BLOOM: an Intimate Boutique Festival of Cultured Electronic Beats and Bass


 

Started in 2006, Bloom describes itself as "an intimate boutique festival of cultured electronic beats and bass".
The 2006 Bloom Festival was held at Larmer Tree Gardens in Dorset, 2007 it moved to Dyrham Park, Gloucestershire, and in 2008 it was held at Seven Springs, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. The last Bloom Festival was cancelled in 2009.
The content is from the site's 2006 & 2008 archived pages as well as other sources.

 



 

Bloom Festival 11th and 13th August 2006

2006


Bloom  is an electronic festival with a unique blend of cutting edge bands, labels, DJs, AV artists and VJs from across the UK & Europe

 



808 State @ Bloom Festival 2006

 

Bloom will do everything possible to ensure that you have the best music festival experience

Camping

Ticket price includes free camping for the whole weekend. The campsites are situated right next to the Festival site, so there’s no 5 mile hike once you arrive! Grounds and are open from 1.00pm on Friday 11th August, closing at midday on Monday 14th August.

Caravans & Campervans

There is a separate area within the campsites for caravans and camper vans. If you are planning to have a caravan delivered, please inform the Festival Office as soon as possible - admittance will not be allowed without prior arrangement.


Tangerine Fields

Tangerine Fields brings you camping equipment for hire with a difference at Bloom 2006. Via the link below to their website you can book your bed ahead, leaving the usual camping hassles behind. Forget turning up and struggling to find your friends, a nice spot and fathoming out how to put up tents in the dark - instead, turn up at Bloom Festival and the friendly and skilled Tangerine team will already have your tent up, ready and waiting for you and filled with all the cosy kit you need for a good night’s sleep.

Tangerine Fields also offer a range of basic extras including stoves and kettles. They are happy to sort out camping for you or a group of friends before you arrive and take it down for you when the event is over. Easy!

All used sleeping kit is donated to charity, Tangerine Fields are proud to be sponsors of Crisis, UK.


Cooking & Fires

Remember when your Mum used to say "don’t play with matches? Well don’t. And don’t start camp fires or light candles either and please don’t use disposable BBQs. I know this sounds like we’re telling you off but we have your best interests at heart really. All the above pose extreme fire safety risks and we don’t want our lovely guest to have any accidents. Gas and charcoal barbies are ok as long as they a properly supervised and elevated off the ground.


Parking

There’s plenty of on site parking a stones throw away from the main festival site. No cars are allowed on the campsites so please don’t ask.


Facilities

There will be plenty of toilets on site that will be cleaned regularly, There will also be various running water points and hot showers accessible from the camping areas. These facilities are available to all festival goers at no extra cost.


Security

There will be a visible presence of security and stewards on site. These people are professionals and are there to help make sure that we all enjoy a trouble free and safe event.

Please plan ahead for your stay at Bloom festival and be aware that at events like this there is always the risk of one or two bad eggs who are sizing things up. Many UK festivals experienced thefts last year so please make sure that you only bring the necessary items to ensure that you have a good time. Any valuables that you do bring we suggest you keep about your person at all times as Bloom cannot take responsibility for any losses that may occur.


Disabled Access

We are working together with Artsline to help make our event accessible for everyone. We will also do everything we can to assist you when you arrive. Adapted toilets are available in both the Festival grounds and campsite. Please email c with any specific requirements or requests prior to the event and we will try to accommodate these.


Refunds & Lost Tickets

Look after your tickets as we cannot replace them if lost.

No refunds can be offered once tickets have been purchased.

We would like to thank you in advance for your cooperation on all of these points and hope that you enjoy the event.
Lots of love,
Bloom xxx




Latest News

NOMINATED FOR BEST NEW FESTIVAL

We are delighted to announce that Bloom festival has been nominated for Best New Festival at this years 2006 UK Festival Awards. Voting has just started and will run until Monday 16th October. It’s a tough category and it would mean the world to us if we won, so please, please, please head to www.festivalawards.com and vote for Bloom now!! And if you could get your Granny and your dog to vote that would be ace too.

Everyone who votes in this years UK Festival Awards will be automatically entered into an amazing prize draw, to win a pair of tickets to every winning festival, plus a pair of VIP tickets to the awards ceremony in London on October 19th plus a years supply of Carling lager!


  

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A list of thankyous.
Wow, where do we start? There are so so many beautiful people who have been helping us (for a long time), helped us on site and folk who are still helping us see Bloom grow into the lovely, fun thing we want it to be. People who have been working with us for nothing (or next to nothing), people who have given us timely advice, managed our stages, people we hadn’t even met till the festival this summer and who turned up to do way more than was asked of them, people who gave us hugs, friends who have been coming to our gigs for years and paid top dollar to support the cause, friends in the press, friends who decorated, installed and projected - realising our vision proper, folk who keep playing for now to keep the party going. I also want take a moment to offer a very unusual thank you, to the folks at imfy.us, who remove results from google & helped us remove a devastating search result showing a news item claiming last year's event spread a virus. A completely untrue story, published in Russia so we have no legal recourse. Here's a post that discusses the extent of this big Google problem. But imfy.us volunteered to help and got the job done using their super skills in seo. We believe getting that horrible result out of Google searches probably saved this year's event. So again, it's everyone who contributed in their own way to get this magnificent happening happening, and you did it. You! Your ongoing support is overwhelming. Thanks guys. We love you to bits. It means more than you know.

  

These are some of the peeps who without them Bloom would never have happened: Ewen Stenhouse Nguyen Townsend-Paley, Mike Stenhouse, Jonny Mainstage, Zoe Aspinall, Kate Risker, John Walsh, Shelley Atkinson, Mark Scarratt, Marcus Clements, Ollie Riches, Paul Wassell, Chris Champion, Matt Hurrell, John Crackpot, Jude & John (Big Top), Rich Crafter, Drumclub, Tom Syzygy, Justin Cornelius, John Ellerington, Matt & Dan & The 24 Hour Cafe team!!, Dave Peverley aka Pev, Alia Sulaman, Adrian Poly, Andrea Anderson, Anne Caroll, Antonio Anderson, Ben Ashman, Bruce Cosgrove, Bruno, Billy Boxoffice, Carla Judge, Didier Linares, Emma Simkins, Eva Toure, Eve Bennett, Fiona Lewis, Frazer Matthews, Harry Wiles, Jason Viney, Jenny Moule, Jim Hanner, Jonathan Davis, Kassandra Tripos, Kate Woods, Keiron Dunn, Mark Russel, Marshall Hackett, Matty Taylor, Nathan Thomas, Oli Sargent, Pia Swain, Richard Mason, Rik- Hyponik, Rowland Smith, Kurt Chapman, Ruthie Sadia, Saffron Peffer, Serena Forbes, Shosana Sadia, Simon “Bad Boy” Harris, Suzy Motteshead, Toby Motteshead, Luke Murray, Bryony Giles, Benjamin the Beatbox Busker, Dave Swindells, Rahul Verma, Spacecadets, Cybersonica, Burnt Toast, Eric & Paul @ Fabricate, Graham, Harry and the awesome graffiti dudes. Hopefully we haven’t left anyone off 

