overview

Ah Madness! The whole family are still humming all those classic tunes after the headliners brought a fantastic skank fuelled close to a festival which was hugely enjoyable this year!

Last year through a noisy campsite, a lack of sleep and a few crazy security issues we as a family were kind of put off. But I’m glad that we didn’t give up with Guilfest as this year they solved all my gripes of my last review and we came away thinking we’ll definitely be back again next time, Tolpuddle will just have to wait!


Finally we were attending a festival this year with good weather not witnessed since the Isle Of Wight weekend (I blame Rhianna who has been at number one ever since!) and I was so pleased I have to confess to spending this year camped out (as many do) amongst the fold up chairs and picnic blankets (complete with smoked salmon sarnies and champers) at the main stage and only made the occasional foray into other areas of the site.

This year our daughter was too old for the kids’ field so we didn’t get a chance to do that this year. Which actually looking back on it was quite odd and although I saw the parade and the industrious looking costumes the kids had been making it was a rite of passage to realise I’d no longer be covering myself in glue and glitter in the kids field. However, it was good to see that so many kids had clearly been getting creative themselves there this year.

Despite decent numbers the site felt like it had slightly widened in the main arena to accommodate them and the access never seemed as crowded as last year and when I did dart between stages the journey was a simple one. What’s really great about Guilfest is that you can flit in and out of every stage and tent really easily. Taking in all the bands playing in under an hour assuming you watch each one for a song or two. There are few other festivals you can do that at, which offer so many stages.



Yup, this year Guilfest had loads of stages. Seemed to me it was more than before or maybe the larger tents and better layout made them more noticeable. All of them placed on the outer ring of a large donut with stalls and eateries placed on either side of the central circular walkway.

As well as the Main and Other open stages, there were the stages under canvas: the efestivals sponsored Comedy Tent (great comedy, moved further up this year, grand idea), the Acoustic Lounge, Funky End (dance) Stage, Rock Sound Stage Cave, Theatre Tent, Surrey Advertiser Stage and Andertons Live Club Stage (both new, local and unsigned bands), Unison Zone (acoustic gems – Wunderstuff, Ska-Acoustica, Anna Neale, Fabulous Fezheads etc) plus the kids area with a performance stage and lastly the EA Game Park (no idea what was in it, went nowhere near the black tent). That’s ten main stages plus kids/youth stuff!

As well as cash machines (with no queues), the 150ft bar, now selling Brothers Perry (it’s not Cider!) and although there was no Ballard’s Brewery, we still had Guilfest Ale (strength and brewery unknown) and yes I could go on about the lack of choice, but the fact it ran out so early is testament to the fact there are a good proportion of festival goers who drink ale. I’d kind of like a wider selection of ales next year, please organisers, nevertheless, at least we had a well kept session ale.



Other drinking options (as well as the lager, bottled coloured stuff and bar spirits) were Pimms (from the Pimms bus) and frozen Margaritas (Teguila stall) once again, yummy. Food choice seemed of a higher standard this year and with more choice, prices were more reasonable than last year, and the giant Yorkshire puddings were talk of the site, even Suggs gave them a mention.

Then of course there was the music, obviously this year had a ska flavour to it, (damn I missed out on noticing the Guilfest Ska T-shirts) and for me this was perfect, nothing like some Dub Pistols and Specials, Jimmy Cliff, Toots and the Maytals, Beat, The King Blues, Ska-Acoustica and Skaville to get crowds grinning and Madness had the whole site it seemed, dancing and singing along. One of the most animated crowds I’ve ever seen, clearly loving the Nutty Boys’ old school hits even right at the back! Sales of trilbies shot through the roof. With kids, parents and grandparents all dancing and singing along – are they the UK’s best cross generation band?



But if you didn’t like ska there were plenty of other options, both the main and the other stage offered great rising stars of the music scene and some festival favourites as well as a selection of legends – I missed Uriah Heap unfortunately and local regulars Big Wednesday. Rock fans had a treat with My Vitriol, Orange Goblin, Fortune Drive, Reuben and Hell Is For Heroes to name the most popular on offer.

Guilfest really succeeds with the young people market, that illusive eighteen to twenty five year old market are here in force. Michael Eavis made a recent statement that Glastonbury wants to attract this age range more at his festival. Well, Guilfest have lots of them. Their secret I think is not just to do with many of them going with their parents or in large groups of friends, but the two unsigned stages and the myspace chart bands attract loads of young people. Not only that but bands who are playing bring their mates who help swell the age range and, girls, you get to see them in the local pool.

The Rock Stage (hidden aurally by its bigger outdoor neighbour) and Funky End are a bonus and the whole area is a more youthful self contained festival, with more burgers and chips on offer (instead of the more healthy options near the big stages) as well as Oxygen, bright gaudy festie stalls, amusing slogan T-shirt sellers and a vibe more in keeping with trendy, self aware youth. Yes it appears to require more policing, and yes the kids get battered, but it’s good to see youth still doing what I did, and that’s what festivals are for – a great escape from the pressure of growing up and here it’s safe for the young to lose it for a few hours.

With the even younger people catered for with computer games, and the smaller still with the kids area, Guilfest has a nurturing policy to the young, who combined with their parents having a chance to see their heroes - bands like Squeeze, Supergrass, Moorcheeba, The Saw Doctors, Richard Thompson, The Magic Numbers and of course Madness.



And of course Guilfest’s up and coming and unsigned bands policy meant there were loads of bands to see who were just so happy to be there in front of an audience, many were actually very entertaining and offered a wider choice of musical choice from folk, to country, rock, metal, punk and pop and many more effervescent musical choices.

And of course there were the many good causes, from the Samaritans, to the Unison backed global issues, to fighting hepatitis, saving the NHS and the local hospital and petitions to be signed and active causes to support. I especially liked the place next to Unison (I forget it’s name) but a community of happy friendly people, who smiled and asked how I was everytime I passed – I called them the ‘Good Vibes Squad.’

I had no issue with the security this year, we clearly got lucky in our campsite position, not only a handy water point but camping under arc lights tends to keep the noisy people away and means it’s light enough in your tent not to need a torch. There were wandering bacon sarnie sellers in the morning and a nearby café selling reasonable coffee and more dead beast products. I did hear some people had problems with fence jumpers but we had a lovely time this year in the campsite with friendly neighbours.

We also had fun each morning in the wave machine and flume rides of the nearby Spectrum Sport Centre’s swimming pool, although it was cheaper to have a post swim breakfast in the arena at the Veggie ‘Not the Hotdog Stall’ rather than at the poolside café – which is rather a surprise.



Guilfest got everything right this year, except for one thing, the toilets, anyone who went knows that the organisers went for the moon with plush flushing toilets to spoil us with and failed. Water it seems doesn’t flow up hill too well. However, it’s my only gripe with a festival that seems to be getting everything else right and were clearly attempting to give us great loos too.

They even overcame a collapsing Dandelion PA stack and all those who worked and organised such a happy family friendly deserve a big thank you. See you next year, I suppose having Madness every year is out of the question?

Latest Updates