Bearded Theory returned in style this year – gone are the mud pits and bogs that dominated the 2024 festival. This year, the weather holds firm, and the atmosphere is jubilant before a chord is struck.
The IINAG team pitch up on Thursday: balmy sunshine bathes the Derbyshire fields, and tents are constructed with ease. The cans are cracked in earnest, and the site is a beautiful picture of British festival reverie. Elaborate outfits, sunnies, every band t shirt you can imagine and music pouring out of every tent, food vendor and speaker you see. It’s a gorgeous place, filled with punks, goths, new-romantics, hippies and more sharing pints, cigarettes and musical joy.
Fat Dog kicks off the show with gusto, showcasing a more refined sound compared to their chaotic funk-punk days. With added percussion and a violinist, their music has a nice depth. Unfortunately, their set is cut short due to a medical emergency in the crowd. While it’s disappointing they don’t return, the well-being of the audience is the priority, and the stewards handle the situation effectively.
Before long, it’s English Teacher’s time to shine. They, too, have grown since their appearance here last year: their festival set is tight, polished and without an ounce of fat. English Teacher rattle through their art punk bangers, mainly taken from the Mercury-winning debut, 2024’s This Could Be Texas. It’s a beauty of a set, brimming with emotional numbers that catapult the crowd between emotive analysis of British culture and industrial breakdowns of the highest calibre. Having come from basement rooms and mid-afternoon festival sets, there is no question that this band are ready to take on the biggest stages in the country.
Chris Hawkins’ DJ set follows as revellers meander into the night – the silent disco is a fun banger-filled party, Big Ed (a big hollowed out tree with a DJ booth and pyrotechnics) blasts EDM well into the early hours and The Magic Teapot is a never closing hub for night owls to congregate for a singalong. Bearded Theory goes late into the night, and the feeling of camaraderie with every single person here is a rarity amongst the festival scene.
Friday
Friday comes around fast, and any lingering hangover is blasted into oblivion by Menstrual Cramps, who play a cataclysmic fifty minutes of feminist punk. Billy Nomates is making her return to the scene – this time she has a full band behind her and sounds glorious in the Meadow Tent.
Next up are the mighty Yard Act, who have ascended to the very top over the past few years. The Six Music darlings have realised their massive potential and they get the crowd worked up to a fever pitch with tunes from both albums. It’s non-stop disco-punk – every time guitarist Sam Shipstone stomps on a pedal and tears into an angular guitar solo the teeming crowd goes wild. YA’s original Half Man Half Biscuit tunes coalesce perfectly with the experimental, electronic elements of their new stuff: the eight-minute long ‘Trenchcoat Museum’ is a massive highlight of the weekend. There is a mad dash to the Meadow for a Six Music double header – Antony Szmierek is a picture of cool, decked out in dark shades throughout his set. Singalong hip-hop choruses are drenched in smatterings of garage and EDM, all tied off with a brilliant stage presence: imagine Alex Turner on half an E, crooning between disco belters.
Katy J Pearson closes the musical proceedings in the beautiful Woodlands. Playing from 11 to midnight, her folk pop is in a perfect place here, with songs from all three studio records ringing around the tree canopies to sensational effect.
Once again, Bearded goes late into the night, allowing you to bounce between bars, stages, tents, and more as you dance the whole night away. There is something incredibly life-affirming about this experience: walking back to your tent with ringing ears as the sun rises feels like true soul food.
Saturday
Indie punk up-and-comers The Pill take the mantle of opening The Meadow on a balmy Saturday. They’re primed for the big time, with relentlessly catchy songs channelling the accessible guitar fun of Wet Leg and the tongue-in-cheek cultural takedowns of Lambrini Girls or Panic Shack. The Pill won’t be on at midday for very long, there is no doubt they’ll be climbing festival bills over the summer.
Man Woman Chainsaw is next, but due to a van breakdown and a reshuffling of the lineup, they will now perform at The Meadow. This band possesses significant potential, skillfully creating intricate industrial noise to great effect. Following them will be Lime Garden, whose set is short, sharp, and brilliant. They have a sound reminiscent of the “Comedown Machine” era of The Strokes, exuding an effortless cool that harkens back to a time of indie pop excellence.
King of the Six Music Dads, Stewart Lee, delivers something of a ‘best of’ set to a sea of balding heads and sunburnt necks before Nova Twins tear down the main stage with a cacophony of bass riffs. She Drew The Gun is yet another highlight over at the Woodlands before Iggy Pop does exactly what he does best. Halfway through Iggy, I divert to catch Sugar Hill Gang deliver a gleaming set of classic hip hop shrouded in dry ice and marijuana smoke – it’s a great way to close Saturday.
Sunday
Sunday is utterly packed with acts: The None deliver a relentlessly loud session of hardcore punk noise before TTSSFU’s shoegaze. TTSSFU plays a mix of new and old, all of it perfectly gloomy and gloriously fuzzy. New Brummies on the block, GANS, are next up, getting the Woodlands moving with their funky industrial sleaze.
Nadine Shah is as perfect as ever; her Tyneside croon is appreciated by a huge crowd over at the main stage. The trio over at the Woodlands is the highlight of the weekend – Getdown Services work hard to get a flagging crowd moving with their electronic punky sleaze. Their song ‘Crisps’ sees them pelted with bags of cheese and onion before they strip off for the final few numbers of their excellent set – these are another band with a massive future ahead.
There’s a moment of musical whiplash as Porridge Radio’s Dana Margolin appears in a solo capacity to perform what is almost certainly PR’s final UK outing. It’s a beautiful setting tinged with the sadness of a brilliantly underrated band who are splitting far too soon.
It’s back to the industrial noise next with Gurriers: new wave post punk of the highest order insights a mosh pit to rival any band on the circuit. A Palestine flag is hoisted high before the band drapes it over their amp stack. They’re relentless in their politically charged music, and it lands perfectly in the picturesque Woodlands as the early evening sun beats down. Gurriers are the highlight in a weekend packed with some of the best new music you’ll see anywhere.
Public Service Broadcasting are excellent as ever, and the setting sun suits them perfectly. It’s a crowning moment on one of the best British festivals going. Plenty flock to the Manic Street Preachers, but their transition from alternative disrupters into dad-rock stalwarts falls a little flat. They’ve tipped over into the odd position of having more bad songs than good, but their army of leopard print-clad fans seemed to enjoy their set as much as anyone else.
Leftfield, however, is where the real party is. The electronic and dance music offers everyone one last chance to dance their socks off before heading into the night. But Bearded Theory isn’t done yet. As things are winding down around you, The Teapot remains open as usual. A man with a guitar is playing a selection of classics: Bowie, Dylan, and The Beatles. It’s a fantastic way to conclude a magical weekend. He finishes with “Ziggy Stardust” as the morning sun begins to rise.
