The setting for Skipton’s Beacons Festival certainly did not disappoint, as the aptly named Funkirk Estate provided rolling views of Yorkshire Dales and a spacious arena. Beacons is a festival that has rapidly made its name, this year working with Resident Advisor and the undeniably hipster Vice to produce an eclectic selection of musical acts from dance to grunge rock, and alternative entertainment in the form of films, talks and dramatic performances.
The festival hosted a range of acts from the virtually-unheard-of to big names such as Django Django, Ghostpoet, and the ever-impressive Bonobo. One of the overriding feelings one got from the line-up, however, was the predominance of dance and electronic acts compared to most other British festivals, and this was no bad thing. There was a truly cutting-edge feel to the festival, despite its laid-back and in some ways sleepy location, and this made for an almost constant desire to party in the punters: even at 2pm a wander over to the Resident Advisor tent would not fail to host a gaggle of excited festival goers busting every move in the book.
This is not to say there was not a good deal of innovative and promising grunge and rock music, however. Sunday saw
Drenge play to a packed out tent, and got many a head banging with their driving, relentless grunge riffs. Their intensity was perhaps proven by one of the punters being stretchered away by the medical team as soon as the set finished. Another band to offset the dance trend were the amiable and musically gifted Django Django. Wearing their traditional the-same-but-different set of screen-printed shirts and holding a much-appreciated headline set, the band played to the best of their abilities, and pulled it off well. After a weekend of revelling, their uniquely uplifting version of arty pop rock drew in the crowds and ensured the already great weekend ended on a high.
Prior to Django Djangos performance, the Loud and Quiet stage saw a very different set from SBTRKT. Although the electronic music prodigy was only providing a DJ set, the crowds flocked in to experience it. It was a truly atmospheric set, and was somehow a brilliant precursor to the festival finale, as the sun set and the light rain of Sunday finally completely cleared.
Despite the degree of muddiness to be expected at any British festival, the sun shone down on Beacons for a majority of the time, which meant the arena felt very much like a neighbour’s picnic, providing locally sourced ales and ciders, genuinely tasty burgers and entertainment a very short walking distance away. It was this which I felt made the festival. Although you won’t have heard or even heard of every act on the bill, it is an opportunity to discover and experience music in a laid-back environment, and one genuinely less corporate than many other festivals on the market today. Let’s hope Beacons 2014 will maintain this ethos and bring with it many more great acts.