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Tales of A Festival Goer: Lounging on The Farm and Festival Frivolity

Drunken dancing, Ellie Goulding, tea teepees, sunburn, wellies, peanut butter on crackers and floral headbands. Those are some of the things I will remember after my brief but memorable stay at Lounge On The Farm; a local festival situated on Merton farm, in Canterbury.

I’m sure a lot of you will have been to Reading festival or are planning to this summer. Or will have visited other “mainstream” festivals, like “Glasto” or V fest. I find that the term “laid back” never goes hand in hand with the big ones, and if you are used to bigger festivals, you’ll agree that you always prepare yourself for the worst, such as the dreaded last night, tent burning and mobs.

But what of the slighter smaller scale festivals, which are just as good, if not better? (and less violent!)

Setting out with a tent in tow for my first summer festival with friends from university, I had heard from others that Lounge on the farm was extremely relaxed as well as being lots of fun.

From the first day, the chilled atmosphere was quite apparent by the very friendly bar staff, and welcoming stall owners who were selling plenty of local produce and vintage clothing. Along the stretch of stalls, were face-painting, temporary tattoos and a place where you could smoke shisha (which is perfectly good for you and very tasty.) The farm was split into sections, and even included a kiddie section for the tiniest of campers.

Combine this with the dance tents, the comedy tent, several festival stages and a party-carnival atmosphere; the evenings were great for students and families alike, and it is very easy to see why this unknown festival is getting quite popular.

As the sun set on Merton Farm the evening acts lined up on stage for the first night of music. Indie artists the Vaccines blasted out a roaring set that saw the everyone singing along to “Wetsuit,” “Wrekin’ bar (ra ra ra)” and “Post-Break Up Sex.” The Streets followed as headliners and the crowd went mental for Mike Skinner who tried and failed to get all members of the crowd lunging forward in perfect unison while screaming: “Lunge on the farm!”

On the second day, there was anticipation for the biggest headliner of the festival: Ellie Goulding. Katy B’s fiery performance of “Katy on a Mission” proved extremely popular with the crowd. Blowing kisses and looking amazing, she made Ellie Goulding look bland in comparison. Despite having a fantastic voice, Ellie lacked interaction with the crowd and was slightly insipid.

As Sunday arrived, we prepared for doing nothing more than sitting on hay bales in the comedy tent with cider. However, before we even reached the main arena a carnival literally walked into our campsite. Drums, whistles, symbols, the lot were blaring across tents. A large crowd formed, and people started dancing in the middle of the field – it could have only happened at Lounge!

Acts in the comedy tent included Phil Nichol, who had the audience in tears by the end of the night: concluding the act by chasing a member of the audience out of the tent screaming. Finally everyone joined in with his rendition of “I’m The Only Gay Eskimo” as he called members of the audience up on stage to help.

Compared to Reading festival, Lounge On The Farm was a breeze, and I certainly recommend it to anyone wanting a chilled summer festival. If it’s your first festival, it’s a nice way to ease yourself into the camping and early morning shouts of: “morning campers!” But, the only way to find out is to experience it yourself: either way, it’s definitely an up and coming festival.

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