Junglist Networks 2023 Summer UK Festival Picks
Whether your new to festivals and considering attending one this summer or you’re a seasoned pro, we’ve hand selected our favourites to help you decide. We have considered location, size, atmosphere and most importantly the line-up.
BOOMTOWN FESTIVAL 
When? 9th-15th August 2023 Where? Hampshire
Genres: Various
Selected For: Variety, Experience. Large Festival Pick
Boomtown Festival is recognised as one of the top festivals in the UK and is a festival like no other. This year is Boomtown’s 15th year anniversary as well as 50 years of Hip Hop and we’re told to expect something very special….
About Boomtown
The size and scale of Boomtown is astounding. 14 districts, 27 main stages, 80 interactive street venues, 66,000 festival goers & 500+ artists. Each year, Boomtown follows a storyline that is integrated into the ‘city’ districts with hundreds of actors bringing the street sets to life. You can explore the city, take part in challenges or even part of the story
This years theme is Chapter 2: The Twin Trail
The Twin Trail follows on from last years’ Chapter One: The gathering, where the festival defined a new era after two years of cancellations. In the characteristically cinematic trailer for the Twin Trail theme, attendees are invited to follow the journey of The Twin Trail, which delves deeper into how a person interacts with themselves and how they give back to the world. Megan Clifton, Head of Narrative Design at Boomtown, said:
“The Twin Trail represents the two paths we all have to walk in our lives; the inner and the outer path. Without addressing our inner world, learning and accepting every part of ourselves – even the darker parts – how can we address the darker parts of society?
The Line-Up
After the success of withholding the musical line-up until shortly before the show in 2022, Boomtown will be keeping this under wraps once again, but its ‘citizens’ can expect to see some of the biggest names in hip-hop, plus worldwide artists spanning the electronic music spectrum.
There aren’t many festivals that keep the line-up secret and still manage to sell out, that’s because the line up is always banging. Will there be DnB & Jungle artists? Undoubtably. A flavour of some of the artists featured last year include:
Inja, Sherelle, MC Chickaboo, DJ Marky, Mungo’s Hi-Fi. Shy FX & Fabio & Grooverider and the Outlook Orchestra.
Max Golfar, Music Programmer at Boomtown, said:
“We’ll be bringing the freshest acts in post-punk, to the dons of the reggae world, through to disco divas and afrobeat royalty. As well as all of this, next year marks 50 years of hip-hop. It’s going to be insane.”
Nozstock The Hidden Valley 2023
When? 20th – 23rd July 2023 Where? Bromyard, Herefordshire
Genres: Dancehall, Jungle, DnB, Breaks, Indie-Pop, Funk
Selected For: Family friendly vibe. Mid-sized festival pick
Nozstock is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and has a really special line up this year. Starting out as a small gathering of friends and family, the event has grown bigger and better every year while still maintaining its welcoming and nostalgic feel.
About Nozstock
Nozstocks location in the rolling Herefordshire countryside with outstanding views of the surrounding county, the Nosworthy family have created an intimate, eccentric event unlike anything else in the UK. With Nozstock, you get a great atmosphere & great organisation that comes with the experience of the team.
Nozstock has ten stages with music ranging from Jungle drum & bass, indie, punk, funk, folk and everything in between as well as comedy, spoken word, cabaret and live performance. The festival also supports the next wave of artists and performers adding newer up & coming artists to the line-up for 2023.
Creative Director Ella Nosworthy said: “We are so thrilled to be celebrating 25 years of Nozstock, we are planning to make this our biggest ever celebration. If you have not been to the festival before, this is one year you will not want to miss! We’ve absolutely packed our line-up with the best artists, comedians and entertainment and I can’t wait to welcome everyone back to the farm.”
Nozstock believe that festivals should be a great place for everyone, regardless of their age. Nozstock offers their very own dedicated children’s area ‘Little Wonderland’ that provides a programme of free activities and workshops for children of all ages, in previous years workshops have included beatboxing, DJing, hula-hooping, poetry, yoga, plasticine animation workshops, and much more.
The Line Up
Orchard Stage – Fat Freddy’s Drop will bring their unique combination of dub, reggae, soul, jazz, rhythm & blues and techno – providing the ideal vibe for a summer festival. Jungle and drum & bass trailblazer Shy FX will be on the decks getting the crowd jumping. Groundbreaking ska and reggae legends The Wailers will be bringing those laid back summer vibes with classics such as ‘No Woman, No Cry and Could You Be Loved’.
2023 is the 50 year anniversary of hip hop, so who better to join us than the pioneer of hip hop Grandmaster Flash?! Expect a masterclass in cutting and scratching, with an eclectic set of party classics, old skool hip hop with a little bit of everything else in between. Festival veteran and reggae royalty David Rodigan will be spinning the decks with his impeccable set of dancehall and roots. Continuing the festival and carnival feel-good summer party vibes will be The Allergies, who are guaranteed to get everyone on their feet moving and grooving. Fans of neo-soul will not want to miss singer songwriter Eva Lazarus. Expect to hear her effortlessly jumping between genres from her belting vocals to her punchy rap verses.
The Garden stage will be multi-award winning veteran of the UK urban music scene, the Reggae legend that is General Levy. One of the most exciting drum & bass DJs on the the scene DJ Marky will be tearing up the stage with MC GQ. Bristol based MC Gardna will be bringing the vibes with his big heavy concoction of Dub, Grime and Dancehall. BBC 1 DJ Charlie Tee will be bringing the most exciting and innovative sounds d’n’b has to offer, producer. DJ and ex Prodigy dancer Leeroy Thornhill will be serving up his eclectic mix of electro beats and breaks. While Beans on Toast will be performing his sublime political folk music.
The Cubicles (dance arena)- drum & bass producer and MC Mefjus ft. Maksim. British independent drum & bass label Hospitality will also be doing a stage takeover with Brazilian born house and garage DJ S.P.Y joined by accomplished MC and all round entertainer LowQui.
Formfest 2023
When? 1st July 2023 Where? Leicester
Genre: DnB & Jungle
Selected For: Value for money. Small event event vibe with big names. Best single day event.
FormFest has been running for a while thanks to Jungle OG DJSS and his Formation Records crew. This festival is not in a field, its indoors! (although there are outdoor stages too) Held at the 2Funky complex, Formfest boasts 10 zones with over 100 artists playing over 14 hours. Starting a lunchtime, this daytimer suits those who don’t want to camp out or have to deal with portaloos whilst getting to see line ups that many large festivals would be jealous of.
Tickets can be purchased from as little as £10!!!! which makes this event an absolute bargain.
Formfest has a great relaxed vibe, devoid of pretention, you can really get up and close to the artists in many of the areas giving it a different experience to other festivals.
Line Up
The line up for 2023 hasn’t been announced yet but we’re going to run off just a few of the names that have played Formfest in recent years
DJ SS, LTJ Bukem, Kenny Ken, Natty Lou, Carl Cox, Sasha, Nero, Chase & Status live, Pendulum live, Andy C, David Rodigan, Subfocus, Grooverider, Goldie, Aries, Kelvin 373 & the Ragga Twins.
Need we say anymore?
