Greenbelt invites festival-goers to Dream On

The annual Greenbelt festival returns to its stately home location at the end of August.

The event takes place at Boughton House, near Kettering in Northamptonshire, and has "dream on" as this year's theme.

Among those taking part will be the Grammy Award-winning singer Corinne Bailey Rae and the "radical" lawyer, Michael Mansfield KC.

Greenbelt came back to Northamptonshire in 2014, having been based in the county in the 80s and 90s.

The festival’s creative director, Paul Northup, said: "'Dream On' is often seen as a throwaway phrase."

But he said organisers wanted festival-goers "to reimagine it".

He added: "Instead of the 'yeah, right…dream on' like that’s-never-going-to-happen, we want to own it as an imperative, a call to action, as it were."

Greenbelt has always managed to avoid a simple definition of what it actually is, although it does get perceived as a "Christian" music festival.

Its strapline these days is "artistry, activism and belief", which suggests that it does include some faith activities alongside performances and discussions.

While the faith element does manifest itself in large and small-scale worship, the organisers try to avoid any direct link with a particular denomination, and there are many participants who are not Christian and some who have no faith at all.

In years gone by, Greenbelt has sought a headline act or two to draw attention to itself, and names like Cliff Richard, U2, The Proclaimers and Roy Castle have appeared on the programme.

Nowadays, there is not so much emphasis on the big names, although Bailey Rae will be making an appearance, as will the radical lawyer Michael Mansfield KC and the Gogglebox vicar and TV presenter, Kate Bottley.

It is not just the line-up that has changed in recent years - Greenbelt, which started life on a farm in Charsfield in Suffolk in 1974, moved to Boughton House from Cheltenham Racecourse.

While the facilities in the grounds of Boughton House may be a bit basic, many festival-goers prefer the setting as it does feel quite wild and "in tune with nature".

The house itself, known as the English Versailles, is tucked out of the way in one corner and does not loom over the proceedings.

Like many festivals, it has struggled over the years to balance the books. A new "pay what you can afford" ticket price regime, introduced last year, was a gamble but turned out to bring in more income than fixed rates.

Many of those who could afford to subsidise tickets of those on lower incomes did so by paying a higher price.

As ever, the event, subtitled "Dream On", will bring in people from all over the country, many of whom have made long-term friends in the campsites, marquees and Jesus-themed watering holes of Greenbelt.

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