Ahead of Gottwood 2022, founders Tom Carpenter & Digby Neill revisit some best moments since the festivals first days in 2010…
1 – 1st year in 2010 we all headed into this at the deep end. Without any prior knowledge / experience of putting on a festival promoting, 3 of us put in £1500 each with a license of 1000 which somehow sold out very quickly. The elation was huge sitting in the campsite on the Monday having managed to pull it off. I will never forget that feeling of “who did we pull that off”
2 – As huge fans of Extrawelt we always said to ourselves that if we ever managed to book them then we have finally made it. In 2012 this became a reality – it rained that evening but we supplied umbrellas for a packed out crowd at the Treehouse stage. They did not not disappoint.
3 – The UK techno viking AKA Megadeath. Non stop body popping for then entire festival in 2012. No matter what the genre of music this mysterious man found his groove. A legend that will never be forgotten.
4 – Andrew Weatherall b2b Roman Flügel in The Walled Garden. May sound biased here but I’m pretty sure anyone who was there would most likely agree it was up there with possibly the best set we have had the honour to witness. At that point they had been friends for 20 years but this was the first time they had played together. Seeing Roman hours before and the nervousness from such a don due to the importance of a b2b who I’m pretty sure most people looked up to (RIP) translated into something very special.
5 – Hard to call it a highlight when it hasn’t happened yet but with less than 2 weeks to go and almost 3 years of planning we know this will be a huge highlight. There’s been huge anticipation from our end and much of our loyal crowd have rolled over since buying in 2020. We are here to deliver.
6 – Margaret Dygas b2b Zip 2016. Margaret we originally booked in 2013 and played an amazing set on what was then The Boat stage across the lake. Following this she asked if she could bring over Zip (errr yes please). Following that Margaret Dygas played a very special b2b with Zip in Ricky’s. So many other sets to pick out 0ver 10 years of 4 days of music which is almost impossible as every artists brings their A-game. Egyptian lover being the most recent.
7 – The 10th Birthday, the idea of doing ten consecutive years and in our minds progressing every year in quality was a landmark. Also it’s crazy to think that 2019 was our last Gottwood memory. No complacency can be taken in an industry which has become so volatile these days, it wasn’t even a thought back then. Now it almost feels it was an end of an era and we are coming back this year with a vengeance.
This year we are making adaptions and improvements to many stages. The Mother Owl is sadly too old now so she will will have to step over for a new stage. I think most the most important adaption we are making is the Treehouse stage in the woods. We have recognised that sometimes people want a break from 4×4 who everything on this will now be an alternative music stage. Expect alternative sets from Rhadoo playing ambient, 2 bad mice and many others playing under an alias and a huge collective of selectors. Whilst it will still have a dance floor and a great sound system it will also provide an area with comfortable seating and cocktail bar for people to congregate rather than necessarily feeling to go back early to their tents.
The things that we believe make Gottwood unique are the most beautiful setting, an intimate feeling in a place that provides a rare energy contributed by a crowd that make the effort to travel to Wales. We have always been conscious of not ruining our ethos by getting greedy and capping our crowd early on when we felt the optimum amount had been achieved. We are also very close to the see so a break away to an amazing coastline is always an option. Of course then there is the music…
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