BLUDFEST – a festival concept created by musician YungBlud took place on August 11th in the iconic Milton Keynes Bowl. This event was nothing shy of a success, drawing in fans from all over the world. YungBlud expressed his overwhelming emotion via a reel on Instagram wrapping up the festival after the day had finished. He vocalised the stale feeling in the aftermath of the emptied out fields, that the people are truly what make a festival and he couldn’t believe the 30,000 attendee turnout.
The event was designed to be as accessible as possible, tickets totalling £49.50 (plus fees). Its tagline being, “This festival will blur the lines of genre and destroy the limitation of imagination. We cut the corporate bollocks and made it all about YOU, US, THE COMMUNITY”. YungBlud has amassed a large and dedicated fanbase, totalling at 4 million on Instagram. After years in the industry, he’s created many meaningful relationships with other musicians, featuring them on songs and vice versa. It only makes sense that many of those musicians were on the lineup as varying listenerships melded into one.
The lineup contained a range of performers and musical genres. Some of those included were Jesse Jo Stark, Lil Yachty, SOFT PLAY, Nessa Barrett, The Damned, Lola Young among others. Yungblud curated this lineup of artists specifically to cater to a “new generation of gig-goers”, where variety was a focal point. The musician proclaimed that no person should be excluded from these spaces regardless of identity, ability or interest.
The festival happened to take place on one of the hottest days of this UK summer, or so it felt. Queues were long with not much cover, but this is in part to be expected when attendees line up hours ahead of the opening of the festival gates. Once inside there was ample space to avoid the heat under the treeline and social tents specially designed to facilitate new connections. One of these spaces was the “Make a Friend” tent, which became an obvious feature as the queue extended down the main path. It was clear that BLUDFEST was designed to be a space where attendees could build community and feel free to be themselves.
There were two stages, the main stage where performers like Lil’ Yachty absorbed the audience’s gaze, bringing out a member of his other rap project – Concrete Boys. The other, smaller stage was home to performers like Noahfinnce and Landon Barker. There were other attractions including an exhibition space and the Hawley Arms, a near fully fitted pub in the centre of the main field. Around the corner attached to the establishment was a photo destination spot as well as a third performance space called the Camden stage. A purple wall was painted with the word “Weird” where fans lined up to get their quintessential festival pictures.
Fashion was a clear highlight. Fans wearing some variation of black clothing layered with fishnets, heavy eye makeup, dyed hair, and patchwork tattoos were around every corner. Noctis had the chance to interview some of the musicians to gather more insight about the experience of participating in such a project. I asked what it meant to each of them to perform at a festival built upon community as a central point. Jesse Jo Stark expressed that all we can offer is ourselves, that rebelling is part of the creative process and in order to move forward with your craft, you need to take risks. Nessa Barrett was very excited to take the stage for her first and only performance of 2024. Chris Millar, aka Rat Scabies and the original drummer of The Damned, expressed that unless you believe in your craft, and are making what you like – there’s no point. Creating for the sake of being palatable doesn’t cut it, and I couldn’t agree more. There was an electricity and simultaneous softness in the air of Milton Keynes Bowl. It was clear that a space for difference, ‘weirdness’ and community was built into the festival grounds for the day.
Refreshment options were inclusive, vegan/ vegetarian establishments could be found nestled among those which would’ve suited any diet. Local vendors were spliced between larger chains like Nando’s which was featured as its own temporary restaurant. Other decorative elements nodded to YungBlud’s wider brand and stylistic appeal, one of those being a cherry red inflatable rubber duck adorned with a spike collar. Additionally there were amusement park rides that lit up the grounds as the nighttime settled over music lovers. A VIP area was situated near the main stage which guests could pop in and out of amongst musicians as well as attendees who upgraded to VIP wristbands.
Performances buffered against each other in a way that allowed attendees to get a glimpse of nearly every performance if they wished to bounce between stages. At larger festivals you run the risk of missing your favourite acts as there are usually overlaps, often at completely different sides of the venue. In this case the treeline separated the stages, leaving either close enough without disrupting sound quality.
Noctis popped around the festival asking members of the audience to express what about them they thought was “different” and why it was worth celebrating, of those we interviewed – some of the stand out takes were as follows; “traditional goth makeup”, “writing music from the female perspective”, “liking to stand out via tattoos/ piercings”, “certain fashion may be intimidating – but actually we’re some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet”. Additionally, in light of Charli XCX and Brat’s virality, we also asked audience members if they were familiar with the iconic “Apple” dance which was designed by NYC based tiktok creator Kelley Heyer. It was interesting to see where the overlaps in music taste began and ended. Many were aware of the album but not the dance itself.
YUNGBLUD is known to include his younger fans in his efforts to build community, pushing the notion that you are never too young or too old to be yourself. Early in the evening, he popped out of backstage to make an appearance on the roof of the Hawley Arms. He was escorted by security but still remained engaged with many of those he met along the way. Fans announced their shock as they realised how close they were to the singer. This excitement reverberated throughout the bowl, leading fans to stampede as they tried to snap a picture.
All in all despite being a new project, BLUDFEST clearly created avenues for a diversification of future music festivals. Core elements highlighting individual value, community-building, accessibility and pure fun clearly situated themselves within this concept. There is much to be said about a vision like this, namely that I know there will be more of their kind, as he teased BLUDFEST expanding globally in future, but also will likely inspire other attendee-centred events. Music has been known to bring people together, and BLUDFEST was the perfect testament to this sentiment.
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Photography: Lily Maguire
Words: Lauren Bulla