LOVEBOX Festival, Victoria Park, London

Lovebox Festival seems to be the most popular London festival; with advertisements splashed over every tube station and bus across the city it certainly gets a lot of hype. The three day event takes place every year in Victoria Park, in Mile End not Central London like I stupidly assumed, and showcases a variety of trendy music acts as well as offering appealing food, drink and craft stalls.

I was invited along on the Friday to experience Lovebox for the first time. The walk from Mile End tube is torturously long, but at least it wasn’t raining when I did the trek and entering the park my spirits were lifted by the lights and decorations everywhere. The 2011 line-up changed a number of times, but headliners for the weekend included Snoop Dogg and Scissor Sisters, massive names but not really my kind of music. Friday featured sets from the Wombats, Example, Metronomy and Ed Sheeran, but the main stage did not open until Saturday.

Interestingly many of those attending seemed uninterested in the music instead opting to spend the evening drinking or gathering elsewhere in the grounds. I was distracted by the rather wonderful Fringe Street and tent nearby, here you could find weird and wonderful installations, performance art and exquisite little pop-up stalls selling trinkets, old top hats and other mad bits and bobs. I was in heaven and brought home several special pieces: a full length vintage dress, a retro Sex Pistols t-shirt and a beautifully constructed feather headband. Other gems to be found included Michelle Lowe-Holder’s felt jewellery, the ‘If you Please’ delicate handmade underwear and Lucy Peacock’s wacky geometric plastic jewellery. It was so nice to see a festival promoting talented young designers with unique, high quality creations, rather than the usual festival tat.

The music I found predominantly underwhelming apart from a decent performance from Mr Sheeran. The food tasted better than it looked; we picked up a juicy burger from the Fine Burger company and a delicious fresh Mojito from the Bacardi area. These were paid for with the £20 note I found lying on the grass, my biggest find yet! The stars of the festival though were the quirky arts and crafts, but judging by the indifference I saw there on Friday, these creative gems were completely overlooked.

Visit the Lovebox website here.

VINTAGE at Southbank Centre PREVIEW

Since Hop Farm and Latitude I have been getting serious Festival withdrawal symptoms so my ears pricked up when a friend told me about Vintage at Southbank Centre, Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway’s award-winning festival which was launched last year at the highly acclaimed Goodwood event.

This three day extravaganza takes place along the Southbank, with the Royal Festival Hall being transformed into a dressing up box for vintage enthusiasts. There will be all kinds of retro events to try out: vintage clothes galore to delve into, catwalk shows, live music and DJ’s, pretty foodie treats, film and art events, cocktails and makeovers. All the ingredients for the chicest festival in town...

Celebrating the 1920 to the 1980s every kind of vintage will be on show. In the daily catwalks vintage connoisseurs Jo Wood, Pearl and Daisy Lowe and Sue Tilley will be delighting audiences with their own personal collections and prized possessions. For each of the catwalk shows models will be showcasing wacky hairstyle trends from bygone eras thanks to the beauty experts from Urban Retreat salon at Harrods.

I am particularly excited about the Fashion Workshops; the glamorous Horrockses brand will be demonstrating how to make dresses from bed linen, and at the fashion reworking station Chop & Change will show you how to make a unique skirt out of a man’s shirt!

If, like me, you hate trudging round the overpriced vintage boutiques for rare and often overpriced gems, you will enjoy the Vintage Marketplace. Here some of Europe’s finest vintage traders will be offering you their best stock. This pop up high street will display brands from past and present, so if you have any themed parties coming up, you will find your perfect outfit here. A vintage hair salon from Batiste and a beauty salon by Benefit will both be doing decade-specific makeovers, to get you in the mood.

My favourite thing about this festival... It is mud free, so leave the Hunters at home and bring your best vintage heels out to play!

Vintage at Southbank Festival takes place 29-31 July, buy tickets here.

Hop Farm Festival 2011, Kent

Just one hour away from London, in an open field, music lovers gathered in their masses to witness a weekend of musical phenomena. Hop Farm’s fourth year role-call was the best yet with headlining performances from none other than The Eagles, Morrissey and Prince! Luckily, unlike for the poor Glasto crowd, we had gloriously fine weather, blue skies and sunshine all weekend. Vince Power’s Kent festival prides itself on no sponsorship, branding or VIPism, focusing solely on the music - a vision that has set his festival apart from all the others. I can confirm, after my second year at Hop Farm that there is certainly something special about this relaxed, but musically rich event.

