As Bestival counted down to blast off for the year of the spectacular, there was hope the outer-space themed event would not be struck by a weekend of rain twice running. Weather forecasts predicted sunny skies early in the week and when those predictions turned out to be a reality, no one was going to let the sun shine in vain and Rob Da Bank's three days of music at Robin Hill Country Park on the Isle of Wight went off like a rocket. Mike Barnard and Freya van Lessen were there.
Thursday
Arriving in darkness at a festival can be a major challenge - it's never easy putting a tent up in the dark, and trying to remember how you get there after you first foray out the next day can prove tricky too. Thankfully the journey through Robin Hill Country Park made it all worth it as shining stars, a giant "I Heart Bestival" sign lit by oil projections and the Big Top, the biggest venue at the festival, was in full swing to make for a lively entrance. The Cuban Brothers , Rob Da Bank and The Correspondents helped the keen Bestival-goers make a start on the weekend. Elsewhere there was a maze to explore, mini village to inhabit and an atmosphere of anticipation this was going to be a fitting finale to festival season and the everyone seemed to have heard the big news: sunny climes all weekend meaning none of the miserable rain which beset last year. Time to party!
Friday
One of the advantages about festivals in the UK during warm Septembers is the mornings – there is a slightly chilled air which makes tents far more enjoyable to sleep into the morning and the result seemed to be a far fresh faces than you might normally see knocking around the campsite early in the day. The first stop was a trip to the Main Stage where Canadian indie folk band The Acorn were delighted by a good turnout of revellers who sat attentively listening to their tunes, surprising the band. They were shocked by the weather too — they pondered whether it had been a rare day of sun for the Isle of Wight. At 2pm dance fans were already waving their arms to Ninja Tunes' Shuttle in the Rizla Arena, while Maps played the Big Top with his shoegazing soundscapes providing a spiritual journey for the mind. Bestival came alive very quickly on the Friday as eager music lovers spread out across the site to find whatever took their fancy. In one field a lone piano sat and was played by passers by and the bandstand in the village attracted a small yet appreciative crowd. Over on the Main Stage Mercury Music Prize nominees Florence and the Machine played to an adoring crowd, who then all seemed to descend upon the Big Top for hip hop duo dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip — a pair of beat and spoken word enthusiasts who blend all manner of styles into their backing tunes, taking influences from Mogwai, Kraftwerk and Clark then using Sugababes and Prince hooks for laughs.
As darkness began to fall on Robin Hood Country Park, Soulwax took to the Main Stage with their brand of live electro taken largely from 2005's album Nite Versions "E-Talking" and "NY Excuse" went down a treat, especially with the white dinner-suited group who mimicked the band's attire, then they turned their attentions to a last fifteen minutes of rave action and the crowd erupted with delight. Heavy basslines boomed out from the Big Top thanks to dubstep don Skream, which turned out to be the opposite of MGMT 's sound levels. The popular folky electro act put passion into their set but it was hard to hear their hits including "Kids" and "Electric Feel" as lyrics were lost and the defining hooks could hardly be heard. Thankfully when Beardyman returned to compare for the evening the sound quality had been restored and his freestyling beatboxing ways took in chart hits, dance hits and tracks of his own creation as he whipped up onlookers for headliners Massive Attack.
The Isle of Wight was chock full of Star Wars characters, there were a few Captain Kirks, a Predator was spotted and the Cybermen had come to invade.
The trip hop act took to the stage with an eager crowd before them. They have always been an act who can create deep, powerful grooves and tonight they made those bassbins rumble like no one else. A lack of stage presence from Daddy G and 3D was offset by their female vocalists sterling performance, not least with "Teardrop". There was no magic, however — the acclaimed act seemed slightly distracted, however their tunes still pack a tremendous sonic punch so even not at their best, Massive Attack produced a worthy headliner display. As the Main stage closed for the night, it was time to find the fun elsewhere, and over in the Rizla Arena a queue had already formed to see Optimo DJ a selection of techno and house. The Rizla Arena, with its green Rizla van for a DJ booth, comfy seating and raised platforms always felt like a little slice of club heaven, ideal for a light-hearted comedown from the seriousness of Massive Attack's set.
