This year, Field Day celebrated its 11th anniversary and it did so in style with one of its best line-up’s to date. On the headline bill were Aphex Twin, Run The Jewels and Flying Lotus. Alongside its great line-up Field Day included fairground games and a yummy food and drink selection.
Festivals are always a gamble in the UK weather-wise but luckily sunshine was on the bill too this weekend! This helped keep spirits in a good mood as last year was a bit of a washout in comparison. I was particularly excited of the prospect of a full days of great music and so it was.
In 2017, Field Day welcomed The Barn to its grounds, a new ground-breaking tent tipped to deliver great sound. This is where I spent a big part of my day as a consequence, as indeed the sound was far better in The Barn than anywhere else in the festival. Here I saw Moderat’s full set and I was not disappointed. Moderat played old and new tracks and had some trippy visuals on set. The sound in the Barn was great and I loved the combination of the mellow tempo with a big bass. I was not alone in thinking this would be a great gig as the barn filled up and was almost full.
The biggest crowd of course was for Aphex Twin, who managed to completely pack the massive barn stage. The visuals of the event were spectacular and perfectly harmonised with Aphex Twin’s big and bold sounds. The two hour set got bigger and bolder as it went on and surreal of course lets not forget who was the host. There is something so special about Aphex Twin’s music and shows and The Barn somehow managed to encapsulate it beautifully.
Sound-wise, Field Day has still some ground to cover as some of the stages really lacked the level of volume and crispness you expect when you go see a live show. For example even though the Moth Club tent included some incredible acts, such as Beak> and Gaika it was difficult to enjoy them due to the poor sound quality. Resident Advisor was no different, I stopped here to listen to Ame’s live set but was quite disappointed about the low volume even inside the tent. Still all these acts were worth
Another mild annoyance this year was that most of the acts I wanted to see were performing at the same time, mainly all the headliners. Although its difficult to avoid clashes and they are expected, this year seemed to be particularly bad but only because the artists playing were so good.
Field Day is a great day out and a good alternative to camping festivals and this year the sunshine made it even better. The efforts that are going into making this festival better every year are impressive, from a winning line-up to better sound systems and delicious food and drink, Field Day really does care about its image and its fans. I would say that there is still room for improvement but would go again next year in a heartbeat.