We drove down on Friday lunchtime with a car full of bits and bobs prepared for any possibility! Parking is free, but Hop Farm also caters for non-drivers with frequent coach rides to and from London, and is conveniently close to Paddock Wood train station. After setting up our £20 (!) Sainsbury’s tent in the field of excited campers, we grabbed a cold beer and trundled off to check out some bands. Hop Farm offers three stages: the Main Stage, Big Tent and the Bread & Roses tent - I spent most of the weekend darting between the first two arenas catching as many sets as possible.

Independent food stalls provide sustenance of every variety and from every culture: Indian, Mexican, American, Italian, vegan - anything you could ever desire, and prices are relatively reasonable. Cider and beer is served in reusable hard plastic cups that you are encouraged to ‘rent’ for £3, keep and use for the whole festival, then return at the end for a full refund... a brilliant idea that avoids excess rubbish, saving money and resources.

On the Friday night it was the Big Tent that was most exciting. We saw a sublime performance from Ocean Colour Scene, the much loved Birmingham band who celebrated their 21st anniversary last year. The set was varied and exciting with tuneful singing and some contagious groovy bass riffs, their enthusiasm and enjoyment was clear in an assured and diverse performance. The Walkmen also deserve a mention, the New York based five-piece have been getting a lot of hype and critical acclaim from the press. At Hop Farm they didn’t disappoint, playing some extraordinary songs and impressing the crowds. I look forward to hearing more from them when they take to the Word stage at Latitude festival. It felt very special to see the Eagles together on stage, their musical ability is still very much intact and they easily made it through a 90 minute set; however I felt there was a slight lack of chemistry on stage which definitely affected the audience’s enjoyment of their much loved music.

Saturday was an all star line-up, unfortunately I couldn’t stay for the whole day (I was seeing Don Airy from Deep Purple play in a private shindig) and was particularly sad to miss my childhood favourite Manu Chao. I did manage to fit in a quick music fix before leaving though, and saw an absolutely magnificent performance from quirky singer Newton Faulkner. A born musician, Faulkner exceeded all my expectations with his magical set, his distinctive way of playing the guitar is a wonder and his voice is soothingly beautiful. His charismatic and witty stage demeanor made him a memorable highlight of the weekend for me. It was also fun to see The Paris Riots and Frankie and the Heartstrings who both made an impact on the audience in the Big Tent on Saturday.

Extra crowds seemed to flock to Kent for the final day of Hop Farm Festival, no doubt to see the quite extraordinary icon Prince, who as the Sunday headliner, made his first ever UK Festival Appearance. But there were treats in store before this finale in the form of: Eliza Doolittle, Imelda May and Tinie Tempah who all graced the Main Stage with their very individual characters and gave strong, energetic performances. I also enjoyed a very natural performance from sister act The Pierces; the audience were transfixed, some blowing bubbles. I felt almost brainwashed by the girls delicious voices and hippy dancing. I completely adored the enthusiastic band The Go! Team who jumped about on stage joyously singing wonderfully and playing a variety of makeshift instruments, including a percussive typewriter. Their newest album ‘Rolling Blackouts’ is going on my ‘to buy’ list.

After a 30 minute delay, and a lot of crowd pushing and shoving the fabulously eccentric Prince arrived on stage, smiling and ready to party. It was, quite possibly the best live show I have ever seen, but perhaps I say that still under the influence of his spellbinding performance. Everything you could hope to see from Prince was there plus a great deal more: staggering guitar playing, funky dancing, theatrical solos, glitter and glory... and as Prince kept reminding us, “all REAL music”.

Even in his sparkly designer heels he wasn’t afraid to get down, sprinting from one side of the stage to another, almost launching himself into the desperately excited crowds. Prince left the audience after three encores, but would clearly have been happy playing all night, "I wish there wasn't no such thing as a curfew. Parties are supposed to go on till everyone's asleep". Unfortunately there was a curfew and eventually the hysteria subsided. Prince certainly had an effect on this crowd, even those who weren’t particularly fans left feeling like the most die-hard followers, only missing the worn out faded tour t-shirts. The audience seemed shocked by the quite unbelievable effect of this man’s music - some were crying, others commenting “I can’t believe it, was it a dream?”

