Bearded Theory 2025

[FrogStupid]

Just now, gizmoman said:

I assumed it was someone around you reacting, clearly not, bizarre comment from someone passing through, hard to understand his point in that case, I've certainly got no problem with people enjoying themselves!

 

I'm probably making too much of a thing of it. It's just that I can see it coming back at me at moments in the future when I'm tired or hungry or pissed about work for whatever other reason irritable; I'll be sitting there and it'll pop into my head: "Should have said "And who the f**k are you?" to that little knobhead. Prick."

 

Maybe now I've got it off my chest I can move on...

 

I want to thank you all for listening.

[gizmoman]

13 minutes ago, FrogStupid said:

 

I'm probably making too much of a thing of it. It's just that I can see it coming back at me at moments in the future when I'm tired or hungry or pissed about work for whatever other reason irritable; I'll be sitting there and it'll pop into my head: "Should have said "And who the f**k are you?" to that little knobhead. Prick."

 

Maybe now I've got it off my chest I can move on...

 

I want to thank you all for listening.

You did right not to respond, no point getting in a confrontation with someone who may not be rational. Forgot to say earlier, I would far rather be around people dancing etc. that those who choose to talk incessantly during a gig. They are the real problem IMO.

[Revol]

It does not surprise me to hear of (yet another) lacklustre performance by the Manic street Preachers and I type as someone who was once a huge fan of the band.

I genuinely think the only reason they even bother to continue is the other twos loyalty to James Dean Bradfield and a lack of any other career ambitions.

As for the lack of crowd participation - nowadays even if they played all their speedier back catalogue people would still stand motionless, occasionally fiddling with their smart phones and clapping politely at the end of every song.

Edited May 26, 2025 by Revol

[OllieMadd]

On the way home now after our first BT. I'm not quite sure why you all love it quite so much, but I did have fun. 

 

The good:

Standout for me was Iggy Pop putting in a simply unbelievable show. Thought the Manics managed to bring around the set after a very average first half. Especially enjoyed a great version of Design for Life and The Everlasting.

 

Clean as. Everyone seemed to take great care to be clean and tidy, toilets were great, not many queues for things so logistically it's planned very well. Everyone was also really nice.

 

The bad:

It just all felt a bit flat in terms of atmosphere. Lots of bands seemed to pick this up too, felt like we saw lots of run of the mill sets as a result of quite flat crowds. Not a huge amount on in terms of things other than the music, which can be nice to have an alternative. 

 

Thought the food options were very poor & a shame the bars didn't stock enough ale, too.

 

Overall...

Everyone was very nice and if we get offered free tickets, we'll be back again, but don't think I'll be joining you yearly attendees otherwise. 8/10.

[FrogStupid]

28 minutes ago, Revol said:

It does not surprise me to hear of (yet another) lacklustre performance by the Manic street Preachers and I type as someone who was once a huge fan of the band.

I genuinely think the only reason they even bother to continue is the other twos loyalty to James Dean Bradfield and a lack of any other career ambitions.

As for the lack of crowd participation - nowadays even if they played all their speedier back catalogue people would still stand motionless, occasionally fiddling with their smart phones and clapping politely at the end of every song.

 

 

I didn't think they were lacklustre - personally I thought they (and James in particular) sounded great - but I thought the audience didn't give them much, and Nicky seemed a bit annoyed by that, and it maybe affected the band a little bit. Maybe they're not a festival band? Perhaps I'm contradicting myself? I saw them in Wolverhampton in April and they were great. Maybe they're just not a festival band? I think Interpol had the same problem two years ago - I thought they were great, but there were a lot of people there who were only casual listeners or curious bystanders. Then again, as far as I can remember, Interpol still gave it everything. 

 

It's crazy to think that a song like If You Tolerate this then You're Children Will be Next could once upon a time get to number 1 in the charts. I honestly don't think that could happen these days.

