Review: Beacons Festival 2014

Images: Paul Taylor

Beacons Festival in known by few but loved by many. Quietly going about its business in the Yorkshire Dales it is the antidote to the mainstream field events that have saturated the UK market. A similar vibe to Field Day in London but with arts and camping, it offers a mélange of indie, dance and everything in between.

First thing first; Thursday is a pointless exercise. With very little open time is mainly spent freezing your nuts off on the campsite and drinking all your alcohol on the first day. My advice - go on Friday. 

The site itself is small but perfectly formed and split into two parts, arts and music. The arts field contains everything from a quirky cinema showing films such as ‘Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas’, to Japanese performers in the ‘Into The Woods’ tent or cultural speakers at the ‘Lecture Hall’.

Musically there are five stages, mostly indoors and split between live and dance acts. On the Loud & Quiet/Last FM stage we caught bands such as British Sea Power playing a special documentary film score – 'From the Sea to the Land Beyond' - an epic meeting of keyboard chords, trumpets and drums, perfectly timed to the ebbs and flows of the film.

New girl Indiana charmed us with her alluring and haunting vocals backed by chunky bass lines, culminating in her smash hit 'Solo Dancing' – a definite one to watch this year.

The urban flavour came in the form of Action Bronson who succeeded in firing up the crowd with an energetic, lyrical performance. However the ultimate queen of RnB Neneh Cherry undoubtedly stole the show, beating the adverse weather to put on a stunning performance filled with her smooth hits of the 90’s mixed with the electronic twist of her collaborator Rocketnumbernine. 

Headliners Jon Hopkins and Darkside proved just how to perform live electronic music with both respectively smashing their sets. Hopkins’ ability to layer melodies and jolty techno into a danceable soundtrack is second-to-none, as well as putting on a fantastic visual performance with fluorescent inflatable balls.

As an avid Darkside fan I couldn’t wait to see this exceptional duo perform and they sure did not disappoint. The intelligence of their music is astounding, fusing electronic synths with instrumentals to create a proggy, psychedelic sound that’s both beautiful and variable – simply stunning.

The Red Bull Stage was the only outdoor venue and surprisingly the best sound system in the festival. On Friday we caught Dave Haslam playing an eclectic set filled with drawn out instrumentals backed by deep bass lines. Followed by another Manchester legend, Greg Wilson, who fired things up a key or two playing disco-infused dance tracks including remixes such as Neneh Cherry's 'Buffalo Stance' (above).

Over the weekend we caught new boy and exciting talent Tasker, (whose ability to flit between house and hip-hop is a dance floor winner), as well as Pariah and the immeasurable Joy Orbison whose jacking set was a definite highlight.

As self-confessed house lovers we found ourselves drawn to the beguiling beats of the Resident Advisor stage where the likes of Daphni set the party atmosphere with his genre-spanning track selection and heroic drop of 'Can't Do Without You' (from his alias Caribou) – undoubtedly the stand out track of the festival. Meanwhile Roman Flügel closed Friday night with his driving, bleepy, German techno, setting the tone for the weekend.

After a slow start on Saturday Jackmaster got the grooves going with his jacking and dynamic house, following through to the energetic sounds of Dusky right through to highlight Special Request aka Paul Woolford. Perfectly fusing techno and jungle Woolford's alias is a step away from the Balearic house he is known for and a fantastic glimpse into forward-thinking music.

Finally, men of the moment Mano le Tough and Dixon ended the weekend on a high, carrying the beats until the bitter end much to the adulation of the crowd who, if like me, didn't actually want it to end.

Beacons Festival is what I would call a transition festival - formed enough to have found its own individual identity but still yet to really fine-tune some of its elements. The 2am music finish was annoying, saved by the 4am silent disco until the realisation of the £20 headphone deposit.

The arts field was enjoyable but could definitely be maximised more, perhaps by the introduction of interactive art installations? The food and drink was absolutely fantastic, with high quality traders and the cocktail and real ale tents were a real selling point. I even liked the stage associations and sponsors, bar the garish, out-of-place Peugeot tent.

Yet in all honesty Beacons was the most fun I have had at a festival in a while and it is all down to the people. The crowd was one of the best I’ve been involved with for ages - full of like-minded, clued-up music lovers with little attitude and lots of smiles. Everyone was there to have a good time and enjoy great music in great company... and that we did.