I left Hop Farm 2011 on a euphoric high, and despite the two hour traffic jam to leave I couldn’t help but smile. How Hop Farm manages to always come up trumps with their legendary headliners I just don’t know, they sure have beaten Glastonbury’s Beyonce offering. Bob Dylan last year, and then Prince this, who knows what 2012 will bring for this festival? One thing is for sure, with names THIS big, the festival won’t remain a well kept secret for long.

Visit Hop Farm website here.

Hot on the Highstreet Week 58

Having just returned home from Hop Farm Festival I thought it was only right that I do a festival Hot on the Highstreet. Festival fashion has become a genre of its own in recent years with certain items now firmly established as ‘must take’ essentials: denim cut off shorts, wacky sunglasses, bohemian silk head scarves, and of course wellies.

You never know when the English clouds are going to rip open, and drench the festival parade so always best to have some standby wellington boots even if the skies are sunny when you leave home. Hunter wellington boots have surely become the most renowned - that little red label was seen adorned on most of the muddy legs at Glastonbury this year, though some opted for more unique Superga or Jimmy Choo pairs.

I’ve always worn black Hunters, but this year decided to be a little more adventurous and went for the neon pink Hunter variety, and I can’t recommend them highly enough. They are so dazzlingly luminous they can be seen glowing through the crowds of thousands – a handy way to find your friends. They are also a fun way to add a little wow factor to an eclectic festival outfit. I think they look particularly good teamed up with a 60’s shift mini dress.

Sold in various retailers for around £80. Buy on the Office Shoes website here... I recommend going up a size, so you can add a pair of thick socks underneath.

Bob Dylan and others at Hop Farm Festival

Hops are a crop commonly used in the making of beer. They have been grown in Kent since the 16^th Century. In the Victorian era hop picking was a day out for Londoners, away from the noise and pollution of the city. Every September when the plants were ready to pick, workers from London would come to pick the crop. Hop Farm in Kent now holds an annual music festival, Hop Farm Festival. Although this event is not in London I felt the history of ‘hopping’ meant it qualified.

I had the best day at Hop Farm, truly memorable. After a short train journey from Charing Cross I arrived at Paddock Wood station to join the crowds of excited music lovers. The little, usually quiet, Kent village was transformed into a magical musical Mecca. This year the legendary Bob Dylan was headlining, my idol and a musician I admire more than any other.

The weather was gloriously hot, and I began to feel like I was at Newport Folk Festival back in 1965 when Dylan famously ‘went electric’. The Festival, which spanned over Friday and Saturday boasted some impressive acts. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the Friday show so missed out on Blondie and Van Morrison. Saturday had the real crowd-pleasers though, with the likes of Laura Marling, Seasick Steve and the very now Mumford & Sons who evoked such energy from the crowd, jumping, dancing and singing almost throughout there 40 minute set. The musicians at Hop Farm illustrate a new young group of folk artists, talented and incredibly passionate, but humble with it. Ben from Mumford summed it up as he spoke to the audience of 50,000 – ‘I don’t know what we have done to deserve this... playing alongside the best festival line up of the summer'.

Performer of the day would have to go to Seasick Steve who put his heart and soul into his show. For each song he picked up a new instrument, sometimes strumming vigorously on a plank of wood with strings or a makeshift guitar. Steve and his dedicated drummer commanded complete attention from the audience. I also enjoyed the preacher-like speech between songs, as he spoke frankly, but comically about his past.

At lunchtime our little group sat in a sunny corner to munch on our vast picnic, which included freshly picked strawberries, raspberries and cherries. Absolutely delicious. After lunch a friend and I started our quest to make it to the front of the crowd by the time Dylan arrived on stage. After seven hours on my feet, I watched, with tears in my eyes, the man I have listened to obsessively my whole life. It was an hour I will never ever forget. It’s true Dylan isn’t such a singer anymore, but his band made up for it, all clad in matching outfits. It reminded me of a story my granddad once told me of a memorable night at one of Dylan’s birthday parties in the 60s; he was unable to recognise Dylan because everyone at the party appeared to be dressed up as him.

Although Hop Farm has only been around for three years it is surely one of the best festivals out there both musically, and ethically (it refuses to have sponsors, branding or VIPs). This is a festival of music lovers for music lovers, and I’m counting down the days until next year.

More info here.