Festibelly is the one day, 2000 person music shindig held down in the New Forest. Renowned for its local flavour and diverse acts it is now firmly established in the festival calendar. Here Gobshout chats with festival organiser Andy about what visitors can expect, why they kept it to just the one night and who he’s looking forward to seeing.
Can you give us a bit of information about how Festibelly started?
Festibelly was conceived as a university project for myself and Tom, intended to be a festi that would exist only on paper! But after we put so much time into it we could think if nothing better than to try and do it for real. It was a total gamble but luckily has paid off (just about).
It’s only one night. Why did you decide to stick to that rather than the multi-night format of other festivals?
A number of reasons really. We feel it’s nice to have the option to come to a festival where you don’t have to commit 3/4 days to it, pay shit loads for the privilege and come back ruined and semi-comatose for the next week. People can come to festibelly and see a selection of great acts, do the camping thing, experience the festival vybe and be home 24 hours later. Perfect.
There’s quite a diverse range of bands. Do you have any kind of specification for the acts you put on?
Just to try and keep it as open as possible really. I think the lineup reflects a tiny portion of our own personal taste in music and the kind of acts we’d like to see ourselves, nothing more than that! Verging on slightly alternative but still throwing a few crowd pleasers in there! We definitely try and support new and emerging talent more than anything.
What’s the mash-up rating? Is it quite well behaved, or do people come to chew their elbows off?
It’s definitely not a complete and total rave up. People can have a good time late into the night dancing to gypsy folk around the campfire or singing there hearts out in the silent disco but you won’t find a10am techno tent here unfortunately. Maybe next year!
What time are stages and tents open until?
The main stage finishes at midnight with other music until 2/3, and an all night silent disco.
Whats the crowd? Is it a London scene, or locals from the New Forest?
It’s a really nice mixture actually, you get a good gang of music lovers coming down from London for the New Forest fresh air and also a surprising amount of people from various other destinations around the UK. It’s certainly not a ‘local thing for local people’, we want to get people from all over to come and experience the beautiful New Forest.
Who are you most looking forward to seeing?
The Shimmy Shakers and Heartbreakers, our late night cabaret act. Praise the lord.
Where?
The New Forest- Undershore, Lymington, Hampshire, SO41 5QA.
When?
Saturday 28th August.
Who?
The Big Pink, Johnny Flynn, King Charles, Man Like Me, O Children.
Website?
http://www.festibelly.com/
Posted In Festivals, Aug 10 2010.
Words - Gobshout Team 2