Hop Farm Festival
Encyclopedia
Hop Farm Music Festival is an annual music festival at The Hop Farm Country Park
in East Peckham
in the English
county of Kent
, created by Festival Republic founder, Vince Power. After its first year it was nominated at the UK Festival Awards
with "Best New Festival".
It came about after a survey was conducted among festival fans with the general feeling revealed to be that they always felt the lowest in priority and importance. The survey resulted in the first Hop Farm Festival in 2008, as a 30,000 crowd capacity festival centered around folk and independent music, with a specific aim of a return to "back to basics" organisation with a no sponsorship, no branding, no VIP attitude. Under 12's, since the festivals creation, have had free entry.
with Primal Scream
, Guillemots, Supergrass
, Laura Marling
, Rufus Wainwright
, My Morning Jacket
and Everest also playing.
The cost of a ticket was £49.50.
2009 marked the first year of a celebrity football tournament at the festival participated by, among many others, some former Big Brother
contestants.
Ticket prices rose to £125 for the weekend with camping.
The organisation of the festival has been subject to much criticism, this included the long queues, poor sound system and a water pressure malfunction. It was during the late afternoon of Saturday, that the only water pump supplying the camp of 20,000 with water suffered a pressure malfunction and subsequently left the camp bereft of a water supply.
The main line-up for 2010 was as follows:
Others who performed through the event included Pete Doherty
, The Magic Numbers
, Imelda May
, Damien Dempsey
, Laura Marling
, Foy Vance
, Johnny Flynn
and many others.
The year also saw the introduction of a camp stage within the campsite, free for those who had bought weekend camping tickets, but only one day entrance ticket to the arena. Marcus Bonfanti and Robinson were among those who performed.
The years celebrity football tournament participants included the return of the former Big Brother contestants along with the cast of Waterloo Road
, Mumford and Sons and Johnny Flynn among others.
Full weekend ticket prices with camping rose to £135
, Morrissey
, Lou Reed
, Iggy and the Stooges and Newton Faulkner
6 weeks prior to the opening date of the festival, organisers announced an extra date to the festival to be headlined by Prince
. The addition of an extra date 3 months after the initial tickets were put on sale created much anger towards the festival for misleading ticket buyers yet again, after a similar incident the previous year.
2011 saw the return of the well received camp stage. Brother and Bones, Tankus The Henge
, Never the Bride and Nathan Mercado, among others, all performed during the weekend.
The Hop Farm Country Park
The Hop Farm Family Park is a Country Park in Beltring, near East Peckham in Kent, England, is over 450 years old, and has the largest collection of oast houses in the world.-History:...
in East Peckham
East Peckham
East Peckham is a village in Kent, England, made up of nine hamlets and situated about east of Tonbridge on the River Medway. It was the centre for the hop growing industry in Kent and is still home to the Hop Farm which has the world's largest collection of Oast Houses.-History:The Domesday entry...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, created by Festival Republic founder, Vince Power. After its first year it was nominated at the UK Festival Awards
UK Festival Awards
The UK Festival Awards are awarded annually, with various categories for all aspects of festivals that have taken place in the UK, and one category for European festivals. The Awards were first established in 2004, and are produced by Virtual Festivals.com. They are voted for by the public via the...
with "Best New Festival".
It came about after a survey was conducted among festival fans with the general feeling revealed to be that they always felt the lowest in priority and importance. The survey resulted in the first Hop Farm Festival in 2008, as a 30,000 crowd capacity festival centered around folk and independent music, with a specific aim of a return to "back to basics" organisation with a no sponsorship, no branding, no VIP attitude. Under 12's, since the festivals creation, have had free entry.
Hop Farm 2008
The first ever Hop Farm Music Festival was just a one day event on the 6 July with only one stage. The day was headlined by Neil YoungNeil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
with Primal Scream
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie and now based in London. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , and Darrin Mooney...
, Guillemots, Supergrass
Supergrass
Supergrass was an English alternative rock band from Oxford. The band consisted of brothers Gaz and Rob Coombes , Mick Quinn and Danny Goffey ....
