Houghton 2018 - Four days of pure euphoria

October 17, 2018

After the monumental success of the first year of Houghton Music and Arts Festival (2017), expectations for the second edition were through the roof. Reviews praised the festival's impeccable sound systems, 24 hour music licence, beautiful lake side setting and incredible music from some the best selectors in underground dance music. 

After finessing some slight improvements from last year, and expanding the festival to 11 stages, all of which boasted uniqueness - the second chapter of Houghton was a roaring success. 

Whilst 2017 was full of sunshine, 2018 received unpredictable weather with some heavy rain, particularly on Saturday night. There was also a consistent flurry of rain on the Thursday greeting everyone as they arrived in the queue, which at points was over 2 hours long. This however did not dampen anyone's spirits. 

It was apparent from the festival's kick off that everyone in attendance was up for it and shared a passion for music and good times. Houghton's crowd is notably slightly older than other similar festivals such as Gottwood and Lost Village, where it could be said that some of the attendees go purely to get messed up for four days. Whilst Houghton, with a somewhat more eclectic line up, has an average age being around late 20's/early 30's. However, the crowd showed no sign of weakness, taking full advantage of the 24 hour license. Music on Thursday ended at 3am, and then on Friday restarted at 10am. From this point silence did not fall on Houghton until 3am of Monday morning. 

Revellers could choose do partake in Houghton's festivities exactly how they wanted, rather than being restricted to a looming curfew. Despite being a fairly small festival with around 10,000 attendees, there were never short of things to do. Aside from all of the incredible music, attendees could chill in Trevino's, a hang out spot where you could buy merch, shop for records as well as listen to talks by artists and industry insiders. Across the other side of the lake amongst woodland, was the Orchard where there was yoga, life-drawing classes, a small spa and a caravan which hosted intimate theatrical performances for 5 people at a time. It's touches such as this which make Houghton a unique, hedonistic and wholesome event which sets it apart from other festivals.

Art installations feature all around Houghton - minute touches including wooden benches which curve and tower above as you sit within its vase like structure, created a chilled and enlightening experience. Revellers could also go on a sculpture tour which involved jumping on a train (car), and being driven slightly off-site towards Houghton Hall, a historical Grade II listed building. The tours which ran from 6am until the evening showcased the building's gardens which boasts a huge silver rock-like statue, a maze, and a cube structure hidden in the tress which is reminiscent of a bird hide. 

Moving on to Houghton's main attraction, music, there are almost too many highlights to mention. Each act I saw seemed to sense the occasion, and brought their A game, showcasing the depths of their record collection and their extensive skills.

The beauty of going to festivals is that you can wonder over to a stage without any knowledge of the act who is playing, and end up witnessing a highlight of your weekend. This is especially the case with festivals like Houghton, where the lineup has been carefully handpicked, only including the most skilled selectors and musicians. On the final night of the festival, after deciding to go to Tantrum, one of the new stages to the second edition, we were greeted to the sounds of Billy Nasty who impeccably mixed a journey of pulsating, yet groovy electro. It was in this tent, which is notably very dark, with just a small number of minimal, sci-fi looking lights, where the sound system was the clearest I have ever heard at a festival. Each kick felt incredibly crisp and punchy, and made the Houghton experience even better. 

The sound systems throughout the festival were top notch, however, there were times where the Pavilion stage could have done with a boost of sound towards the back of the crowd. It was here where some of the biggest acts on the line up played, including minimal king Ricardo Villalobos, Ben UFO, Joy Orbison, Helena Hauff who received one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, and Hunee. The latter took hold of the reigns in the early hours of Saturday, and saw the crowd through to sunrise, with a soundtrack of groovy house, disco, reggae and soul. Watching the sun creep through the trees with a backdrop of a beautiful lake whilst Phil Collins' - 'In The Air Tonight' was playing was another unforgettable highlight.  

It was almost impossible to not see a set from fabric resident and Houghton curator, Craig Richards with him laying down a total of 5 sets across 3 days. He graced the decks of brand new stage, Pinters, a yurt like tent which was kitted out with plants and a punchy sound system as well as going back to back with Nicholas Lutz at Terminus, the (not so) secret stage, which doesn't appear on the map or set times. Revellers had to discover for themselves where this stage was, but this wasn't much of a challenge; after it's appearance last year and the community spirit of Houghton, word quickly spread revealing the location of Terminus. The stage is essentially in a hole in the woods, surrounded by trees, with 360 surround speakers.

Craig also played at Magic Carpet which unfortunately  doesn't appear very magic since it's just a large white dome. However, it did host many highlights of the weekend. Both Antal and Move D disco-fied the venue with groovy flavours of funk and disco, whilst Zip and Deadbeat provided more minimal vibes. 

There were only a few negatives about the second edition of Houghton festival, however a notable one was the state the toilets got. By Saturday, many of the toilets were unusable due to the poor level of hygiene they were left in. There seemed to be no sign of them being cleaned or anything being done about which was a slight downer for attendees. It would be expected for a festival such as Houghton which takes pride in attention to detail to take care of something which would be considered a hugely important factor. Also, the Quarry stage moved the placement of the decks from the bottom of the hill, to the side. This took away the immersive nature of the stage that was a highlight of the first addition. However, it is clear that this was decided due to safety reasons, as to not cause congestion at the bottom of the hill. 

However, there is no denying that Houghton is an incredible festival, which boasts incredible sound and stages, a beautiful location, and amazing music. In just two years it has become a highlight of the year for electronic music fans, and it will continue to do so for years, if the standard continues to be as high.