Godney may be bijou but it definitely packs a punch

Godney Gathering 2014

Saturday 19th July 2014
Godney Farm, Godney, Somerset, BA5 1RX , England MAP
£18

Daily capacity: 4,999

If Carlsberg staged a small festival, they wouldn’t do half as good a job as Mike Daniells and his team. Godney may be bijou but it definitely packs a punch. The one field, one day, 5000 capacity festival has grown in the last few years and its organisers certainly know what they are doing.

This year the festival was held at a brand new venue of Garslade Farm in Godney which felt more suited to the festival. It also seems to remove the chance of the site disappearing underwater as happened a few years ago. Elevation is everything when it is on the Somerset levels. With a main stage, 3 tented stages, a silent disco dome and kids circus area there is more than enough to keep all ages occupied. The new site owners also run a campsite which was adjacent to the festival site, and at £10 a person per night was very handy for an overnight stay.

Brothers cider sponsored the festival this year and Gatherer’s certainly welcomed their bar, drinking it dry by 11pm. With a choice of Brothers or Heck’s cider at £2.50, a decent ale in Potholer at £3.00 and a variety of alternatives it was a good value bar. The food on site was perfectly adequate for the size of the day and reasonable value.

Having arrived at the campsite, the weather looked as though it was going to potentially be a wash out. Storms and flash flooding had been predicted but it was as if Godney Gathering had ordered the perfect festival weather, as bang on 2.30, with the gates opening, the rain stopped and the sun came out.

The festival is compact which makes it very easy to access all the stages. The kids’ entertainment was in the centre, which included circus skills and the obligatory face painting. There were some shopping opportunities and even a hairdresser in case you felt that your barnet needed to be strange colours.

The main stage and Jaywalk Guitars stage had performances staggered so that we could enjoy every act with only a few yards walk between each stage.The acts included Reef as the headliners as well as a whole host of local talent. I personally enjoyed Land of the Giants, a blend of indie, reggae, hip hop and blues. Easy on the eye, these boys got the crowd up and dancing in the afternoon sun. They have a busy summer including performances at Glastonbury, Bestival and Boomtown.

My discovery of the day was UKID, a local band who have been together now for a few years and have played at countless venues up and down the country. They play a drum & bass, rock, hip hop fusion which has amassed them a huge following. The crowd gave them an enthusiastic welcome. Later on the (according to the Telegraph) unclassifiable Flipron entertained us with their brand of Barrelhouse Britpop which got even the most uncoordinated punter dancing.Apparently it briefly began to rain during their set but I must have been so busy dancing to their psychedelic promiscuous honkytonk music that I didn’t even notice!

For me though, Laid Blak were the act of the day. Bristol’s urban reggae heavyweights played their feel good music to a crowd who were up for a party. No doubt that this band is a favourite with the Godney Gatherer’s and they did not disappoint. They have the ability to warmly welcome current fans and newcomers alike, playing songs which invite you to sing along and become involved. The front men MC Joe Peng and Flex have charisma by the bucket load and the band are tighter than an Olympian’s spandex, leading to their reputation as the ultimate festival act.

Godney Gathering certainly has all the heart and soul of a large festival but in a “travel size” package. From start to finish it’s a 5 star experience.

review by: Dee Barnes

photos by: Jack Barnes