As memories of Soulwax came flooding back, there seemed to be only one place to finish Friday night at Bestival: the Big Top for 2ManyDJs. Their mash up sets have made them a party favourite and though they had have hardly changed their set over the three times I have seen them this year, the selection of recent hits such as The Gossip's "Standing in the Way of Control" and MGMT's "Kids" with tracks from older acts you might wouldn't normally expect including Guns N' Roses, Nirvana and Max Romeo has not been strayed from each time and does dispel their magic a little. For those seeing the set for the first, which seemed to be everyone there, the Dewaele brothers David and Stephen had a captive audience who roared with approval as each mix materialised. Credit to them, though their live set felt far more raw than this well-rehearsed hour-and-a-half. Saying that, the atmosphere ensured I left the biggest tent on site for my tent with a smile on my face while others looked for the final hour of offerings at the Hidden Disco, Club Dada or Bollywood where Yila , Brassroots and Penny Metal kept the last revellers up and dancing.
Saturday
If you didn't know already, Bestival has become famed for its annual fancy dress theme. As the Year of the Spectacular, Bestival 2009's theme was "outer space", and it's a real joy to see how much efforts goes into the costumes, and how everyone seems to don something to ensure the theme can't go unnoticed: the Isle of Wight was chock full of Star Wars characters such as Obi Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader, there were a few Captain Kirks, a Predator was spotted and the Cybermen had come to invade too. Space Hoppers became a must-have item (mine was borrow for races and sit downs on the Friday on a regular basis), there were reports shops on the island had run out of tin foil in the rush to build robot and spaceship outfits while those who had clean forgotten, or not bothered, to think about fancy dress before made use of the on-site selection to join in the fun. Saturday was the day to show off your creation with a parade through the festival site, a parade you just had to stand back an admire as it drifted past or get involved with to rub your alien shoulders against a Storm Trooper.
Saturday's fancy dress parade was accompanied by a lot of music aimed at making you smile too. On the Main Stage comic rap group Goldie Lookin' Chain satirised hip hop in their usual jovial way while the Rizla Arena gave Bestival-goers the chance to take the spotlights themselves with hip hop karaoke. The renditions of tracks from Beastie Boys, Roots Manuva and the Notorious B.I.G was overseen by the most enthusiastic man you'll ever likely to meet, his encouragement to each performer helped them rap to their fullest ability, though their reward of a pair of wellies likely to be more useful next year after such sunny climes this year. Mika 's spot on the Main Stage was a sing-a-long affair, as was a Barbarella-dressed Lily Allen's, with the pair's uplifting songs complementing another bright and beautiful second day. Before the daylight left us, bluesman Seasick Steve gave us a last ray of sunshine with his laid back tales of rough living and easy loving, the latter providing him with the chance to invite a lovely young lady onto the stage to sing into her eyes. Steve's music may be simple, but his honest lyrics always strike a cord and, in this case, pulled at least one girl's heartstrings.
The sunset brought with it the emergence of the Big Top as the premier venue for the evening as the Mad Decent Soundsystem took control with a selection of the label's finest acts. First up was L-Vis 1990 , then the Switch and Diplo double act of Major Lazer kicked in with their Jamaican-influenced dancehall and electro grooves. The arrival of Boy 8-Bit to the decks took the style into the regions of techno, then Buraka Som Sistema and their kuduro (percussive Angolan street music) beat the rave out of everyone in the tent to the point when Diplo came on the presence of Kraftwerk on the Main Stage was forgotten. Diplo genre-hopped through electro, house, drum and bass, dubstep and more to give the legendary German techno act a real nu skool verses old skool battle for Bestival attention on the biggest stages... reports came in that Kraftwerk were on form that night, sadly I didn't see for myself, but Diplo proved he might be able to command a similar level of respect when he hits his fifties. Maybe.
