Coming up to its fourth fantastic year, Latitude Festival continues to fulfil its subtitle of ‘So much more than a music festival’, This mini-style Glastonbury on Suffolk’s Henham Park estate provides a truly tranquil backdrop for a festival. With the central point between camping and the arena being a bridge across the lake overlooked by rolling green hills, covered in multi-coloured sheep (no, seriously!), it becomes clear that this location is something unique to festivals in the UK. This year’s Latitude promises not to disappoint, with headliners in the shape of 80s pop gods the Pet Shop Boys, as well as Grace Jones and the fantastic Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.

Whilst many festivals concentrate on specific style or genre of music, Latitude’s personality seems to exude confidence, bringing together music and arts of all shapes and sizes. In past years it has played host to some of the best ever sets by bands like Arcade Fire, Seasick Steve, and Damien Rice. But unlike other music festivals, Latitude is really not all about the music. The festival has so much more on offer, with a dedicated comedy arena, cabaret, film theatre (where last year, Guillemots played a live re-write for the soundtrack to David Lynch’s Eraserhead), poetry tent, and a stage situated in the deepest darkest part of the woods. The relaxed festival-goer can order a glass (or jug!) of ice-cold Pimms in the over-18 only Pimms area at the side of the river, and kick back in a deck-chair, to reminisce about days gone by, or dream about how brilliant it would be if this lasted all year!

After the sun goes down, and the moon comes up, the woods are where the festival really comes to life. After the last headline bands of the evening have finished, punters make their way over to the stage in the woods, where DJs play until the small hours of the morning, and its not your usual I-heard-of-this-guy-in-the-80s-and-now-he’s-sold-out pretentious DJs either. They are happy to slap on the 80s synth music to get you punching the air, and stomping your feet all night long, because, let’s be honest, after the bands have finished no-one wants to watch some pompous DJ trying to ‘educate’ the crowd with a challenging set. You just want to twat about to ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’ with your mates. By day, this area is filled with relaxing sofas, and what they have dubbed the “silent disco” where punters who have had a heavy night before can, for a small donation, rent a set of headphones and kick back on the sofas listening to their favourite music or comedy.

But apart from the plethora of arts available to whet your pallets with, its the incredible attention to detail that makes Latitude festival such a special summer event. Rather than the organisers, festival Republic, treating punters like giant herds of turnstile-pushing cattle, it really feels as though you are being looked after. As you step through the giant, flower-embossed welcome point of the festival, the whole vibe is completely chilled out. From the offset, security guards aren’t as rough as you would expect from festivals like Reading or even Glastonbury, and also, vendors seem to be more helpful. They don’t just slop the food onto a re-used paper plate and expect you to pay £5 for a bacon roll. Then there’s the gondoliers who ferry sun-soaked punters up and down the scenic river that runs straight through the middle of the festival grounds, and also, for the hidden hippy in you, even the beer cups are recyclable! Whenever you buy a beer at one of the festival’s comfy beer tents, you can take the cup with you, and return it later to any beer tent in the grounds for £2 off your next beer, or a cash refund. It can actually be quite amusing watching parents send their kids out cup-collecting all day.

Finding your way around the festival is incredibly easy, as in the campsite, pathways and specific areas are marked with gigantic coloured flags. Festival Republic also offer skint partiers a “cash for trash” scheme. For those of you out there who are planning to attend more than one festival this summer, and are torn between making a choice. Latitude is an easy option. If you click onto the official website, you can volunteer for the weekend to keep the place clean and tidy, and after 8 hours work you will get free entry to the festival all weekend, so you get to save the environment, and enjoy all your favourite bands at the same time. Genius!

If this all seems a bit “airy fairy” for you, don’t be put off. Latitude throws a party better than the best of them. It feels as though this is what Glastonbury must’ve been like all those years ago, when your dad had a mullet, and your mum burned her bra. It is fast becoming one of the best festivals in the UK, and really gives its all to make your festival experience one to remember. It confidently moulds all the best bits of what we have come to know and love about festivals into one neat little package, and eradicates all the bits we don’t like, like long queues for beer, dirty toilets, and filthy campsites. Latitude is a great starter festival, so for those of you haven’t been camping/drinking/stewing in your own sweat for three days in a row ever before, this is definitely the place to be popping your festival cherry. Oh, and don’t forget there’re also those multi-coloured sheep!  

www.latitudefestival.co.uk

Words > Franc Botha