Secret Garden Party
Mill Hill Field, Abbots Ripton | 24-27 July
When we enter on Thursday under sunshine that will stay with us until the festival’s end, we’re taken aback at the loveliness of almost everything we see on our first walk through the site. Scaling the giant urban fox standing majestically in a focal part of the landscaped park, to the glowing Emerald City at centre of the shimmering lake that we are actually allowed to swim in, we know that we’re in for a festival experience less ordinary. If you’re wondering why the Emerald City – each year there’s a theme at SGP and this year’s is ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’. You can interpret it any way you want, but we’re told that dressing up on at least one of the nights is pretty much mandatory.
The organisers of SGP clearly want their punters to have a good time throughout their stay: away from the music, there is so much to participate in. Before the music kicked off in earnest on Thursday night we had managed to squeeze in a couple of goes on Robot Wars and bubble football. While one of the main points of difference here is the greater focus on look and feel, the music on offer is in no way compromised. On Thursday night alone we are treated to a thumping two hour set from Guy Gerber in the largest of SGP’s dance stages, Temple of Boom, a venue as impressive visually as it is in the quality of sound it delivers from front to back.
With such an end to Thursday, we’re somewhat slow to start on Friday. However, with a lake to swim in and countless picturesque spots to doze in, SGP is indubitably one of the best festivals for taking it easy when you need to. By the time we get our cowardly lion costumes on, it’s time to dance to a heavenly disco set from the Futureboogie DJs on the Pagoda Stage, a jetty of a dance-floor that looks out onto the lake. We pull ourselves away to catch Little Dragon on the main stage, an exquisite hour during which they appear the perfect match for the surroundings. From there, we head to The Drop, SGP’s second dance stage, for a very enjoyable session of Skream playing techno, as he is wont to these days. We cap our evening off with some baggy beats from Australia’s Jagwar Ma, who sweetly enter the stage to the Jurassic Park theme before indulging us in a psychedelic set from the green-glow of the tree-covered Where The Wild Things Are stage.
With the sun out in full force on Saturday, we head to the Artful Badger Woods, described in the programme as a mysterious woodland hosted by Pan and his minion the Badger Shaman. Blimey. Upon our visit we’re met by a Trance Mask Workshop being led by Simone Rani, a class that teaches participants to unlock creativity through the wearing of masks. We’d stick around but truthfully it’s a bit much for us, so we head to The Drop to catch Felix Dickinson complete a very enjoyable afternoon of disco in the sunshine. With the biggest crowd of the weekend gathered at the main stage in preparation for Public Enemy, SGP unleash possibly the most impressive firework display we’ve ever seen, topped off with a hand glider scattering red and blue lights attached to propellors whilst Goodbye Yellow Brick Road plays over the speakers.
Public Enemy‘s headline slot on Saturday night is perfect. At Glastonbury last year the band were forced to play without Flavor Flav due to “immigration issues”. The man’s performance at SGP this year really shows what a loss that was: wearing a Sonic Youth t-shirt with trademark clock hanging from his neck, he always keeps the show moving, interjecting enthusiastically between Chuck D’s lyrics and never allowing a silent moment between songs. Of course, Chuck’s rhymes are delivered such impressive fury that you know it really only is Public Enemy when they’re both on stage together.
The non-musical highlight of Sunday comes in the form of an SGP tradition: the paint party. Before David Rodigan takes to the main stage, paint is handed out to members of the audience. Following a count down, the audience members who manage to get hold of paint pelt it at one another whilst more is shot out from behind the stage – it’s a spectacle. Our clothes covered in paint, we head back to our favourite stage, The Drop, to enjoy another disco double-header, this time from Bicep followed by Midland. Whilst Bicep take us through a more straight up party set featuring a nice edit of Sister Sledge’s Lost in Music, Midland’s two and a half hours are typically varied, dwelling on more cosmic house before out of nowhere he brings it back to the disco workout Bicep left him with. We manage to pull ourselves away to have a lovely big crowd moment as the legendary Martha Reeves and The Vandellas closes with Dancing In the Street before enjoying the ritualistic burning of the lake’s centerpiece – this year is of course the Emerald City – before heading back to The Drop to crown a fantastic weekend lost in one of the UK’s best festival experiences with a masterful set from Jackmaster, Joy Orbison and Optimo.
At nearly 200 pounds a ticket, some might look at the Secret Garden Party line-up and argue that it’s a punchy price given the relatively low number of big name headliners. The fact that it remains the festival of choice for so many year after year is therefore a testament to the quality of the acts selected, and the fact that SGP offers a truly unique experience.
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Words: Jack Bolter
Photography: Alexia Ward & Holly Presdee
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