Festival preview: Camp Bestival

by Jim Merrett

Sunday Best's latest child is full of grace. But is it enough to pip the older kids?

"Not the gay and lesbian version of the Isle of Wight event the name suggests, Camp Bestival is in fact the smaller, better-located, back-to-roots younger sibling"

 Camp Bestival
 When: Friday 18 July - Sunday 20 July
 Where: Lulworth Castle, Dorset
 Official site: www.campbestival.co.uk
 Past New Noise coverage
 No previous coverage
 Click here for line-up details.

Tricky one. Amongst a slew of festival newbies, the Sunday Best Bestival proved to be a corker. Word spread, comedy wigs were donned and now the hootenanny is selling out in record time. But in attracting the masses, has the original concept behind the fancy dress blowout been lost? Camp Bestival is here to plug that gap.

Not the gay and lesbian version of the Isle of Wight event the name suggests, Camp Bestival is in fact the smaller, better-located, back-to-roots younger sibling. Aimed squarely at a family market – note that acts are 'performers', not rowdy indie outfits – they have Bestival's trademark tipis coming out of their ears.

The surrounds of the Lulworth Castle site in Dorset – a favourite of geography class videos – are magical enough for this to work. An added bonus, this is a fairly exclusive affair – limited to 10,000. On the flipside, it's caught right in the middle of the festival season, and up against both Lovebox and NN favourite Latitude. What were the organisers thinking? The decision is all the more bizarre because Camp Bestival tries to replicate the broader, more inclusive take of Latitude by incorporating literature and comedy in the bill.

The line-up (Kate Nash, Chuck Berry, Hercules and Love Affair) also lacks the heavyweight punch of not only its sister but also its rivals – the omens aren't so good. But, and here's a massive but, the headline slot is reserved for The Flaming Lips. So Wayne Coyne's psychedelic circus of joy might also be rolling into London's Victoria Park the same weekend, but could any setting be more suitable for the balloon salesman's wet dream than fancy dress Mecca Bestival? A 10,000-strong children's party for grown-ups with Mr Coyne at its helm? The mind boggles. It could prove the coup of the calendar. Fingers crossed.

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