Interview John Drysdale, Moor Music Festival
We speak to one of the organisers behind dance-orientated festival Moorfest
Interview: John Drysdale, Moor Music Festival
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Moor Music Festival has been running in the Moors around Ikley for a good five or six years now, and has recently found a new home at Heslaker Farm in Skipton. While this boutique festival does boast some great up-and-coming bands, the real focus is on the DJs and dancer side of thing. We decided to speak to organiser John Drysdale to find out more about the festival.
Describe the festival to us…
Moorfest is a beautiful escape that happens once a year in the gorgeous countryside that is the gateway to the dales, near Skipton. It’s enjoyed by all manner of people, from the young to the old and everyone in between. You can listen to cutting edge dance music, including dubstep royalty, drum’n'bass legend DJ Friction, and one half of Manchester’s Electric Chair duo Luke Unabomber. We have fresh new bands from around the country too, including hotly tipped new punksters Male Bonding, indie rock band Errors and new folk stars Ellen & the Escapades. Or you can just enjoy all the other special little bits, like getting your clothes pimped, checking out the classic VW display, floating away in sonic henge or eating some of the fantastic, locally sourced international food.
Why did you decide to start the festival?
We have been organising all kinds of parties for the last 20 years or so and we finally decided to find a space where we could spend the whole weekend with friends, listen to music and generally have a good time.
How important is the boutique vibe for you?
Very important. We have all been to the big monster festivals and realised we wanted our event to be the opposite, a place where you feel safe at all times, somewhere that you can see into the eyes of the artists rather than paying hundreds of pounds for the luxury of watching behind tens of thousands of people on a big screen. We want to be able to serve good quality food and beer at fair prices and generally give the punter a much softer, more affordable and intimate experience.
How do you decide which brands and artists to have at the festival?
Artists are selected by several people, some of whom are hosts, others who are part of the core team. We are a low budget festival so its been a decision from the start not to try and compete with the big name events but rather to try and search out what’s hot at the time, musically we always look forward not back. We have really pushed the dubstep and drum and bass scene this year and are working with Tropical, Base and Herbal Mafia, who are all young promoters from Leeds and York. We feel their natural enthusiasm and knowledge of the scene has helped us secure an amazing line up in the Homespun tent for this year.
And what about the Green Room, can you explain that?
The Green Room is all about lounging, listening, looking and loving. It’s all set in an outdoor/indoor fully carpeted marquee with a musical and audio visual program to delight both your eyes and your ears. Expect quirky one man or woman bands, laid back and live sounds, jaw droppingly good short films, live and large scale doodling, drawing materials, big cushions and bean bags, hot drinks and yummy cakes.
What are you most looking forward to?
This year we have brought in an event management team to help cover my role, as my wife is expecting the birth of our second child two weeks before the festival, so for the first time in six years I’m hoping to enjoy the whole festival with my family, having the chance to relax and take in some of the delights we have been working on for a year, which doesn’t happen very often! I hope that this is the first of many years to come that i can enjoy it alongside all the other festival goers.
Where there any other events or festivals which inspired or influenced you and Moorfest?
I went to a small festival in Sherwood Forest back in the early 2000’s called Sola. There was around 400 people there, it was amazing and it was at this event my festival partner Lucy and I decided to give it ago ourselves.
Who would be at your dream festival line-up?
Bob Marley, John Martyn, Annie Lennox, Nick Drake, Marvin Gaye, Prince, Neil Young, Kate Bush, Jurassic 5, Nas, Al Green, Kings of Leon, Alicia Keys, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
Why should people come to moor fest if they haven’t before?
Moorfest is unique, intimate, beautiful and friendly. It’s a place to make new friends and meet interesting people, a place where you will be blown away by something you have never seen before. It is a place you will always want to come back to.
What are your top three festival tips?
Bring your towels as we have warm showers this year, bring your suntan lotion because it’s gonna be hot, hot, hot and, as a first, Festival Caravans are hiring out their caravans, so book yours now and do it in glamping style!
Moor Music Festival, 12-15 August, Heslaker Farm, Skipton, BD23 3AB, weekend tickets £85 (accompanied teen £30, Age 5-12 £5, under 5s free, family tickets £210, limited day tickets available at £35 per day for Friday, Saturday or Sunday), www.moormusicfestival.co.uk
Posted on Tuesday 27th July 2010
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