Boomtown Chapter 1: The Gathering

[Guy Incognito]

20 hours ago, Sku said:

They want to remake the festival how they want it to be,

Not only that, it sounds like this year is a slight return to how it used to be when I attended in 2011-2015. The idea back then that the likes of The Libertines and Gorillaz would be booked was laughable as the festival was focused on booking acts that other festivals didn't want. 

 

[mr flow]

If you're all at a loose end, i'll be closing the Stiletto Disco which is in Metropolis tomorrow night between 02:30-04:00. Swing by for a hi-five if you can.

Have a great festival everyone 🙂 

Edited August 11, 2022 by mr flow

[Sawdusty surfer]

[EamerRed]

So wish I could be there, looks ace. Have a great time guys.

[Leyrulion]

Huge shout out to the sound guys so far. Not had any sound clashes, it's actually pretty incredible how it's been done.

I've walked up to a stage and wondered "is this even on" and got past the threshold and it's been on and more.🎉

[EamerRed]

What's it like on site? A few comments on Facebook are giving me the impression it's full of a few more dickheads than most years, but it's hard to gauge purely from there. 

[Leyrulion]

11 hours ago, EamerRed said:

What's it like on site? A few comments on Facebook are giving me the impression it's full of a few more dickheads than most years, but it's hard to gauge purely from there. 

Nah, same as any festival. Mostly a pretty mellow crowd from what I've seen. 

[gfa]

On 8/13/2022 at 7:10 AM, EamerRed said:

What's it like on site? A few comments on Facebook are giving me the impression it's full of a few more dickheads than most years, but it's hard to gauge purely from there. 

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNGyM7pQ/
not there but just seen this. absolute w*nker

[EamerRed]

5 hours ago, gfa said:

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNGyM7pQ/
not there but just seen this. absolute w*nker

God that's infuriating.

I really hate how you always start off with a nice festival, and then slowly it gets infiltrated by the ****heads. Hopefully this was just an isolated incident, hope everyone had a sick time.

[deebeedoobee]

Well that was a rather excellent weekend.  Well done Boomtown! 

Just shows you are never more than 6 foot away from an efester

[Spacey]

20 minutes ago, deebeedoobee said:

Well that was a rather excellent weekend.  Well done Boomtown! 

Just shows you are never more than 6 foot away from an efester

I was there too. Working in the Oxfam shop. First Boomtown. Hot dusty and spectacular lights   

[mr flow]

That was incredible. Boomtown really knocked it out the ball park again. New stages were brilliant, cashless wrist bands were slick and no issues, and crowd on the whole were great too. Sound was excellent on all stages, although Friday night got a little quiet, (but that was due to the council asking them to turn the levels down) and considering the new layout and close proximity to all stages, sound bleed wasn’t an issue at all. 
 

When you see some of the undue flack they received prior to the festival, including on this board, I think it’s safe to say that Boomtown have more than secured their future. Already can’t wait for next year 

[mr flow]

On 8/12/2022 at 10:12 AM, Leyrulion said:

Huge shout out to the sound guys so far. Not had any sound clashes, it's actually pretty incredible how it's been done.

I've walked up to a stage and wondered "is this even on" and got past the threshold and it's been on and more.🎉

This happened to me for Nosia on Saturday night. I was literally to the side of stage and could hardly hear it. Got into the crowd and it was loud. Sound design was spot on this year

[MrBarry465]

21 minutes ago, mr flow said:

 

When you see some of the undue flack they received prior to the festival, including on this board, I think it’s safe to say that Boomtown have more than secured their future. Already can’t wait for next year 

 

I didn't even go to Boomtown, but saw some of the reactions to the lineup and was like 'wtf'?

The whole point of Boomtown is supposed to be about the production and sound. Lineup is secondary and it was weird people were so assy about it...

Personally think punters need to wind their necks in a bit at the moment, as there seems to be a lot of entitlement that has krept in. Most festivals nearly went broke over the last few years and as long as they can run a professional, well organised event this year - then thats a tick. SGP was a festival that was absolutely worthy of the hate this year though. 

Edited August 15, 2022 by MrBarry465

[mr flow]

1 minute ago, MrBarry465 said:

 

I didn't even go to Boomtown, but saw some of the reactions to the lineup and was like 'wtf'?

The whole point of Boomtown is supposed to be about the production and sound. Lineup is secondary and it was weird people were so assy about it...