, Laura Marling
Laura Marling
Laura Beatrice Marling is an English folk musician from Eversley, Hampshire.Initially prominent within the London folk scene, she has also toured with a number of well-known indie artists in the UK. Her debut album Alas, I Cannot Swim and her second album I Speak Because I Can were nominated for...
, Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
, My Morning Jacket
My Morning Jacket
My Morning Jacket is an American rock band from Louisville, Kentucky.The band consists of Jim James , Tom 'Two-Tone Tommy' Blankenship , Patrick Hallahan , Carl Broemel , and Bo Koster .-History:My Morning Jacket was...
and Everest also playing.
The cost of a ticket was £49.50.
Hop Farm 2009
The 2009 festival was scheduled for 3–5 July, a now 2 day festival with a capacity increased to 53,000 and an extra 2 stages introduced. The main acts over the event period are shown below.| Day/Arena | Main Stage | Dance Tent | Third Stage |
| Saturday 4 July |
|
Etienne de Crecy Étienne Bernard Marie de Crécy is a French DJ and producer who composes house and electronic music.-Biography:... Jape Jape is a configurable, graphical proof assistant, originally developed at the University of Oxford. It allows user to define a logic, decide how to view proofs, and much more... |
The Twilight Sad The Twilight Sad are an indie rock band from Kilsyth, Scotland, comprising James Graham , Andy MacFarlane and Mark Devine . The band are currently signed to Fat Cat Records and have released two full-length albums, as well as several EPs and singles... |
| Sunday 5 July |
Paul Weller Paul Weller is an English singer-songwriter. Starting with the band The Jam , Weller then went on to branch out musically to a more soulful style with The Style Council... Editors Editors are a British indie rock band based in Birmingham, who formed in 2002. Previously known as Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield, the band consists of Tom Smith , Chris Urbanowicz , Russell Leetch and Ed Lay .Editors have so far released two platinum studio... |
Scratch Perverts The Scratch Perverts are a collective of turntablist DJs from London, formed in 1996 by Tony Vegas, Prime Cuts and DJ Renegade.-Biography:The Scratch Perverts originally consisted of 4 members; Tony Vegas, Renegade, First Rate and Mr Thing. The Scratch Perverts later expanded to an 8-member... |
British Sea Power British Sea Power are an indie rock band based in Brighton, England, although three of the band members originally come from Kendal in Cumbria. Critics have likened their sound to a variety of groups, from The Cure and Joy Division to the Pixies and Arcade Fire. The band are famed for their live... 65daysofstatic 65daysofstatic are an instrumental post-rock and math rock band from Sheffield, England comprising Paul Wolinski, Joe Shrewsbury, Rob Jones and Simon Wright... Fight Like Apes Fight Like Apes are an Irish alternative rock band formed in Dublin in 2006.Their current members are Mary-Kate "MayKay" Geraghty , Jamie "Pockets" Fox and Tom Ryan , while original member Adrian Mullan left the band in 2010 due to creative differences... |
2009 marked the first year of a celebrity football tournament at the festival participated by, among many others, some former Big Brother
Big Brother (TV series)
Big Brother is a television show in which a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash...
contestants.
Ticket prices rose to £125 for the weekend with camping.
Hop Farm 2010
The 2010 festival was held on the weekend of 2–3 July over 3 stages and proved to a controversial year. Before the festival had even started people complained of misleading ticket sales. Originally marketed as once again, a one day festival, tickets went on sale for a second date much later, one month to the event, to the surprise and annoyance of many who had already bought a ticket.The organisation of the festival has been subject to much criticism, this included the long queues, poor sound system and a water pressure malfunction. It was during the late afternoon of Saturday, that the only water pump supplying the camp of 20,000 with water suffered a pressure malfunction and subsequently left the camp bereft of a water supply.
