Ah, Field Day. The only music festival, to my knowledge, where you can watch an array of fine international bands, eat some homemade cakes and partake in an egg-and-spoon race.
Field Day has been running for four years, the brainchild of Tom Baker of Eat Your Own Ears. What really makes the day special is the festival's Village Green arena and its Village Mentality activities. As they put it, the arena is "inspired by country pastimes and simpler pleasures, while not forgetting domestic drudgery and adolescent sports days". Meringue eating competitions, tug-of-wars, Blindfold Tea Drinking Relay Races, scone-throwing contests and much more - what's not to like?
You can peruse the musical line-up on their website. If you're at a loss about which act deserves your precious attention, we've taken the liberty of making some suggestions:
Holly Miranda (2pm @ Eat Your Own Ears Stage)
Memory Tapes (2:15pm @ Bugged Out Stage)
The Kissaway Trail (2:30pm @ Adventures in the Beetroot Field Stage)
Egyptian Hip Hop (3:30pm @ Adventures in the Beetroot Field / Last FM Stage)
Lightspeed Champion (4:15pm @ Eat Your Own Ears Stage)
These New Puritans (4:30pm @ Adventures in the Beetroot Field / Last FM Stage)
No Age (5:30pm @ Adventures in the Beetroot Field / Last FM Stage)
Archie Bronson Outfit (7:30pm @ Village Mentality / The Quietus Stage)
Atlas Sound (7:30pm @ Adventures in the Beetroot Field / Last FM Stage)
Caribou (8pm @ Eat Your Own Ears Stage)
Chapel Club (8:45pm @ Adventures in the Beetroot Field / Last FM Stage)
Silver Apples (8:45pm @ Village Mentality / The Quietus Stage)
Mouse On Mars (9:45pm @ Village Mentality / The Quietus Stage)
Phoenix (9:45pm @ Eat Your Own Ears Stage)
The Fall (Eat Your Own Ears Stage)
[approximate stage times, folks]
Field Day takes place this Saturday the 31st in Victoria Park, London. Tickets are £33.33 + bf and are still available to buy through their site.
Some of the Oh Comely team will outside the gates early in the day with a pile of magazines to give away, so come find us and say hello! We'll also have sweets. You can have some if you say the super-secret magic code word. The word is "jellybean."