Standon Calling Music Festival
Hertfordshire
2008-Ongoing
GMC are responsible for full event management for this boutique weekend music festival, roles included licensing, council liaison, event safety, traffic management, contractor management and site management.
- 3 day camping festival
- 5,000 capacity
- Ticketed
- 4 stages and over 100 acts, previously including the Buena Vista Social Club, Mumford & Sons, Ettienne de Crecy, Paloma Faith, Florence & the Machine.
Standon Calling started with just 25 friends, a swimming pool, a set of decks and a birthday BBQ . The next year it had a few more friends and someone brought a guitar and a set of bongos. Having grown by word-of-mouth, it has got a bit bigger since those days, but retained its home-grown ethos and commitment to championing new artists.
You’re pretty much guaranteed to discover bands before most people have heard of them. Florence and the Machine, Friendly Fires, Mumford and Sons and The Noisettes all played Standon before enjoying the profiles they do today. Similarly, its had The Maccabees, Mr Hudson, Glasvegas, Delphic and Paloma Faith.
Throw in classics like Buena Vista Social Club, Super Furry Animals, Hawkwind, Femi Kuti & The Positive Force and Tony ‘Is this the way to Amarillo’ Christie, alongside leftfield acts such as Sunra Arkestra and Acid Mother’s Temple to mix it up and you get an idea of the sort of varied line-ups we put together. When the live music’s over it takes full advantage of the 6am licence, as DJs and various other performers take over our now infamous nightclub in a cowshed. As befits the UK’s only nightclub in a festival it seems to keep getting nominated for various dance awards.
But Standon Calling is about much more than just the music and it supports interesting artists of all ilks, be they painters, sculptors, writers, actors, comedians or even chefs. A different theme takes over the event each year, reflected in the interactive theatre, art installations, set designs, and outrageous outfits the guests dream up.
