I‘ve always wanted to go a music festival in the warmer summer months but the threat of being ankle deep in mud and the lack of facilities has always put me off although I know, for some, it’s all part of the experience.
When the magazine team received a press release from the
Forestry Commission promoting its Forest Live gigs – a unique opportunity to see your favourite artist in an outdoor location – I thought ‘I like the sound of that’!
Forest Live locations include Thetford Forest in Norfolk, Delamere Forest in Cheshire and Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, all close to our Club Sites of the same name, making the gigs exceptionally easy to attend as a Club member.
Seeing one of my favourite bands, the Kaiser Chiefs, were performing at nearby Cannock Chase, it was too good an opportunity to miss – so off we went.
We parked with ease in the designated car park. The roadside signage and presence of wardens in high-vis jackets made this one of the most commuter-friendly gigs I’ve been to. A five-minute walk saw us join a short line of people and, after having our bags checked, we were shown into the main ‘arena’.
I say arena but it was really a large grassy crater. That said, the atmosphere was already fabulous and this was during the warm-up acts. We were joined by hundreds of people of all ages, including children, many taking advantage of the natural seating to enjoy a sociable picnic. Those like us who didn’t take food were spoilt for choice with the vast range of on-site catering units.
Anticipation mounted as the stage was erected for the Kaiser Chiefs. When the guys came on stage the whole arena erupted. The atmosphere was fabulous, electric in fact. As the dusk crept in closer the lights seemed to get brighter and you could feel the music vibrating through the ground at your feet. Although a small flurry of people made their way closer to the stage, it didn’t impact us at all as we were already pretty close and the security guards kept a close eye that no-one came to harm.
The Kaiser Chiefs didn’t disappoint, playing a mix of their well-known songs plus a few from their forthcoming album. The 90-minute set flew by.
My fears that leaving the venue would be one mad rush were unfounded. It was quite the opposite. Again the security guards and wardens were on hand to give directions to the car parks and taxi ranks. We even heard the wardens announce the taxis by people’s surnames for those who had pre-booked, which was something new to me. We jumped in the car and headed for the nearest exit with ease. We will definitely be back next year.
Details of dates and venues for 2017 have already been announced by the Forestry Commission, running from mid-June through to early July. All we need now are the artists – I can’t wait!