Boomtown Chapter Four: Power of Now

[gfa]

Just got tickets for the first time so thought i'd kick this thread off 🙂 

[stuie]

1 hour ago, gfa said:

Just got tickets for the first time so thought i'd kick this thread off 🙂 

 

Can I ask what made you get tickets for next year? 

 

I was considering returning next year but the reviews seem a bit negative this year and the line-up was a bit on the light side for me this year too. 

[gfa]

45 minutes ago, stuie said:

 

Can I ask what made you get tickets for next year? 

 

I was considering returning next year but the reviews seem a bit negative this year and the line-up was a bit on the light side for me this year too. 

Missed it this year and not done it before

 

Not much more to it - I know a lot of people who went and loved it. Lineup maybe a bit weak but should just mean its better next year (+ rumours of the other bit coming back etc)

[mr flow]

57 minutes ago, stuie said:

 

Can I ask what made you get tickets for next year? 

 

I was considering returning next year but the reviews seem a bit negative this year and the line-up was a bit on the light side for me this year too. 

 

I felt it was the slickest Boomtown has ever been. Sound levels were great, it never seemed overly crowded, the toilets were much more available and cleaner than they were at Glastonbury, and logistically it all just seemed to work. Yes, the line up wasn't amazing, but that's not what Boomtown has ever been about. There is talk of the Lions Den coming back, but i'm not 100% sure if it will be next year.

Boomtown is wild, full on and a crazy festival, but I think everyone is aware of that. I probably enjoyed myself much more at Boomtown this year than i did at Glastonbury, which i found far too overcrowded and the line up having terrible balance across the whole weekend. It's probably worth noting that more or less every festival has been a bit light on the line up front this year, so maybe that's saying more about the availability of artists than anything else. It's also worth noting that Boomtown had a big secret guest booked, but they dropped out a few weeks before the festival.

[pilton digger]

I got tickets yesterday. Have done 12 of these now  and i would agree entirely with @mr flowthat it is so much more than a line up. Various commentators on here keep saying it is all dnb, it isn't. The full lineup doesn't appear on the app or posters, there are many smaller venues. 

[mjfromthelane]

90% of what I have read so far has been pretty positive from this year.

 

Videos of Origin have been all over my Instagram - it's got to be the best stage visually of all UK festivals.

[amfy]

Echo this.

 

Production was immense as always! 

 

Just back from Oxfam stewarding Boomtown and the customers seemed to be having a fantastic time. They manage to be up for everything and totally chilled out all at the same time. It’s just a fantastic place to be regardless of who is on. 
 

We found a huge variety if music all over the site and a crowd ready to enjoy what they found. You can just wander and stumble across stuff - like Glastonbury used to be 

[Steel city camper]

Me and a group of 8 of us went to Boomtown  for the first time this year and were all Glastonbury veterans that didn't think there was anything else out there other than Glastonbury.how wrong where we ,everyone of us has said that Boomtown is better and that were all going again next year instead of .were all quite in to our bags of fun and we all love the naughty corner but for me Boomtown blows that out of the water it makes the south east corner at Glasto look old and tired.  Visually everything is stunning and mind blowing and that origin Stage OMG! What a site ,like someone has said it's not over cramped ,you can stand towards the back with plenty of room to ance but still feel well and truly part of any set ,the sound systems are fantastic. Bring on next year 

[dumski]

8th time for me this year. 

Went with 1 regular and 4 newbies and it really gave me the excitement of the festival back.    

Once arrived we refused to give the newbies any 'insider' insight/info other than occasional direction if we were running late for someone I wanted to see.  Took a back seat and let them lead - that was my storyline.  Seeing them discover and explore led to some brilliant laughs.     

I'll be back for sure.   

Only minor quibble was that queue in Campervans on Thursday lunch to get searched & banded was atrocious.   2 hrs of torture for no search other than a dog sniff outside.  Must learn to count my blessings!   

[On The Blend]

First time for our group this year and we were absolutely blown away. The depth, the detail, the atmosphere of the whole place just sucks you in. It is genuinely beyond belief how they put this together and the opps team deserve some kind of medal. 

 

Feel like we really gave the story a fair crack on the Saturday, got fairly deep into CopperWood and Botanica but overall we barely scratched the surface. Didn't hear whisperings of The Network until the Sunday when we were communing with the witches coven and by then it was very much becoming a vibes in the sun kind of day. 

 

I really underestimated how little the lineup matters, it's obviously nice to have but multiple of us are already talking about next year regardless of who ends up on the poster. I honestly went in with pretty high expectations and they were definitely surpassed, 9/10, all-time great fest no question.

