Hop Farm Festival 2009
After Neil Young’s hugely successful headline slot last year, The Hop Farm Festival returns in 2009 with a massive lineup that includes Paul Weller, The Fratellis, Doves & Ash to name but a few. We spoke to Bev Burton, Hop Farms Line Up Organiser, and asked why people should choose Hop Farm over one of the many other festivals on offer this Summer:
“We’ve got no branding, sponsorships, VIP areas. It’s very much a case that the two most important things that happen at Hop Farm are making sure the fans have a good time and the bands have a good time. If your bands are happy and your punters are happy, then you’ve got a good festival. It’s all about those two things which, after all are, the most important things at a festival”.
The lack of VIP zone is surely a blessing for all festival goers. No one likes to see members of the Geldof family or the cast of Hollyoaks waltzing through to the VIP section, at Hop Farm people come for the music – not to be seen. While everyone will surely enjoy the sight of The Modfather running through his extensive back catalogue, there are plenty of new bands to discover over the weekend. As Bev is happy to confirm:
“We’ve got some really great up and coming bands like Chapman Family, Fight Like Apes, Twilight Sad, White Denim, who are just one of the best live bands around. The Good The Bad are a really great new band who are just starting to come through”.
White Denim's raucous live set is not to be missed at this years Hop Farm.
Importantly Hop Farm doesn’t just cater for those with a penchant for guitars. The festival now boasts a dance arena that see’s headline slots from 2manydjs and Etienne De Crecy. The latter’s set promises to be one of the highlights, the French electro master will be performing his live set from within a three dimensional, neon lit, cube. This, Bev informs, caused some restructuring of the dance tent to accommodate!
While some smaller festivals have fallen foul of the recent economic crumble, Hop Farm seems to be bucking the trend. The involvement of the founder of Mean Fiddler, Vince Power, may have a slight influence of this – as Bev will quickly admit. “I think it’s been one of our major strengths, having Vince at the helm. If anyone can pull off a successful festival, it’s him!”.
For the full line up, travel information and tickets please head to the official Hop Farm site here
