Boomtown Chapter 1: The Gathering

[mr flow]

On 2/5/2022 at 2:10 AM, Leyrulion said:

It's so hard to tell with the music policy.

Boardmasters is the same weekend, so could not having to announce any acts beforehand free up some of them to play?

Idles probably the only possibility?

 

Would say there is a high chance of Damian Marley and IDLES playing at BT. From the rest of the line up, i'd be very surprised if Greentea Peng, Kings of the Beat, Jungle Cakes Takeover, General Levy, 24Hr Garage Girls and Born On Road didn't all make an appearance.

[aidenlangan95]

Four Tet playing Finsbury Park on the Saturday; would love him to come back - was one of my favourite sets I’ve seen at Boomtown.

[vintagelaureate]

Don't think it's been mentioned here but the resale is 9th March.

Up to £277 if wait till April too.

[vintagelaureate]

[WStoner]

I reckon Noisia could make an appearance.  They did their final UK solo shows last year but said they'd honour their 2020 festival commitments in 2022! 

[stanh]

.

Edited February 21, 2022 by stanh
wrong thread

[vintagelaureate]

Grand Central

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CaPag-GASoA/?utm_medium=share_sheet

Towering over the skyline and bringing the city together in celebration, Grand Central hosts one of the biggest new stages for 2022. The central and focal point of the new city you will explore in August.

Connecting all of the districts, Grand Central is the very heart of our thriving world. Deep within it sits a magnificent feat of handcrafted architecture that comes alive through day and night with immense visual FX and crisp 360 degree sound to deliver mind-blowing circus shows and playing a key part in hosting the festival's official opening and closing ceremonies.

By day Grand Central will pulsate with the full force and breadth of the best live bands, from wicked, feel-good classics to some of the most exciting new music projects in the world. As dusk turns into night and on into the early hours of the morning the pace goes up another level with the frontline of forward-thinking electronic artists!

Grand Central is also home to the burning beacon, a huge central tower that serves to give guidance to Boomtown explorers in finding their way through the maze of streets, it also hosts the city's oldest bar, the Bad Apple with outright silliness day and night, the whole area has huge amounts of lush food and places to relax back in…

https://www.boomtownfair.co.uk/experience/explore/grand-central/

[Leyrulion]

37 minutes ago, vintagelaureate said:

Grand Central is also home to the burning beacon, a huge central tower

Is anyone else picturing the eye of sauron from LOTR?

I'd sort of assumed the central District wouldn't have a main stage and all the others would lead off it, so that's great to know.

 

[Old_Johno]

17 hours ago, Leyrulion said:

Is anyone else picturing the eye of sauron from LOTR?

I'd sort of assumed the central District wouldn't have a main stage and all the others would lead off it, so that's great to know.

 

Think they’re going for more of an Olympic torch vibe, than death to all men. 
 

sounds like they’re smashing together some of their old staging, would be surprised if most of Mayfair wasn’t there in some form 

[vintagelaureate]

Old Town

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CaUfrF_gSGB/?utm_medium=copy_link

Steeped in Boomtown’s history and folklore, Oldtown's winding backstreets harbour secrets of the city... 

The infamous melting pot of its community remains stronger than ever. Winds from the west have cleared smoke from the streets unveiling lost passages that have long since been forgotten. The true scale of Oldtown is finally clear. Riddled with undiscovered, narrow back alleys and secret doorways into the unknown, the ever encroaching darkened walls in the belly of this town will have you taking each step with caution and incomparable intrigue.

The air is filled with the intoxicating noise of foot-stomping fiddles and rustic rabble-rousers, Oldtown's rootsy punk attitude will get you jumping and skanking until the barnacles of life have long since vacated your system! 

Stay a while as the story tellers spin you a yarn. Feast your eyes upon the curiosities of circus hustlers, lovable rogues and free spirits as this ancient district brings surprise in even the darkest of corners, in this winding magical warren...

https://www.boomtownfair.co.uk/experience/explore/oldtown/

Edited February 23, 2022 by vintagelaureate

[vintagelaureate]

Area 404

The system has collapsed and we have survived, let the new world begin!

A refuge for the lawless, AREA 404 welcomes all to their newly squatted, radical revolutionary paradise. As light bleeds through the cracks in the walls, the residents dance faster and harder than ever. The Last Gang in Town and Earache Records showcase a mixture of Punk, Ska and Metal at ‘Hangar 161’. The sound of Hardcore and Stomping Tekno bellows from within ‘The Scrapyard’ whilst ‘The Grid’ and an array of late night venues open their doors for the new skool Junglists, and forward-thinking Garage and Bass heads.

The inhabitants are turning the mountains of scrap and defunct machinery from the once brutally imposing structures of civilization, into functional engines that carve innovative and glorious new possibilities into the landscape.  On the horizon sits the mechanical beating heart of AREA 404. A glorious feat of engineering, working tirelessly to pump clean air back into the atmosphere, as its turbines rotate and its pistons fire, a breath of hope for a new beginning in a new world blasts from its pipes. 