Personally think punters need to wind their necks in, most festivals nearly went broke over the last few years and as long as they can run a professional, well organised event this year - then thats a tick. SGP was a festival that was absolutely worthy of the hate this year though. 

I think Boomtown made a small error by saying the secret line up will mean they can avoid festival exclusives as everyone assumed that meant mega headliners, but they are aware of that and will be more careful with saying stuff like that in the future. They are planning on keeping the line up as secret next year as well, and really want the emphasis on the it’s about more than just the music.

 

I just think people like to moan about stuff. People who weren’t even going were getting on their high horse, and being the vocal minority. It’s also worth noting that it didn’t feel remotely overcrowded at any stage, which when you consider almost every other festival has had complaints about overcrowding, just goes to show how much planning an prep Boomtown went into to make sure they got it right.

[MrBarry465]

3 minutes ago, mr flow said:

I think Boomtown made a small error by saying the secret line up will mean they can avoid festival exclusives as everyone assumed that meant mega headliners, but they are aware of that and will be more careful with saying stuff like that in the future. They are planning on keeping the line up as secret next year as well, and really want the emphasis on the it’s about more than just the music.

 

I just think people like to moan about stuff. People who weren’t even going were getting on their high horse, and being the vocal minority. It’s also worth noting that it didn’t feel remotely overcrowded at any stage, which when you consider almost every other festival has had complaints about overcrowding, just goes to show how much planning an prep Boomtown went into to make sure they got it right.

That's good to hear, as there has definetly been a 'pack em in' vibe at a few...

[deebeedoobee]

I agree with all of the above comments.  Sound was excellent on all stages. It was easy to move between sets and never felt too crowded or too empty.  The wristband cash system was great, not having to carry a wallet.

There will always be moaners. But those that went to party know that Boomtown is more than its line up.

[Neil]

15 minutes ago, deebeedoobee said:

I agree with all of the above comments.  Sound was excellent on all stages. It was easy to move between sets and never felt too crowded or too empty.  The wristband cash system was great, not having to carry a wallet.

There will always be moaners. But those that went to party know that Boomtown is more than its line up.

its milaria pills being sold as ket 😛 

[sjseabass]

Echoing everything above. What a weekend. They pulled it off and then some - I think it might actually be better than it was before. In the words of Bob Vylan, Chat Shit, Get Banged.

[barcelonista1899]

Just on the train back, and all in all it was incredibly successful, especially with the conditions; Absolutely sweltering and my god it was dusty (lungs are in agony now), but obviously those aspects are out of the organizer's hands. The condensed bowl if anything helped, as imagine having to trek further between stages.

Personally I thought the cashless system worked well- it certainly sped up payment and I didn't experience any issues. From where I was working, I didn't hear of the system going down past Wednesday morning, yet the cash machines and data connection continually did. I'd be happy to see it at other festivals, especially Glastonbury. 

Lineup was underwhelming when it was released (with a lack of big or 'must see' acts for me personally), but managed to keep a full schedule when not working and it was all fantastic. 

[Boomtowner]

Well, that was awesome! Boomtown know how to put on a party. Loved every moment but have to admit, preferred the old layout. The walk from the campervan field, which for the previous 4 festivals had been a colourful, joyous meander was now just a trudge. Missed Lion's Den.

On to the positive. What a crowd. The most colourful, creative audience. Saw so many amazing costumes. So many acts of generosity, it was life affirming.

The lineup,whilst not as strong as my previous Boomtowns,was solid enough. But the late release of the line up meant that there wasn't time to research the band's playing. 

The wristband worked really smoothly, food options were great.Beer selection ,not so good.

Set design was once again phenomenal. Old town was a joy, loved it around there.

Thank you Boomtown and see you next year 

 

 

[pilton digger]

In simple terms I think they got it very right. Line-up great, never a dull moment with quality acts all over. Cashless was excellent, should be standard at as many festivals as possible. Usual crowd with minimal knobheads (as usual the 30-40 year old coked up "lads" were guilty). The sound and visuals of highest quality, Glastonbury needs to take some audio advice from whoever was in charge.

The new layout was spot on, crowd size was perfect for the programming and venues. I think it may be better than it was before.

Can all the doom sayers take several seats. 

[gfa]

2 hours ago, MrBarry465 said:

The whole point of Boomtown is supposed to be about the production and sound. Lineup is secondary and it was weird people were so assy about it...

People are always, always assy about the lineups. Think i need to finally get to boomtown next year!

[1986]

Thoughts from a first timer.

