The heart of the Yorkshire Dales is symbolic with hill walking, peaceful air and cosy pub establishments.
In two weeks however, the rush of euphoria and sound of beats begins to a sea of noise and dancing at Heslaker Farm near Skipton.
The return of Beacons Festival is greatly welcomed in the music calendar following last year’s cancellation due to flooding.
The weather this year has been arguably worse for festivals which have seen both the Great Yorkshire Show and M-Fest at Harewood House cancelled. However for this year’s event, the Beacons organisers have taken a sensible decision to move to a different field on safer ground.
Regardless of the weather, it is the location and views of the scenery combined with the line-up that provokes imaginations of pure hedonism and curiousness.
DJ’s and Acts from the emerging current house/garage period spearheaded by Boiler Room and Rinse FM in London are set to land on the field. Part of this particular scene includes the popular Oneman, Lunice and Jam City, all several DJ’s and acts worth looking at regardless of day or night. For noisier thrills, there is Maya Jane Coles fresh from Ibiza and a granddaddy of techno, Andrew Weatherall.
From a cultural point of view, the big question is what sort of atmosphere the electronic acts will bring. Will it show the current dance scene and combine it with the imaginations of the energetic Castlemorton Free Festival hardcore period?
The nearby market town of Skipton recently won an award in The Guardian for the best place to move to for retired people. By bringing this particular sound near to Skipton, the organisers are taking an intelligent, enthusiastic approach in bringing different cultures together.
Bands also worth checking out include Beach House who were labelled as ‘dream pop’ in other sections of the music press. The euphoric sound effects taken from their recent album ‘Bloom’ melt your mind regardless of the feeling particularly the tracks ‘Lazuli’ and ‘Wild’.
2:54 have been around the block for a while beginning unsigned. The duo has been quoted in hoping to bring their heavy guitar sound to America. They are also set to support the XX on their upcoming tour beginning in September. Also performing are Wild Beasts and Ghostpoet, that are both poetically spoken and bring something different too.
Aside from the music, there is also fun for all the family with real ale and food fresh all locally produced in Yorkshire. Artistically, there is also a pop-up fancy dress boutique to an experimental sound garden and bespoke kids area, and unexpected oddities to satisfy all ages.
There is even a theme for this year’s festival titled ‘All the Fun of the Fair’ which could either be a Benny Hill sketch or a Danny Boyle inspired feel-good Britannia revival depending on your mind.
Either way the prospect looks intriguing with this festival looking to combine past ideology to the keep on going future in the midst of the hills.
Beacons Festival tales place near Skipton in the Yorkshire Dales from 17-19 August 2012.Tickets are still available from £34.50 per day and £84.50 for the weekend. Go to www.greetingsfrombeacons.com
