Every year in Grizedale Forest a festival takes place and it’s called Grizedale Rocks Festival. Nestled in the beautiful Cumbrian countryside, its one of Cumbria’s best hidden secrets. Grizedale Rocks sees campers from all over the North West buying tickets for the festival.
Since its birth we have been involved with the festival and have watched it grow over the years. Starting with a few campers wondering through to the barn to what is has become today. A two day sold out event with stage, lighting, a back line PA, catering van and a dedicated sound man. It has evolved which has been fantastic to see. With the build up of the festival on Facebook and it’s website filled with chatter. This year’s festival was the biggest yet and had a full capacity attendance.
On the way down we had been snarled up in traffic on the M6 and took us 3 hours to get there. We did arrive an hour before we had been scheduled to go on stage so it wasn’t too bad. When we arrived on site the outdoor area to the barn was filled with people. We eased past in the van noticing a band playing on the newly erected stage.
As we parked up we met the organiser congratulating him on promoting the festival. You can see the similarities to the beginnings of Glastonbury here. A farmer exploring a new avenue into live music. In the first years we provided the sound. Now a dedicated sound man takes all the stress away and does a fantastic job of providing quality sound for each band. This year the helping hand of Dhanell meant the organisation of the festival has become somewhat easier for all those involved.
As we took our gear into the barn we spoke to the sound guy of our requirements and checked that we had been on the bill to play. As happens every year there seems to be a case where bands try to change the running order. Citing the usual reasons of ” We’ve got to leave early, is there any chance we can go on next’. Because of this each year we have often delayed our set time to later on in the evening but not this time. For obvious reasons because we are a two piece acoustic act it seems very unwise to take to the stage following a six piece rock band.
We were due to perform at 9pm. So as the solo acoustic artists finished up we made a bee line for the stage. We setup, did a line check and went for it. The festival was very busy and the barn filled with people. We had a large audience on our hands so played an upbeat set to an enthusiastic audience.
At one point we had them performing a dance routine to one of our original songs “Three Steps Forward”. It was fantastic. This weekend there were a few stag parties in attendance. Therefore one very enthusiastic party set up their own style mosh pit during our performance. We had them dancing and singing along. It really was quite a buzz to a very appreciative audience. Looking out at the vast audience we took a picture on stage, asking our audience to raise their hands in the air.
After our set we sold quite a few CDs and now it was time to relax, have a couple of tipples and enjoy the rest of the music.
Grizedale Rocks is set in a great location. Surrounded by forest with the campsite itself being a working farm. From sheep to pigs it makes the backdrop and setting idyllic for family campers.
It was fairly late on around midnight and the barn was still brimming with revelers and campers enjoying the band on stage. Some had run out of beer and retired back to their tents whilst others opted to crowd surf off the straw bales. We stuck around until the end to support the other bands. We then headed back to the van to get some shut eye. This year was a great success, a sold out show. Thanks to Arthur for allowing such a wonderful event to take place on your farm. Its been a pleasure and we look forward to seeing you all again next year.
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