Secret Garden Party to end ‘in its current form’
This weekend’s Secret Garden Party (SGP) will have its main stage set ablaze, symbolising the finale of the event in its current form and a call for change in the embattled UK festival sector.
Organisers say the 2024 event – entitled, Secret Garden Party: Roots – will “mark the end of Secret Garden Party as you know it”, off the back of festival crises at home and abroad.
With a focus on collaboration, SGP is aiming to highlight the need for independents to work together to rebuild and restore the scene, after the number of UK festivals to have announced a postponement, cancellation or complete closure in 2024 surpassed 50. Saturday’s ‘Burning Of The Main Stage’ will represent “a call for urgent change; from the ashes something new will grow from the garden”.
“In 2025, we’re offering our SGP site to all those festivals that have had to cancel or for stages and collectives that have lost their ‘home'”
The 30,000-cap event, which runs from 25-28 July in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, UK, features more than 350 artists including Unkle, Crystal Fighters, Ren, Chinchilla, Franky Wah, Carly Wilford, Adelphi Music Factory, Jakkob, Omega Nebula, Technobrass and TC & The Groove. It previously announced it was foregoing big-name headliners for 2024 in favour of nurturing grassroots acts after signing up to independent collective Chai Wallahs’ Drop a Headliner campaign.
“In today’s world it’s no longer sustainable for independents to run festivals,” says SGP founder Fred Fellowes. “In 2025, we’re offering our SGP site to all those festivals that have had to cancel or for stages and collectives that have lost their ‘home’. Let’s work together, we have the space and drive to make sure not all is lost for those independents that drive our scene forward.”
Last year, SGP, which returned in 2022 following a five-year hiatus, announced plans to evolve into a social enterprise-based music festival, with organisers committing 65% of the event’s profits to being a “force for good”.
The SGP team are also premiering seven-day wellness and family camping festival Wild Meadows from 5-11 August. As well as music, it will feature a programme of activities including crafting, woodland skills, and games, while the Herb Garden Wellness experience will offer sound healing, yoga, breath work, meditation and workshops.
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Secret Garden Party unveils wellness & family fest
The team behind the UK’s Secret Garden Party (SGP) are premiering a new seven-day wellness and family camping festival.
Wild Meadows will debut from 5-11 August at the SGP site in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. As well as music, Wild Meadows will feature a programme of activities including crafting, woodland skills, and games, while the Herb Garden Wellness experience will offer sound healing, yoga, breath work, meditation and workshops.
Weekend and day tickets are also available alongside full week passes.
It is the second event to be announced by SGP in 2024 so far, with the flagship festival due to return from 25-28 July. An invite-only gathering, Mistress Mary, is also in the works for September.
“We are excited to welcome old and new Gardeners alike to rediscover our beautiful site with fresh eyes, their families and their friends”
“We are excited to welcome old and new Gardeners alike to rediscover our beautiful site with fresh eyes, their families and their friends, in a wholesome camping adventure sprinkled with Secret Garden Party magic,” says SGP founder Fred Fellowes.
The launch of Wild Meadows continues a notable shift towards health-focused events within the UK business, with festivals such as Oxfordshire’s Wilderness providing wellness and lakeside spa experiences.
SGP revealed earlier this month, meanwhile, that it is foregoing big-name headliners for 2024 in favour of nurturing grassroots acts after signing up to independent collective Chai Wallahs’ Drop a Headliner campaign. It is also replacing its main stage with several smaller, more intimate venues.
The lineup for Secret Garden Party: Roots features more than 350 artists including Unkle, Crystal Fighters, Chinchilla, Franky Wah, Carly Wilford, Adelphi Music Factory, Jakkob, Omega Nebula, Technobrass and TC & The Groove.
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UK festival joins ‘Drop a headliner’ campaign
Secret Garden Party (SGP) has announced it has signed up to independent collective Chai Wallahs’ Drop a Headliner campaign to focus on nurturing grassroots acts for its 2024 edition.
The UK festival, scheduled for Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, from 25-28 July, is foregoing big-name headliners in favour of allocating resources to supporting rising acts.
The move represents a call to action to save the indie scene, with 34 major events having already declared a postponement, cancellation or complete closure this year, and the Music Venues Trust reports that 16% of UK grassroots music venues have been lost in the last 12 months.
This year’s SGP lineup features more than 350 artists including Unkle, Crystal Fighters, Chinchilla, Franky Wah, Carly Wilford, Adelphi Music Factory, Jakkob, Omega Nebula, Technobrass and TC & The Groove. Chai Wallahs, The Living Room and Noiganica will also host dedicated venues to diverse, grassroots live music, while Save Our Scene, Parable Music, Dubtendo and Truth Tribe will provide stage takeovers.
“We believe in being a breeding ground for talent to grow,” says founder Freddie Fellowes. “Why allocate a massive budget to one or two headliners when it could fuel another 50 outstanding acts? This year’s focus is on providing grassroots artists the ability to shine, whilst actively redefining festival experiences for the future.”
