Woo-hoo! Summer is icumen in and the tribes are convening!

By the time we got to Woodstock? Well, we realised we’d overshot a fair old distance, as Catton Park is a stately residence aside the Trent, on the Staffs/Derbys border, ten miles north of Lichfield, a few less south, from Burton, easily accessible by the A34. This is the 15th iteration of this now proud standard bearer for the beginnings of the UK festival season; if not the first out the traps, certainly the boldest, brashest teenager on the block. And, now happily ensconced in this greenfield arena, its third home, all looks set for another stonker.

Always a bit of a paradox, in that who is it for, who is it aimed at and what is the stylistic theme, go grab a look at the roster. Eclecticism has always been the watchword for artist selection and, literally, it has some to cater for any taste you might conceive. Slowly and gradually expanding, it burst out the two year Covid shitstorm having acquired a third main stage, with the number and size of peripherals ever advancing. Indeed, if you wanted to capture an element of Glastonbury, minus all the TV appeasing headliners and hyperbole, this you may find here, if decanted from the hurly burly maelstrom of that sprawling city to a cooler and much calmer oasis.

Always a mix of leftfield headliners: check out Jane’s Addiction, US behemoth of indie-alternative controversialists, yes, still going and, mostly, still alive, and Amyl & the Sniffers, Ozzy punk snarlers, as well as established UK festival stalwarts like Ferocious Dog and New Model Army. Chuck in the enduring maverick appeal of Kevin Rowland’s current Dexys and Baxter, son of Ian, Dury, alongside the vastly different palates of Future islands and Sleaford Mods, and you can see some fair old amount of shape-shifting is going on. And that’s even before clocking that both Orbital and Dinosaur Jr are on the bill, too. (If nothing else, T shirt decisions are going to be especially fraught!)

And that is just for mains. Away from the Pallet stage, Bearded’s Pyramid, newbie, the Meadow, and, favoured by many, the bijou Woodland, actually around a corner and in, um, a woodland setting, there are a host of tent based venues. Big ones, clearly. Pride of place probably goes to Convoy Cabaret, a permanent fixture here, and the home, I guess, of the punk/rave interface, a lasting remnant of those travelling soundsystems, ahead the Criminal Justice Act and its attempt, largely successful, to extinguish such freedoms of expression. If the music played is too hardcore for your ears, and some of it may be, at least have a look around, their area also offering a living museum to the tortured history of the Peace convoy and their peers.

Maui Waui have also roots here, one that has branched into an autonomous entity elsewhere, and has a ridiculously varied line-up. (If you have ever wondered if you can mosh in a marquee, believe me, yes, you can! May I commend Shanghai Treason to prove it?) Dance has always been integral, with, this year, that tent now re-named and under a new curatorship; now it is called Coda. If you have haven’t had enough Hartnoll brothers by the end of their main stage set, hustle over to Coda, where they will be providing an after-hours DJ set. Coda will also provide comedy during the day, including ATB favourite, David Eagle. (Coda; comedy and dance, geddit!) Last, and not least, the Something Else Tea Tent, which is pretty much as it sounds, something else. Add in silent discos, karaoke, meadow movies and the spoilage is rotten.

Previously a standard Thursday through Sunday event, with the bank holiday to recover, Thursday is now a tad more than warm -up for early arrivers, being now a day of dedication to local acts, a couple of the stages up and running so as to supply. That’s because early adopters can now enjoy Wednesday night too. (Extra to the standard w/e ticket, but its a small price to pay for that perfect pitch). A final feather in the Bearded cap is the presence of their Ofsted approved school: parents may legitimately apply for a day of tutoring for their weans, rather than incurring the wrath of their own education authority. Rather than gimmick, this has proven a huge fillip to the festival’s credibilities, of which there are lashings.

The ATB sleeping bag is airing on the washing line, the tent eyeballed for holes, anticipation is rising as high as the weather forecast. Come, it’s going to be a blast!

Essential details: Bearded Theory online

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