Taking form as the very first festival of the season, the boutique day party is spread across a number of woodland spaces that are steeped in acid house history, and will play host to an impressive selection of UK acts that represent the dance music spectrum across house, techno and bass.
First up are Manchester duo Solardo, who have been championed by Forbidden Forest since the festival’s inception in 2016 and perfectly embody the brand’s buzzy ethos. Joining them on the Kaluki stage are the likes of Darius Syrossian and fast rising talent Detlef, with techno stalwart Alan Fitzpatrick as special guest.
The festival’s Kooky stage will see Birmingham’s Hannah Wants at the helm, with high-energy talent such as Sonny Fodera, Danny Howard, Gotsome and Jess Bay also on board. Leading bass imprint UKF are confirmed to host The Abbey stage for another year, backed by Wilkinson, Hype B2B Hazard, The Prototypes, Barely Legal and Kove, while bassline and garage innovator DJ Q goes back to back with bassline legend Jamie Duggan, headlining The Reactor area, hosted by the midlands bass ambassadors Beastwang.
With previous editions successfully selling out, Forbidden Forest runs for a solid 12 hours and has quickly made its mark as an inclusive party with a distinct DIY attitude that’s reminiscent of the UK house scene from decades before.
It’s location of Donington Park was once host to iconic rave promoters Fantazia who held their largest ever rave within the grounds back in July 1992, so an ideal choice for Forbidden Forest’s vision to stage a festival that goes beyond the classic warehouse and tent space set-up.
An intimate, creative and enchanting addition to the summer calendar, it’s surrounding areas of Leicester, Sheffield, Manchester, Derby, Birmingham and Liverpool are easily accessible via train, bus and coach, while the festival is only just over an hour and a half hour’s train journey from London.
Sounding the klaxon for the start of the festival season and waving the checkered flag to close, Forbidden Forest is certainly one to watch in 2018. Tickets for the May edition are on sale now, and as the event takes place biannually, it will return at the end of summer – with more details to follow.
Forbidden Forest Festival
Sunday 6th May 2018
Donington Park Forest
http://forbidden-forest.co.uk
