There are times during the Hop Farm festival when you feel as if you’ve wandered into some sort of rural English cult. People walk about grinning, toddlers dance to rave music and seven-year-olds rock out on their parents' shoulders – yet it all seems perfectly normal. The brain child of Waterford man Vince Power, Hop Farm is a boutique-style event done on a grand scale: supremely well-organised, free of advertising or sponsorship, and with an impressive musical line-up to boot. Taking place across three stages, the bill offers a mix of top names, rising bands, and a dedicated dance arena.
We open on Saturday with Dublin native Jape, who shakes us awake with ultra-danceable versions of ‘Christopher And Anthony’, ‘Strike Me Down’ and ‘Replays’, before winning the crowd over with the dreamy wonder of ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’. On then, to our weekend highlight, Florence And The Machine, who draw a large crowd to their afternoon show on the Main Stage, even though the band’s debut record had yet to be released. Singles ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)’, ‘Dog Days Are Over’ and ‘Kiss With A Fist’ raise the biggest cheers. However, Florence commands attention throughout, bounding around the stage barefoot in an eye-catching embroidered silk dress.
Later, we visit the third stage (sponsors do come in handy for naming tents, at least), where Texan rockers White Denim play up a storm, showing what would happen if you mixed the vocal styles of Robert Plant and Jeff Buckley with a whole lot of noise.
Sunday’s bill takes us from the electro pop dancebility of Ladyhawke to the full-on punk rock assault that is Dananananaykroyd. They may have a jokey name – and an easy banter with the crowd – but this is serious hardcore, screamed into the mic from the middle of the heaving crowd. We’re so enthralled that we miss out on Super Furry Animals, moving to the Main Stage just in time to catch solid sets from Doves and Editors.
Frustratingly, the three final headline acts overlap completely, forcing us to choose between 2manydjs, British Sea Power and Paul Weller. Putting our time-dividing skills to the test, we manage to catch the start of BSP – including a hugely energetic rendition of ‘Remember Me’ – before hot-footing it over to see the Jam star knock out ‘The Eton Rifles’. He follows this up with a set heavy on material from last year’s 22 Dreams, throwing in the odd cover (‘Magic Bus’, for which he’s joined onstage by Roger Daltrey), and winning us over completely with an impressive version of ‘Town Called Malice’.
And so, it’s all over much too soon. Until next year, Hop Farm, we’ll be keeping the faith.