Imagine spinning the yarn with an off duty lion tamer, sipping a martini with a knife swallower or lining up flaming shots with a fire eater. Imagine 24 hour drinking holes where the bartenders are actually zebras and the waitresses look suspiciously bearded. Imagine learning the science behind building a human pyramid and the art of whipping; two skills which will serve you well in life, if you ever plan to run away with the circus that is.
Imagine learning the flying trapeze, or dancing with a strong man in a cowshed nightclub which never seems to close. All these fantastical, macabre and magical visions become reality this summer as Hertfordshire is re-born as a circus town of sheer wonderment. Watch out people; Standon Calling is coming to town!
This year sees an electronic line up fit for a king (of the jungle…the Lion ya’ll!) With Audio Doughnuts, Nina Kraviz, Simian Mobile Disco, DJ Format, Giles Peterson AND Greg Wilson on the menu, you’ll be laughing all the way to the monkey enclosure. Stages are open till 5am so there’s plenty of time for a good old power thrusting session, but should you require a change of scenery (kids today, short attention spans) you can always head off to one of the secret stages, 24 hour bars or whipping demonstrations and chat up that contortionist you’ve had your eye on all weekend!
What started as 25 friends, a swimming pool and a set of bongos has grown into a 5000 strong army of enthusiastic revelers, lunatics and creatives alike. The swimming pool stayed but the proportion of ‘epic’ grew ten-fold. Staying true to its roots the festival nurtures emerging artists alongside household names and heavyweights; expect to see brand new material which, a year down the track will have exploded into the mainstream. Think the likes of Florence and the Machine and Mumford & Sons before they went on to become uber-stars.
2013 promises to be their best and most innovative party yet; much more than simply a music festival, Standon Calling promises a three-day circus-tastic extravaganza! Jam-packed with interactive theater, art installations, a swimming pool, on-site nightclub, annual dog show and the ever-popular fancy dress, this one is certainly not to be missed!
Standon Calling Festival – 2nd-4th August 2013
Join the circus HERE
Buy tickets HERE
Line up so far…
A Band of Buriers, AlunaGeorge, Annie Dale, Autoheart, Band Of Skulls, Bastille, Belakiss, Benin, City (live), Carnivals of Souls, Cleen Boys, Count Sizzle, Count Skylarkin, Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show, De La Soul, Debian Blak, Digitalism, DJ Format, DJ Yoda feat. Trans Siberian March Band,Dutch Uncles, Gentlemen’s Dub Club, Gilles Peterson, Greg Wilson, Josephine, King Charles, Lazarus & The Plane Crash, Leo Beckford, London Afrobeat Collective, Maddox, Mêle, Natty Bo, (Ska Cubano), New Groove Formation, Nina Kraviz, Public Service Broadcasting, Pusherman,Revere, Ross Allen, Rotten Hill Gang, Roy Davis Jr. plus Special Guest TBA, Shekyoh’hh, Shields, Shox, Silver Darter, Silvermoths, Simian Mobile Disco, Smooth & Turrell Soundsystem, SOPHIE, Stills, The Bibelots, The Correspondents, The D.O.T., The, Joy Formidable, The Skints, TOY, Treetop Flyers, Trenton & Free Radical, Tuesday Born (live), Two Inch Punch
A little bit of Thursday Nina…