The rave revival is ON and anything goes in this self-governed anarchistic community.

https://www.boomtownfair.co.uk/experience/explore/area-404/

[Leyrulion]

I'm not quite sure what I expected but is anyone else finding these area announcements a bit...meh?

The lack of artists and the fact that it's mostly stock footage are making it really hard for me to visualise what it will actually be like. 

[WStoner]

28 minutes ago, Leyrulion said:

I'm not quite sure what I expected but is anyone else finding these area announcements a bit...meh?

The lack of artists and the fact that it's mostly stock footage are making it really hard for me to visualise what it will actually be like. 

Yeah, I get their reasons for not releasing a line up but feel they could've released maybe a few headliners or something for each area.  Hard to get excited about the idea of an area!

 

I do wonder if Four Tet, Kamasi Washington and Ezra Collective could play - all playing London on 13 Aug!

[incident]

2 hours ago, Leyrulion said:

I'm not quite sure what I expected but is anyone else finding these area announcements a bit...meh?

The lack of artists and the fact that it's mostly stock footage are making it really hard for me to visualise what it will actually be like. 

There's certainly a lot less detail than I expected - from what they said I assumed there'd be a breakdown of the area, maybe some concept art or renders (or at least illustrative photos from previous years).

Whereas it seems to be pretty much one or two paragraphs being as deliberately vague as possible.

[Sku]

I know they want to keep as much as possible under wraps this year, to ensure the festival can surprise people. They want people to "get lost" in a entirely new bewildering layout, and be wowed by unexpected new stages/visual art around every corner.

That would explain why the announcements are vague, but it does make you wonder, why bother with them at all? I guess the social media team need something to put out, and without a line up, and with a desire to keep things mysterious they have... not a lot to share!

[Leyrulion]

9 minutes ago, Sku said:

I know they want to keep as much as possible under wraps this year, to ensure the festival can surprise people. They want people to "get lost" in a entirely new bewildering layout, and be wowed by unexpected new stages/visual art around every corner.

That would explain why the announcements are vague, but it does make you wonder, why bother with them at all? I guess the social media team need something to put out, and without a line up, and with a desire to keep things mysterious they have... not a lot to share!

It reminds me of a "secret" bar near me, that was so secret it shut down because it had no customers.

There's a balance between not revealing the secrets of the weekend and giving people some stuff to get excited about. 

[Sku]

2 minutes ago, Leyrulion said:

It reminds me of a "secret" bar near me, that was so secret it shut down because it had no customers.

There's a balance between not revealing the secrets of the weekend and giving people some stuff to get excited about. 

Yep, I would have to agree that they are not very exciting, and that's coming from someone who loves the festival.

They are 98% sold out though (Press release dropped earlier today with that stat), so I guess they are not too worried about shutting down for this year at least haha. They sold out of general release tickets ages ago, they now only have the coach/train shuttle packages left.

Oh, the press release isn't exactly that much more elaborate either:

Quote

BOOMTOWN

MATTERLEY ESTATE – WINCHESTER 
10th – 14th AUGUST 2022 
Boomtownfair.co.uk 

Boomtown announces Chapter One: The Gathering Ticket Resale 
FINAL Ticket Resale Goes live Wednesday 9th March at 7pm 

Boomtown, the UK’s largest independent festival, has today revealed a date for its ticket resale for Chapter One: The Gathering. Having embraced the chance to pause and reflect through the pandemic, the unique and progressive music and theatre based festival experience is back and even more magical than ever before.  After its two year hiatus and with over 98% of tickets sold, securing a ticket via the resale at 7pm on Wednesday 9th March is the last opportunity to be a part of the festival in 2022.

The reset has brought pivotal changes that include an entire redesign, focus on the creative and the launch of the new storyline. The evolved look and feel of the festival and new city is set to take the experience to new heights. 

As a fiercely independent festival, Boomtown is known at times to put its head above the parapet and the event remains steadfast in its refreshed view on the line-up announcement, choosing to hold the bill back releasing just a few days before the show. This radical change allows the event to release itself from the restraints caused by traditional hierarchical line-up announcements in order to deliver a truly diverse programme. As ever, Boomtown will lead with a bill full of live bands plus forward thinking artists from all underground sides of the electronic spectrum from house, disco and techno to drum n bass, jungle, hip-hop and heavier styles of hardcore and psytrance. Building the lineup INto the weekend rather than being led by it.

“We have always been a creatively led festival. People attend Boomtown because of the overall experience, though we aren’t releasing a line-up we’ll continue to book incredible artists, and all the festival favorites. However, by approaching our programming announcements in this way we are no longer involved with the complex process of releasing a music line up that is tied up with exclusivity deals and billing restrictions; let alone the escalating costs. We now have the freedom to create lineups that are even more phenomenal than we have ever been able to before.” Boomtown Founders.  To find out more visit our music policy page here.

What to expect from the new layout:  Combining incredible set design, art and immersive theatre with a diverse lineup, the 5-day event takes place within Boomtown; a fictitious city that is made up of nine distinct districts. Each district is designed with its own theme, has a main stage and is littered with a warren of intimate and unique micro-venues. Connected by winding alleyways these districts are awash with hidden venues, passageways and doorways all ready to be explored. All of which is brought to life by hundreds of actors and performers. 

