Bearded Theory Festival 2026
The Wednesday get-In
This was our fifth visit to Bearded Theory Festival, one of the highlights of our year.
We arrived on Wednesday, for the first of five nights of live music, great performances and DJ sets. The latter added to our tinnitus woes – hey ho!
Getting here early means less faff and a guaranteed spot at the corner of the field that we gravitate towards each year.
We simply need to find enough space to pitch the tent before the place gets rammed. It took us three trips from the car park to set up camp and, as bloody usual, we brought everything but the kitchen sink! Hottest May weekend of the last 100 years and we even managed to bring the frigging log burner!
WHO LIVES IN A TENT LIKE THAT? I bet Jim was thinking….
Stages and sets
There are several stages here, each with its own unique personally. Some, like the main stage, big top and woodlands, are multi-purpose, while others are geared up mainly for dance🕺. Oh and btw the stages are not called by those names….which accounts for me going to the wrong stage at least once every year (you’d think I’d learn).
Previous visits here we’ve managed going to bed at a reasonable hour, not this year! Every night (bar one) was a late one, we just about managed to beat sunrise on two occasions; not bad for a couple hovering around the sixty-year mark.
Time to Dress Up
It’s also time to dress up in loud shirts, sequins, hats and wigs. I wore a dress last year, so this year we’re attempting a controlled experiment: was it the dress or the wig that made me feel so good? And what colour, length, or style? It could be a long, drawn-out experiment lasting years – well, I’m up for it!
Festival Tradition
Luck played a huge part in this becoming an annual pilgrimage; on our first visit here we camped beside a wonderful bunch of revellers who welcomed us warmly into their clan and, on leaving, insisted we joined them the next year, so we did. Five years later and we wouldn’t miss it for the world.
The group is mostly linked by friendships that gravitate loosely around the City of Sheffield and its university. It’s now around fifty strong!
New people join every year – most stay, but everyone who comes here has a few themes in common; a love of music, an inability to grow up, and a desire to live life to the full and party hard (some possibly too hard – more on that later).
The days usually start with (multiple) tequila shots for breakfast, before heading off to any one of the dance tents, fields or stages. The line-up here is diverse enough to cater for everyone’s musical tastes. Rupert brought the rather nice tequila (pictured above) but, as usual, there was an abundance…
Without any formal organisation, the central camp disperses into smaller clusters to explore what’s on offer each day. Everyone simply heads off to where the mood takes them. It’s rare that we’re all in the same place at the same time, but it’s equally rare that we are ever alone. The only rule that we loosely follow is the point where we gather at the various stages. Of course, all bets are off if there’s a banging performance.
I usually have a handful of artists or DJs that I want to see, but these plans are usually thrown out the window quickly when I become (easily) influenced by someone in the group with a suggestion. A number appear to have encyclopaedic knowledge of the music scene – some are still in the business, performing sets themselves.
Our highlights
There are some bands or sets that hit a musical g-spot at a festival, Reverend and the Makers did that for me this year. I am never quite sure why some bands do that, but some performances simply stand out and leave a long lasting impression. What I do know is it’s got nothing to do with the music genre, the feeling can come from any direction. Sometimes it’s because it’s the first time, others because it’s unexpected, perhaps it’s my state of mind at the time, who knows.
But there were so many other great performances here this year too, far too many to single out individually, we really loved, CMAT, Lynks (I wish I was at the front), The Sabres of Paradise, Omega Nebula, Skunk Anansie, Ozric Tentacles, Dub Pistols / Barry Ashworth’s DJ set, Frank Turner and Ferocious Dog’s final live performance here.
Everyone talks in the morning about their highlight of the day, and it’s amazing to note just how many people have completely different experiences and were at performances others missed. There’s so much out there to see!
One of the big names this year was CMAT. She was supposed to perform ‘last’ year but couldn’t, and so was re-billed. This is my third time seeing her in recent years, and she didn’t disappoint – indeed I’d say she nailed it! Not everyone’s cup of tea I know but I’ve grown to like them.
Most years Greg Zogg plays a set here, so we popped down to Big Ed with most of the crew to get lost in the techno trance for an hour or so.
A few years ago, Emma missed Frank Turner on account of a performance clash, so this year we just happened to be at the intimate woodland stage when he walked out on stage replacing an artist who had pulled out. All very last minute and bonus for us! He holds a special place in my heart as he was one of the first artists my daughters introduced me to when they were in their teens doing gigs and exploring music for themselves.
Down-time
Every night was a cracker and every day a blinder: blue skies and sunshine, lots of smiles, and plenty of down-time between sets and performances.
Emma, Sharon, Sarah, Karen and Ashley went to a yoga session most mornings for some much-needed balance. As for the rest of us, well there was sooooo much tequila to finish off, some of us had to stay behind!
But when we did hook up after yoga, we’d have plenty of time to relax between performances ahead of sundown, when things got messy!
A few random photos below of the festival and some of the gang.
The Get-Out
This group has got to be among the nicest bunch of souls with the biggest hearts you could ever wish to meet. Genuine care and warmth exists not just for those within it, but anyone who comes across it.
One of our buddies had to miss the final day on account of a serious medical episode in the early hours of Sunday morning involving paramedics, an ambulance and a trip to hospital. Brought on by ‘Toomuchpartyitis’, he is now thankfully on the road to recovery, but it did give us all a scare.
Most of us left on the Monday after a somewhat subdued Sunday, and much like last year, was left with the field looking like it is ready for livestock to return.
So until next year!
I wonder what Jim was thinking? …🤫😉