Is Houghton the UK’s best underground dance festival?Against the odds, Houghton has become a gem in the UK festival calendar. After attending its fifth edition from 8 – 11 August, it’s easy to see why Norfolk’s non-stop woodland rave, which runs from 5 pm Thursday to 3 am the following Monday, is so beloved by the UK underground scene.
Arguably, the many challenges that curator Craig Richards and festival producers Gottwood have faced along the way — Houghton 2019 was cancelled on opening morning due to a storm and the following two were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic; even an “unwell” Quarry stage at the 2024 festival can’t go ahead due to flooding — are now a distant memory.
Rather than being defeated, however, the team have triumphantly powered through to create an event that really is in a league of its own. What makes Houghton so special, though? In a nutshell, it’s a combination of several things: the setting, sound quality, visual design, staging, programming and crowd.
[Full disclosure: Houghton invited MusicTech to the festival with a free guest pass. Our writer paid for travel, accommodation and other expenses; no other fees were involved.]
Credit: JakeDavis/@jakephilipdavis/@khromacollective
Set around a huge tranquil lake within the expansive grounds of Houghton Hall — a Palladian-style mansion built in the 1720s for Britain’s first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole — you’ll struggle to find a more naturally stunning festival location in the UK. With the majority of stages nestled between towering trees festooned with lights that pulse to the music, discovery is a key focus at Houghton; something remarkable, and often jaw-dropping, awaits around every corner.
Among the standouts are woodcarver’s dream The Armadillo which, shaped like its namesake, is illusionary and entirely unique, and 24-hour stage Terminus where, deep into the forest, the DJ arriving behind the decks remains a mystery. Then there’s The Pavilion which, teetering on the water’s edge, hosts marathon sets from huge names like vinyl crate-digger Tini and Ricardo Villalobos. Contrastly, Houghton also boasts many intimate spots, like Trevino’s pop-up record store, and Giant Steps’ igloo-shaped dome which, furnished with fake plants and stacked speakers, becomes packed for a tiny-capacity set from Hunee.
Unlike some festivals where audio quality can be shoddy and bleed between stages, here there’s much consideration to ensure that’s not the case. With the distance measured perfectly, there is no room for poor sound at Houghton; instead, sound systems are impressively strong yet crisp wherever you are.
Credit: Daisy Denham / Khroma Collective
This ties in with the audio-visual aspect of the festival; the vast majority of stages have large screens behind the performance space showing Houghton’s own visuals, meaning there is always plenty to keep the eye’s attention as well as the ears. The most impressive are D&B Audiotechnik’s dedicated A/V farm shed-club Warehouse, and Tantrum, where the screen behind the DJ decks looks as though it’s been split into three rows of retro-televisions.
The expertly -curated programming — albeit niche — is top-tier across the entire weekend. While the majority of UK dance festivals tend to focus on big-name DJs, Houghton deviates. Alongside sets from top selectors like Ben UFO, SHERELLE, Saoirse and Shanti Celeste, as well as a healthy amount of back-to-backs (Call Super B2B Palms Trax is particularly fun), the programme is full of live shows from cult favourites who scarcely perform in the country, let alone the countryside, including Radioactive Man, Wajatta, African Head Charge, Sansibar, Burnt Friedman and a special collaboration between Object Blue and Natalia Podgórska.
The weekend’s runaway highlight, though, is a rare performance from constantly-beaming Japanese electronic artist and video game composer Soichi Terada, who plays his Korg Kaossilator up high for all to see. Performing on the Darren Smart Memorial stage — an industrialist shipping container with royal red curtains flanking the tech set-up — the Ape Escape soundtracker gets the Houghton crowd really moving. From waving their arms in the air as one to joining in with a synchronised dance routine and then pogo-ing on the spot, the audience interaction at his show proves that Houghtoners — a London-centric bunch who varyingly sport Von Dutch and wave BRAT hand fans, are dressed as Star Wars characters (lightsabers included), or barristers in wigs — are perhaps slightly less edgy than you’d imagine. Hell, there’s even a punter carrying a huge mop around. It’s a sight to behold, and perhaps not one you’d expect at this kind of festival, but with flashing neon strobes and a stunning sunset to boot, the joy is unparalleled.
Credit: Jake Davis / Khroma Collective
There’s plenty to enjoy away from the music too: where else would you be able to board a train (if you manage to get a ticket) and tour a sculpture garden full of Anthony Gormley statues (many of which are heads sticking out of the ground)? Alongside art, well-being is an equally prominent focus of Houghton – party hard, but look after yourself.
With a large relaxation tent offering reggae yoga, sound baths and breathwork meditations, The Orchard is a relaxed retreat area designed for escaping the noise from elsewhere. Fittingly, the Pinters stage gives space for festival-goers to relax on deckchairs, legs outstretched on wooden mushroom stalls, while in conversation interviews take place and the likes of London-based rapper, DJ and producer James Messiah share thought-provoking poems.
Suffice it to say, we had a blast at Houghton. With the vast majority of festivals now dominated by corporate sponsorship, as well as copycat line-ups and poor sound quality, Houghton offers a singular yet sustainable vision of the future. For all its high-tech innovativeness, though, there’s a charmingly DIY spirit that runs through it all; if the UK music industry had its own Olympics, Houghton would undoubtedly score golds across the board.
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