Festival No. 6 has been on my bucket list for a while now. Despite only being on the scene for five years, the boutique festival has grown pretty quickly in large part due to it’s unique location, the beautifully colourful Portmeirion in North Wales. I won’t lie it was the basis of my attraction. I’m a magpie, I like pretty things.
So when they invited me to come along as one of their official Instagram ambassadors, I was like hell yeah, bro. Obvs I’m there.
But wait up a second, I should start out by telling you that my festival experience wasn’t all sunshine and roses. The weather was pretty poor, there were definitely some flaws in Festival No. 6’s organisation and I have a lot to say about it. But that’s all for another post where I get real in-depth about everything you need to know before you go.
But in the meantime, I wanted to tell you guys some of the highlights of the festival this year. Because despite that fact that I was in the muddiest festival I’ve ever been to without a pair of wellies, I did have a hella lot of fun.
The highlights of Festival No. 6, 2016.
Noel Gallagher singing Oasis.
OhMyGoshDidThisEvenHappen. You know you have a bucket list of bands you want to see in your life? Well Oasis are bang at the top of mine. And even though I knew going in that Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds were headlining and there was a possibility I could hear an Oasis song, it still really surprised me when they sang not one but FIVE Oasis classics. I’m not going to lie I was close to tears when Champagne Supernova came on and I can’t even talk about the tingles I got from Wonderwall. But also Don’t Look Back In Anger, The Masterplan and Half A World Away.
It gets better.
He also brought out Paul Weller and they belted out A Town Called Malice. Let me just say, all my teenage dreams came true that Sunday night. Even though this all happened throughout torrential rain, it’s a moment I won’t forget.
* These photos courtesy of Carousel PR.
The floating dancefloor at the Virgin Trains Village Limits.
This was by far one of the funnest places in Festival No. 6. Some of the areas seemed to take themselves quite seriously but up in the woods, a floating dancefloor on a little lake with banging tunes was absolutely the place to be. There were disco balls and balloons and even bubbles. YES BUBBLES.
The best part was that as you danced it moved up and down so it felt a bit like the floor was making you dance more. If that’s even a thing. Anyways, this gem in the ‘Village Limits’ area definitely had Bestival vibes and had an atmosphere to cheer up anyone disheartened by the poor weather (me).
Hip Hop Karaoke.
You know I like all the weird and wonderful little things at festivals. Whenever I go to one I normally write about the random things I saw and did rather than the actual music, like the Reggae Aerobics at Bestival or the food trucks at Glastonbury.
Well at Festival No. 6 this year, it was Hip Hop Karaoke. That’s literally what it is, karaoke but with the kind of old school hip hop songs that we all know the words to no matter the genre of music we’re actually into. But everyone was so into it, not just the singers but the watchers, singing along to everything, dancing and screaming like they were actual rapstars. I bloody loved it. Some kid called Mark got up there and finished it off with Gangsters Paradise and it was banging, he should be proud.
Apparently this is a regular feature at The Social in Hackney, London on Thursday nights so I’m definitely going to go check that out. So much fun.
The sick food trucks.
Speaking of food trucks… Festival No. 6 had one of my regular faves, Anna Mae’s Mac and Cheese – YES. Never fails to delight me. But I also discovered a few new delicious additions to my food truck obsessions.
First up is Born Yesterday’s Bubble & Squeak pots! Who knew I liked bubble and squeak ay? It sounds so Victorian. But this potato, cabbage and spring greens combo with their spicy beans mixture topped with rocket and a squeeze of sriracha made me feel human again. You know when all you need is something that feels like it’s both healthy and comforting? This is it. I’m officially addicted.
Then there was the amazing pizza made in a proper pizza oven at Ffwrnes. I had a mushroom pizza with truffle oil and it was amazing. So amazing that I didn’t take a photo. Because I just had to eat it.
Finally, I’ve mentioned The Cheese Truck before but although I like their toasties, I always feel like they’re not as good as homemade ones and the comparison puts me off a bit. Well they won me over this year with their Fondue Fries, topped with a cheese and cider sauce. Holy moly these are delicious. Oh god I need them. Now. Send help.
Prince disco in the Dome Gallery.
That’s right another random one, a disco devoted totally to Prince songs. I mean, obvs I had to go. It was in this tiny space in Portmeirion village that felt like a church function room and was filled with people quite a few generations older than me and my pals, but it was really funny. Those old gals can dance. I had a little sing along to Little Red Corvette and it was real nice.
They also did a Bowie Disco but it was during ‘Somber Saturday’ where I really couldn’t leave the cafe.
Oh Wonder performance.
The only other performance that really left an impression on me was Oh Wonder. I hadn’t really heard much from them but my bestie Kate is a big fan and wanted to see them so we went along. And it was really good. Lovely dreamy music that I now have to download and listen to on repeat. Definitely worth a shout out, you should go listen to them right now.
Bloody Mary Workshop.
Something at Festival No. 6 that I haven’t really seen before at festivals were little pop-up workshops that seemed to be going on. The Lavazza place did a coffee workshop and the Birra Moratti bar did a pasta-making workshop, but we decided to try out the Bloody Mary workshop at the Kettle One Vodka bar. Because who doesn’t love a delicious and spicy Bloody Mary, right?
Thing is, this was an alternative Bloody Mary workshop. As in, there’s no tomato juice, tabasco or worcester sauce. Say what… Well it wasn’t what we were expecting but the guy talked us through how to create our own version of a Bloody Mary with other fresh juices and spices. It was a laugh and really fun and I actually took away a few good tips for drinks-making and cooking in general. But my Bloody Mary was fucking disgusting. I really feel like know nothing about spices now. Or beetroot juice.
Portmeirion village.
The highlight of the whole of Festival No. 6 was truly the village of Portmeirion with it’s pastel-coloured walls and lovely architecture and generally charming demeanour. The festival’s tagline is ‘A festival like no other, in a place like no other’ and no matter my grievances with Festival No. 6, you can’t deny there’s no other festival set in such a beautiful location.
Even the woods lookout onto beautiful beaches and at every point I was impressed with how lovely everything looked. This is the real draw, guys.
There you have it the highlights of Festival No. 6, 2016. Look out for my full post on the experience in general if you’re thinking of going as I have lots to tell you. Watch this space.
What do you think of Festival No. 6? Would you go? Let me know in the comments below or tweet me @HeelsInBackpack!
Total Blogger Transparency: I attended Festival No. 6 with complimentary press tickets but all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I wouldn’t play you like that shorty.
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