The summer of 2023 has been and gone and what a summer it has been for events in the UK. The choice of locations, the quality of lineups and production has really stepped up. No matter where in the Isles you are, you are never far from an event featuring some of Drum & Bass and Jungles best artists.
As we reflect on this summer’s events, one festival stands out. The size and scale of the roster and the physical location itself made us question, is this the perfect festival for Junglists?
OK, the answer to this question is subjective and depends on things such as your age, experience, preference etc. but we will make the case for Boomtown 2023.
The Line-Up
The sheer quantity of acts at Boomtown is mind boggling and can give you a case of FOMO as you watch one DJ knowing an equally great one is playing not far away. Let us look at some of the acts that played Boomtown this year…
The Headliners
Those artists whose names help sell tickets and you know what you’re going to get, some of the biggest names on the scene such as DJ Rap, Andy C, Danny Byrd (Jungle set), Goldie with Medic, Nia Archives, Aires, Hazard b2b Hype b2b Dillinja with Harry Shotta & IC3, Hedex ft. Eskman.
The stand outs for us were Nia Archives playing at Grand Central and Hazard b2b Hype b2b Dillinja with Harry Shotta & IC3 closing the party at ‘the wrong side of the tracks’ stage on the Sunday night.
Nia came with her cool style of Jungle playing many of her well-known tunes as well as her newer tunes like Bad Gyals. She looked so at home on stage in front of a packed-out crowd with the energy from the set and the crowd feeding off each other. This is only the start for Nia and we predict she will continue to grow and take our beloved jungle to new audiences.
Hype, Hazard and Dillinja B2B? with Harry Shotta and IC3? If you were to create a DJ / MC supergroup it would probably look something like this. Harry Shotta managed the stage whilst IC3 did his hype man work at the front of the crowd providing more energy whilst Hype, Hazard and Dillinja took us on a journey with dubs of classic jungle & DnB tunes, flowing effortlessly in and out of sub-genres over a couple of hours.
Despite the timing of their set clashing with Sub Focus @ grand central and Hedex on the larger Origin stage, the area was so full that the crowd was spilling out into other areas. We caught up with Dillinja after the set, keep an eye on our socials for info of that interview.
Talking of supergroups, Born on Road took over the Origin stage with Gray b2b Crossy ft IC3 & Donae’o followed by an hour and a half of some of the best B2B action of the festival with Aires, Kelvin373, Selecta J-Man with MC and hype men Carasel & Inja. These guys have been headlining festivals and events for several years now and it is clear why. They smash it every single time. Individually, these artists are top drawer technicians, together they blew up the huge Origin stage.
Takeovers:
Gorilla Warfare, these guys took on Boomtown like they do with their events back in the West Country, with flair. A 10-hour takeover of the WSOTT stage on the Thursday got the festival off to a flying start making this part of the festival site one of the liveliest throughout the day.
Other takeovers included Jungle Cakes takeover @ dubtendo, UK Jungle 1@ the lawless halls of justice and G-Class & RJD representing the Locked Off Crew / Northern Jungle. If you haven’t listened to the Locked Off Crew, we recommend it!
Danny Wav DJing inside a large robot looking stylish in one of our T’s.
The Legends.
Several legends of the scene also made an appearance this year with highlights being DJ Craze performing a Jungle set with his unique style and 1st class turntablism which was a special moment. DJ Storm made an appearance in the hidden woods in the early hours of Saturday morning but we sadly missed this set. LTJ Bukem with Ruthless made an appearance before his tour kicks off with Roni Size later this year.
We caught part of the DJ Die b2b Randall at the Vault stage. These 2 regularly appear together and really seemed to have an understanding. The sun was out and these two seemed to pull in passers by as the crowd grew, the party atmosphere did too.
The Future
Boomtown isn’t just about bringing the big, old-school names to town, the bookers really seem to have their finger on the pulse bringing in artists who are carrying the scene forward and are some of the current ‘hot’ names including the likes of Marcus Visionary, Hybrid, Josie Bee, Natty Lou, Kara, Etherwood, Danny Wav, Conrad Subs, Lens and the awesome Pete Cannon!
DJ KARA live at Boomtown 2023 from the stage
Its not all Jungle & Drum and Bass….
Listening to Jungle and DnB for several days straight can be challenging, even for the most devoted amongst us but we found plenty of alternatives that would keep any Junglist happy. Artist from the Soundsystem culture (Trojan Soundsystem) to Dancehall (Macka B & Root Ragga Band), Ragga (Barrington Levy) and HipHop (Cypress Hill). although it was a special moment hearing Barrington Levys soothing tones and playing ‘who sampled’ with his endless hits, Cypress Hill covering their Black Sunday album as a celebration of 50 years of Hip Hop did not fail. Live Hip Hop can be poor but Cypress Hill are no strangers to live performances and their polished set reminded us why they are one of LA’s finest.
The Production
We can’t write about out experience of Boomtown this year without mentioning the production, for those who haven’t been before, the main stages, all 13 of them sit in neighbourhood that are themed (think Mad Max or similar post-apocalyptic films) each with satellite bars, pop up soundsystems both inside and outside. It really is fun to explore helped along with ‘character’ that you can interact with and puzzles to solve as part of a larger storyline resulting in invites to ‘secret events etc’.
The Vibe
There was little time for us to explore all parts of the site as we dashed from one set to another, bumping into friends and making new ones along the way.
We spotted a few artists wearing Jnglst Clothing such as Danny Wav and Conrad Subs so respect to them for representing the brand.
The artists we spoke to seemed to really enjoy the experience. Everywhere we went, there was a rather relaxed, friendly vibe, the kind you’d want a festival but one you don’t always get where electronic music is the predominant music. Perhaps it was the weather, perhaps it was the massive amount of Junglist there bringing heaps of peace, love and unity. Either way we hope Boomtown continues to go from strength to strength.
Look out for our interviews coming soon with Dr. Meaker, Dillinja and Conrad Subs.