15 August 2012 (gig)
15 August 2012
I feel confident to sincerely say that If you only go to one festival ever again Secret Garden Party HAS to be it! It's the festival I had been looking for but had never found until NOW. With Orbital, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros headlining I knew it was always going to be a great weekend.
Set in the tranquil countryside of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, the independently run Secret Garden Party experienced a muddy one this year for its 10th anniversary, which is never ideal but it didn’t seem to bother the enthusiastic people sliding about in the mud with their arms wrapped around their mates. The people!! don’t get me started on the people!! What an adorable bunch of party people. It's clear that this festival is not just about the music, the audience it attracts reflects that, this is about people coming together to emerge themselves in four days of wacky fantasy and to be a part of the show.
Everywhere I looked had a visual impact the imaginative creativity was instantly jaw dropping, amazing instalations! from the Giant Golden Retriever towering over me like an Egyptian god, a moving skeleton wheel to delicate colourful origami decorating the trees, what a treat!
In the middle of all this magic is a charming Lake binding this remarkable festival together, with an awesome colourful centrepiece stage floating in the middle, its great to see people chilling, rowing and swimming in the water a real holiday camp affair. On the lake was the ever so popular Pagoda bar pumping out party tunes throughout the day and into the night and on the other side was the mainstage this is where the climax of the festival happened. During a superb Orbital set the sky unexpectedly exploded and crackled into a magnificent firework display, the crowd roared and whooped and just when we thought it couldn't get any better balloons were released into the sky and the colourful centre piece on the lake was ritualistically set on fire! Unbelievably cool.
It’s very easy to walk around soaking up power troopers falling out of the sky, messy colourful paint fights, chilling and dancing on the hay bales inside the temple of boom enjoying a revitalising hot tub and visiting the fancy dress tent for some essential festival bling, a cocktail around the lake which may I add was jolly good, you can even book a table for an a ’la Carte meal should you wish to do so. What doesn’t this festival have to offer?
Congratulations Secret Garden Party you have created an absolute treasure. 11 out of 10 and Happy 10th Birthday.
Love and Light.
