Etienne De Crecy live at matter.

So far this year I haven’t been to any weekend festivals and frankly, with the exception of Glastonbury, I’m not that bothered. Previous summers have been spent weekend after weekend under canvas getting grubby, so it’s felt good to have a summer off. However as we roll into August and the realisation that the summer is on the way out, the Englishman in me couldn’t quite accept that this would be a season with no festival antics. With the market at saturation organisers are being forced to up the ante on detail in order to make their event stand out; for the bigger festivals line-up and bar space are all important but small or ‘boutique’ festivals need something extra.

My friend and owtic contributor Dan Avery put me onto Standon Calling; set forty minutes out of Liverpool Street in the grounds of country manor in Hertfordshire it has a 5000 capacity (a quarter of the size of Field Day) and boasts amongst other things a pool, excellent food, a 24hour music license, plenty of space in the campsite and festival fairies that leave a refreshing drink outside every tent in the morning. What’s more for its size the line-up is cracking, Buena Vista Social Club headline with; Liars, Etienne De Crecy, Gold Panda, Clock Opera, Summer Camp and Dolorean all making appearances, whilst Filthy Dukes and Greco-Roman host the late night parties. I can’t wait. Weekend tickets are still on sale, we’ll be covering the event and hopefully sneaking a slot on Diesel radio. See you there..