Shave up now for next year’s Bearded Theory!
TICKETS have gone on sale for a popular music festival which started life on Ashbourne’s doorstep.
Bearded Theory’s Spring Gathering, a family-friendly festival which began at Knockerdown and has now moved to Catton Park, will be back for the 12th successive year – over the May Bank Holiday Weekend next year.
Tickets for the festival went on sale at the weekend, with the first 1,500 adult camping tickets to be sold offered at an “early-bird” discount rate of £105, down from the usual cost of £122.50.
It is free for children under five, and discounted tickets are available for older children, as well as a monthly payment plan.
Organisers have also revealed a raft of changes being made in 2019 in a bid to improve the festival’s traffic management procedures.
The festival has appointed a specialist parking and traffic management company to oversee all vehicle and traffic management and, to reduce congestion on the roads, festival gates will open on the Thursday from 9am and will remain open until 9pm.
The number of campervan and caravan tickets has been reduced in number, and all spaces will be marked out in advance.
Police officers will be ensuring that traffic flows are maintained, and actively enforcing a strict “no-waiting zone” in the vicinity.
Live music will not take place on the main stages on the Thursday evening. However, other areas, stalls and bars will be open from later in the afternoon.
There has not yet been any announcement of the acts expected to play at the festival. However, the first unveiling is due later in the autumn.
Bearded Theory spokesman Michael Eccleshall said: “2018 was an exceptional year for everyone involved in Bearded Theory Festival.
“To welcome the likes of Robert Plant, Jimmy Cliff and hundreds more to our Spring Gathering – which started out as a stage in a pub garden made out of pallets a few miles up the road – was just mind blowing!
“We are incredibly proud of the overwhelmingly positive feedback received from both fans and the media for this year’s event, however we are never complacent.
“There is no doubt that we have our work cut out to make 2019 even better – but myself and the entire Bearded Theory crew have complete confidence that BT2019 will deliver the best experience yet to the only people that matter – our loyal festivalgoers.
“See you all back at Catton Hall in May!”
Having started life more than a decade ago as a birthday party in the garden of the Knockerdown Pub near Carsington Water, Bearded Theory’s Spring Gathering has evolved to become one of the UK’S best-loved festivals, winning major awards including Best Small Festival, Best Promoter and Best Family Festival at the UK Festival Awards; and Best UK Independent Festival at the AIM Independent Music Awards.
To buy tickets, or to find out more visit www.beardedtheory.co.uk