It’s been a number of years since we’ve attended Breaking Bands Festival and the last few years I’ve seen the line-up and went “Oooh!” But it’s always been too late to arrange due to the paid job. But this year, the stars have aligned and I’ve managed to make it happen. Really, it would be rude not to since I’m only a 35-minute drive away.
It also means that it takes the place of Call of the Wild as the start of festival season for me (don’t worry, I’ll be at Lincolnshire Showground the following week!) so it’s a double-bill of up-and-coming/DIY/underground/whatever-you-want-to-call-them bands. First thing’s first, though, Breaking Bands has moved site this year to Thornborough Events in King’s Norton and between their website and official app, there’s plenty of help with getting their via your own car, train, bus, walking etc. Basically, the only way they haven’t supplied travel information is if you’re coming in by helicopter – they’re that thorough.
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You can arrive on-site from 12pm on Thursday so you’ve got plenty of time to get yourself settled before the opening night activities and one of the best features they’ve carried over from their previous site is that you can camp right next to your car. So it means you don’t have to trek for miles laden with all your gear like you have to at the big festivals like Bloodstock and Download. Obviously, no-one’s seen the site so we can’t speak on what it’s actually like or the arena layout but going by the map, everything’s laid out well and the arena in a horseshoe shape with the stages at the end.
Speaking of the stages, there’s two to choose from, one at each end, and whilst a band is playing on one, the other will be subject to changeover for the next band to ply their wares so there’s no clashes. And there’s going to be plenty of great bands doing so over the course of three days. With the likes of Gin Annie, Red By Night and Greyfox Conspiracy on Friday, Skarlett Riot and Hell’s Addiction on Saturday whilst Sunday brings my (unsurprisingly) personal highlight: The Virginmarys and Anchor Lane together once more. Full stage times are available on the festival’s app so you can plan food and drink breaks or when to suss out when you want to grab an ideal spot for your favourite band.
As for the afore-mentioned Thursday evening activities before the full kick-off on Friday, Breaking Bands are doing it a bit differently – there’s still going to be some live music but there’s also going to be a DJ to start the evening, a quiz which has all the popular game shows merged into one, presentations on the festival and what comes next as they evolve into Ascendancy, a Q&A with the final live act of the night before more DJ fun and a silent disco to cap off the night. Throughout the weekend, you’ll have foo outlets serving you breakfast, burgers and spuds whilst each day will have a guest trader with pizzas, pork rolls and noodles on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Meanwhile, there’s two bars for alcohol, one being cash only if you still live in the 20th Century and the other will be cash and card. Price-wise at a fiver a pint and four quid a can, it’s much cheaper than most other festivals and indeed, most pubs these days. Or if you fancy wines, spirits, mixers or cocktails, they’ll have you covered, too.
I’ve never heard a bad thing said about this festival, in fact, quite the opposite and it’s unsurprising they have a legion of return visitors year on year and they’ve the “sold out” mark so if you’re hoping for a last-minute ticket or just rocking up on the day, unfortunately, you’re out of luck.
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I’ve not gone into every little aspect of the festival here but the festival’s website has an in-depth FAQ which covers everything you need to know and most of it boils down to that number one rule in life: don’t be a dick. So with only a few days to go, it’s time to get everything in order, sign off from the day job and experience a new festival.
Breaking Bands Festival: official | facebook | instagram | youtube
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