Name: Boomtown Festival

Where: Matterley Estate, near Winchester, Hampshire

When: 10-13^th August 2017

Headliners: The Specials, M.I.A, Cypress Hill

Also Featuring: Ziggy Marley, Reel Big Fish, Black Sun Empire, Caspa, The Prototypes, Redlight, Rusko, S.P.Y, Shy FX, Pieman

A Brief History: Boomtown Festival started back in 2009 and each year since then the story has become bigger and better. Boomtown is split into different districts, including the rich and privileged Mayfair, hidden spectacular Forest Parties and the ‘nuclear facility’ at Sector 6. You can check out the full story of the festival here http://www.boomtownfair.co.uk/the-story/, which includes alien presence, declarations of democracy and civil disobedience. As you walk around the different sectors, you’ll find hidden raves, secret stages, psychedelic forests, and townspeople going about their daily lives. Previous line-ups have featured Damien Marley, The Cat Empire, Gentleman’s Dub Club and Congo Natty. Boomtown’s prides itself on hosting a soundtrack of ska, folk, gypsy, reggae, world, punk, jazz, blue-grass, drum and bass, garage, funk, soul, dub, hip-hop and takes attendees on a journey into the great musical offerings from every continent on the planet, with a plethora of activities, music and adventure for all ages.

How To Get There: Boomtown have teamed up with Big Green Coach, where you can then save £25 off your festival ticket. They are the only coach company authorised to stop inside of the festival. The nearest train station is Winchester and shuttle buses will be running Thursday-Monday at £5 each way. You can buy your train tickets at https://boomtown.trainsplit.com/main.aspx that splits train tickets, saving you up to 50% of a normal priced ticket. Car parking passes are available for £25 each.

Gigslutz Top Tip: Before you go, have a look on the website and read about the different districts and the line-ups for each. Then have a look for the fancy dress theme for the district and go crazy! As you walk around the festival, you will realise that nothing is too far fetched and the majority of people dress up in a wild array of different costumes.

Memorable Moments: In 2013 in the hidden forest, watching Prince Fatty perform, Hollie Cook came on stage unannounced and her magical voice had everyone in awe and singing along.

Did You Know? Not only does Boomtown host an incredible 25 main stages, it has an additional 80 street venues to discover. If you have a few hours spare one day where you are not entirely sure who to see, just wonder around the different districts and before you know it you’ll be dancing in a boxing ring, playing games with robots or watching a fight between cowboys.

How To Get Tickets: You can chose to buy either a normal or ‘Boomtique’ ticket, which offers luxury camping with hot showers https://ww2.theticketsellers.co.uk/boomtown-2017/ here.