Sometimes, in the heart of winter you get a day like today that’s as clear and sunny as the best days of summer, but with the bite of frost tinged all around it and the sting of bitter cold in the air and it reminds you that it’s not all going to be bleak, wet and freezing. On days like this it’s good to reminisce about the summer that just flew over and the potential of next year, which is why the recent announcement of The Secret Garden Party 2014 theme is worth a shout out.
Taking place in and about Abbot’s Ripton near Huntington, Cambridgeshire, next year’s independent music and arts festival will be focusing on the theme of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”. While this might sound like a big camp celebration of all things Wizard of Oz, it’s actually a reference old, well loved albums, like Elton John’s 1973 classic of the same name or Bob Dylan’s Bring It All Back Home and Abbey Road by The Beatles.
It’s also laced with a need to break away from the daily trudge of the 9 to 5 and get involved in a much better state of consciousness. It’ll be a reminder of the visual imagery of our favourite songs and a chance to get back a little bit of the lost ideals that can all too easily fade with the hamster wheels and the rat races. A bit like a Ferris Beuller long weekend off with your own personal soundtrack as a potential creative mechanism for a new expression for your modern self.
The 2014 Secret Garden Party takes place on the last weekend of July, as with every year. Starting on Thursday the 24th July 2014 and firing on through until Sunday the 27th, it looks like it’s going to take the “most creative festival” top spot once again with its emphasis on the arts as much as music. This does mean that there are more underground bands on the lineup compared to other festivals, but there are always a fair few gems to look forward to and uncover.
Check out the video below looking back on the 2013 Secret Garden Party to get more of a feel for what to expect. While the 2014 lineup is yet to be announced, the 2013 sets included Django Django, Soulwax and Regina Spektor, so it should be another eclectic mix. Expect a much lesser-known roster than with other festivals on the whole, but also a more interesting one, depending on your perspective.
The first artist announced for the 2014 lineup is Max Raabe and the Palast orchestra, which has set out to study and recreate the sound of the criminalised underground music and party culture that was suppressed by the Nazi government in Germany during the late 1930s. If that doesn’t set out the festival’s left-field credentials for you, we’re not sure what will.
Tickets for the 2014 Secret Garden Party are available already from their website with adult prices for the weekend at £180.50. There’s a teen ticket for £135 and an extra £63.50 to take a campervan instead of the standard tent, sleeping bag and wet wipes.