The main line-up for 2010 was as follows:
| Day/Arena | Main Stage | Big Tent | Bread and Roses Stage | Comedy Stage |
| Friday 2 July |
|
Afro Celt Sound System The Afro Celt Sound System is a musical group which fuses modern electronic dance rhythms with traditional Irish and West African music... Stornoway (band) Stornoway is a British alternative indie folk band from the Cowley area of Oxford. It consists of singer and guitarist Brian Briggs; multi-instrumentalists Jon Ouin and Oli Steadman, and the latter's brother Rob on drums. The band is usually joined by trumpeter Adam Briggs and violinist Rahul Satija... |
Eight Legs Eight Legs is an indie pop punk band from Stratford-upon-Avon. They formed in 2007 when band members Sam Jolly, Jack Wharton, Adam Neal and Jack Garside were just 18/19 years old.... |
|
| Saturday 3 July |
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly... Ray Davies Ray Davies, CBE is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave... Seasick Steve Steven Gene Wold, commonly known as Seasick Steve, is an American blues musician. He plays guitars, and sings, usually about his early life doing casual work.-Childhood and early life:... |
|
|
Bob Mills (comedian) Robert Edward "Bob" Mills is a British comedian, notable for his appearances in cult TV series such as In Bed with Medinner and The Show, the latter an attempt to do a non-fictional British version of The Larry Sanders Show.Born in Chester, after a very short spell training for the Merchant Navy,... Lee Nelson Lee Nelson, M.D. is a retired New Zealand doctor and now a professional poker player, based in Nelson. He was born in the United States-Poker:... Ian Cognito Ian Cognito is a British stand-up comedian known for his confrontational and aggressive style, and for being banned from more venues than anyone else.... |
Others who performed through the event included Pete Doherty
Pete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
, The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers are an English pop rock band comprising two pairs of brothers and sisters from Greenford. The group was formed in 2002, releasing their critically acclaimed debut album titled The Magic Numbers on 13 June 2005...
, Imelda May
Imelda May
Imelda Mary Higham, Clabby , known as Imelda May, is an Irish vocalist and musician. She began her career in music at 15 and released her debut album in 2005. She also plays the bodhrán and guitar...
, Damien Dempsey
Damien Dempsey
Damien Dempsey is an Irish singer and songwriter who mixes traditional Irish folk with contemporary lyrics to deliver social comment on the positive and negative aspects arising from Ireland's Celtic Tiger society.-Early life:...
, Laura Marling
Laura Marling
Laura Beatrice Marling is an English folk musician from Eversley, Hampshire.Initially prominent within the London folk scene, she has also toured with a number of well-known indie artists in the UK. Her debut album Alas, I Cannot Swim and her second album I Speak Because I Can were nominated for...
, Foy Vance
Foy Vance
Foy Vance is a musician from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. His first single "Gabriel and the Vagabond" was released on 18 December 2006 on Wurdamouth Records. The single's B-side was "Indiscriminate Act of Kindness"...
, Johnny Flynn
Johnny Flynn
Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit are an English folk rock band signed to Transgressive Records. They are fronted by Johnny Flynn , an actor, poet and songwriter who cites W.B. Yeats and Shakespeare among his influences...
and many others.
The year also saw the introduction of a camp stage within the campsite, free for those who had bought weekend camping tickets, but only one day entrance ticket to the arena. Marcus Bonfanti and Robinson were among those who performed.
The years celebrity football tournament participants included the return of the former Big Brother contestants along with the cast of Waterloo Road
Waterloo Road (TV series)
Waterloo Road is an award-winning British television drama series, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 March 2006. Set in a troubled comprehensive school in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, the series focuses on the lives of the school's teacher and students, and confronts social...
, Mumford and Sons and Johnny Flynn among others.
Full weekend ticket prices with camping rose to £135
Hop Farm 2011
The 2011 event has been confirmed for a return during its normal two day first weekend of July date. Confirmed acts for 2011 include The Eagles, Bryan FerryBryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
, Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
, Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
, Iggy and the Stooges and Newton Faulkner
Newton Faulkner
Sam Newton Battenberg Faulkner is an English singer-songwriter and musician from Reigate, Surrey. Known for his guitar playing, which involves rhythmically tapping and hitting his guitar's body, Faulkner came to prominence in 2007, with the release of his debut studio album, Hand Built by Robots...
