More of a multi-sensory extravaganza than a standard festival, Boomtown is one of those events that enjoys legendary status and is raved about by everyone who’s been before. The musical policy is strictly fun and the acts booked are diverse, from punk to psytrance via a heavy dose of reggae, but they all have in common a reputation for – and dedication to – making people dance. And whilst watching Julian Marley crooning in the sunshine at the Lion’s Den stage or witnessing the raw energy of Arrested Development, or the spectacle of Arcadia’s mechanical wonder combining engineering with fire and aerial acrobatics: there was dancing.

It’s a cliché, but Boomtown isn’t just about the music. It’s about naked jelly wrestling, ever-moving mini sound-systems, a roller-disco and the rave police. It’s about forty people gathering in the woods and having an impromptu drumming session on painted bins. It’s about dropping your phone and having it returned within minutes, about onstage dance offs, about the guy who collected a thousand high-fives over the weekend.

Boomtown bills itself as the UK’s Maddest City, and there is no question that the elaborate sci-fi set has taken months to develop. It’s highly detailed and there are a huge number of tiny bars, stages and shows tucked away behind secret doors and heavy curtains. There were around 10,000 more attendees this year compared to 2012, but an impressive lack of old school change haters. The city was split into districts each with themed décor, music and fancy dress, spread over a large hill, which meant it never seemed too crowded.

Boomtown Fair 2013 was a brilliant, incredible weekend, and I challenge anyone who attended to disagree. And if you didn’t attend and doubt Boomtown’s glory, well, you weren’t there maaaan.

Boomtown, 8th-11th August 2013
Words by Jessica Marshall McHattie
Photos by Matt Martin at Create