You'd be hard pushed to find anyone claiming it hadn't been the Year of the Spectacular.
Current darlings of the pop scene, La Roux , followed, singing the dubstep version of their clubland hit "In for the Kill" and closing with "Bulletproof" though these well-worn tunes were relied on too heavily to sustain the interest from the crowd who looked like they were waiting for a tune they knew the words to and enjoyed hearing on the radio. If "Bulletproof" hadn't been their closing number, the lukewarm performance of their other tracks might have seen many early exits from fans. Taking a much-needed break from the Big Top, I headed to the outdoor Afterburner where flames spurted from the stage and surrounding pillars in time with the music to glorious effect, Tom Middleton at work on the mixer and closing the night's activities there with The Prodigy's "Outta Space". Looking for one last slice of music as a nightcap, a rescheduled Future Sound of London ISDN'd in their performance late on which felt distant due to them confining themselves to their studio rather than appearing in person. Much like their BLOC Weekend appearance, it was hard to tell what they were doing live and it was too easy to drift in and out of what they played. The obligatory "Papa New Guinea" came, however my mind turned towards my own tent and the moment was lost.
Sunday
The debris of Bestival fancy dress was spread throughout the campsites come the final day, and the late nights took their toll: Micahel Nyman and Eat Static were missed completely, making the first music I heard the familiar chords and harmonies of Abba courtesy of Bjorn Again. Taking a walk round Robin Hill Country Park for the last time, the woods were discovered where an adventure playground and various other little seating areas had been concealed to all but the more adventurous and I emerged to take in the bandstand in The Village where Floors and Walls more intimate entertainment than elsewhere. It was refreshing to see an audience sat so content and close to the performers, impossible elsewhere. With the festival approaching it's end, dub and reggae selector DJ Derek pulled out his choice cuts at The Afterburner, his continued presence behind the decks proving today's DJs could continue to be well-respected into their fifties and later. Meanwhile, Manchurian band Doves took to the Main Stage to pound out their indie tunes and saving "There Goes the Fear" for a glorious finale.
For me, the Big Top gained my attention once more and proved to be a wise choice. First live, melodic techno act The Field got the wheels of a festival finale in motion ahead of Warp Records legend Squarepusher who, donning the same hat and orange high-vis jacket as at Glade, strummed and plucked his bass in a far more coherent fashion than in July. He opted to keep his sound closer to the jazzy albums of Hello Everything and Just a Souvenir rather than experiment or improvise too much, equating to a set which didn't threaten to alienate all but his hardcore fans.
To finish Bestival, Carl Cox got on the decks to play an old skool set never at risk of alienating anyone. He threw in the odd straight-up trademark techno tune between the crowdpleasers which made for the perfect closing set for Bestival's Big Top which had been the centre for rave action all weekend. One man played later than Carl Cox: Bestival curator Rob Da Bank. He got until 2am to wind the weekend up in the Bollywood tent where people spilled out the sides trying to get in on the action. There was that harsh realisation as the music fell silent that this really was the end of Bestival 2009, however you'd be hard pushed to find anyone claiming it hadn't been the Year of the Specatular.
The sixth Bestival really was blessed this year: the sunshine burnt away the memories of a washed out 2008 and the resulting happy vibe was infectious. There is a feeling Rob Da Bank is turning Bestival into more of a dance festival than anything else, though the presence of Elbow as headliners and the diversity of acts on the Main Stage means its September date, and therefore coming last in the year, also gives a sense he would like it to be seen as a 'best of' from all the festivals. He did a top job of getting Massive Attack and Kraftwerk on board, not seen elsewhere, and booking acts who became highlights at the likes of Glastonbury and The Big Chill. Perhaps the one improvement needed is to rejig the site again as there were a few roadblocks after dark and having the Main Stage at the top of a hill didn't feel natural, however these are small complaints for a well-run festival. If only the weather could be booked every year...
Photography by Freya Van Lessen. Republished October 2026.