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Blissfields 2015

This festival is rising up the ranks and fast, celebrating its 15 year anniversary, Blissfields has grown into one of the events that should find its way onto your summer ‘to do’ list! 

In the spirit of celebrating a decade and a half, the theme for this year’s festivity was ‘somewhere in time’. Even if you didn’t decide to join those dressed as Roman Solidiers, Egyptian Pharaohs, or Russian Astronauts, it was easy to feel that wherever you were, it was a good place to be. 

Throughout the site nods to the theme could be found in the design of the areas and stages, as well as the brilliant installation art that was dotted across Vicarage Farm. However it’s the overall vibe of the festival that makes you feel like every aspect had come from a place in time where festivals were spot-on.

We're not even exaggerating here. Everything about Blissfields, from the camping to the main arenas, seems to have been designed with the experience of the festival-goer in mind. Art and crafts, food and drink, music and dancing, the space to chill, all have been put together with great thought by the organisers. Whatever your motivation for a weekend away, the biggest challenge here would be to find nothing to please you, your friends or the family.

It’s billed as the ‘small but mighty festival’ and it’s only the small part of that title that seems unfair. Granted, it is slighter in capacity than the big guns like Glastonbury or Reading, but exploring the site reveals more and more exciting opportunities without ever feeling overwhelmed. Essentially it’s all the best bits of a festival pulled together and distributed with absolute brilliance!

What’s really impressive about Blissfields, is that his event somehow seamlessly combines a proper party atmosphere alongside the most relaxing spaces you could wish to find on the festival scene. For evidence, dancing along with the effervescent Grand Master Flash, followed by a quick siesta swinging in a hammock has to be one of the highlights of my weekend for sure. 

Of course for many festival goers it is the chance to check out what’s happening on stage, and from the Main Stage, the Den and the Larch, to the Hidden Hedge, Blisquotech, and Stop the Bus, the variety of tunes and act on show is plenty enough to satisfy even the most critical set of ears on the scene.

Granted there’s no Kanye West, Calvin Harris or Kassabian on show here, but there’s every chance that one of the many fantastic acts on show will be finding there way onto one of the big headline stages in the near future… after all former Blissfield favourites Bastille, Mumford and Sons, and Florence and the Machine aren’t doing to badly these days!

This year highlights included brilliant new comers such as Flo Morrisey, Songhoy Blues, and the perfectly picked, Public Service Broadcasting, while veterans such as Beans on Toast, the Dub Pistols, and the aforementioned GMF generated some of the most energetic atmospheres anywhere this summer.

Great acts, a great crowd, and a great ‘little’ festival… It doesn’t necessarily need to get any bigger, but we'd be happy if it was longer. If you’ve been before, we'll bet you’ll go again, and if you haven’t we recommend that you free up a weekend to spend in this bliss-full part of Hampshire next summer.

 

 

  • Blissfields 2015
  • Blissfields 2015
  • Blissfields 2015
  • Blissfields 2015
  • Blissfields 2015
  • Blissfields 2015
  • Blissfields 2015
  • Blissfields 2015
  • Blissfields 2015
  • Blissfields 2015
  • Blissfields 2015
  • Blissfields 2015

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