Shambala 2016

[eFestivals]

not sure if this stall is still there since it's gone veggie - I'd guess not - but, whoops, this is a bit of a pisstake by the stall

http://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/british-bacon-sold-at-northamptonshire-s-shambala-festival-actually-from-poland-1-7935353

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

9 hours ago, eFestivals said:

not sure if this stall is still there since it's gone veggie - I'd guess not - but, whoops, this is a bit of a pisstake by the stall

http://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/british-bacon-sold-at-northamptonshire-s-shambala-festival-actually-from-poland-1-7935353

Naughty, but not that surprising. Quite a slap on the wrist though. I wonder how it leaked out? Possibly a disgruntled ex employee. 

[Kizzie]

On 22/03/2017 at 5:56 PM, pilton digger said:

Looks like the premises licence for Wimborne St Giles has been granted. Wonder what happens next.

Not sure if this is old news or nor but it appears that they have signed a deal to stay at Kelmarsh for the next ten years, wonder if they've given up with Dorset, I doubt they'd run a sister event would they?

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

14 hours ago, Kizzie said:

Not sure if this is old news or nor but it appears that they have signed a deal to stay at Kelmarsh for the next ten years, wonder if they've given up with Dorset, I doubt they'd run a sister event would they?

Maybe Dorset is the location of a red herring, whose very being was an artificial vehicle to get Kelmarsh to tow the line? 

[Zoo Music Girl]

Afternoon all,

Just resurrecting this thread as I'm considering going this summer and wondered if I could ask a few questions of you veterans... I'm desperately looking for a festival that will fill a gap left by my two favourites (Glastonbury and Supernormal, at opposite ends of the scale) taking the year off. This looks lush from the website, and I've heard good things from friends, so it may be a frontrunner. So my questions:

• Is it likely to still be in Northamptonshire in 2018?
• When is the line-up out usually (not that I'm super fussed about any big names, but would like a little peruse ahead of time)?
• Can you take your own booze?
• From the website it looks super family-focused, but am I right in thinking you could still have a lot of fun without your own little ones?
• When does it normally sell out?
• Any idea of the capacity?

Thanks all. I'm looking for something relatively small and chilled, with some interesting stuff to wander about and take part in (not necessarily all music focused). Hippyish stuff and beautiful setting a bonus. Also I'm veggie so the meat-free stance appeals choice-wise!

[Zoo Music Girl]

Oh and one more- what time does the campsite normally open on Thursday?

[incident]

 - Yes - it looks like they've abandoned the application on a site elsewhere, and agreed a new 10 year deal to stay at the current "secret" location*
- The festival really doesn't sell itself on the lineup, and I think releases it quite late compared to most - I wouldn't look for it before late March, and sometime in April is more likely.
- Yes, bringing alcohol is fine as long as you don't take the piss. I don't know if there's any defined limit. The site is mostly open without formal security / wristband checkpoints so you're fine taking it with you to stages.
- I'd describe the festival as family friendly rather than family focused - children are welcome of course and would have a great time, but aside from the kids area I don't think the festival is specifically designed with them in mind. It's not something I particularly looked for or noticed, but my guess would be most people don't bring kids. It's not even close to being like Camp Bestival where you almost feel out of place without a child.
- Obviously past years are no guarantee of what'll happen this time, but I think last year the sell-out was in early summer.
- Capacity is 15,000, although with the budget being spread around rather than focused on name value acts, there's a fair bit more to explore than you'd typically expect from a festival that size.
- The gates open at noon on the Thursday.

From what you've described, it sounds like a good choice. I did find that it's a Festival you need to engage in and to get the most out - someone who just wants to make a list of bands to see would probably be better off going elsewhere.

*albeit a "secret" location that's already widely mentioned including in this thread

[eFestivals]

3 hours ago, incident said:

I don't know if there's any defined limit.

there is. i forget what, but its on their website.

