Hampshire’s Hottest Festivals

Hampshire’s Hottest Festivals 2016

Wickham Festival 2016 – 4th-7th August – Blind Lane, Wickham – http://www.wickhamfestival.co.uk/

Wickham Festival is truly one of those local boutiquee festivals that all the family can enjoy. Organisers look set to achieve their “impossible dream” of topping 2015’s award-winning event. Wickham was voted Best Festival (Under 15,000 Capacity) at the Live UK Music Business Awards 2015 for the four-day fiesta. As well as three stages showing off the lineup, the addition of a fourth stage will allow festival-goers to hear some of Hampshire’s best up and coming talents. This year’s lineup includes Tony Hadley, The Stranglers, Lindisfarne and the SAS Band featuring Queen’s drummer Roger Taylor. It’s not just the music at Wickham that’s exciting though, with a range of family films to see at the Groovy Movie solar-powered cinema. There is also a cartoon cinema, storytelling, puppet theatre and make ‘n’ take crafts tent. And, too top it all off there’s even a digital funfair, playbus, laser arena, bouncy castles and children’s entertainers; all of which are free once you’re inside the festival arena!

Boomtown Fair 2016 – 11th-14th August – Matterley Estate, Winchester – http://www.boomtownfair.co.uk/

Boomtown is one of the UK’s festival wonders. It’s a non-commercial work of art and this month will see us turn the first page of 2016’s ‘Chapter 8’. The festival has ballooned to a staggering 50,000 so-called ‘citizens’ since Boomtown’s streets first opened in 2009. Boomtown Fairs’ mind-blowing creative landscape is utterly diverse, eclectic and simply inspiring. If all festivals took on Boomtown’s wild, weird and entertaining approach to their creative installations then the world would be a better place. And, if you throw in the festival’s fictional yet real-esque backstory, which develops with each passing year, then you’re in for one hell of an experience. The past weeks have seen the festival unleash a stream of lineup announcements, one for each of Boomtown’s nine themed districts. The festival’s vast immersive experience is one like no other, pulling in music from a variety of alternative genres; ska, folk, punk, reggae, electro-swing, drum & bass, hip-hop and bassline to name but a few. 2016’s lineup has grown strong with every announcement and will see the likes of Damian ‘Jr Gong’ Marley, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Parov Stelar and Fun Lovin’ Criminals share stages with UK legends Madness, Bad Manners, Leftfield and Levellers among others.

Bestival 2016 – 8th-11th September – Robin Hill Country Park, Isle of Wight – http://www.bestival.net/

Strategically placing itself at the end of the UK festival marathon is one last blow-out weekend for everyone to enjoy before the dismal British winter sets back in. Rob da Bank’s Bestival is renowned for its eclectic lineups, and 2016 is looking no different! With over 25 stages, and creative content that’ll knock your wellies off if you’re not prepared, Bestival really is one of the best and brightest festivals. Bestival’s annual theme is ‘Future’ this year, so expect punters dressed as spacemen, whilst appropriate theming will cover the site. The festival’s infamous ‘Port’ stage turning into the ‘Spaceport’ The Cure, Major Lazer, Hot Chip and Wiz Khlaifa are topping to bill, not to mention a vast array of DJs that complete Bestival’s electronic-inspired grassroots.