There’s a brand-new boutique festival in town – or, more accurately, a few miles outside it, on a working farm among the rolling hills of Moss Valley. Exposed popped down to see if Povey could be another hot date on the city’s ever-growing events calendar.
Words/Pics: @photosby_hamish
I get off the bus. Taking a turn off the main road, I begin wandering down a country lane. The sound of cars fades, replaced by birdsong as I walk past cottages, campsites and hayfields. I may only be a mile from the city, but it feels like I am in the middle of nowhere. I keep walking until I find Povey Farm, which this weekend is hosting a very different kind of music festival.
Povey Fest is small by design, keeping its capacity to only 500 people. Despite the small size, the event is completely stacked with a range of music and activities.
I arrive at the festival in time to join in with musical bingo, a take on the classic game that replaces numbers with songs. It is just one of many social happenings taking place across the festival site. Off the top of my head there are free archery lessons, a sauna, a Mad Hatter’s tea party, film showings and even a dog competition – and that’s only scratching the surface.
The music on the main stage begins with DJ Squid, who is celebrating their 15th birthday by playing the heaviest drum and bass imaginable. Despite their youthful age, DJ Squid is already an experienced and skilled DJ. With sets as good as this, they are going to be tearing up dancefloors for years to come.
Povey Festival’s lineup goes from up-and-coming artists like Squid to absolute icons, with Steve Edwards giving a beautiful performance on Friday night featuring classic songs like ‘World, Hold On (Children of the Sky)’. The sun begins to set over the festival field, turning the sky a beautiful amber and complementing Steve’s soulful music perfectly. The entire thing warms your heart. The moment isn’t lost on the main man either. He ends his set by saying: “This is a moment. I couldn’t wish for anything more.”
Another icon performing at the festival is Mik Artistik’s Ego Trip. Artist, singer, comedian, poet – whatever you want to call him, he delivers a hilarious festival set, spending much of his time walking among the crowd, throwing straws in the air, joking with people and improvising songs on the spot. He has the entire crowd laughing out loud and grinning. A truly unique talent.
The second stage of the festival plays host to DJs throughout the weekend and is the place to go to show off your moves, with genre-crossing sets playing back to back each day.
As it gets dark, dance music makes its way up the hill and onto the main stage. Amen Sage delivers an energetic set with live drum and bass and jungle drumming, while Sheffield’s Speed for Lovers transforms the tent into a dancefloor on Saturday night with plenty of electro funk and strobe lighting.
Bob Worm, and the rest of the team at Events Collective, have organised something really special with Povey Fest. Key to the success was focusing on creating a truly family-friendly festival – and it worked. It’s a very different kind of event to what you may be used to on the Sheffield events calendar, but, honestly, that’s what makes it so good!
