Hollybush, nr Hay-On-Wye
Fri 26-Sun 28 Aug
Microfestivals in vast swaths of countryside are one of the few saving graces of an otherwise underwhelming UK summer season. Let us introduce you to one such gem, in its sixth year but in the idyllic surrounds of Hollybush for the first time. Unorthodox Paradox is cosy and intimate, but with a plethora of talent and activities on show – a unique and compelling experience is up for grabs, more than living up to its name.
Festival organiser Neil Spragg set it all up in 2011 with the aim of curating a stage of acts that are “offering something new and unusual”. Neil aims to “appeal to people who have a similar open mind and desire to experience new music”. This is arguably a welcome change of pace from most mainstream festivals that are becoming so corporate, overcrowded and environmentally irresponsible it’s hard to prick up the impetus to pay through the nose to wallow in filth and strain your eyes to make out the distant silhouette of a band.
Acts featured include Modified Toy Orchestra, Worldservice Project, The Scaramanga Six, Colossloth, Tube Jerk, Ichi, Clowwns and Stereoscope amongst many others. Welsh favourites Right Hand Left Hand and Mank will make an appearance as well, and as Neil says, if you leave with “several favourite new bands… I see my job as done!”
Tickets: £35 weekend/£15 per day/free under-16s. Info: [email protected] (CPI)