Sometimes as a blogger you get invited to two events happening at the same time and if you REALLY want to go to both of them it can be frustrating. I was invited to this years Livestock Festival and it happened to coincide with Camp Bestival for whom I am a Blog Ambassador. The Fratellis and Reef were there this year – I saw Reef when I was 16 at my first ever large concert and I loved them so I was a little disappointed I couldn’t make it. Not wanting to waste the invite, I decided to ask my siblings if one of them would like to attend on my behalf and review the festival for me – my youngest brother thought it was his lucky day and eagerly snapped up the invite.
From what I have heard since it was an incredible, chilled out festival. And here he is to tell you what he thought, over to Josh:
I was lucky enough to have two VIP tickets to Livestock Festival given to me by my older sister with just a small request of a post festival review write up – I couldn’t say no. The festival took place near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire in stunning surroundings.
In only its second year running, the festival was brilliantly organised, with a very relaxed family orientated environment. Upon arrival we were greeted by the steward team who gave us our passes and a ‘goodie’ bag with necessities and information for the festival, which came in handy for the weekend ahead.
Last years festival saw some brilliant acts, such as The Feeling, Scouting For Girls, The Hoosiers and Toploader the creators of anthem ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’. This meant this years line up had a lot to live up to, and it definitely didn’t disappoint.
Friday
After a bumpy and narrow journey on the road leading to the campsite we arrived (unscathed) at our campsite bathed in glorious sunshine, with a beautiful view overlooking mountains and fields. The first day was spent exploring the site, meeting new people and trying out the food stalls ( a real highlight of the festival ) After a few hours we stumbled across the Hidden Forest, where we watched some great acts and tried the infamous ‘Wobble Juice’ which lives up to its name for sure. We finally made our way to the main stage just in time to hear a ferocious roar from the fans awaiting Reef! It was a brilliant performance and set the tone for the whole evening, with fans chanting ‘Place your hands’ well into the night. After the performance I was very lucky to meet Reef and have a couple of photographs with the band, which was brilliant after being a fan for years (just a shame that I then sadly lost my camera at the event). Later on that night we went to the bar with some friends we had made, and enjoyed cocktails and music. After a tiring evening we made the short walk back to camp, to get some shut eye before the next day.
Saturday
The sun was beaming through the tent at half 7am meaning it was time to get up and start the day. We took the short walk to the nearest food stall to get a ‘Brekkie Bap’ to help us recover from last nights antics. The day then started, with a group of us sitting around playing games and getting to know each other, all sharing the same excitement for the Fratelli’s that evening!
As we headed over to the main arena, we stumbled across a pizza food stall named ‘Just Wood Fired Pizza’ which would become our main food stall for the weekend, delicious food served with a smile. The food at music festivals has improved so much in the last few years and the food traders ensured we were all happily fed for the weekend.
Perfect festival food:
Reverend and the makers were first up of the headline acts for Saturday, and delivered a brilliant performance. They managed to get everyone in the field involved with their performance of which was spectacular, in fact I consider them as being the performers of the weekend. The Fratellis followed and absolutely nailed it, Chelsea Dagger and Whistle for the Choir being obvious highlights!
The Fratellis rocking the main stage:
Sunday
Waking up Sunday morning knowing it was our last day was a little sad, as it had been such a brilliant weekend that I did not want to end. The day was spent bathing in the sun, playing football with people we had met and enjoying some of the activities on site. The bouncy balls were a personal highlight for myself, watching adults having fun bouncing into each other reliving their childhood was hilarious. The music that evening started with Chesney Hawkes and he delivered a great rendition of some popular covers which had all the crowd singing along. Chesney finished the evening with his classic hit ‘I am the one and only’ which is something I’ll always remember. It was a great performance and he is a lovely guy, as I found out after his set whilst sitting in his Teepee enjoying a nice cold bottle of Sol discussing festivals he had played at. Jason Donovan had all the mothers in the crowd going crazy during his set which was note perfect, the only downside was not getting to meet Jason as he had to leave straight after the Festival to do another show.
The night ended with a silent disco of which was a massive hit, and ended a perfect weekend, spent with great company and in a spectacular venue, would definitely recommend and will definitely go again in the future. Thanks Livestock for inviting us ( well Becky ) to review and if you want us next year we will certainly be back!
#LOVELIVESTOCK2016
*All images from David Savill courtesy of Livestock Festival. As stated we were invited to review the festival and as such were provided with press tickets.