Farr has fostered the elusive festival feeling of being part of a fun-loving collective.
He Said: "My third trip to Farr highlighted the way the organisers have developed their festival to best fit their surroundings, and in response to the demands of their loyal attendees. In 2012, the third edition, the main festival space could not be seen or heard from the campsite and you found the stages in the woods before emerging into an adjacent field with a large tented arena and food stalls. The woods felt magical, but the field seemed detached. When I returned in 2014, the campsite had ben moved so you could see and hear the main arena from your tent and the field next to the woods now had the two main stages. Expansion led to the imposing of a maximum capacity to the woods, and suddenly a queuing system was introduced for access. Waiting in line for your turn in the trees dispelled the magic of the Farr experience.
"Thankfully this year the Farr masterminds came up with a solution: move the main stages into a larger woodland area and use the adjacent field like a runway into the most popular area of the site. Now you could hear the sounds of the stages from the campsite, grab a bite to eat or some wacky festival garb, stop by the open air cinema and boogie to the sounds of a supporting stage (the bedouin-themed Love Lounge or bar-lined tent This is the Place) en route to the leafy space. Then when you hit the woods, there was the vibe of a free party crossed with an enchanted forest.
"In the Corsica Village curated by different Corsica Studios clubnights each day we caught Tama Sumo, Mr Ties, Love Glove and Midland playing the underground tunes expected of the south London venue. At The Badger Hole we saw Erol Alkan and Roman Flügel mix up electro, house and techno for a Phantasy takeover on Friday, then on Saturday the annual Ransom Note x Society hijack brought with it disco and neon marracas soundtracked by Hunee, Prosumer and Dan Beaumont b2b Robert Owens for a more playful night. The main stage of The Shack, nestled in a clearing and looking like a shanty town with garments hanging from clothes lines among the branches, was a visual delight that lacked the required audio punch due to low volume during Heidi and Tom Trago's sets on Friday night yet was far more impactful on Saturday when we caught Jamie Rodigan and Becca D laying down the dub then Gerd Janson, Âme and DJ Koze bringing the deep house.
"But, most importantly, was Farr had fostered the elusive festival feeling of being part of a fun-loving collective. Paint, glitter and wacky sunglasses were on friendly faces while amusing costumes were brought from home or bought on site to ensure many a sparkly or eye-catching garment turned heads. If you relaxd on one of the old sofas or bean bags laying across the site, it wouldn't be long before you were engaging in conversation with a fellow happy Farr-goer. You felt part of a community, and the 5,000 capacity ensured you bumped into that stranger who brought a smile to your face again without much hassle - a win for anyone who has wondered what happened to "that guy/girl" at a festival they only saw once. Farr seems to have found its niche in the festival world, now they just need to work out how to keep it loud throughout the its summer nights."
Heading back to the campsite with N-Trance ft Rod Stewert 'Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?' closing the main stage, I couldn't help buzzing at how much fun we'd had.
She Said: "Having attended in previous years, I was excited to be heading to Farr Festival as they entered their sixth year. The programming seemed more refined and pre-festival hype about changes to the site layout and facilities was promising. After an easy one-hour drive from London with a surprisingly experimental mix from Agoria soundtracking an epic sunset, we arrived at Farr. "Just go over there and follow the pattern" the car park steward shouted, waving an arm into the field.
"Reaching the campsite with the final throws of daylight fading rapidly, we quickly squeezed our tents into small gap. The campsite was buzzing with talk of an intense storm the previous night, but as we headed up the festival to catch Tama Sumo in the Corsica Village, the skies were clear and a myriad of stars shone down. A quick pat-down from security and we were in! Entering into an open field, we were greeted by a row of bustling festival stalls offering the usual selection of food and festival finery. A scaled-down fairground with swings, waltzers and ferris wheel loomed to one site, and large, open-air cinema screen to the other.
"Stopping briefly at 'This Must Be The Place', hosted by Stamp The Wax, we headed up to the woodland where a tantalising mix of beats pulsated from the darkness. The woodland has always been at the heart of Farr and this year organisers had developed the space to house The Badger Hole, Corsica Village, seating areas with sofas and, for the first time, an impressive main stage structure, decked-out to look like a shanty town shack, with corrugated iron fronting and washing lines strung merrily between the trees like bunting. The overall effect was something that felt half way between an Enid Blyton novel and the M25 Raves.
"The crowd was diverse and colourful, and the intimate capacity created a friendly, free-party atmosphere, perfect for making new friends and bumping into old friends. The small size also meant there were no fears of missing any sets, as we spent the night darting from Tama Sumo and Mr Ties at Corsica Village, and the nearby Badger Hole where Erol Alkan and Roman Flügel were keeping energy levels high. With a relatively modest 4am finish, we headed back to the tent as the first hints of daylight touched the sky.
"Saturday brought with it glorious sunshine. After a satisfying sunny snooze on the campsite, we headed up to meet some friends at the open-air cinema. Nestled in the sun amongst the bean-bags, with a cold drink and cult classic Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas showing on the big screen, was the perfect way to ease into day two. Heading to Love Lounge for Turf, followed by Pender Street Steppers at the Badger Hole - hosted by Ransom Note and Society, where 200 flashing maracas were thrown out to jubilant party-goers. Over at The Shack we caught Gerd Janson lay down one of the sets of the weekend before dancing out the night back at The Badger Hole for Hunee, Prosumer and Robert Owens back-to-back with Dan Beaumont.
"At 5.30am the first drops of rain started falling from the sky. Paired with the undeniable daylight, we took this as our cue to leave and as we headed back to the campsite with N-Trance ft Rod Stewert 'Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?' closing the main stage, I couldn't help buzzing at how much fun we'd had. After continuously developing the festival over the past five years, it finally felt like Farr Festival organisers have found the right direction and created a real identity for the festival. Some small improvements to soundsystems and this will be a not-to-be missed event."
She Said by Freya van Lessen. Republished 07/07/2026.