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Beat-Herder 2019 review: DJ Yoda ensures The Force is strong at summer shindig


It’s sometime after midnight on a hot Saturday in July and I’m standing next to a hollowed out van concealing a sound engineer inside a mock factory, deep in rural Lancashire.

In the space of about three minutes, I’ve witnessed ravers, young and old, having it large to snippets of Nas, A-ha, General Levy and the Indiana Jones theme.

Each instantly recognisable, crowd pleasing fragment is segued neatly into the next over hip hop beats. Old skool scratching is thrown in for good measure.

It’s textbook DJ Yoda, with nod after nod to 1980s pop and sub-culture, all blended together and somehow made to sound effortlessly cool.

Beat-Herder remains as idiosyncratic as ever

More importantly, though, it’s classic Beat-Herder – a festival that promises “an orgy of beats, barminess and unrivalled revellery”.

Having started out as an open air party for a select few friends 13 years ago, the summer shindig now boasts around 20 venues and can host as many as 12,000 people.

It might not be the best kept secret it once was, but the warmth, friendliness and idiosyncrasies are as present as ever.

Yoda’s rousing set in The Factory came shortly after heavyweight dance duo Groove Armada had lit up the Beat-Herder Stage – aka The Main Stage.

Beat-Herder is the best party of the summer

For me, it was the highlight of the weekend at Dockber Farm.

But that’s not to say there weren’t plenty of others.

Musically, Beat-Herder has its roots in anything that’ll have you getting your groove on.

The Beat-Herder stage hosted acts including Rudimental and Basement Jaxx

On the Friday night, it was Basement Jaxx’s turn to wow with a banging DJ set on the Main Stage, warming up the crowd nicely ahead of Rudimental’s headline performance.

A surprise hit then came in the form of Kazabian, the official and only tribute act endorsed by indie space rockers Kasabian. Their late night set went down a storm.

It was a good weekend to be a tribute act as Oasis wannabes Definitely Mightbe managed to coax people out of their tents and into The Factory for an afternoon of indie anthems.

Definitely Mightbe drew people out of their tents

Between that, DJ Yoda and a ‘legends slot’ performance from veteran disco queens Sister Sledge on the Sunday, there was fun galore to be had in every corner of the festival.

There really is something for just about everyone at Beat-Herder. Go hard in The Fortress, chew the fat over a beer in the Working Men’s Club or relax at Trash Manor.

And a visit wouldn’t be complete without experiencing the Toil Trees, the festival’s beating heart that’s home to a round-the-clock rave in the woods.

Go hard or go home in The Fortress

But it’s the small touches that really make the festival what it is – the hand-built stages, flags adorned with the Beat-Herder emblem, fireworks display, secret tunnels and other hidden gems.

The newly introduced limit on the amount of booze you can bring with you and ID requirements are merely a small price to pay for access to the best party of the summer – anywhere.





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