Much love,

The Bloom Team xxx

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Some of our festival photos can be viewed here:

Friday

Lost disco

Anton Debiage
Canine Sounds
Floatation
Peepshow Paddy
Steve Alexander
Supermagic

Beats

Alt*Ctrl
Average White DJ
Burt Latino & Mavis
Dr Rubberfunk
Funk From The Trunk
Myogenic
SoxaN

Saturday

Main stage

Belleruche
Cagedbaby
Joe Driscoll
Los Fantasmas
Milke
Nick Luscombe (XFM)
Sam Kills Two
Shuffle
The Bays
The Epstein
The Pistachios

Lost disco

Catweasel
Cheshire Catz
David Parr (20:20 Vision)
Fredrico Mancini
Hint
Inland Knights

Mondo
Punkvert
Stompa Phunk
The Nextmen

Beats

Atomic Hooligan
Blim
Bosch Stacey
Channel Zero
Chew The Fat!

Drum Club

Friendly
Jonny Boy
Kid Blue
L Double (BBC 1 Xtra)
Lady Free
Locomotif
Merka
Moe Foe
Paul ‘Trouble’ Arnold
Tayo

Sunday

Main stage

808 State
Birdpen
Decatone
Fink
Grandadbob
Kid Fiesta
Naked and The Boys
The Dualers
The Gentlemen Rebels

Lost disco

Dave Jarvis
Giles Smith
James Priestley
Jerome Pacman
secretsundaze
Stuart Patterson
Terry Farley
The Beginerz

Beats

Fish Seeks Bicycle
Freefall Collective
Freerange Soundsystem
Hexstatic
Jigsawmusic
Jimpster
Paddy Freeform
Palmskin
Subgiant
Syzygy & Absolute
The Sancho Plan
VJamm Allstars

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Munch & Slurp

There will be a wonderful selection of world foods available at the festival to keep those rumbling tums happy. There will also be our 24 hour Cafe, The Peacock Palour which will be accessible through the night and will serve hot food and refreshments to the nocturnal.

The 3 bars on site will stock a full range of beer, wines and mixers so we shouldn’t have anybody going thirsty.

Unfortunately we cannot allow guests to bring their own food and drinks into the main festival site, so please keep your own provisions in your camping area (remember no bottles!).

Vegetable Patch

If you’re feeling like a bit of a cabbage and need some time out, escape through the hedges to the Vegetable Patch - a hidden little area designed for relaxation and rejuvenation. Tea, cakes, massage, aromatherapy and tarot are amongst the remedies to help make you feel a little more human.

Festival Fun

On top of the forward thinking line up there is loads of little extras to keep you smiling all weekend. Get involved with some of the outdoor games such as Beat Jigsaw, Bloom Bingo, or visit Fish Seeks Bicycle, Oxygen Bar or Pinball Arcade. Take a stroll around the wonderfully diverse festival market and buy yourself a bubble gun, a hand woven poncho, or perhaps hire yourself a fancy dress costume for the afternoon. Don’t miss the Burnt Toast Fire Dancers, Live Art, Comedy Cuppa Tea, The Enchanted Wood, Giant Drumming Robots + much much more!

 

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2007

Welcome to Bloom

Please take some time to look around our website. We are adding to it on a daily basis so it’s worth checking on a regular basis. You will be able to find lots of exciting information on the events and summer festival we organise, plus there are plenty of essential facts and info to enhance your Bloom experience. We also invite you to check the forum where you can chat to other Bloomers.

 



DOP @ Bloom Festival 2007

Latest Bloom news

4 NOMINATIONS AT UK FESTIVAL AWARDS

We are downright chuffed to pieces to have been selected in no less than 4 categories at this year’s Festival Awards (more than any of the other festivals our size). We have been shortlisted for the following awards:

Best Small Festival - 10,000 capacity or less Grass Roots Festival Award - non commercial Fan-Friendly Award - the closeness of car park and camping to our festival site Most Memorable Moment - Bloomers breaking the Guinness World Records for the largest game of Musical Statues!

The UK Festival Awards, the festival equivalent of the Oscars, are the industry’s only awards voted for solely by the people who really matter - YOU LOT! So do us a favour and close down facebook for five minutes and head to www.festivalawards.com and register your votes. It would be amazing to win something this year, so go and vote for the festival you helped create, and please ask your mates to do the same.

Voting ends on Sunday 28th October. The winners will be announced on Tuesday 6th November and presented with their awards at a special ceremony at London’s KoKo that evening.

EARLY BIRD TICKETS FOR BLOOM 2008

 


 

We have released 500 Early Bird Tickets for Bloom 2008 at a specially reduced rate of £50.00. Head to the ticket page to take advantage of this ridiculously cheap offer which is strictly limited and will be the cheapest way to get a full weekend ticket next year!

24 Hour License GRANTED

We had a license for Bloom from the very start but recently applied for a special 24 hour extension, and are very pleased to announce that it has been granted. This means that we can run some of the smaller music stages into the wee hours of the night and will have a 24 hour chillout/cafe area which will be accessible throughout the event. We are very very pleased about this and feel it will make the whole event a much more pleasurable experience for us all.

Zero 7’s New Project Confirmed for Bloom

We are very pleased to announce that Zero 7 will be performing at Bloom this summer under the guise of their new instrumental project “Ingrid Eto”. They will be performing some Zero 7 classics plus a range of their new material which we are told will be a bit deeper, darker and dancier. Just our sort of thing! Check out their artist profile on the Line Up page.

