhere, get stuck into madcap Hillbilly covers of AC/DC from Hayseed Dixie, dance the hours away at a silent ceilidh, enjoy music workshops and more. For ticket prices and availability see the website.
Farr Festival
13-16 July Bygrave Woods, Herts
With the vibe of an excellent party your mate threw in his garden but a dance music line-up to rival any of the big festivals, Farr is an in-the-know gem just a short hop from Cambridge. Woodland illuminated by fairy lights deep in the Hertfordshire countryside provides a perfect backdrop for late-night partying, while also lending itself to relaxing daytime pursuits including yoga and film screenings.
This year’s bill includes live performances from legendary producers Booka Shade and Todd Terje, plus sets from Submotion Orchestra, Red Axes and Nao. Tickets are limited to about 5000, making this an ultra-boutique affair in the scheme of things, and it’s pretty squarely aimed at those with a taste for the shadier corners of the house and techno scene.
Expect intimate canopied stages, impressive sound systems and a lot of high-calibre electronic music. Day tickets cost from £40.
The Wild Wood DIsco
1 July Horseheath Racecourse, Linton
A brand-new one for summer 2017, The Wild Wood Disco is promising a night of glittery abandon under a canopy of trees deep in the woods near Linton this July. The musical line-up covers soul, funk, disco and house, featuring sets from Soul II Soul legend Jazzie B, Bristol outfit Funk From The Trunk and a dreamy, uplifting house set from The Head Gardener, aka Secret Garden Party founder Freddie Fellowes.
Running from 4pm until 2am, guests can expect music, magical lasers, colourful lanterns, art installations, Prosecco bars, cocktails and top street food from foodPark. Early bird tickets £20, standard £25. Limited camping is available for £5 per person.
Search Wild Wood Disco on Facebook.
Wysing Polyphonic
2 September Wysing Arts Centre, Bourn
Taking place in the sleepy village of Bourn, there’s every chance you’ve not heard of this innovative festival; but to those in the know, it’s one of the hottest tickets in town. Selected as one of Vogue magazine’s top independent festivals, this annual shindig at Wysing Arts Centre brings together boundary-pushing musicians for a genre-spanning frolic into the outer edges of the musical spectrum. Expect captivating innovation in a lush rural setting.
Red Rooster
1-3 June Euston Hall, Suffolk
Describing itself as “A whisky sippin’, guitar strummin’, banjo pickin’, rib suckin’, weekend of Southern blues”, Red Rooster takes place in the heart of the Suffolk Countryside. The music and vibe may be Americana but the pretty lawns, flower beds and wholesome games of rounders are indisputably, charmingly English. This year’s line-up features JD McPherson, The Savages and the legendary Nick Lowe, singer of classics like Cruel to be Kind and I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass.
Expect a blissfully laid-back weekend spent hearing great music, eating seriously good food (think bourbon ribs and gourmet hot dogs), singalongs around the campfire and a family-friendly vibe. And lots of hay bales. Day tickets are available from £38.50 and weekend tickets (including camping), are available from £60.50.
Standon Calling
27-30 July Standon, Herts
A fun-filled three-day extravaganza in the Hertfordshire countryside, this colourful festival started life as a humble garden party in the pretty grounds of Standon Lordship. Since then it’s snowballed into one of the country’s top boutique music festivals, known for its friendly vibe and showcasing great up-and-coming acts.
Described by Time Out magazine as having “more charm than you can imagine”, the event combines a glorious rural setting (complete with open-air swimming pool) with top music, family activities, tasty food, lots of fancy dress and general silliness.
On the line-up this year are Orbital, Clean Bandit, British Sea Power and Gary Numan, while DJs include Joe Goddard of Hot Chip, DJ Yoda and Faithless. And then there’s the food, oh, the food!
Standon Calling levels up festival fare with some of the best foodie outfits around – this year you’ll be able to feast on sumptuous brunches from Breakfast Club and Grade A burgers from Patty & Bun, amongst other delicious treats. Day tickets are available for £57 and weekend tickets are £137
Cambridge Summer Music Festival
13-29 July Venues across Cambridge
If romping about in a muddy field isn’t for you and you fancy a more refined experience, take a look at Cambridge Summer Music Festival (CSM). Presenting a series of performances from world-class musicians in beautiful venues around the city, the programme ranges from baroque to Beethoven, classical to jazz and ancient sacred music to traditional folk, with an impressive list of venues including the chapels of King’s and Trinity Colleges.
CSM also includes the lovely Sounds Green series, in which the Botanic Gardens become the picturesque setting for outdoor concerts – what better way is there to spend a balmy summer’s evening?
Strawberries and Creem
17 June Haggis Farm, Cambridge
Rising up out of the sleepy Cambridgeshire countryside, Strawberries and Creem is becoming more of a force to be reckoned with each stonking event that it hosts. The 2017 headline slot goes to Shaggy, and they’ve once again rallied a line-up of big hitters from the UK’s urban music scene, including legendary garage acts Artful Dodger and So Solid Crew, plus Wiley and The Streets’ Mike Skinner. Tickets are £40.
Subterranean Festival
23 September Corn Exchange, Cambridge
From the makers of the Cambridge Folk Festival comes Subterranean, a brand-new, one-day festival. The event will present a great line-up of indie and rock across three small stages – The Inferno Stage, The Labyrinth Stage and The Underworld Stage – inside the Corn Exchange’s main auditorium.
Local talent meets national bands on the line-up, which features appearances from The Amorettes, Pins, and Stone Broken. The upstairs bar, meanwhile, will play host to The Lair, serving up the best in acoustic rock and indie, and there will be food and a shopping area. Advance tickets are available for £15.
