If you had to choose one act to sum up Nozstock it must surely be David Rodigan. The 68-year-old DJ, and penultimate act on Saturday night, managed to gridlock the Orchard and Garden stages with his infectious mix of thundering reggae. Sporting a natty yellow sweatshirt, straw trilby and huge grin, he effortlessly united young and old on the dancefloor, all the while pulling off some pretty impressive moves of his own.
And that highlights the spirit of this Herefordshire festival. It might be tiny in contrast to the corporate-curated mega-festivals, but it more than makes up for that with its warm welcome and party atmosphere.
Whether you’re a teenager experiencing your first festival, a seasoned middle-aged raver, or even a local Bromyard septuagenarian on a day trip to see The Skatalites, there’s something for you down on Noz’s farm.
For this, the festival’s 21st anniversary, the theme was The Wizard of Noz. And despite grey skies and showers on Friday, the rain did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the masses of Dorothys, wicked witches, tin men, scarecrows and lions - and even some super creative festival-goers dressed as yellow brick roads.
Other highlights included a storming Friday headline set by Sleaford Mods. The duo clearly served up a polished set of standout tracks from Jobseeker to Kebab Spider. Clearly, from the young, wide-eyed crowd at the front of the stage, they converted some new fans to their acerbic commentary on 21st-century Britain.
Saturday night saw a Rudimental DJ set serve up a huge, bass-wobbling mix of tunes from house to drum 'n' bass, liberally sprinkled with their own hits. When they dropped Not Giving In, the main arena went ballistic.
Add in a sunny afternoon reggae set from the brilliant Hollie Cook, Skinnyman uniting young and old on the Garden stage, the Coppice dosing out regular servings of fluoro-lit psytrance, and Prince Fatty and Horseman (respect for dropping Insane in the Brain) gleefully glossing over a radio mic mix up at the start of their set, and on this evidence Nozstock really knows how to throw a party.
A sold-out capacity of 5,000 like-minded souls surely can’t all be wrong. Bring on next year.
