Live Review: Bearded Theory - Thursday
22nd May 2025
Words & Photos: Laura Muraska-Ross
Festival season is well and truly in full swing, and what a perfect way to kick things off this was! As a Bearded Theory virgin, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this family friendly extravaganza, set in the Derbyshire countryside on the grounds of Catton Park. However, as soon as I arrived, I got put at ease instantly. Arriving late on the Thursday afternoon, due to a dreaded lorry fire on the M6 and huge two-hour detour on our drive from Scotland, we picked up our passes from the accreditation office and were able to drive pretty close to where we pitched our tent, before taking the car back to the car park. On the way back to the tent, it gave me a good opportunity to walk through the whole site and get a general feel for the place.
As someone who is an avid attendee at one of the UKs biggest metal festivals around Donnington, I can truthfully say this small independent festival was already winning in a lot of areas for me. For one, most of the site is flat, so a lot more accessible for everyone, although I would recommend sturdy wheels if you have any kind of wheelchair or mobility scooter as there were some stoney areas and the odd hole. Another area it is winning is how close everything is, yes you will still get your steps in, but the stages are much closer than other festivals and so are the accommodation areas. The biggest surprise for me was the porta loos being reasonably clean for a festival, I saw staff regularly cleaning them out and restocking them with toilet roll.
Along with an abundance of food offerings for every taste, multiple huge bar areas, and around seven different stages, there was something for everyone. I had worried that with it being a family friendly festival, that being an adult not there with little ones, it could be annoying, but this just wasn’t the case, there was a dedicated children's area with lots for them to do, show rides, and even a festival school! There were children everywhere with their responsible adults, but they all seemed to be embracing the festival atmosphere, and it has left me thinking that maybe I should give it a go next year with mine.
On Thursday evening and I decided to take a little wonder to see what was on. This took me to the Main ‘Pallet’ stage where I had the pleasure of experiencing Fat Dog for the first time. This English five-piece are hard to pin down genre wise, but if you love synth, instrumentals and a good old dance along with some rock, then you won't be disappointed with this band. They had the crowd dancing and hyped for their whole set, a perfect start to the festival for me.
Next up and the last act on the Main stage for Thursday was Mercury prize winners English Teacher, who are a four-piece indie-rock band from Leeds/Lancashire and have vocalist
Lily Fontaine at the helm, you could see the excitement on the bands faces at being on such a big stage. I know there may be some criticism at them being picked to play the Main stage and being the headliner for the Thursday, but they gave it their all and proved why they deserved to be there. This band have been quickly gaining steam through the music scene in the UK since winning a Mercury prize for their debut album ‘This could be Texas’. I thoroughly enjoyed their set, they held their own and they have a distinct sound. There’s synth, heavy base and punk like drums in a lot of their songs, and almost like, a spoken word type poetry to Lily’s delivery which was surprisingly good.
They have a host of tour dates throughout Europe over July and August before heading to the US through September. However, should you want to catch them live, you can see them when they come back to tour the UK in November.
Photo Credits: Laura Muraska-Ross
Be the first to comment