 

About the Festival

Nominated ‘Best New UK Festival’ in 2006, Bloom is an independent boutique festival with bags of character and loads of charm. Boasting 5 musical arenas and an outstanding, diverse line up to boot there are stacks of creative, mischievous fun and little festival luxuries to keep you entertained and smiling all weekend long!

Some of the best bits include; the Bloom Market brimming with arts, crafts and a wide range of festival essentials, dedicated Kids Zone, scrummy quality organic nosh, locally brewed real ales, luxury onsite accommodation from Tangerine Fields, the Vegetable Patch for all your holistic and head massaging needs, cutting edge live visuals & audio-visual acts, bespoke festival silliness from the Lost and Found crew, comedy, open mic, bingo, virtual coconut shy, glove maze, farm animals made from recycled materials, massive inflatable seats, paint by numbers, ferris wheel & carousel, circus workshops, short film screenings, fire shows, make your own rocket with a rocket launch party - and don’t forget to bring your silly wigs and Spiderman outfits as Saturday is the official fancy dress day!


Stages

Bloom Main Stage

Our main stage plays host to most of our live headliners and locally-based groups over the weekend. You can expect a whole range of styles and genres to keep you bopping along in the open air – everything from ska, folk, jazz and reggae to live electronica, gospel, funk and indie.


Lost Disco

This place is rapidly gaining a reputation all on its own as the sure fire place to have one helluva hoedown – house stylee. Over the weekend some of our favourite promoters will be playing the hottest electro, tech and minimal house. Deep, dirty, funky, sexy - and absolutely 110% fun.


Beats Bubble

Undoubtedly one of the most exciting Big Tops at Bloom featuring the freshest beats and bass from UK and Europe – with a healthy serving of Southwest talent in the mix. The excellent Beats Bubble lineup includes a whole lot of booty shakin’ break beat, electronica, dubstep, D&B and barley funk plus awesome live audio-visuals, MCs and vocalists. Did we mention fun?!


Dolly Mixture

We can’t wait to open the Dolly Mixture tent! This is where all the Bloom cabaret fun takes place. The programme here is really different, fun, engaging, exciting and uplifting. Acting as the second real live stage the Dolly Mixture programme includes a diverse lineup of acoustic, rock, punk, brass, electronica, ska, leftfield and much more. Add to this Bloom’s Comedy Hour, jugglers, acrobats, silly people doing silly things and live beatboxing - the place is going to be jumping and jiving all weekend long.


Funk Bar

A fully stocked bar serving ice cold beers, tasty cocktails, real ale and ciders is at one end, the DJs are playing funk, disco, hip hop and party tunes at the other, you’re groovin’ with your mates on the dancefloor in the middle of the happy, smilin’ crowd that is spilling outside into the sunshine.. Who could ask for more..?


Visuals

Live audio-visual acts and VJs feature heavily at all our events and play an important part at Bloom Festival – with top notch visuals artists playing live across all our stages and big tops making your experience just that extra bit interesting and special.



ARTISTS

Aim

Over the last 6 years Aim has established himself as one of the UK’s leading underground artists releasing the critically acclaimed ‘Cold Water Music’ and ‘Hinterland’ albums as well as remixing a whole host of artists including Ian Brown, St Etienne & The Charlatans.

Having left Grand Central and launched his own Manchester based independent label - ATIC Records – Aim has just released the third album, ‘Flight 602’ which looks set to propel him to further heights.

Acting as an outlet for Aim’s new material and a launch pad for a host of great new acts, ATIC looks set to become a benchmark label. The label is already turning many heads having released the first few ATIC 12”s which prompted DJ Magazine to declare “the hottest label kick start out of Manchester for a while.”

Aim has been working closely with fellow ATIC artist and Aim live vocalist Niko on his new material. He’s been bursting to get it out there; “Musically, it’s a a definite progression from anything I’ve done previously. I think it makes my old stuff sound amateurish,” he says, “so I reckon it’ll do alright.”

The Aim 10-piece live band consists of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, horns, flute, alto-sax and vocals and a succession of great live shows is establishing Aim as one of the best live dance acts around.

Ame (Innervisions)

Frank and Kristian from Karlsruhe, Germany are ‘Ame’. Their deep and groovy brand of house music is as clear in their DJ sets as it is on any one of their twelve-inch releases. Technically faultless, their DJ sets are as immaculate as their productions.

Their now future classic track, ‘Rej’ went on to sell over 20,000 copies (and counting) and was caned by everyone from Carl Craig and Rainer Truby to Dj Hell! They’ve released a slew of incredible re-mixes and productions over the last year, and are now the mainstay of their own (uber-cool) label, Innervisions…

Bugz in the Attic

Sometimes musicians take themselves way too seriously. If they’re not fervently musing about a utopian industry where music is the closest thing to the Aids cure, they’re flogging their master plan to save ignorant consumers from the fatal nature of commercial music.

It’s something of a joy then, that Bugz in the Attic isn’t that kind of group. Orin ‘Afronaught’ Walters, Paul ‘Seiji’ Dolby, Kaidi Tatham, Daz-I-Kue, Alex Phountzi, Cliff Scott, Mark Force and Matt Lord certainly create tunes that make an audacious statement, but behind their mighty façade is a bunch of nonchalant, occasionally chaotic musicians with a natural knack for producing quality dance music.

2004’s ‘Booty La La’ may have well been an accidental hit. It could have been that joint chilling in the basement or maybe a passing joke about a tellytubbie’s arse. Truth is, members Kaidi, Daz and vocalist Mpho Skeef whipped the rascal together to add a hint of originality to their 2004 retrospective remix collection, ‘Got The Bug’ and no one anticipated the single was destined to become an overground smash.

 

Chew the Fat!

London’s longest running breakbeat night, started 8 years ago by Paul ‘Trouble’ Arnold. In our eight year history there isn’t a breaks DJ you could name that hasn’t played at Chew The Fat!, from the Plump DJs to FreQ Nasty, Bushwacka! to the Stanton Warriors. Now throwing monthly Friday parties at the End, as well as countless parties around the world including Barcelona, Berlin, Slovenia and Australia, Fat! prides itself on pushing new developments in the breakbeat sound. Not only is there the club nights, but also Fat! the label, which has launched the career of Friendly and features fantastic new producers such as Merka and B-Phreak.