 

EDIT:

 

The one thing about the Manics is that there wasn't any warm up music played between the Public Service Broadcasting set and the Manics. I remember thinking it was odd. Maybe the right selection could have got the crowd going a bit more?

Edited May 26, 2025 by FrogStupid
editing.

[Beerqueen]

Did anyone else see Fraser Morgan in Maui Waui?  A chaotic set but I hugely enjoyed it.  Felt like giving him a big hug at times when he was talking about his mental health issues.

 

Apart from him I also loved Yard Act, The Selector, Fat Dog, Castle Rat, Lottery Winners, oh and loads of others.

 

Sadly, I've got a dickhead story too.  I was towards the front for The Selector when a tallish man strode from behind to put down a plastic milk crate right in front of me and stand on top of it!  Luckily, there was enough room for me to just move to in front of him.  At the end of the song that was playing he blew loudly on a plastic horn.  He asked if he had blown it in my ear and I said no but why put the crate down and stand on it right in front of me? And then shortly afterwards, took his crate away and left again!  What was that all about?

 

But of course everyone else was lovely!

[justanotheronethen]

1 hour ago, FrogStupid said:

 

I'm probably making too much of a thing of it. It's just that I can see it coming back at me at moments in the future when I'm tired or hungry or pissed about work for whatever other reason irritable; I'll be sitting there and it'll pop into my head: "Should have said "And who the f**k are you?" to that little knobhead. Prick."

 

Maybe now I've got it off my chest I can move on...

 

I want to thank you all for listening.

Mate I brood about things like this for AGES afterwards. Reminds me of this from Kevin Bridges 😁

 

[tomato12345]

What a fest

Weather was better than expected but the best part was definately the crowd and staff. Everyone was so chill and up for a chat. Have to agree on food was struggling on sunday to find something decent that I hadn't had. Beans with his daughter on saturday afternoon was great too.

[ciderbus]

Also had a great few days.  So friendly again and thankfully no idiot stories for me.

Saw a ton of excellent music from Weds on building up to my favourite day on Sunday with Throwing Muses, Gans and double Shonen Knife.

Thought Iggy was a storming headliner and even better than I hoped.

Went along to Paul Heaton out of curiosity having never been a fan of his bands but ended up staying for the whole set.  Other highlights were Stick in the Wheel, Vaselines, Swim Deep, Lovely Eggs and stumbling across unexpected treats such as Rum Dog and My Bad Sister.

Minor gripes- chairs are getting more and closer to the main stage in particular. We had a first timer with us who said it was the most chairs to people ratio he had ever seen at a festival! Also I hope flags don’t become a thing as more people gravitate to BT from Glastonbury. Only a handful this time, particularly at the Manics but I don’t remember seeing it before. Might just be my memory tho.
 

Really grateful to everyone involved in the organising, volunteering, cleaning crews etc and thankful we were blessed with such decent weather.

 

[FrogStupid]

I thought the food was ok. The plant burger from the burger place to left of the main arena was genuinely delicious, and the veggie breakfast burrito from the place by the Earth Arena fire pit was top notch too. 

 

That said, aside from a couple of portions of chips from the fish and chip place in the main arena, the burger and the burrito were the only two... foods(?) I bought when on site. Thursday, Friday, Saturday were all packed lunch days. 

 

EDIT: Gutted I missed Throwing Muses though. Got my stagetimes mixed up.

Edited May 26, 2025 by FrogStupid

[bexj]

Brilliant festival, lovely people, such good music across all the stages. Also disappointed with the food, but had a nice pizza from the stall nr the magic teapot. Good range of ales at Catton Fiddle but shame they ran out by Sunday. 

Music highlights were

The Vaselines, Shonen Knife, Katy J Pearson, The Lovely Eggs, Throwing Muses, Nova Twins, Iggy, Leftfield. 

No complaints from here! 

[OllieMadd]

Oh yes, totally forgot the doubleheader of Shonen Knife being brilliant. Loved that.