[mr flow]

Origin and Zenith are both going next year. Origin will be replaced by a newer version of the stage, but i am unsure what is happening to Zenith. Sounds as though there could be some big changes next year and the planning application to use the uptown, Psy forest and lions den space has been approved, so we may see some of those elements back next year. I'm not sure if we will see all of those spaces used next year.

[CanWeRest]

I went years ago and had a blast. I'd love to return and see what it's like now. I might try to work it next year.

[On The Blend]

On 9/20/2024 at 12:25 PM, mr flow said:

Origin and Zenith are both going next year. Origin will be replaced by a newer version of the stage, but i am unsure what is happening to Zenith. Sounds as though there could be some big changes next year and the planning application to use the uptown, Psy forest and lions den space has been approved, so we may see some of those elements back next year. I'm not sure if we will see all of those spaces used next year.

Big news. I really enjoyed Zenith so a little sad to see that go, but from the little experience I have I trust the folks in charge to know what they are doing. 

[mr flow]

Lions Den won’t be returning next year, but should be back in 2026. 

[dumski]

Really? Shame but understandable. Lack of campervan tickets is also a worry. People have suggested it’s a way to sell upgraded camping. 

What’s the betting on Prodigy? 

[gfa]

Teasing on instagram a big announcement (return of the area that went i assume).

 

5 days

[mr flow]

On 12/2/2024 at 2:05 PM, gfa said:

Teasing on instagram a big announcement (return of the area that went i assume).

 

5 days

I’m guessing it’s going to be about the expansion, but unless things have changed in the last month, I don’t think it’s going to include the Lions Den. I’ll see if I can do some digging though 👀

[mr flow]

Some tasty names announced for next year already.

 

[gfa]

Great mix i think - lots of fun names there and some decent DJs

[Metal Monkey]

That’s a good line up, and I’m surprised it’s been released this early. 
Not going next year, I’m going to have to unsubscribe from the mailing list to avoid being disappointed by missing out. 

[shedrovemetodaytimetv]

I think this is a great lineup and happy to see a return to bigger names being booked and them expanding the festival back to what it was pre-covid (not that I have been since and am sure that it was still great the last couple of years).

 

I always felt they were taking the piss a little bit with offering the 'boutique' festival experience (that means made smaller in festival talk), and going 'back to their roots' with the lineup (that largely just means booking acts you could probably see on any given day, in any city in the country).

 

I know that a lot of people go for the vibe and the production, and it is truly unlike anything I have ever been to, but expecting people to pay the same price as Download/Reading/Glastonbury and giving them Bob Vylan and Pendulum DJ set is an absolute piss take.

 

I think I would have been more fine if they had just come out and said 'look guys, we lost a bunch of money over covid, and for that reason we might have to strip it back for a couple of years'. 

 

[DDave]

I like that. Looks fun. 

[orangeisacop_]

Really great stuff, so diverse. Think they've intentionally left out some of the drum n bass names to try and widen appeal, which I think will make some people nervous, especially with them replacing Origin. James Hype is maybe a bit of a weird booking.

 

Pleased they're going back to releasing the lineup before sell out again, I think there's a bunch of reasons they should've always done that (which I moaned about last year) but from this drop I get the feeling they're just more confident about who they've got.

 

Hard to know whether this is really is a sample/cross-section of artists, in which case next year really could be SUPERB, or if these are the bigger ones. (Cynical I know, but I've just been burnt too many times with this!) Still absolutely hoping for Underworld and/or Prodigy, come on James!!

 

Feel like we're starting to piece together some of the detail about the site changes too. All super exciting, if a little confusing, like "Lions Den" (the location atleast) not being back this year despite them teasing it? What'll be happening with the bowl space old town used to take up? How big will Hydro really be? Bigger than Zenith?  Hope we'll get some more info soonish.

 

Absolutely gassed now, feels like full-fat no-compromises Boomtown could be back? Fingers crossed.

[Metal Monkey]

1 hour ago, shedrovemetodaytimetv said:

 

I think I would have been more fine if they had just come out and said 'look guys, we lost a bunch of money over covid, and for that reason we might have to strip it back for a couple of years'. 

 

I remember them saying something along those lines after Covid, but it wasn’t clear that would continue for 3 years.

 

It was still very enjoyable as the bands they book are generally really fun live, there’s been no shortage of stuff to watch and do. I was disappointed after this years one especially with the missing Saturday headliner on Grand Central, but I was ill for the whole weekend which made it difficult to enjoy. This line up is a definite improvement though. 

[dumski]

line up looks great, hopefully this shifts more tickets for them.  

Really annoyed that campervans are all gone.  How will I cope lying on an air mat 😞