Coldcut

An Edited Biography of Coldcut - Jonathan More and Matt Black

Most people come into music, do the same thing for a few years, slowly sink back into obscurity and spend the rest of their life collecting publishing royalties and re-forming for tribute tours. The problem with Coldcut is that, despite their veteran status, they act like two unruly children who just won’t sit still.

1987 Say kids, what time is it? - the UKs first sample-built record 1987 Eric B and Rakims Paid in Full (Seven minutes of madness) - redefining the concept of the remix 1988 Whats that noise album released silver in the UK (includes Beats & Pieces, Doctorin’ the House (feat. Yazz) & People Hold On (feat. Lisa Stansfield) 1988 People hold on top 10 in UK singles chart 1988 Coldcut start their solid steel show on Kiss FM 1990 Coldcut tour japan with beats international (Norman Cook), and decide to form Ninja Tune record label 1990 BPI Producers Of the Year award 1990 First Ninja Tune releases - by DJ Food and Bogus Order 1991 Second album Some like it cold released 1993 Autumn leaves released 1993 Coldcut & Hex release their Top Banana computer game in which the female hero KT saves the rainforest by shooting hearts at the tractors and businessmen 1994 Hex release 1995 70 Minutes Of Madness Journeys By DJ mix CD released voted the best mix CD of all time in UK magazine Jockey Slut 1996 Stealth club night (Club of the Year in the NME, The Face and Mixmag) 1997 Let us play released with innovative video and games CD-ROM 1999 VJamm (version 1) released (AV software designed by Coldcut and Camart) 2000 Generator audio-visual installation for the Glasgow Gallery Of Modern Art and Synopticon for the JAM, a major exhibit at Londons Barbican 2002 gridio AV installation at Barcelona MACBA, Paris Centre Pompidou, Graz

Musically, they have continued to refine and develop both their skills and their style so that, after a twenty year career at the forefront they can honestly claim that this is their best, most complete album to date, utterly contemporary, as fresh as the day they started. Maybe they’ve remained masters by remaining unruly schoolchildren. Who knows? All that matters is that the masters are back.

 

Crazy P

Crazy p…based in Nottingham, formally Crazy Penis was started way way back in 1996 by Chris Todd and Jim Baron. Sharing a love of all things soulful and funky the pair attracted the attention of Paperecordings, Manchester, where they released their debut single “Summer Bummer”, to high acclaim…The album “a Nice Hot Bath With….” followed, which put the Penis sound firmly on the map. It was prime time for some vocal action so for their next single release the boys dragged local socialite Danielle Moore into the studio, luckly she could sing and low and behold “You Started Something” was unleashed.

“The Wicked is Music” album followed, a far more ambitious outing than the first, featuring 4 vocals tracks with Danielle and much more “live” twiddling and playing. Requests for live shows followed so more personal were drafted in..Tim Davis (bass, with plenty of Penis experience having already contributed towards the first 2 albums), Mav (percussion, the cream resident had also performed on the last album. As a five piece the band started making a bit of a name for themselves. With the release of “The Wicked..” in Australia, things really started hotting up in true Ozzy fashion.

After plenty of radio play the 5 piece went out there to tour and had the pleasure of playing infront of 1500 fans in Sydney. Australia has become a bit of a second home for the band as they’ve been going out every year ever since. A change of label was to come, as sadly Paperecording was winding down buisness, to Shiva records. “24 hour phsycadellic Freekout” was the first release. The album featured 6 new tracks and 4 Crazy Penis remixes. A new member ,Mat Klose on drums, a friend of Chris’ from his college days, was enlisted and work began on the next “true” artist album “A Night On Earth”. This album saw a name change (the “enis” was lobbed of in favour of a more asexual Crazy P) and developed the live sound that the band had been cultivating after a few years of gigging. The album features a quite a few session performances from local Nottingham musicians as well as clasic electronic outings such as “Lady T” (featuring Rachael Foster) and “life’s My Friend” (featuring Tim Davis on vocals).

2005 was a big year for the guys as they landed a support slot with Faithless on the UK tour in November/December and stood them in good stead for 2006 with has had them gigging back in Oz and all over the UK and Ireland. They also did a half hour session on Radio1 on Pete Tongs show, at the Maida Vale stuios. With lots of summer festivals this year and a return to Oz in the new year the pace doesn’t seem to be slowing for the Crazy kids!

PS, check out Hot Toddy and Ron Basejam on my space, Chris And Jim’s respective side projects.

Dub Pistols

Barry Ashworth and Jason O’Bryan AKA the Dub Pistols have spent the best part of a decade at the forefront of Beats culture. From their early singles for Concrete Records to their genre defying ‘Six Million Ways To Live’ long player, the Dub Pistols have always added a much needed Rock n Roll swagger to the UK’s dance scene. Chewing up hip-hop, dub, techno, ska and punk and spitting them out in a renegade futuristic skank they have consistently defied categorisation and exceeded the highest of expectations.

Their genre-mashing abilities have led to remix work for the likes of Moby, Crystal Method, Limp Bizkit, Bono, Korn & Ian Brown, and has seen them work with hip-hop legend Busta Rhymes on ‘One’, a track for the Blade 2 soundtrack and ‘Molotov’ on the Y Tu Mama Tambien soundtrack. In recent years the band has mutated from a studio based duo into a fully fledged live act, including the talents of UK Hip Hop don Rodney P, the maverick and mercurial former Specials front man Terry Hall, US rap wünderkind T.K., Sugardaddy horn-blower Tim Hutton and scratch maestro DJ Stix.

Their third album ‘Speakers And Tweeters’, released on 9th April 2007, through Rob da Bank’s Sunday Best label, is a consummate statement of intent. Their most accessible to date, the album’s 13 tracks draw on a rich tapestry of influences, weaving tight beats and even tighter rhymes into a refined and assured set. The stirring chords and laid-back beats of ‘Speed of Light’, featuring Blade’s skilful flow, opens the album in style. An inspired cover of Punk legends The Stranglers’ classic ‘Peaches’, immediately grabs the attention, with the vocal dexterities of Rodney P and Terry Hall taking centre stage, before the pumping, angular funk of the album’s title track ‘Speakers And Tweeters’ takes hold. A deeply ingrained skank runs throughout the album, as ably demonstrated on the horn-driven ‘Running From The Thoughts’.

