If there’s a satisfying sensation that I’ve come to love about Beautiful Days festival, it’s the laid-back style of the whole setup, from the moment you arrive right through to when the fireworks explode to close the weekend, and it’s always welcome! The stewards on the gates are friendly, as are the bar staff, the food outlets, and other festival goers, with everyone there to relax, loosen up and see where the weekend takes them. 

Friday’s weather was typically early summer Devon with ‘a mizzle’ soaking everything and anything. Dampening the dust on the paths but never anyone’s spirits. And with that in mind, after Levellers usual opening gambit, proceedings ramped up with something a little Smells Like Teen Spirit in the shape of Elvana, a Nirvana covers band fronted by the king of Rock ‘n Roll, er, Elvis! Although it’s all for the show, as the lead singer mentions that he doesn’t sound like Kurt Cobain, and probably doesn’t sound like Elvis either!

With a faux-American accent, they lifted everyone with full on grunge merged with rock ‘n roll much to the delight of those of us who braved the rain, and there was a lot of that. From there, I shuffled my feet off to the Big Top and into the presence of the legendary The Alarm. Fronted by Mike Peters, who has been suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukaemia since 2005, and requires regular treatment just to keep him on the road, they were quite magnificent and showed off not only the talent, but also made me so glad I went to see them. 

And then the big end to the night, with choices aplenty, was the mighty The Dead South. Having been encouraged to check them out live, especially as I’d been enjoying their music back catalogue for the last month or so, they didn’t disappoint. Described as Bluegrass-and-finger-picking-punk, they truly rock as well. Despite everything in the final dampness of the day, they were excellent and I truly loved the gig, and reminded me to go see them again in November, as they’re headlining down in Plymouth, as part of their upcoming European tour.

Saturday’s are for finding friends and having beers, while lying on the hill in the sunshine. From there, and looking down towards the main stage, we took turns to visit ‘Dirty Davey’s’ for chilled pints of cider and let the bands play out, we watched everyone; Regime, Grandma’s House, Gaye Bikers on Acid, Timelines, Easy Star All-Stars, festival favourite Ferocious Dog, and 90’s rockers Reef. While we unfortunately missed The Waterboys, this time, you can blame the overwhelming desire for nutrition at some of the the many great catering outlets, including some rather impressive Mexican-style dishes.

Thankfully, and everyone needs a break, we made it back in time to catch a band that I’ve been loving since I was a teenager: Primal Scream. They were truly epic, and everything I’d hope to expect. Transporting me back to that hazy early nineties vibe of disco-pop-rock with ease, and a perfect way to close the middle of the weekend.

At Beautiful Days, Sunday’s always come to soon, I was slow to rise but made it up to the little big top to cheer on the Lionesses in the Women’s World Cup Final, along with about five-hundred others! The result was a shame but as with everything Beautiful Days, the atmosphere was lovely and positive as ever. Today felt like more of a day to discover what else the site had to offer, so decided to linger away from the main arena for most of the day, wandering across the entire site, taking it all in as fancy dress Sunday took flight. Although not getting involved this time around, the Out of this World themed adventurers all gather near the Big Top for more fun.

With the desire to get more inside the Festival, I headed backstage and with absolute luck of timing bumped in musician and founder of the Levellers, Mark Chadwick. A genuine folk hero of mine, after first seeing him at Glastonbury 1992 (yes, before all the fences as it is now!), and he was more than graceful in stopping and listening to my ramblings, with additional reminiscing from yesteryear, with additional conversation of music and politics. He was charming, and this was definitely a festival highlight!

And after that? It was back to the music! While The Proclaimers unfortunately couldn’t perform as planned, due to illness, their replacement could not have been more different. These are a unique band I’ve seen at Beautiful Days before: Skindred is their name, and they bring the party, the bounce, the swagger, the noise, and once again they totally lit up the place with the famous ‘Newport Helicopter’ if you know, you know! 

Once again, they had the entire arena up on their feet, but also bouncing and singing, particularly when performing a funked up version of I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) in which everyone continued to be involved, and then it was left to the Levellers to close the festival for the weekend, as they do every time. And then, as I swayed with the crowd to One Way, I’d done so much and decided to slowly wonder my weary body and mind back to the tent, cracked open the last can of beer, and watched the fireworks in the sky above and yes, once again, these really were Beautiful Days to behold.

‘When you’re standing by the roadside and it’s a long way to go, well I’ll carry you, if you carry me, carry me, carry me friend I will carry you.’ 

Carry Me – Levellers 

For Beautiful Days 2024, keep an eye on their website and socials: https://www.beautifuldays.org/

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As well as my joyous return to Beautiful Days, I met up with work mate Benjy F, and it was his first ever festival, at 50 years old – and what a place to start at Escott Park, he had this to say on the unique experience – two reviews for the price of one!

Beautiful Days 2023 was my first ever festival; always heard positive things for a number of years, so it was time to see what the fuss was about, despite a dislike of camping and probable lousy British Summer Time weather.

The location is great, not far off the beaten track within the picturesque estate. Abundant flags, banners and bunting only enhanced the atmosphere, and even though Friday was soggy, the feel-good environment lasted all weekend. Everyone was happy, having a good time and even queues for the toilets didn’t cause problems, for me the fact that everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves was clearly a good sign.

Beautiful Days had lots of stewards around providing information, all very approachable and knew what was going on, and where to find it. It was especially noticeable upon arrival, and finding the good spots were seamless thanks to their guidance, so commendably doing something right considering the volume of people, cars and tents!

I felt the layout worked very well, there are unmarked paths but they flow from one to another nicely, and despite large numbers of people, always seemed to keep things moving. Another positive was that it was easy to find open space if you wanted to step back from the crowds, and as a first-time goer this was welcome. It was great to see all kinds of people grouped together, eating, talking and drinking without issues, as well as the wealth of food outlets, I was spoilt for choice! I also liked the setup of having the food places together and not spread around the site, and although there’s limited table seating, it just didn’t matter because picnic-style banqueting is definitely in, and it worked so well.

One of the big things about not going to a festival before is the unknown – I wasn’t sure how it would be to see the bands I wanted to but viewing of all the entertainment was surprisingly easy, and not a struggle. You could see the order of play, performances ran to time, and so you just put yourself where you needed to be, although if the choice came in… you just have to decide!

I was pleasantly surprised to see showers available and kept clean, not a bonus I was necessarily expecting, with a minimal wait and proper advantage to be able to freshen up. Worth knowing also that the toilets were remained clean, despite the queue, but I don’t think the wait time was more than five minutes throughout, so hats off for that – so to speak!

With being my first visit, I asked myself would I return to Beautiful Days? Well, despite the initial dampness (which obviously they couldn’t control), it was a great guide for me and I’d certainly return. In truth, I left on Monday thinking I didn’t see it all, with something new around the next corner for next time, which is pretty exciting when you think about it!

– Benjy Finson