If you’re looking to avoid the mud baths, over crowding and also burning an incredibly large hole in your pocket at the larger festivals this year then Curious Yellow Weekend might be for you. To be honest I knew very little about the festival when I signed up for it, however, with just two weeks to go I’m getting very excited. Curious Yellow Weekend is nestled in the Fens just outside Peterborough and promises a jam-packed weekend: 3 days, 3 stages and camping for just £40 Bargain!
Curious Yellow has it’s roots firmly in the underground, free party movement. With this ethos in mind the festival has been organised to explore an eclectic range of entertainment including spoken word, comedy, and of course a broad variety of music from gypsy punk to electro swing, not forgetting the pounding techno.
The genre boundaries will blur throughout the weekend however each day appears to have been given a theme. On Friday expect plenty of spine tingling electro beats from the likes of Hedflux, Bad Tango and wAgA wAgA. The psychedelic Flourodome is the Curious Yellow home base recreating the free party vibe with mind bending UV décor, laser shows and a journey of music though house and techno.
Curious Yellow Weekend is in association with The Electro Swing Club Cambridge; the Smiley stage promises a host of jazzy/decadent grooves. On Saturday consider setting aside the usual festival attire and get out the corsets, fascinators, slacks and top hats to enjoy headliners Future Swing stories. There will even be a Lindy-Hop class from the UK number one instructors JiveSwing. Sunday looks set to squeeze any last bit of dancing action out of your toes with Killamonjambo, The Zeb Roots and Pedestrian completing the weekend line up.
Continuing the boutique vibe is the ‘bus stage’, which is exactly that. A double decker bus converted into a stage kitted out with a retro chic interior perfect for hosting everything from Folk to Funk. Unfortunately It seems as though there is little variety in the way of food stalls, however they do mention on the Curious Yellow website that they will be serving a vegetarian option. BBQ’s are banned and there is a strict ‘no naked flames’ rule so it might be a good idea to bring some bread and cheese. Despite this the bar should be flowing with a selection of 12 guest ciders and ales and 6 beer taps, spirits and more all at pub prices. Other stalls include jewelry designers to hand drawn t-shirt printers, fashion artistes and all manner of arts and crafts.
This is the first time Curious Yellow Records have put together a full blown festival but they have been throwing parties with their geodome since the start of the millennium and involved in the free party scene since the 70’s. This fact makes me trust them. It allows me to believe they know what they are doing, what they are building up to and who they’re audience are. I hope they can deliver all that we want.
Curious Yellow Weekend sounds like a place to party hard and relax: the definition of a good festival, surely…
