Billed as a ‘tribal gathering of Alternative lifestyles’ Alt-fest is certainly unique amongst festivals in the amount of power it gives to punters. The festival itself was funded entirely through a Kickstarter campaign, which raised over double the £30,000 the organisers originally requested. Having effectively financed the festival, punters were then given the chance to vote for which acts they wanted to see perform at the festival. The enormous public response to this idea has shown that even in today’s festival saturated market, there’s always room for a new contender.
However, none of that lovely punter inclusive background would mean anything at all if the chosen acts weren’t particularly good. After all, if X Factor has taught us nothing else, it’s that what people vote for isn’t necessarily what they pay to see. Happily, this doesn’t seem to be the case for Alt-Fest, which boasts an absolutely stellar and truly eclectic line-up. Main Stage headliners are shock rock superstar Marilyn Manson, critically acclaimed electronic duo VNV Nation and iconic rockers The Cult. Support on the Main Stage comes from Arch Enemy, Gary Numan and Fields of The Nephilim as well as many others .
If you fancy venturing away from the Main Stage, all kinds of delights await you on the smaller stages, with the symphonic-industrial hybrid of Bad Pollyanna; the operatic rock of Fearless Vampire Killers; the dark, sinuous electronica of William Control and of course, the mighty black metal force that is Cradle of Filth all representing thoroughly worthy uses of your time. In addition to the music, there’s also circus acts, clubbing and art installations to take in
Alt-fest runs from the 15th-17th August and takes place in the grounds of Boughton Estate, Kettering. Tickets can be purchased here.
