Well I’ve previously survived the apocalyptic thunderstorm of Glastonbury 2005 and the knee deep floods of Sunrise 2008 so now I have the tornado of Bearded Theory to add to my list of cataclysmic festival weather experiences.

The 2009 version of the event was unrecognisable from its humble beginnings last year when the first proper Bearded Theory was held in a nearby pub beer garden. Instead we had a proper 3 day festival for 2,000 odd punters to enjoy in the rolling Derbyshire countryside, with 2 outdoor stages and an amazing dance tent courtesy of my old mate Phil. Axis Sound System provided additional dub orientated DJ sets and there was further entertainment on the open mic stage in the Tea Tent.

There were food and merchandise stalls aplenty, a good sized kids area, walkabout performances from Emma the Fairy & friends and an extremely well stocked and reasonably priced bar. Camping, car parking and campervan accommodation were all in fields immediately adjacent to the main arena and toilets remained absolutely spotless throughout.

The line up was equally impressive with psychedelic warlords Hawkwind headlining the main stage and Dreadzone Soundsystem packing out the Dance Tent on the Friday evening. Despite some rather soggy conditions things were gearing up very nicely for an equally spectacular Saturday evening until Mother Nature intervened. In a few short seconds the main stage was completely trashed, portaloos were flung about, flagpoles shredded and the Tea Tent and several stalls were ripped apart. We were sheltering in Malinkey’s bar right next to the stage at the time and I have never experienced anything quite like it.

Understandably, many punters decided not to hang around on the Sunday but even more showed a fantastic Dunkirk spirit and were treated to performances on improvised stages by some of the bands who were due to appear on the main stage. Sincere congratulations have to go out to Rich, J, Spike, Scouse Rich, Sally, Phil & Viking Jeff and everybody else involved for putting on such an amazing event. I only hope that the financial implications of freak weather conditions that could never be legislated for don’t prevent Bearded Theory from living on for many years to come. It certainly deserves to!