[Zoo Music Girl]

8 hours ago, incident said:

 - Yes - it looks like they've abandoned the application on a site elsewhere, and agreed a new 10 year deal to stay at the current "secret" location*
- The festival really doesn't sell itself on the lineup, and I think releases it quite late compared to most - I wouldn't look for it before late March, and sometime in April is more likely.
- Yes, bringing alcohol is fine as long as you don't take the piss. I don't know if there's any defined limit. The site is mostly open without formal security / wristband checkpoints so you're fine taking it with you to stages.
- I'd describe the festival as family friendly rather than family focused - children are welcome of course and would have a great time, but aside from the kids area I don't think the festival is specifically designed with them in mind. It's not something I particularly looked for or noticed, but my guess would be most people don't bring kids. It's not even close to being like Camp Bestival where you almost feel out of place without a child.
- Obviously past years are no guarantee of what'll happen this time, but I think last year the sell-out was in early summer.
- Capacity is 15,000, although with the budget being spread around rather than focused on name value acts, there's a fair bit more to explore than you'd typically expect from a festival that size.
- The gates open at noon on the Thursday.

From what you've described, it sounds like a good choice. I did find that it's a Festival you need to engage in and to get the most out - someone who just wants to make a list of bands to see would probably be better off going elsewhere.

*albeit a "secret" location that's already widely mentioned including in this thread

Hi incident,

Thanks so much for the swift and detailed response! Much appreciated. From all you've said it sounds pretty ideal for our needs.

Good to hear there's some flexibility on the alcohol front, too - we'll likely be using public transport so never bring that much, but I like to bring some spirits for the evenings. In the day I'm usually happy with pints of cider - looks like they might have a decent selection on that front too?

Music wise what kind of genres are we talking mainly? Looks like a bit of reggae, some D&B, a bit of worldy/roots stuff from last year's line-up? (A lot of names were unfamiliar so I may be way off the mark!)

I quite like a festival that you have to engage and take part in, too, that was one of the big draws of Supernormal for me - albeit on a much smaller scale.

Oh and the "secrecy" of the location is quite amusing, especially given that it's even on Googlemaps...

 

[incident]

Yeah the on-site alcohol selection is decent enough - I can't actually remember any specifics, but it was mostly independent brands and the prices were acceptable - above pub prices for me, but lower than central london or a typical festival.

In terms of genres, I think you've probably got it or at least what I can remember.

[Zoo Music Girl]

3 minutes ago, incident said:

Yeah the on-site alcohol selection is decent enough - I can't actually remember any specifics, but it was mostly independent brands and the prices were acceptable - above pub prices for me, but lower than central london or a typical festival.

In terms of genres, I think you've probably got it or at least what I can remember.

Excellent news - I'm quite happy to pay for a few pints if it helps out the independents and the festival as a whole. One of the advantages of living in London is that festival prices don't feel too much of a leap for me!

Thank you again  This is definitely looking like a good option for 2018. 

[incident]

On 30/01/2018 at 4:27 PM, Zoo Music Girl said:

Excellent news - I'm quite happy to pay for a few pints if it helps out the independents and the festival as a whole. One of the advantages of living in London is that festival prices don't feel too much of a leap for me!

Thank you again  This is definitely looking like a good option for 2018. 

Just in case you're not on their mailing list, they sent out a ticket warning E-Mail earlier saying that they've had record sales so far with 75% of tickets sold - so the previous years times of selling out in "early summer" is probably going to be way off this time around.

[Zoo Music Girl]

1 hour ago, incident said:

Just in case you're not on their mailing list, they sent out a ticket warning E-Mail earlier saying that they've had record sales so far with 75% of tickets sold - so the previous years times of selling out in "early summer" is probably going to be way off this time around.

Thank you so much! That's really sweet of you. I signed up to the mailing list as while back so I did get that. I'm torn at the moment as I love the sound of Shambala but I quite fancy Green Man...