I still haven’t quite recovered from the shock of paying £50 to see some of the biggest names in the DJ world. Lost Village Festival – an original, intimate music experience unlike any other UK festival. With only 5,000 people and three small stages, from the minute you stepped into the woods you felt like you were in this obscure fantasy world united with other tribes waiting to share and experience this new, magical experience.

Apart from the shock of discovering a crate of 24 beers from the pop up shop cost £80, Friday night started the festival off with a bang. The legendary Grandmaster Flash had Basecamp bouncing to classics from Jackson 5 and Coolio. From cocktail bar buses to Mexican food stalls the Basecamp created the perfect chill vibes to relax throughout the weekend to your favourite tunes and get away from the crazy scenes unfolding within the woods. 

8am Saturday morning and the camp was buzzing with atmosphere with the majority eager to get the weekend properly started. With the likes of some big headline acts set to play across the weekend camp were preparing for two big nights ahead. As darkness fell the tribes gathered around the main stages to engage in the eerie vibes of Four Tet or to party to the deep techno sounds of Jamie Jones. A late announcement saw the likes of the legendary Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac being added to the already impressive line-up. It was clear from early on Sunday that the majority were waiting to see her in action. With support from Hannah Wants at The Ruins main stage, Sunday night saw the females steal the show. 

I can’t forget to mention the excellent marketing used by Moda in the run up to the festival. I was dubious as to whether they could live up to the huge hype created via social media surrounding the tribal Lost Village theme, however  this was accurately recreated through the mind blowing aesthetics and decorative details around the woods.

A clever move by the organisers to begin selling tickets immediately after the first festival has ended, an opportunity to draw back in those tribe members who are still engulfed in the excitement and buzz of this year’s encounter. Let’s just hope Lost Village remains as intimate and carefully executed as it was this year.

Acts included:

Jaymo and Andy George – Grandmaster Flash – Four Tet – DJ Koze – Dusky – Heidi – Huxley – Jamie Jones – Jackmaster – Hannah Wants – Annie Mac – Ben Pearce – Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Roosevelt – Walker and Royce – Greg Wilson – Tourist – Kolsch (DJ Set) - Maxxi Soundsystem – Tale of Us