For 2022, the Main City is located in what was previously known as ‘Downtown Boomtown’ and it will see the launch of brand new districts and the re-introduction of old favorites. Every main stage at the event is a new concept and can be found nestled deep into its district surroundings. For the first time ever every inch of the natural amphitheater at Matterley Estate will be used to build up the most detailed pop-up city ever created! Around the main city, making the most of the site’s beautiful South Downs National Park location will be an array of unique dancefloors nestled within the forest that the audience can escape to.   

District Announcements are here: Launching this month, each district is being showcased via its own announcement trailer. Beginning with Grand Central, a brand new district with one of the biggest new stages in the festival and the central point of the festival it was followed by Oldtown the the oldest district in town and one that is steeped in the history and folklore of Boomtown, and then the glorious feat of dystopian engineering that is AREA 404 and the calamitous streets of Copper County.  Releasing twice a week on Mondays and Wednesday for the next month, as they are revealed  you can find  the full series here on our city pages.  [trailers here]

Boomtown Storyline: Back in 2020 for Chapter 12, Boomtown’s last action was to announce a ‘State of Emergency’ as the Chapter tagline… never imagining what was about to happen globally. Chapter One: The Gathering introduces Boomtown’s new vision of a post pandemic world where the State of Emergency has become a city that has risen from the ashes of the old. It is a new world, accompanied by a new story that is waiting to be told that focuses on reflection, acceptance, respect and reconnection with yourself, each other and the planet. It is a time of celebration, a time to come together, a time of gathering. For more information see our story page here. 

Register for the resale: On sale 7pm 9th March: Thanks to the unwavering support of 2020 and 2021 ticket holders rolling their tickets over during the pandemic, standard tickets for the festival have now all sold out. With so few tickets remaining, they are expected to fly out of the door. Anyone who is interested in purchasing a ticket must register via this link to receive all the relevant further information.  

Alternatively, there are a few Public Transport Saver tickets available now. These tickets include a coach ticket and you get Wednesday entry free. To secure these before the resale, head over to the Ticket Page here. 

To keep up to date with all the Boomtown news via Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Boomtown Youtube channel 

 

[blutarsky]

On 3/2/2022 at 5:34 PM, Sku said:

Yep, I would have to agree that they are not very exciting, and that's coming from someone who loves the festival.

They are 98% sold out though (Press release dropped earlier today with that stat), so I guess they are not too worried about shutting down for this year at least haha. They sold out of general release tickets ages ago, they now only have the coach/train shuttle packages left.

Oh, the press release isn't exactly that much more elaborate either:

 

Largest independent festival? Is Glastonbury not independent? 

[Leyrulion]

15 hours ago, blutarsky said:

Largest independent festival? Is Glastonbury not independent? 

How's do you define "independent", Glastonbury aren't a member of the association for independent festivals, that's probably regrets they get the start from.

[Boomtowner]

I'm really unsure of the current direction the festival is heading, which is a shame as it is my favourite festival, sorry Glastonbury. The debacle over using a closed loop system for purchases seems against the ethos of the festival I fell in love with. And whilst I have discovered some amazing new bands at Boomtown, there was plenty of research time to listen to new music. This time I'm not expecting to gain much research time before the festival starts. ☹️

[Boomtowner]

On a plus point, the Interrupters are playing Beautiful Days the following weekend, so I'm hopeful they'll be on the line up.

[Leyrulion]

28 minutes ago, Boomtowner said:

I'm really unsure of the current direction the festival is heading, which is a shame as it is my favourite festival, sorry Glastonbury. The debacle over using a closed loop system for purchases seems against the ethos of the festival I fell in love with. And whilst I have discovered some amazing new bands at Boomtown, there was plenty of research time to listen to new music. This time I'm not expecting to gain much research time before the festival starts. ☹️

That's the real downside to no lineup, no chance to do a festival listen. The line up announcements don't even really give you an idea of the vibe of the music, except for possibly area 404. 

On the plus side I guess you're more likely to discover something new and incredible.

[aidenlangan95]

With the Prodigy tour just being announced, could / would they play Boomtown?

Thought they’d be the perfect headliner for the festival when Keith was still alive.

[Leyrulion]

4 hours ago, aidenlangan95 said:

With the Prodigy tour just being announced, could / would they play Boomtown?

Thought they’d be the perfect headliner for the festival when Keith was still alive.

May as well add them as rumoured, why not. 

 

Arctangent is the week afterwards, anyone on that lineup that might cross over?

https://arctangent.co.uk/line-up/

[Metal Monkey]

12 hours ago, Leyrulion said:

May as well add them as rumoured, why not. 

 

Arctangent is the week afterwards, anyone on that lineup that might cross over?

https://arctangent.co.uk/line-up/

I'd have thought Prodigy with Keith would be too big for the smaller Boomtown, not sure now. 

Agent Fresco and Earthtone9 from Arctangent would be very welcome for me!