Heat: obviously not the fault of the fest but played a massive part in the ease of getting round or deciding where to go. I’ve been to plenty of muddy as eff festivals but this is the first one where the weather has made things that much harder for the opposite reason. If the country is looking to be going further in this direction I guess it’s something all festivals will have to consider more.

Drinks: Couldn’t believe how shit the selection was. Counted 3 bars that will pull you a cold pint of something, Buxton and Red Stripe’s own, and The Shamrock in Old Town if you wanted a Guinness. Every ‘Bar’ had the same thing, warm cans of Red Stripe, or 330ml Cans of Buxton for 6 quid. And when I say warm I mean it, they had never seen a fridge. You were just as good bringing a sun cooked one from your tent. 
 

Food: Varied, some great things and some where they were cutting corners to maximise profit. Seemed weird how hit and miss it was considering I recognised a lot of places from Glastonbury and everything I had there was great. Can’t figure that out. 
 

Drugs: No judgement here, and I knew Boomtown’s rep, but it’s worth noting how blatant it really is there. Didn’t see any bad behaviour or anything. But one story that had me and my partner laughing in our tents was a lad in the next camp shouting across the whole campsite ‘Is anyone selling ket!?’ And we heard in the distance ‘I am!’ Then he just went over and picked up. We were offered everything by passing dealers like it was fruit and veg. Also in a completely cashless festival for some reason there were cash machines? Place is a dealers dream. 
 

Cashless fest: Didn’t see the value of it at first but to their credit it was completely smooth and easy. Heard a couple stories of people being charged twice or whatever but that sounds like user error rather than the system being an issue. 
 

Sets/world: So cool, takes what Glasto does with it and makes them look tame. The heat making wondering round so hard was a shame cus I’m sure there was loads more to find. Found trying to suss out the stories way too hard but that’s probably cus I’m dumb. Actors were pretty impenetrable at times too, if you were trying to get involved in something but doing it in the wrong order it felt like you were basically out the loop. Again though maybe that’s a me problem.
 

Music/stages: Put me in the camp of people wanting more time with a line up before going, found it hard to know what to go for most of the time and I knew very little of what was on offer. And how heavily DJ oriented it was got a bit old for me after 5 days. Did see some fantastic sets though. Stages were insanely good, Origin was something else and Grand Central was not only amazing to look at but the bowl shape meant a great view from wherever you stood. Zero shade in the day time made watching sets there more tiring but it was worth it.

Overall I’d say it’s a brilliant and unique festival but I don’t know if I need to go again. 

[Old_Johno]

I had a blast. Really a great time, everyone’s covered off most of my thoughts so far. Sound was spot on everywhere we went, themeing was banging. 

no one mentioned orchid which we stayed in, so I’ll jot about that, there was tons of showers which was a god send for washing off the dust, toilets were great and clean. 
 

Food was a rubbish in Orchid, (when they could be bothered to open), the one coffee place wasn’t enough for 5000 people with the stove ban and the 2 kettles kept breaking. Someone told me had some issues on main site so just kind of forgot about Orchid to concentrate on everything else. We didn’t have an eco bond point anywhere so just had accept that loss. 

The ‘closer carpark’ was massive, so unless you were there early weds then you were basically the same distance as other Carparks to other camps. Took us over half an hour to walk in to the edge of orchid just through the campervan field. security were non existent most of the time up there, loads of people got robbed, and they weren't checking wristbands in the evenings so loads of people were just walking up for a shower. 
 

They shouldn’t have stuck all the extra tickets up for sale in the last couple of weeks, we paid a premium to have a more spacious campsite but it was just as packed as everywhere, hilltop was actually way less busy. 
 

I’d rather they did it smaller and put it where reserved camping used to be, however I’ll probably just buy a solar shower for next year and not bother with it because non of the other ‘perks’ materialised. 
 

we tried to get involved with the story stuff but seems we kept ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time, or had missed an earlier clue so didn’t manage much, we did all of the tusk invention stuff and got a nut on a piece of string that but the actors then kept sending us back and forth to each other and didn’t seem to be able to do much else. The stuff we did do was a bit disconnected rather than one long joined up thing. Lots of the stuff was late/ never seemed to be open, so it’s kinda hard to follow without spending all your time on it. 
 

there was quite a lot of stories about people being double charged/ extra items added to their wristbands, would prefer to have a screen with a scanner that we can tap rather than someone holding a phone screen you can’t see