Brownstock Festival which takes place at Morris Farm, near Chelmsford from 30th Aug – 1 Sep celebrates its 9th year, so here are nine good reasons to attend:

The Line up
Considering its size Brownstock  has pulled together a great line up, with artists of the calibre of Professor Green (who replaced Rudimental who cried off at the last minute), Tom Odell, Devlin, Mark Ronson, Benga ft Youngman, Jaguar Skills, The Fratellis, The Pigeon Detectives, Hadouken!, King Charles, The Milk, Duke Dumont, Roni Size, Beardyman, and DJ Yoda.  In addition there is refreshing mix of both new and established local bands and DJ’s, plus some unsigned bands picked by the headliners, my particur favourite being Disembowelled by Sharks. Full line up here

The Vibe
Since its early days as a party Brownstock has always had a great ‘party’ vibe, the move to a camping only event will surely improve this further, as there won’t be a constant flow of day trippers. Unlike its bigger Chelmsford neighbour, there are no shortage of activities to keep the punters happy until the early hours.

The Food
Being from farming stock, quality local food has always been high on the priority list, the burgers couldn’t be more local if they tried, as they were grazing on the campsite just a few weeks earlier. All the food vendors are carefully selected, no chips here just quality food which you can enjoy in the Farmer Browns Food Village. This year’s festival will feature pop-up restaurant specialist Jimmy Garcia (of The Wild Food Kitchen and Jimmy’s Supper Club) offering sumptuous three-course spreads for £35 a head.  On the menu: wild venison carpaccio, demi-boiled quail’s eggs and the slow-roasted cheek of a cow reared in the very field you’re sitting in, served in pear and bitter chocolate sauce tickets available here

The Tree House Stage
Made its first appearance last year, and provided a great experience, once you get your head around the concept of looking up to watch bands/DJ’s performing above your head in an Oak Tree, you will love it.

The Camp Site
The campsite includes two stages The Piano Bar and the The Eatery 24 hour food outlet.  he Piano Bar is the lounge you would love to take home with you, loads of sofa’s board games, Sunday papers, a stage which hosts cabaret, pub quizzes, live music, open mics the Brownstock Hoedown, plus Jess Brown & Si (it’s her party so why not).

So the tent is clearly only for sleeping!

The Brown Family
The festival has grown over the years it’s still independent and run by the Brown family. It still has that handmade family feel, it’s their personal touches which help to differentiate the festival. The whole family will be on site working and partying, so if you see them say hello.

The Bars
Unlike so many festivals the guys at Brownstock appreciate that queuing for a beer is unacceptable, so there are plenty of bars with a good range of beers, ciders, wines & spirits at a reasonable site.

New Music Areas
There are two new stages The Saloon Bar and Mussell Beach. The Saloon Bar is very close to the hearts of Festivals For All as we asked to select three bands to perform there. You can be assured of some great country and blues, while you sip on your bourbon.

On the Mussell Beach you will be able to sit in a deck chair and chill to some great reggae while sipping on a rum based cocktail.

Surprises
There is always something that comes from out of the blue, and looking at the site map there is clearly something, the guys are keeping up their sleeves the only clue is ‘Strange Things In The Sky’.

I’m sure this won’t be the only surprise as this independent festival goes from strength to strength, as the marketing team would say #meetatthefarm

I almost forgot to mention, this year’s fancy dress theme, it’s Cowboys & Aliens…..obviously!

Tickets are still available from here