Interview: Farmfest director Simon Arnoldi

It’s one of the festival scene’s best kept secrets and only an hour’s drive from Bristol. Everyone we know who’s been there has come home raving about it, and a load of Bristol’s best bands and DJs will be there too. Adam Burrows speak to St Werburgh’s-based Farmfest director Simon Arnoldi.

Every music fan dreams of having their own festival. How did you make the leap towards actually doing it?

It was 11 years ago, so the details are a little hazy, but looking back, there seemed to be an explosion of smaller, DIY festivals in the years around 2005-7, as a reaction to the large, super-corporate festivals that were the only option at that point. That gave us a cultural push to make the leap to organising a more intimate, small scale outdoor party. One of our directors, Dejan, had a single minded determination to make it happen, and looking around, saw our group of friends had the range of skills and passion needed to potentially pull it all off. And we did, just about!

When you were arranging it for the first time was it tricky to find a suitable venue?

As part of being able to take that initial leap, we had a super-rural site (or small field) in mind that we could use. It was only a few hundred people that first year, so it was very intimate with a natural amphitheatre, but also ridiculously hard to locate. The field belonged to the mother of one of our team, Matt aka Farm (who’s nickname was used to name the festival that first year). The only problem was he didn’t tell her, and got a bit of a telling off when 300 people turned up on a Friday afternoon. The next year we moved to Gilcombe Farm.

What are your priorities in terms of creating a festival that people will enjoy? Are you all about the music?

We’ve always concentrated on the simple parts to the festival experience that all add up to making a magical atmosphere. Taking away all of those little bits that frustrate or annoy, things like massive queues for bars and toilets, overcrowded tents, and large walks between stages and the campsite…all these get in the way of you having non-stop fun. Keeping to our 5,000-capacity and capping it, allows us to maintain this.

In terms of programming, yeah, we have always weighted towards our music lineup, as that’s a big passion project for us, but in recent years we’ve really pushed our entertainment and fun around site, to balance the whole experience out nicely. We have a big top full of comedy, spoken word, theatre and a plethora of workshops and family friendly activities going on. Too much to mention here, but we had to create a whole new section on our website to fit it all in. Unbelievable!

We have some big names from the indie and dance music scenes, (Young Fathers, Gilles Peterson) mixed up with our choice of the best new music and the South West’s up and coming talent. With some massive festival favourites like Hot 8 Brass Band, DJ Format & Abdominal and Bentley Rhythm Ace thrown in as fun curveballs.

Farmfest is seen as a family friendly event. What have you done to earn that reputation?

I think it is in part to do with our ‘open to all’ ethos. We’re not selling ourselves as, say, a niche indie festival, or for electronic music nerds, so with that we’re not telling everyone how to act, or dress, or what age you should be to attend, so we naturally attracted a wide range of attendees, including families. It helps that our site is beautiful, which adds to the chilled out daytime atmosphere. Plus our crowd are an amazingly friendly bunch, so kids feel welcome. I’ve had people say it’s nice to come to Farmfest because it’s an adult festival you can bring your kids to. Everyone seems to get on just fine! 

Do you only pick artists you’re personally into, or do you try to predict what will inspire people to buy tickets?

Nice question. Well, it’s a mix really, but you’ve got to lean as much as possible towards your own personal favourite acts, otherwise there is no point putting the thing on! We’ve got a good range of tastes within our booking team, so it works as a great vetting process for potential acts. We’re running this out of a passion for music, gathering like-minded souls, and to put on an amazing party, so we’ve never booked an act purely because we think they’ll shift tickets. 

Loads of Bristol musicians and DJs play at Farmfest each year. Are you fans of the scene here?

Yes – big fans. There’s such a vibrant and diverse scene here at the moment. All types of indie and guitar music sit alongside the previous dub and bass heavy sounds, plus you’ve got party crew like Shapes bringing world class techno and house to the city, and independent record labels like Banoffee Pies and Idle Hands really thriving. It’s vital to support the local scene, from Bristol and even closer to our site in Bruton, we’ve even got a stage, the revamped ‘The Sett’, dedicated to acts from the South West. It brings a much needed energy and familiarity to the site, to mix in with the nationally known acts we have.

Who are you most excited about booking this year?

Too many to mention, so I’m going to go for our headliners. Gilles Peterson was the first on our sheet to come and headline on our combine harvester DJ booth, and we’ve been lucky enough to persuade him to come down! He’s been a great inspiration for a lot of our team over the years, having grown up with his worldly selections. Young Fathers will no doubt tear up the main stage after sundown on Friday, fresh from touring with Massive Attack. The 10pm slot on the stage always has a special atmosphere. 

Will you get to watch any sets at Farmfest or will you be too busy running the show? 

Ha, yeah, it is a bit like that, so we do try and watch all acts live before the weekend, so we aren’t gutted when we miss them. The aforementioned 10pm headline slot is one not to be missed, along with the late night combine harvester party, so we try and down tools and get involved in those at all costs… but it doesn’t always work out as you planned! 

If I wanted to launch a new festival what would your advice be? “Don’t do it”, right?

Yep. Open a coffee shop instead.

Farmfest 2016 is at Gilcombe Farm near Bruton, Somerset, on July 29 & 30. For more information, visit www.farmfestival.co.uk

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