[Jay Pee]

I worked at the festival school for the first time this year and it was an absolute privilege. The children and parents absolutely love it.  My partner has worked the last 7.

 

I think it was our 10th BT and always kick starts the festival season nicely. Iggy Pop put in one of the best performances I've ever seen. Also pleasantly surprised at how the Lottery Winners owned the main stage.

 

Guardian review of the remarkable BT School 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/may/26/shes-been-talking-about-it-all-year-school-at-derbyshire-festival-gets-top-grades-from-children

[Simesy]

Once again Bearded delivers a brilliant festival. Completely blown away by Iggy & by Ezra Furman. Old favourites Neds, Asian Dub F. & ASH continue to deliver great sets.  Across the lineup it was brill although I do agree the 30 minute sets should be longer (Du Blonde have brilliant albums & it felt a bit rushed).

 

Shout out to Get down Services in Woodland - big crowd, dancing & laughing makes for a perfect afternoon.

 

Big Thanks to all those who set up & steward the fest. Superbly done.

 

Pity the Iris brewery ran out of Endless Summer on Saturday afternoon ( hopefully less t-shirts & more beer next year). A very minor grief!!

 

 

 

[Gnomicide]

Another fantastic Bearded, the weather was mostly good, looked like we missed a few downpours close to the site. 

The people were great, the staff were great and I enjoyed every set I saw.

 

Lots of highlights, but special mentions for Yard Act, Ezra Furman, Mary Wallopers, Muireanne Bradley, Eighty Eight Miles, Katy J Pearson and the phenomenal Iggy Pop. Iggy was unbelievable, so much better than I'd hoped he'd be.

 

Obligatory Sights & Sounds video:

 

 

 

[Popsider75]

On 13/05/2025 at 02:57, Paul ™ said:

Travel & Vehicle Access -

As most of you are aware already, the issue with the Chetwynd Bridge still exists this year and still has an ongoing weight and width restriction in place for the foreseeable due to the bridge being weak.

This bridge is what links the main route to the festival from the A38 via the A513 and up towards Catton Hall.

As a result, this route has once again been designated for use only by cars & motorcycles for coming to the festival.

If you are in anything larger than a car, please use the alternative routes as per the Bearded Theory website, which give waypoint postcodes to enter into your navigation device and then once you approach that postcode, you should follow the yellow AA signs.

Please also be aware that coming off the A38 onto Station Lane towards Walton on Trent will also be problematic due to a very narrow bridge and should be avoided by all vehicles.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Going by a lot of comments posted last year and recently, there seemed to be a lot of confusion with the waypoint postcodes and the subsequent routes from those to the site.

In my opinion, to simplify it and to try and make it as easy as possible for those coming in larger vehicles, campervans, vans and caravans etc, I would suggest the following -

Do allow extra time and distance for a detour and get yourself to either Burton or Tamworth depending on approximately where you are travelling from.

There's the bonus of both of these towns having various supermarkets with large car parks for getting last minute supplies and/or meeting up with friends to travel in convoy, as once on the next part of your journey, this won't be possible.

Burton -

Once there or near there, put in the postcodes shown in the first image attached - DE15 9AW which is the roundabout at the A5189/A444 (St Peters).

Then use the DE15 9UA waypoint which takes you to Drakelow and then on towards the festival at DE12 8LL.

Tamworth -

Once there or near there, put in the postcodes shown in the second image attached - B79 7JJ which is the large roundabout at the A51/A513 (Ankerdrive/Bolebridge).

Then use the B79 8AB waypoint which takes you further along the A513 and then on towards the festival at DE12 8LL.

If using either of the above and you end up on the A38 either before or even after doing that, you're probably going to see a lot of warning signs for narrow bridges and are going to have to avoid coming off the A38 before Lichfield or Branston turn offs.

