Ahh. Back again.

The familiar feeling of reporting on Houghton’s initial lineup announcement. The excitement, the fervour and the inevitable trip down memory lane, from years and years gone by.

We’ve been writing about the joys of Houghton since 2018 and the sense of anticipation never seems to grow old. Palpable excitement dawns when the artwork tile drops. Craig‘s scraggly yet flowing handwriting showcases a year’s worth of curatorial work, with maiden artists saddling up alongside regulars and stalwarts alike.

Electro, techno, minimal, and other musical odds and sods… all sandwiched cheek-by-jowl on a bill that evinces balance and eclecticism between live, electronic and everything in between.

Stacked, as modern parlance goes.

Long-term readers will know the sounds and styles we have a particular fondness for. Certain acts whose performances we deem non-negotiable. These aren’t recommendations, merely personal musings around who we’ll beeline towards come sunrise, sunset, daybreak and dawn.

In alphabetical order… Midland, Rhadoo, Vlada, XDB and Zip.

This isn’t exhaustive of course, far from it in fact. One of the great joys of Houghton lies in following your ears impulsively, eking out artists in spontaneity through aural and auditory means. Listening as you wander, hearing as you stroll, ambling around a site that’s truly bucolic in nature.

It’s inevitable then, to discover performances off the cuff and on the fly in the wondrous world of Houghton.

Just the way it should be.

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Photo Credit: Jake Davis @ Khroma Collektive.

Houghton Festival 2025 will take place at Houghton Hall, Kings Lynn from the 7th – 10th of August. Tickets are on-sale here via the Houghton Festival website.