Beat-Herder Festival is a brilliant music festival held in the Ribble Valley, Clitheroe, UK. Since its inception in 2006, the festival has grown from a small gathering of 1,200 people into a beloved event attracting thousands of festival-goers each year. Bass, character and community - At Acid Rain, this is our favourite festival.
Have a look at our feature video on the festival below for reviews on the music and the character of Beat-Herder. We put a lot of oomph into the video and are pretty proud of it!
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WILL:
I write the first of these words sitting by a waterfall, surrounded by trees next door to Gay Paris which is absolutely blasting the surrounding area with girthy frequencies. I am slightly concerned for those in the actual stage but I'm definitely sure it's worth the ear damage.
Beat-Herder is easy to summarise; it's comfy, a perfect size for a quality festival and absolutely oozing with personality. As my editor gave me the initial tour I felt more like I was walking through some theme park area except instead of fictional characters it was full of real characters.
The first gig on our agenda were our old friends K-Klass and I didn't take long to make our first new friends of the festival, shoulder to shoulder at the front barrier (which by the way was made of raw wood and was just one of those small things that helps Beat -Herder blend into the land around it and feel really special. Especially the area around the woodlands.)
On our first day we met a whole host of new (and some old) friends. This festival really is one of those places that inspires camaraderie and a loyal following. Every Beat-Herder veteran I spoke to, upon hearing it was my first time, looked at me with a knowing gleam in their eye. It was much rarer to find someone who was also experiencing their first crack at Beat-Herder the only one I can recall was named Kai and I remember him well because it was his first ever festival! What a way to break in!
Breathing in our surroundings the energy was electric, people lean right into the festival from day one and I am here for it. A few stages open on the Thursday, not all, so as we walked around we obtained our bearings and
Friday brought with it a whole host of new experiences. We interviewed three artists. Firstly, Elodie Alois, a Northern native and regular at the festival, draws her musical inspiration from the 90s house scene, with a particular passion for deep house. Although young, she knows her stuff and spoke candidly about how she got into mixing music and the goals she aims to achieve (Interview out soon). We always love talking to grassroots artists, as it is these musicians who are shaping the sounds we hear today.
Worried About Henry regular Goddard. and Dread MC (check out the interview on the (see below) which lasted right up until 15 minutes before they were due on stage! They were absolutely lovely and obviously had much love and respect for each other. We skanked away for most of their set, they absolutely tore the metaphorical roof off the Ring Stage before we had to head to the Working Men's Club.
Here's another of Beat-Herder's quirky locations. The Working Men's Club AKA bh&dwmsc exists to be your local given festival form. In a long tent, half of which has tables and chairs and a long bar down the side is a unique and relaxing place to get down. It's here you'll find the Northern Soul and Boogie Wonderland sets and it fills an excellent wind down/up niche. It's very telling that along with the Fortress, the Working Men's Club is a permanent structure year round in the festival grounds. It encapsulates what this festival is all about, off the wall approaches to the festival experience and above all: comfy.
This time however, we were here for a specific act. Bez. I'm gonna keep this one short and sweet. I'm not quite sure what I witnessed and I enjoyed it immensely. Shout out to whoever was on decks slinging some real hard old school Acid House. We are bringing it back.
That night, after I thought I'd seen everything, my editor exclaimed "Let's go Beyond! "
What else can you say to that other than "Yeah...okay! "
Hidden away in a tunnel linking two parts of the festival grounds is Beyond. It contains three small stages, Sunrise, Bubblegum and The Laundrette. Each stage has its own genres and events and it was here I had my first exposure to Psy-Trance.
It slaps!
Just like Beyond, Beat-Herder bridges a gap between many genres. There is something for everyone but more importantly there is new music to discover. If you're a seasoned music enjoyer (which I'm sure most of our Acid Rain readers are) then I have a question for you. Have you ever felt like you're running out of music? Like you're caught in a feedback loop and you're not finding anything new to satiate you?
Beatherder can help. I have found so many new artists, songs and even genres from my brief time at the festival and that alone is worth the price of admission!
Saturday brought with it a hangover, sunburns and a new appreciation for this festival. I was beginning to understand what brought these veterans back every year. At this point we had got to know our campground neighbours and asked about their day. I was starting to recognise people as I walked around the festival grounds and picked conversations up right where they were left the previous day. I've never been to a festival with such a sense of love and I know that when I return next year I'll probably be picking those same conversations up again. Admittedly my easily recognised bearded face had something to do with this though!
We spoke with the lovely and enigmatic Charlotte Devaney on Saturday, you can check out the interview on our usual socials very soon! Her set was excellent and full of bulging energy, as per usual. About 75% of the time, you can go straight to the front if you want. I think there were only three sets we attended that were too packed to get through the crowd, otherwise, if being at the front is what you desire then you can go get it. Even on the last day, seeing Sub Focus who closed the main stage, we went to meet our new festival friends at the barrier. Beat-Herder just nails that scale of people to acts, generally everyone was spread out across the festival grounds meaning there was enough space for all.
Our last day was pure bliss. We were determined to fully immerse ourselves in the Beat-Herder experience. We even did a festival tour in our feature video, so make sure to check that out. The sun was shining, and the energy was still high among the crowd. We drifted between stages, unburdened by a strict schedule. This is the true magic of Beat-Herder. Unlike Parklife, where people flock to hear the latest TikTok hit, Beat-Herder lets you wander wherever the music takes you. It's probably why the Gay Paris stage became one of our favourites. with our whimsy we managed to snag an interview with K-Klass (Out very very soon) to talk all things music and Beat-Herder (One of their fave music festivals too).
With this in the back of our minds and the day drawing to an end, we closed out just as it began - with K-Klass over at Fortress. Another great set, K-Klass has an incredibly deep pool of music to draw from. It's indicative of their experience in the scene and it's a pleasure to know them. I felt like a new person between the two K-Klass sets of Beatherder, like I'd finally discovered what a festival should be.
Upon reflection, the array of stages, entertainment, and music was incredible. I was consistently blown away by the atmosphere, the production and community that the festival has. It has something for everyone, it is a place where dreams are made and memories last. Every year, the Beat-Herder community come together to revel in ecstasy - and we, at Acid Rain, are a part of their family now.
A huge shout out to Chloe, Dave and Connor! Our new firm festival friends welcomed us into their camp for the final night of the festival. They were a shining example of what Beat-Herder is all about. Community and a taste for music! I look forward to seeing you again.
Early-Bird-Pre-Sale Tickets will be available from Thursday 26th September.
To get access to the 'special ones' you'll need to sign up and give Beat-Herder a little feedback. Check out the latest news on the website for the link to sign up.
In the meantime Follow us and Beatherder Festival below - Let us know what you thought about the 2024 instalment, what was your fave bit? Will you be joining the family?!
And as for you Beat-Herder, see you next year - and for the rest of you, as always, see you at the front!
ACID RAIN
BEAT-HERDER FESTIVAL
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