“For the grassroots scene to survive and thrive, this talent needs platforms and opportunities to be able to develop, so we must address the disparity”
Launched in 2004, the 32,000-cap event has previously hosted performances by the likes of Lily Allen, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Florence & The Machine, The XX and Regina Spektor.
“Having been ardent supporters of the grassroots scene for over 20 years, we were chuffed when Secret Garden Party agreed to be the first independent festival to collaborate with us on the ‘Drop a Headliner’ campaign,” says Chai Wallahs’ founder Si Chai. “There is so much more enjoyment to be had in the discovery of new music, and please trust me when I say that there is a massive world of undiscovered talent. For the grassroots scene to survive and thrive, this talent needs platforms and opportunities to be able to develop, so we must address the disparity.”
The campaign notes that with headliners at that level commanding up to £150,000, SGP is taking the opportunity to re-allocate the figure to finance around 222 individual acts.
“This staggering number would create a marked upsurge in independent music and become a building block for its sustained growth,” it says.
Chai continues: “This campaign highlights not only the opportunities for programmers to be more creative with their million pound budgets, but also presents a chance to support a whole ecosystem of artists. It provides greater enjoyment to open minded music lovers, and a healthy alternative to playing the big name game.”
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Secret Garden Party adopts social enterprise model
The UK’s Secret Garden Party is to evolve into a social enterprise-based music festival, with organisers committing 65% of the event’s profits to being a “force for good”.
The 30,000-cap event will become the biggest festival to embrace the model so far, setting out its mission to help in the “rehabilitation of at risk and disenfranchised individuals via the arts”. At least 65% of profit will go to front line organisations in these sectors, with the remainder going towards in-house partnerships and apprenticeship schemes such as Bridges For Music.
Launched in 2004, SGP has won several awards for spearheading new ideas including the introduction of MAST drug-testing, no branding policy, and immersive audience participation.
“SGP has always been founded on a principle of inclusivity,” says SGP founder Freddie Fellowes. “This is a word that’s meaning has evolved and grown up along with us. As a result, we deeply understand how much work and effort is involved in ensuring that a party is truly inclusive. Recently much has been noted regarding how inclusive the music industry is – or isn’t – and this set us thinking about how much more we could go with our core principles of being progressive, inclusive, and relevant.
SGP returns to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire this summer from 20-23 July, headlined by The Libertines, Underworld and Fat Freddy’s Drop.
“Our theme for 2023, ‘A New Hope’, is not just some pithy reference to our pledge to have better loos this year,” explains Fellowes. “It is a real Declaration of Independence as we are ensuring that Secret Garden Party (Version 2.0) is a force for good by officially becoming a social enterprise.
“It is exciting to continue to show that there is another way to run live events and we know that ‘Why’ things are done is as important to our audience as the ‘How’. So, making this pledge to play it forward is something I see as vital right now.”
Relaunching the festival in 2022 following a five-year hiatus, Fellowes was keen to establish a more formal set-up that will benefit others.
“We came back because Covid – and lockdown – opened our eyes to what a privilege it was to hold a gathering such as SGP,” adds Fellowes. “Now, as we stare down the barrel of a cost of living crisis, that privilege is something to be leveraged further; by establishing ourselves as a social enterprise I can ensure that SGP is, and will always be, a force for good.”
The estate where SGP is held is family-run by Fellowes, meaning workshop space and accommodation facilities to mentor, patron and apprentice individuals will now be available year-round.
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Fellowes, Drape, Measham on the case for drug testing
The Loop director Fiona Measham, Broadwick Live’s Jon Drape and Secret Garden Party promoter Freddie Fellowes joined AFEM CEO Mark Lawrence at IMS Ibiza last month to discuss drug testing at festivals and clubs.
‘The Case for Drug Testing at Events, presented by The Loop’, on day two of IMS, saw the two festival bosses – both of whom have led the way in implementing the Loop’s multi-agency safety testing (MAST) at their events – talk with Measham and Lawrence about their experience of front-of-house pill testing, and its effectiveness in reducing the harm associated with drug use, with Fellowes describing the growth of MAST as “the first meaningful change in harm-reduction policy that I’ve seen in our industry” in 20 years.
Calling for change, Measham, also professor of criminology at Durham University, said in order to avoid future drug fatalities at festivals, “we need to is actually encourage a more healthy relationship with drugs”.
Watch the panel in full, exclusively on IQ, above.
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Secret Garden Party founder scoops award
Secret Garden Party founder Freddie Fellowes admitted he was “humbled” to be presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Festivals at the UK Festival Awards at east London’s Troxy last night.
Award directors’ judged that he “held a pivotal role in the formation of the now thriving boutique festival scene”.
Fellowes said: “I feel very humbled by this, and to tell the honest truth, this has been not only an honour and a privilege but also an utter blast to have been a part of. Every year so many people gave so much to make this party and in return got so much back from it. It was beautiful. I’m glad for all of those people that it’s been recognised.”
“This has been not only and honour but also an utter blast.”