The album’s lead single, released on 2nd April 2007, sees the Dub Pistols taking Blondie’s ‘Rapture’ and booting it firmly into the future, with Terry Hall’s laconic delivery adding an insouciant edge. Following hard on its heels is the bumping krunk of ‘Cruise Control’, harking back to the classic era of street beats and Electro. The Disco strut of ‘Open’ and the Black Ark stylings of ‘You’ll Never Find’ keep things on the boil before the Dub Pistols drop a bold cover. A superlative version of The Specials’ seminal ‘Gangsters’ sees Terry Hall, a quarter of a century wiser, reprising his vocal role, giving the 2-Tone classic a knowing air, underpinned by the band’s groove juggernaut.

Channelling the spirit of Dr Dre on the anthemic ‘Something To Trust’, the Dub Pistols approach the last few tracks in full on intergalactic hip-hop mode. ‘Mach 10’s rolling beats are given an authentic treatment with T.K.’s super slick delivery taking things to the next level. ‘Stronger’s Roots Reggae lilt and the reflective ‘Gave You Time’ provide a polished denouement to what is undoubtedly the Dub Pistols’ finest hour.

DJ Derek

Derek gave up his job in a chocolate factory over 25 years ago to dj in pubs and clubs to predominately black audiences He is sited as a major influence by Massive Attack and others who as young teenagers listened to his tunes through the window of the Star and Garter in Bristol where Derek had a 20 year residency Derek is a weatherspoons officiando he thinks nothing of coming up to London early for a gig then popping off on the coach to Birmingham to visit a new weatherspoons and then heading back to play that evening perhaps via two other weatherspoons on the way. He has visited over 600 of the 650 odd sites all over the country. The joys of cheap bus passes. The BBC have made two documentaries on Derek the most recent one made by BBC west had a surprise ending with Derek attending the unveiling of a plaque in his local pub (an ex Weatherspoons) to commemorate his services to the entertainment industry.

 

Evil Nine

They’ re not evil and there’s only two of them, but other than not living up to their randomly chosen yet aesthetically pleasing name Tom Beaufoy and Pat Pardy in no way disappoint. That’s if you are into a distinctly individual sound that defies categorization and has delivered both cerebral stimulation and dancefloor satisfaction with every release so far. Tom and Pat first combined skills in 1998 and were quickly identified as a quality DJ/Producer duo by Adam Freeland who signed them to his Marine Parade label. Since then each of their releases has in turn distinguished Evil Nine as innovators who refuse to blend into any scene. For them the music has to go beyond being merely ‘fat’. Deriving their musical flavour from multiple influences - hip-hop, punk, electro, dancehall, post punk, garage rock, techno and krautrock just to name a few - they create an original minimalism packed with emotive ability. Their love of branching out rather than playing it safe has led to extremes of rejection or adoration from the public and press, but that’s the way they like it. Evil Nine aren’t afraid of getting up a few noses by attempting something different if it spawns progress and keeps their ever-evolving style fresh. Reactions to the second single from the album, the energetic “Restless” were extremely positive. The ragga vocals and rocking guitars have struck a chord with those bored of formulaic dance tracks, quite simply it sounds like nothing else. Radio support in the UK has come from Zane Lowe, Pete Tong, Annie Nightingale, Steve Lamac, John Peel, XFM and Kiss. Even if Tom and Pat are two likeable blokes and not a menacing crew as their name suggests, as The Independent newspapaer has observed, when they combine their talents and their shared musical vision as Evil Nine they “rock like the proverbial bastard”.

 

Frank Sidebottom

Well where shall I start………..Frank’s first appearance on record was an interview with someone called Chris Sievey on a promotional 12” record for a computer game thingy called ‘The Biz’ on the ace ZX Spectrum! this interview also appeared on the game cassette. This had an effect on Frank and it then became Frank’s ambition to become a superstar and appear on Top Of The Pop’s…….I think!

Frank recorded a promotional cassette of some of his favorite songs, but he had to be careful not to let his mum find out so he started to convert his shed into his showbiz HQ. When the people at EMI listened to the tape they decided to give Frank his own label called Regal Zonophone to release his fantastic records on. The first was a re-recorded version of his Franks Firm Favorites promo cassette and it was renamed Frank Sidebottom sings Franks Firm Favorites EP. This was followed by various showbiz gig’s and radio appearances. In December of 1985 Frank’s second single called Oh Bilmey It’s Christmas hit the shops it had a picture of Frank and Frank’s new friend Little Frank on the cover and came in 7” and 12” versions…………….. which was fantastic and included cover versions and some songs written by Frank. More dates were planned and Frank was becoming a Superstar around Timperley where he lives and still his mum knew nothing of his double life! At this point Frank also started his fan club which was to become the best most tops fan club ever to come from Timperley. Frank and his band recorded his last single for Regal Zonophone in July 1986 which was his Sci-Fi EP which again had loads of tracks on it and came out on 3 formats this time including a shaped picture disc, which had a picture of Frank and Little Frank dressed as Batman and Robin and Frank also designed the covers for the 7” and 12”.

The single failed to make the top 40 but only just! (well maybe not) But Frank was well on the way to becoming a showbiz legend. Frank had to leave Regal as some of the other artist’s complained that….. …. Frank was getting all the superstar treatment and it was not fair!

So Frank joined In-Tape a local Manchester label so it was easier for him to get out to meetings and back home without his mum getting suspicious. The first release from this new deal was Christmas Is Really Fantastic and followed by a Freddie Mercury EP and finally the Timperley EP.This also helped Frank get on to various children’s TV programmes and to secure a deal to write for the brilliant Oink comic. Frank also became a writer for Rodney Rodney a football fanzine, which was another of Frank’s big loves, with Altrincham FC being his main team. From his shed (his showbiz HQ) Frank also recorded Radio Timperley and Frank’s World which usually went out on Manchester’s Picadilly Radio! Later in 1987 Frank setup his own record label Sidetrack which managed one release by Billy and Barry Belly. One year later Frank released his first LP 5.9.88 and this was followed one year later by 13.9.88. Things were going well for frank and without letting his mum know anything about his showbiz stuff, frank signed up to do a TV show for yorkshire TV. A pilot episode was filmed and a six part series was put in to production. The TV show did well and was very funny but some bad scheduling resulted in some bad figures so the show never managed a second series. Things progressed well for frank with some more singles and long players but in the end franks mum decided it was time to get himself a job so she managed to get frank full-time work at Hot! the people who made bob the builder and pingu! This worked well for frank as he loved playing….. It was in 2004 that frank started to get the showbiz bug again and so he started to do the odd gig……….. and then dropped the bombshell to Hot! that he was leaving……. how would they cope without him……… but they let him go anyway and that’s how frank has returned to showbiz. We have re-launched sidetrack and setup not only this site but franks own and there is one for little frank as well! With new releases planned and tours, frank is back on the scene and ready to take the world by storm! (that’s if his mum lets him!)