Cars & Motorcycles -

If you're lucky enough to be in one of those, then you can just put in the postcode shown in the third image attached - DE13 7AB which is the A513 (Alrewas) Junction or use the Burton/Tamworth instructions above depending on your departure point, and cross the Chetwynd Bridge feeling all smug with your tent!

I hope this helps and if you're unsure then please do ask for advise, give your departure point and will try to sort it out.


https://beardedtheory.co.uk/about/travel/

 

From Burton (North & North West)
 

From Tamworth (South)
 

From A38 (Cars & Motorbikes Only)

 

 

 

Hi Paul.

Just wanted to post a thank you for this it worked a treat. Despite this being my 10th (approx) BT in 2024 due to the bridge restrictions we went wrong as the signposting wasn't brilliant. Long story short I ended up on the Walton bridge in my motorhome!  With the wing mirrors tucked in I JUST about made it over but it was a bit hairy, their was also a caravan in front of me and didn't want to repeat the experience.

 

Travelling from the North West and getting to Burton on Trent and then using the waypoint postcodes worked a treat and brought us in via Drakelow. Safe to say that will be the tactic in future. I did mean to post thanks on site but Vodafone reception was virtually non-existent so here it is belated. 

 

 

 

 

 

[gorfield]

Well it was my 1st time and I will definitely be back!!

Loved how you could see more than 3 or 4 bands in a day with everything being so close, we actually went to EVERY stage on Friday - it was the best day!! Ended up in the karaoke tent which was hilarious, even had a go myself the next night. I was in the furthest camper field but still only a 10 min walk away. 

 

The one thing I wasn't happy with was chairs, its like an assault course!

 

Best value food I found was a tray of onion bhajis at the Tikka guys, id rather pay 7 quid for that than 6 quid for a tray of chips! Food was pretty expensive but I guess that's not the vendors fault they are just trying to get a profit after all the fees.

 

Bands discovered - Deja Vega, Fat Dog ( just bought tickets for next gig!) Gallus, Rupcha Farms and Swim Deep

[Popsider75]

Had another fantastic weekend and very little to whinge about. Thought the bands were great, crowd generally friendly as ever with loads of great chats with strangers over the weekend and even the weather held up for us.

 

Only knobhead behaviour was people talking loudly during sets- had to have a word with a couple during Paul Heaton- I try to be diplomatic and say "Its really rude of that band over there playing loud whilst you two are trying to have a conversation isn't it?!

 

We arrived about 11am Thursday and ended up on the opposite side of the road again- realistically do you have to do the Wednesday arrival to get next to the festival site now or is it just as I arrived via Drakelow?  Its probably got some advantages to be fair. When you want a kip the late night "beats" are a bit further away!

 

Lots of highlights....I think Iggy has to be top shout he was magnificent. Vaselines and Deja Vega top notch. Gurriers another band I was looking forward to and they did not disappoint. 

Always good to discover bands that may have passed you by first tome - have to say Gaye Bykers on Acid were one of the best of the weekend and a band I knew or have heard little about prior to now. 

 

All on all as good as ever and will be on first Super Early Bird tickets when they are launched.

 

 

[Kurosagi]

2 hours ago, Gnomicide said:

Obligatory Sights & Sounds video:

 

Nice compilation, just watched it.

 

Find it fascinating how it's possible to have entirely different festivals to other people. I think from your video the only bands we both saw were Iggy, Mik Artistik and Leftfield!

 

Didn't see any footage from the Convoy Cabaret tent? I was dancing to at least three bands each day in there - Smag på dig selv on the Friday night were awesome, the crowd went mental for them, the deep nordic throat singing sounded incredible. Hats off to Steve and the CC crew for bringing them over for their first UK visit, can't wait to see them again.

 

Oh and Culture Shock after Iggy was just a perfect bit of scheduling.

[incident]

29 minutes ago, Popsider75 said:

Hi Paul.

