Lakefest punches well above its weight…

Big-name bands, cracking DJs, comedy, workshops, kids, dogs, fairground rides, and more food than any human could reasonably tackle in a weekend. That’s what I discovered at Lakefest, a festival I went to for the first time this year. But I discovered something else at Lakefest this year. When it comes to festivals, you’ve got to be all in.

All photos by Louis Phillips

I did Lakefest a little differently this year. Rather than staying on site, I stayed at the nearby House of George in Broadway, which was lovely and you can read about separately. But it’s the first time I’ve stayed off site when going to a festival, and it was quite an experience.

Lakefest itself is a fabulous little festival. And I use ‘little’ relatively, because they have managed to cram millions of things into a site that remains incredibly easy to get around. If you’ve ever spent half your festival weekend trudging between stages, missing things because there was miles to walk between tents, you’ll definitely appreciate this. Everything is easily walkable.

Something for everyone

It’s very family friendly. There are fairground rides, sweet stalls, BMX competitions and loads for kids for all ages to get involved with. It does mean it can feel pretty noisy, particularly when you first arrive from the outside world. And there are some great workshops for teens, including beatboxing, story writing, and poi, while ‘Little Lakefesters’ get stuff like flower crown making, storytelling, mini discos and drama play.

They even have a dog crèche so Fido can come along too, although quite why anyone would bring a dog to a boiling hot noisy festival remains a mystery to me.

Accessibility has been thought about too, including a good viewing platform at the main stage. And then, obviously, there’s the music. The main stage brought out some proper festival stalwarts, including Madness, Bananarama, Soul II Soul, The Lightning Seeds, Example, EMF and The Bluetones. But some of my favourite discoveries were away from the main stage, in the smaller tents, at the comedy shows and behind the decks.

And what a diverse line-up across the festival

The DJ line-up was honestly excellent. Todd Terry, Lisa Lashes, Seb Fontaine, Judge Jules and Slipmatt were among the names playing across the weekend.

Funky Town has to take the award for the most eclectic tent. Where else can you roll from East 17 straight into Mad Dog Mcrea, Gentleman’s Dub Club to Reef, or the legendary David Rodigan to Newton Faulkner? Sadly, I missed the day I would probably have loved most. Thursday featured Utah Saints, General Levy and Tinchy Stryder – I’d have been all over that. It’s safe to say though that there really is something for everyone across the programming.

Away from the music, the programme gets even more wild. You can do yoga and belly dancing, watch magic shows, try tie-dyeing and even have a go at turmeric photography. No, I didn’t know that was a thing either.

Then there’s the food and drink. Sri Lankan street food, Jamaican jerk chicken, Mexican burritos, Thai dishes, Chinese noodles, wood-fired pizza, BBQ, Mediterranean gyros, loaded Belgian waffles and pretty much every form of sugary madness you could wish for.

It wasn’t ruinously expensive either, certainly by festival standards. I paid under £9 for a large G&T at one bar, which felt positively reasonable, considering.

But here’s an interesting thing…

For me, the best thing about going to a festival is the suspension of reality for a few days. Your phone barely works, and you’re immersed in the utter madness. Normal life disappears and you’re transported to this strange little planet where everything is just fun and, for a while, nothing matters. And staying off-site changed that more than I expected.

Walking into Lakefest each day from a very lovely, very civilised boutique hotel made the festival feel pretty intense, especially in the summer heat. Like opening the door to a blast furnace. Then, just as I’d adjusted to the noise, music, people and heat, I’d leave and go back into the real world. Back to a calm, beautiful Cotswolds hotel, with a clean bed and full breakfast in the courtyard. It was lovely, but quite discombobulating.

Lakefest is exactly the sort of festival where you should completely surrender to it. Stay on site, get involved; wander into tents without knowing who’s playing. Eat something ridiculous, and drink more shots than is good for you. Have a dance. Go and investigate turmeric photography (I didn’t get chance, and now I need to know), do some yoga… I think you’ve got to just get involved, and do it properly.

Would I go back? Absolutely. But next time I’d stay there and properly immerse myself in it. The atmosphere across the entire festival was friendly, easy-going, welcoming, and all the sorts of daft fun you want from a festival. It’s a bit of a hidden gem, I’d say.

Lakefest may be smaller than some of the UK’s monster festivals, but that’s part of its appeal. It’s manageable, friendly, packed with things to do and has the whole family covered. I’ll definitely be back – and next time I’m pitching my tent.

Lakefest 2027 is on sale now www.lakefest.co.uk