A spokesperson for the awards said: “Across its illustrious 15-year tenure, the Secret Garden Party consistently set the creative benchmark for UK festivals – shifting the focus away from big name headliners in order to cultivate an extraordinarily immersive and participatory atmosphere through fantastical set design and meticulous attention to detail. It facilitated a grant system to encourage upcoming artists and acted as a springboard to a whole host of creative people – musicians, installation artists, performers, chefs, technicians – who have gone on to forge successful careers around the world.
“In addition to pioneering in the creative side of festival organisation, Fellowes has not been afraid to tackle current issues head on. He has been widely commended for being one of the first organisers to sanction MAST drug-testing facilities at a festival, a practice that has since been rolled out across many other festivals and events in the UK. And, with his wife Joanna he has been very vocal about promoter duty of care concerning the issue of sexual assaults at live music events. He encouraged AIF to set up the sexual safety charter for events.”
Latitude (cap. 39,999) scooped Best Major Festival at the ceremony, hosted by comedian Rufus Hound. Best Medium Festival went to End of the Road (14,000), headlined this year by Father John Misty, Jesus and Mary Chain and Mac Demarco; while Lincolnshire’s Lost Village Festival (5,000) won Best Small Festival.
TRNSMT Festival (50,000), promoted by DF Concerts on Glasgow Green, picked up Best New Festival, and Camp Bestival won Best Family Festival. CODA won Agency of the Year, while SJM Concerts picked up Promoter of the Year.
The UK Festival Awards are decided by a combination of public vote and industry judges. Previously held at the Roundhouse, it moved to the Troxy for the first time this year. The UK Festival Conference, usually held on the same day as the awards, was discontinued.
The full list of winners is:
Best Major Festival
In association with Ticketmaster
Latitude Festival
Best Medium-Sized Festival
In association with Peppermint Bars
End of the Road
Best Small Festival
Lost Village
Best New Festival
In association with Skiddle
TRNSMT Festival
Best Metropolitan Festival
Slam Dunk Festival
Best Family Festival
Camp Bestival
Best Non-Music Festival
Bournemouth 7s
Promoter of the Year
In association with Imaginators
SJM Concerts
Agency of the Year
Coda Agency
The Brand Activation Award
In association with CGA
The JägerHaus
The Grass Roots Festival Award
2000trees
Best Overseas Festival
Outlook Festival
Best Festival for Emerging Talent
In association with Skiddle
Dot to Dot Festival
Line-Up of the Year
In association with Tuned In Travel
Liverpool Music Week
Best Festival Production
In association with PRG XL Video
Lost Village
Marketing Campaign of the Year
Kendal Calling with Tour.Media
The Innovation Award
In association with Transition Video
The Loop
Concession of the Year
Piecaramba!
Best Hospitality
In association with Pernod Ricard
Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park
The Outstanding Contribution to Festivals Award
Freddie Fellowes
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Secret Garden Party 2017 to be the last
There will be no Secret Garden Party (SGP) beyond 2017, the festival’s founder, Freddie Fellowes, announced this morning.
The multi-award-winning Cambridgeshire event – this year headlined by Crystal Fighters, Metronomy and Toots and the Maytals – yesterday teased its “biggest-ever announcement”, but few expected that announcement to be of its cancellation.
A press release from SGP, which has grown exponentially since its founding in 2003, says it was a difficult choice to axe the festival, “as either too early or too late would have consequences for the loyal gardeners [festivalgoers]”.
Festival promoter Backwoodsman Ltd’s latest full-year accounts show it lost £115,319 in 2015, an improvement on 2014’s -£182,002. At a capacity of 32,000, SGP is the largest outdoor event in the UK with no sponsors or brand partners.
“Fifteen years ago I started out with a set of ideas as to what makes a good party and the most perfect venue for it,” says Fellowes, who as the eldest son John Ailwyn Fellowes, 4th Baron de Ramsey, is heir apparent to the de Ramsey baronetcy. “But with no set idea of what the destination was for this venture, the festival was, at that time, the perfect medium through which to explore these ideas. But rather than getting too excited and telling you about the phoenix we are going to raise from all of this, it bears explaining why we are lighting the fire.
“This summer will be the almighty send-off that the Garden Party deserves … think of it more as ‘Dylan goes electric’ than our Altamont”
“Much has changed since our first Garden Party, when there was nothing else like it in the UK: Facebook, YouTube and Twitter had yet to be invented and no one knew what a boutique festival was, let alone glamping.
“Since then the Garden Party has defined and redefined outdoor events in the UK, [and] we have done so as a collective of truly independent outsiders. We have never compromised our principles and we never will. SGP has always been a beacon of what you can do within those terms and, as imitation – being the sincerest form of flattery – proves, it has set the bar for everyone else going forward.
“But it is exactly because of those principles, and the love of those who have made the Garden Party what it is, that we are committing this senseless act of beauty.
“What better way to honour the love that has been given to this project and wholly demonstrate this principle than finishing now? This isn’t some principled self-immolation; this is opening up it for the future. So this summer will be the almighty send-off that the Garden Party deserves, and while that is going to cause some tears to be shed, think of it more as ‘Dylan goes electric’ than our Altamont.
“Because, after all, you can’t be avant-garde from within an institution and lest we forget: the frontier always moves.”
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