Onefest has evolved from last year’s Honeyfest and has kept that feeling of community whilst attracting a great line up, which delivered great performances to keep everybody happy.   Set in the beautiful rolling hillside of the Wiltshire countryside this boutique Festival was as friendly as they come, with lots of young families mixed in amongst the seasoned Festival goers.

The Festival was very well organised and the timing of the stage line ups gave you a chance to see artists on the main stage alongside new acts on the BBC Introducing Tumuli Stage without too many clashes.

There was a good selection of alcohol, cider and real ales along with hot drinks which went down a treat.  Food selection on offer gave us a chorizo stall with a heart-warming stew. Organic food stall which included a beetroot burger and then there was the ever popular Pieminster . If there was one area to improve on it was the tea time rush for hot food with only 3 stalls, unfortunately for meat eaters the 2 stalls ran out of cooked food at the same time.  Although situated  at the back of the main arena meant you could still watch and hear the artists on the main stage.

On the Main Stage Kidnap Alice delivered a set of Smokin Bluegrass mixed with soul folk music, and some of the best blues you will hear on a mandolin.  They got many up on their feet looking like a hoe down, not many bands could get so many up and dancing this early in the day and got the crowd yelping for more. 

Meanwhile in the BBC Introducing Stage was full for Young Blood a local indie band delivered a great set, and their front man Ben had a good stage presence, and kept everyone engaged.

Nick Harper’s set was full of passion and at times it felt more like punk than folk, his intense voice kept the crowd engaged throughout.

Gaz Brookfield a songster with a mix of Billy Bragg lyrics and a touch of Newton Faulkner guitar skills, along with a wicked sense of humour played to a large crowd. He touched on many life stories including manufactured music and the struggle of young musicians.  Gaz was the only artist who managed to get an encore, an homage to the West Country which went down a storm, with both young an old.

Raghu Dixit had flown in from Goa having played an event where the temperature was 38C degrees the night before. Now on stage in their Traditional Indian costumes where the temperature was closer to 38F, they were clearly freezing but despite this and a few broken guitar strings they delivered a great set of fusion music. 

Dry The River had just flown also just flown in, but in their case from Dallas, with only an hours sleep for some of the band they took to the stage. Their performance wasn’t their best it was clear that they wanted to be their and support this community event (they performed at HoneyFest last year).  They concluded their set with a rousing rendition of Lions Den.

As the night started to draw to in more layers of warm clothing and blankets appeared, it was good to see that everyone came prepared for the cold. Families could be seen strolling around the landscape outside the arena with children with bags of sweets and even ice creams . The entertainment for the children had included a fairground ride, hoola hoops and the obligatory face painting tent along with Jules ‘welly wanging’. There was also an array of pet dogs enjoying the event.

It was finally time for Damon Albarn to perform Doctor Dee a mini opera based upon the life of John Dee an Elizabethan alchemist. 

There were 8 other performers on stage playing a range of traditional folk and African instruments together with a choir. Set in this open environment with space all around and no mobiles interrupting due to the lack of signal in the area, the performance was haunting and kept the audience captivated throughout.   No mean achievement for a piece of music that the vast majority had not heard previously and the falling temperature.

OneFest had delivered an excellent festival and the organisers should be patting themselves on the back for getting it so right for their inaugural outdoor festival.

The location was perfect as was the views and the artists and organisation were excellent. No doubt we expect it will steadily grow over the coming years making this community project an even bigger success than they could have ever imagined