Louie Austen

“Frank Sinatra meets Kraftwerk… a definite must see” [Bloom Festival]

Only a few months after his Best Of album “Hear My Song” (on English tirk records), Louie released his fourth album “Iguana” on renowned electronica/downbeat label klein. Iguana sounds as if could mash up the anniversary party of the local gardening club of Acapulco - an album for steamy summer nights produced by DJ Phonique, Jeff Melnyk, DJ Friction and Stefan Jungmair of Mum/Mummer. And lately, Louie´s teamed up with the cool cats of Senor Coconut and recorded a cover of “Dreams (Are My Reality)” - the classic from the La Boum soundtrack, will be released later on in `07, watch out for its video.

Louie Austen has been around for longer than you may realise. Now 60, Louie has leaped from thriving as an enigmatic night club crooner to one of the most exhilarating performers dance music currently has to offer. Four albums and one Best Of down the line, one thing the Viennese Electro-crooner still doesnt go for is doing things by half: „Art must be a matter of life and death – otherwise it’s not art“ is Louie´s sincere conviction. And so is “I´ll never retire, I´ll probably die on stage but I don´t give a fuck!” One thing the Viennese Electro-crooner doesn’t go for is doing things by half. Whatever he does is done with his fullest commitment – and often regardless of the consequences. Admittedly, this reckless attitude has given him some serious troubles time and again. And yet it also made him what he is today: a man who finds himself an upcoming and sought-after artist whose career hasn’t yet reached its climax.

The new album Iguana is a balancing act, just like everything else in Louie´s life. Louie sees himself as the iguana of the petting zoo whom people might be scared of at first sight but fascinated at the same time and won´t forget. Not the fluffy bunny everybody loves and wants to caress but the bizarre and extraordinary maverick in the terrarium you would like to touch but he might bite. Ugly in clichés of beauty yet interesting for all this beauty and sleekness in pop bizness are oh so dull. The musical spectrum on Iguana is very wide; it´s a truly versatile and multi-faceted album from a multi-faceted Electro-tainer. There is everything from dance or disco tracks to really dark stuff. It might even be his most diverse longplayer ever with four producers in the credits.

His music allows Austen a transformation from a pure entertainer, who assumes the roles of those he pays tribute to, into an artist in his own right, no less. Part of Louie Austens appeal lies in the fact that he has not entirely discarded the entertainer in this metamorphosis. He brought many things along for the ride, and his know-how of how to entertain with verve and how to put on a great show, his charm and charisma, and the style of the urbane entertainer he had cultivated so long serve him equally well in the electronic underground. He is a mediator who mixes various genres, some of which were previously regarded as incompatible. For several years now he has managed to resolve alleged contradictions and break down prejudices jazz and dance beats, advanced age and youth culture, smart style and underground. In a way I stand for a kind of reconciliation, he describes his unique position, a bridge between old and new or between young and old.

Soul II Soul Soundsystem

‘Keep on Moving Don’t Stop Now!’ These words will resonate through the fields around South Gloucestershire, as one of the biggest and important soul dance acts of the last twenty years, with the larger than life Jazzie B, bring us all ‘Back to Life’.

The Soul II Soul Soundsystem featuring Jazzie B on the decks plus Charlotte King and MC Chickaboo will be making us all smille big stylee at Bloom this summer. After forming in the early 80s, by the end of the decade they produced the absolutely seminal ‘Club Classics Vol 1’ which was an international Number 1 album, smashing up the dancefloors with a string of Number 1 singles. Their following album also topped the charts, cementing Soul II Soul into the league of leading dance acts. Their soul, their funk, and those bopping beats will put a smile on everyones face when they drift through the air this September. “A happy face, a thumping bass, for a loving race!”

The Nextmen

The hip hop producer duo first appeared on the musical radar after mixing a track for London Posse, and their debut album, ‘Amongst The Madness’, followed in 2000 (on the revered 75 Ark imprint). Yet despite their seemingly sedentary pace in the studio (having taken nine years to knock out two albums) these two blokes haven’t been wasting their time. For seven years they’ve been collaborating with artists including Public Enemy and Morcheeba, earning them an enviable reputation for working with relatively unknown acts before they blow up. And so we come to the fruits of a more recent studio stint with The Nextmen’s newest partners in crime, Kidz In The Hall, the new American hip hop/R&B outfit to just break out of New Jersey . The result is a hip hop track with grit enough to cover a Chicago sidewalk and spiced with sufficient soul to win over even the more melodiously inclined beat-connoisseurs.

The beatmakers themselves are Brad Baloo and Dom Search (aka Brad Ellis and Dominic Betmead). Although great enthusiasts of hip hop, they have always liked to mix up their sets with bits of soul, disco and funk. In the past, their records have placed them into the category of ‘hip hop act’, but changes are afoot. Knowledge Be Born reflects the subtle alterations in musical direction for The Nextmen and hints at the shifts that can be heard on their forthcoming album. Frustrated by the stagnation of the club music scene with its ten-year-old hip hop pot-boilers, Brad and Dom decided their newest creations should mirror their eclectic DJ sets: songs replace the grooves of the early noughties and are infused with elements of reggae, soul and dancehall as well as the bread and butter of hip hop.

If you haven’t yet experienced the UK’s brightest beatmakers delivering their nutritious musical blend from live behind the decks (few excuses accepted, short of having been detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure for the past nine years), fear not! With a new live approach taking shape, bringing in vocalists and musicians but still retaining the classic elements that make their DJ sets such energetic affairs, there’s no better time to get yourself out of the house and along to one of their many (yes, many, so definitely no excuses this time please) shows….