Just wanted to post a thank you for this it worked a treat. Despite this being my 10th (approx) BT in 2024 due to the bridge restrictions we went wrong as the signposting wasn't brilliant. Long story short I ended up on the Walton bridge in my motorhome!  With the wing mirrors tucked in I JUST about made it over but it was a bit hairy, their was also a caravan in front of me and didn't want to repeat the experience.

 

Travelling from the North West and getting to Burton on Trent and then using the waypoint postcodes worked a treat and brought us in via Drakelow. Safe to say that will be the tactic in future. I did mean to post thanks on site but Vodafone reception was virtually non-existent so here it is belated.

 

For what it's worth - construction has finally (only taken 50 years) started on the replacement permanent bridge at Walton which should help things massively. It's possible that it's open in time for next years festival, though probably the 2027 event is more likely.

[sadimmock]

Time for a few more thoughts now I've slept...

 

All in all we had a great time at our second Bearded Theory and wouldn't hesitate to book again.

 

The Good:

-Some brilliant and varied performances, especially Iggy, Leftfield, Shonen Knife (x2), The Vaselines, Pan Amsterdam and Antony Szmierek.

-Absolutely lovely staff and volunteers (special shout out to the bar staff who all seemed to be really friendly and enjoying themselves)

-Mostly brilliant crowd. Easily one the friendliest festivals I've been to for a long time

-Nicely laid out and compact site; it was easy to get around. Also really telling how people tried to keep it clean and tidy!

-Universally good loo's 

-Mostly good weather.

 

The Bad

-My usual whinge about not getting day/stage spits until very late. 

-Bit of an odd one.... The crowd were 99% excellent but there was a bit of nasty vibe at the front for Yard Act. I suspect that there were a few younger people who had suddenly discovered spirits and/or Class As, but there was a real edge. After a (mild) altercation I just left and watched from the back.

 

A great festival; thanks to all of those who made it happen! 

 

[Gnomicide]

2 hours ago, Kurosagi said:

 

Nice compilation, just watched it.

 

Find it fascinating how it's possible to have entirely different festivals to other people. I think from your video the only bands we both saw were Iggy, Mik Artistik and Leftfield!

 

Didn't see any footage from the Convoy Cabaret tent? I was dancing to at least three bands each day in there - Smag på dig selv on the Friday night were awesome, the crowd went mental for them, the deep nordic throat singing sounded incredible. Hats off to Steve and the CC crew for bringing them over for their first UK visit, can't wait to see them again.

 

Oh and Culture Shock after Iggy was just a perfect bit of scheduling.

 

Cheers.

 

Yep, the different festival thing is always funny when chatting to people. I didn't even watch Leftfield, I was just walking past 😄.

 

I normally see quite a lot in Convoy Cabaret, but this year I only saw half a set (can't remember who it was). I think it was the strength of the lineup elsewhere that kept me out. Same thing with the tea tent, I used to spent loads of time in there but haven't in recent years.

 

Was Convoy Cabaret a smaller tent than last year, or did I imagine that?

[Gnomicide]

3 hours ago, gorfield said:

Ended up in the karaoke tent which was hilarious, even had a go myself the next night. 

 

Love the karaoke tent (probably one of the reasons I spend less time at the tea tent, tbf). Friday had some excellent song choices, the fella doing My Way and young lad doing Rasputin were highlights.

 

What song did you do? I may have witnessed the spectacle 😁

[Paul ™]

10 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

 

Cheers.

 

Yep, the different festival thing is always funny when chatting to people. I didn't even watch Leftfield, I was just walking past 😄.

 

I normally see quite a lot in Convoy Cabaret, but this year I only saw half a set (can't remember who it was). I think it was the strength of the lineup elsewhere that kept me out. Same thing with the tea tent, I used to spent loads of time in there but haven't in recent years.

 

Was Convoy Cabaret a smaller tent than last year, or did I imagine that?

About 1.5m shorter 

[Gnomicide]

19 minutes ago, Paul ™ said:

About 1.5m shorter 

 

Not what I was thinking then. I thought it was a fair bit skinnier.