6 weeks prior to the opening date of the festival, organisers announced an extra date to the festival to be headlined by Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
. The addition of an extra date 3 months after the initial tickets were put on sale created much anger towards the festival for misleading ticket buyers yet again, after a similar incident the previous year.
| Day/Arena | Main Stage | Big Tent | Bread and Roses Stage | Comedy Stage |
| Friday 1 July |
|
The Human League The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant... Ocean Colour Scene Ocean Colour Scene are an English Britpop band formed in Moseley, Birmingham in 1989. They have had five Top 10 albums and six Top 10 singles to date.-Early days :... The Walkmen The Walkmen are an American indie rock band, with members based in New York City and Philadelphia. The band formed in 2000 with three members from Jonathan Fire*Eater—Paul Maroon , Walter Martin , and Matt Barrick —and two from The Recoys, Peter Bauer and Hamilton Leithauser . All but Bauer... |
Stornoway Stornoway is a burgh on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.The town's population is around 9,000, making it the largest settlement in the Western Isles and the third largest town in the Scottish Highlands after Inverness and Fort William... |
Isy Suttie Isobel "Isy" Suttie is an English stand up comedian, actress, writer, and musician. She is best known for playing the role of Dobby in the British sitcom Peep Show.-Career:... Simon Munnery Simon Munnery, also known by his stagenames of Alan Parker: Urban Warrior and The League Against Tedium, is an English comedy writer and experimental standup comedian... |
| Saturday 2 July |
Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,... Lou Reed Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades... Patti Smith Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses.... |
Manu Chao Manu Chao , is a French singer of Spanish roots . He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Galician, Arabic and Portuguese and occasionally in other languages... Noisettes Noisettes are an English indie rock band from London, comprising singer and bassist Shingai Shoniwa, guitarist Dan Smith, and drummer Jamie Morrison... |
Carl Barât Carl Ashley Raphael Barât is an English musician, actor and author. He was the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and recently debuted a solo album, but is best known for being the co-frontman with Peter Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines.-Early life:Carl Barât was... |
Sean Hughes (comedian) Sean Hughes is a British-Irish stand-up comedian, writer and actor.-Career:Hughes was born in London, but spent most of his youth in Firhouse, Dublin... Stewart Lee Stewart Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera... Terry Alderton Terry Alderton is an English comedian who had some high profile acting and presenting roles in the early 2000's before returning to stand-up comedy a decade later.... Carl Donnelly Carl Donnelly is an English stand-up comedian and writer.-Stand up career:Donnelly began his comedy career in 2004. He has since been a regular on the London comedy circuit... |
| Sunday 3 July |
Prince (musician) Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of... Tinie Tempah Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu , better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He made his first mixtape in 2007 with 28 songs, freestyles and remixes, the album features Mz Bratt, Chipmunk and G-Unit... Larry Graham Larry Graham, Jr. is an African American bass guitar player, both with the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone, and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station... |
Hot Chip Hot Chip are an English electronic indie band. They have released four studio albums—Coming on Strong, The Warning, Made in the Dark and One Life Stand.-Formation:... The Pierces The Pierces are an American New York-based band consisting of sisters Allison Pierce and Catherine Pierce .-Childhood:... |
Fenech Soler Fenech-Soler are a British electropop band from Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire that formed in 2006. It consists of four members: Ross Duffy, Ben Duffy, Daniel Soler and Andrew Lindsay. The name Fenech-Soler is taken from Daniel Soler's full surname, which is Maltese... |
|
2011 saw the return of the well received camp stage. Brother and Bones, Tankus The Henge
Tankus the Henge
Tankus the Henge are a "steam driven" London based British band. They find themselves as members of the steampunk sub-culture.They were nominated as a PRS for Music featured artist as well as one of 2011's "Top 10 Acts To See" at Glastonbury....
, Never the Bride and Nathan Mercado, among others, all performed during the weekend.