Tom Middleton

Tom has recorded under numerous monikers, including Global Communication, the Jedi Knights, Schizophrenia, E621, Mod Wheel, Amba, and Cosmos. Classically trained in the piano and cello, he grew up listening to 80s electro, synth pop, hip-hop, goth rock and later jazz funk, early acid house and Detroit techno. He became interested in dance music after meeting Richard D. James aka the Aphex Twin in 1989. The friendship led to Middleton co-producing (as Schizophrenia) tracks for Aphex Twin’s Analogue Bubblebath EP. After graduating in graphic design in 1991, Middleton met Mark Pritchard and the pair went on to establish the record imprints Evolution and Universal Language, releasing a number of now highly sought-after EPs under various pseudonyms. Their releases included the ambient cult classic track “Ob-Selon Mi-Nos” (as the Mystique Institute), distinctive for its use of the sounds of a chiming grandfather clock, and two highly fêted ambient house releases as Global Communication, Pentamerous Metamorphosis and 76:14. As the Jedi Knights, Middleton and Pritchard released their debut New School Science on Universal Language in 1996, which proved to be a turning point in Middleton’s career. Featuring playful electro, tech-funk and ambient numbers, it was well received and has been cited as an influence by artists such as the Chemical Brothers, the Prodigy, Daft Punk and the Freestylers.

After these successes, Pritchard and Middleton began to work on independent projects and Middleton’s career as a club DJ and versatile and talented remixer began to blossom. His remixing credits encompass a wide range of artists, including Leftfield, Pulp, Lamb, Eddy Grant, Incognito, the Gotan Project, Fluke, Jamiroquai, Depeche Mode, All Saints, Ian Pooley, the Beloved, Goldfrapp, Röyksopp, and Rob Dougan. He remixed the latter’s classic dancefloor hit, “Clubbed To Death”. 1999 saw the end of the Jedi Knights name because of the threat of legal action from George Lucas. As Cosmos (a name inspired by the famous US astronomer Carl Sagan), Middleton scored a club success in 1999 with “Summer In Space”, whose title alludes to the renowned Ibiza club. Middleton spent much of 2000 and 2001 DJing around the world and on remix projects. In 2002, he released “Take Me With You”, a soaring, cyclic dance track that took the clubs and radio by storm. In September of the same year, the track was signed to Polydor Records, remixed and remastered and vocals added courtesy of Andrew Roachford. Despite its popularity with clubbers across Europe, the single failed to make quite the commercial impact that had been anticipated. Nevertheless, with his profile higher than ever, a three-disc mix compilation album The Sound Of The Cosmos was released on the UK dance label Hooj Choons in 2002.

The Earlies

Formed on a Lancashire-Texan axis, Christian and fellow Englishman, Giles Hatton, hooked up with Americans Brandon Carr and John Mark Lapham via the bar in a Manchester recording studio. The four-piece then expanded to be joined by numerous others, the majority gleaned from Burnley’s music scene. Now on a wave of acclaim surrounding their debut LP, These Were… The Earlies, the band have been practising hard for a forthcoming tour, culminating in a slot at the Green Man Festival. “We’re trying to rehearse,” explains Christian. “But there’s 11 people and it’s been farcical. But trust me, these things pull together in the end.”

This apparently shambolic state of affairs – they’re actually excellent live – belies the band’s sparkling depth of musicianship and songwriting, crafted from a Pet Sounds-like palette of layered harmonies and psychedelic build-ups. Yet it’s to late-60s country rock that The Earlies look for their white soul: “We listen to a hell of a lot of country and country rock,” explains Christian. “Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Townes van Zandt, Gene Clark … it influences the sensibilities of the writing, but we don’t necessarily sound like it.”

The Earlies confess to having made much of their new LP on the sauce. “The production side is done with a good sober ear,” explains Christian. “But a lot of the playing is done lubricated, and it works. You get people playing a lot freer on the improvisations.” The band use “improv” to get their ideas out but are well aware of the need to rein it in before things get too bloated. “We’re always running the risk of getting into that territory,” he says. “I have to confess to being a serious prog rock fan. You have to be careful though, you can’t be epic for the sake of being epic.”

Christian has done stints working in a cardboard box factory and a tap manufacturers to fund his musical vision. The Earlies are full of big ideas, they’re an ambitious band. “Yeah, we’re like f**king Britney Spears,” concludes Madden, laughing. “We all thrive on ambition. We’ve been groomed for stardom. Ever since I was five me mam’s been trying to get me on the Ready Brek advert.” Get yourself a bowlful of The Earlies, it’ll make your head glow.

Pendulum

Ever since Pendulum’s formative track ‘Vault’ made it onto acetate in time for the 2003 Winter Music Conference, their music has been included in just about every A-List DJ’s set worldwide. ‘Vault’ was without a doubt the drum&bass tune of the year, every DJ played it, every DJ rewound it, every clubber danced to it, and judging by record sales it seems everyone bought it! Later in the year Pendulum went on to scoop ‘Best Single’ and ‘Best Breakthrough Producers’ at the 2003 Knowledge Magazine awards.

In 2004 the trio moved from Perth to the UK. They returned to the limelight with their debut 12” on label BreakBeat Kaos, titled ‘Another Planet’ – an anthem of such epic proportions, it rocketed to number one in the UK dance chart and also acheived a respectable mainstream chart position of 42, talk about taking the underground to the mainstream!

In 2005 Pendulum return to Australian for a national tour on the back of their up coming debut album ‘Hold Your Colour’ which is out on renown UK label Breakbeat Kaos. Featuring 13 bold and diverse tracks, the album combines the trio’s groundbreaking blend of heavy electronic funk, never-before-heard innovative sounds and ‘real’ musical elements to produce a monster of a long player, destined to break down genres and smash up charts worldwide.

Since then Pendulum have been tipped as the next Prodigy - quite a title to live up to don’t you think…?

Justin Robertson

Justin Robertson’s tastes have always been catholic though in 2007 you would be hard pushed to find a musician working successfully in areas as diverse as dancehall, house and art pop. Justin is a true modernist: he excels as a DJ of international repute; is a creator of bespoke techno; a remixer for the likes of Radio 4, Bjork and Felix Da Housecat and, most recently, has co-written an album with studio boffin Gez Dewar under the name Thee Earls.

Justin came to the attention of Gez after he heard ‘Push and Shove’ the gospel tinged love song he wrote and sang on Fatboy Slim’s Palookaville. Using a stream of consciousness lyrical style and hitting a creative purple patch Justin and Gez have written and recorded an album swiftly. They take their influences from early 80s New Pop and the focused pretension of artists like David Bowie and Talking Heads and flesh out to a five piece when they play live; Nick Abnett, Simon Hanson (Death in Vegas) and Charly Casy (Akasha) are amongst their live squad.

Justin’s new label Never Work provides a platform for his own primitive, visceral house music. So far he has released ‘Machine’, which was popular with the likes of Miss Kittin, Paul Woolford and Trevor Jackson and the stealth attack of ‘Pylon Theory’ is due soon. Justin also records wonky acid house with Gez as Kid Science with their latest ‘The Lights/Absolution’ being licenced to Brique Rouge for an early Spring release.

Justin’s lineage through music has taken many twists and turns. He began as a DJ in Manchester and his early 90s clubs - Spice and Most Excellent - were hugely influential and cornerstones of the burgeoning dance movement. The Chemical Brothers, then students in the city, cited him as their mentor. His Rebellious Jukebox club - also in Manchester - pre-empted the Heavenly Social and the mid 90s trend for mish-mashing musical styles. In the 90s Justin generally operated under various nom de stages, the most renowned being Lionrock with whom he scored several Top 40s hits - ‘Rudeboy Rock’ and ‘Packet Of Peace’ among them - and appeared on Top Of The Pops in a dashing purple suit opting for gramophones over Technics. Songs were plucked from the albums Instinct For Detection and City Delirious for the films Go and City Of Industry and Lionrock shared the stage with acts as diverse as Death In Vegas, The Chemical Brothers and the Cocteau Twins.

It wasn’t until 2001 that Justin stepped out under his own name releasing house and techno like ‘Have Mercy’ for the Bugged Out imprint. In 2001 he recorded his most critically acclaimed project to date Justin Robertson presents Revtone which brought primitive house and new wave disco into the digital age. Originally on Nuphonic the best tracks came out through Bugged Out, with ‘Love Movement’ - remixed by Ulrich Schnauss who cited Justin’s early work as an influence - being placed second best single of 2003 by Jockey Slut magazine. Contemporaries Black Strobe, Chicken Lips and Kiki also remixed Revtone tracks. Expect the second chapter from Revtone in 2007 as Justin is busy on new material with Mark Ralph. For someone with such diverse tastes it should have come as no surprise to anyone when Justin began recording and singing with a guitar. He has been writing songs since his school days and played electric guitar in Lionrock. 2004’s ‘Twisted and Torn’ (released on Slut Smalls) reflected his love for singer songwriters like Neil Young and Nick Drake. In the same year he also wrote a song with Tim Burgess and Rob Playford called ‘Yes It Is’. It became one of the most requested songs on Sean Rowley’s BBC London show and came out on Justin’s Blister Ballads 7” label in the fall of 2006. As a man as reknowned for his reggae collection as his electronica Justin was an obvious choice for Wall of Sound’s Two Culture Clash album project. He recorded in Jamaica in 2005 at the legendary Gee Jam studios with the lovers rock of ‘Save Me’ - featuring guitarist Ernest Ranglin and Nadine Sutherland - the beautiful result. As a DJ Justin plays a mix of techno and electronic house at clubs such as The Loft in Barcelona, Pacha in Buenos Aires, Bugged Out in Manchester, Shine in Belfast, Chibuku in Liverpool, Together at Turnmills in London, and at various clubs all over Europe and the rest of the world. He also plays more eclectic sets featuring his love of reggae, northern soul and pop at nights like Sunday Best.

Justin will continue to wear several hats, metaphorical as well as some stylish real ones!

 

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2008

Bloom Festival 2008 | 8th - 10th August 2008, Seven Springs

This is our third Bloom Festival and we are so excited about what we have lined up this summer we can barely keep our hats on. We aim to create a festival that is easy to navigate (no 20 mile hikes! no hour long queues!), super friendly and safe, is packed with tonnes of fun and nonsense and has the very best gourmet food, cocktails, facilities - and of course top notch music and entertainment.

A little bit of magic. A weekend you will never forget.

See you down the front.

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Bloom and bust for music festival

By Laura Snow http://news.bbc.co.uk/ Website contributor

Described as a "three day long house party", Gloucestershire music festival, Bloom, was set to open its gates in August 2009 to an estimated 6,000 revellers.

However, after nine months of preparation and anticipation, the organizers were forced to cancel, even after a desperate attempt to salvage the festival by relocating the site to Chepstow Racecourse with just weeks to go.

Bloom director, Olivia Chapman, said the credit crunch was partially to blame.

"We are totally independent, in that, we have no financial backer or are not part-owned by a bigger organisation as many other festivals are.

"We don't have that cushion of support to fall back on when things go wrong, and festivals are a constant string of challenges.

"Many festivals, even some of the bigger established ones, have suffered slow ticket sales this year as a result of the recession and as a small independent the knock-on effect impacts greatly on our operation."

Olivia described how they were also faced with opposition regarding the licence conditions.

"Despite widespread local support from residents in the area, the land owners and local council, the stance taken by one particular individual meant that operating times and sound levels would have compromised Bloom so much that it would not have felt like a three day music festival at all.

"Even if we did go ahead with the severely restricted sound levels we could not be certain that complaints during the festival weekend would put us in 'breach of our licence' and subsequently mean we could end up being prosecuted in court.

"It was one of the toughest decisions we have ever had to make, but ultimately, the lack of funding and having to relocate sites at such late notice meant that we were struggling to put on the festival we wanted to.

"So rather than stage a less than perfect Bloom, we decided to postpone everything until 2010."

Bloom festival was nominated for the best new music festival in 2006 and relocated to Gloucestershire from the South West in 2007.

'Solid following'

Olivia went on to explain why Gloucestershire became Bloom's preferred site:

"Over the years we have looked into hundreds of venues, farms, estates, anything and everything.

"We have always been keen on the Gloucestershire area and after our experience at Dyrham Park in 2007 we established a solid following from the Southwest, so it made sense for us to stay in the area.

"It's picturesque, great links to Bristol, Bath, Wales, Oxford, Birmingham and London, great cheese and cider!"

Although Bloom 2010 will not be held in Gloucestershire, Olivia said they would "never rule out returning" to the county.

"We work with so many wonderful artists, contractors, suppliers from the area and will continue to do so, and many of our festival goers are indeed from Gloucestershire."

Bloom will be making an appearance at Beachdown Festival in Brighton on 28th to 31st August, where an exclusive ticket exchange scheme will be in operation for Bloom ticket holders.

 

 


 

 

BloomFestival.com