04/10/2016
Bugged Out are renowned for partying and they're one of the longest running club nights, having been around for over 20 years. This in itself should be enough to tell you that you're in for a treat.
Apparently a standard Bugged Out event just wasn't enough, so they decided to step it up this year, teaming up with Dreamland Margate for the first time. The ticket didn't just get you a whole day of fantastic music, it also allowed free reign of the amusement park – not your standard music festival eh?
Margate has seen a resurgence in the past couple of years, with many out-of-towners using it as a getaway from the bustle of many towns and cities. For want of a better word, Margate’s become very ‘trendy’. And places like Dreamland Margate is a big reason for this.
As we made our way from the train station, the festival itself wasn't far at all – we took our time and walked along the beachfront, looking picturesque in the sunshine. We say it a lot, but the weather makes a huge difference in people's enjoyment of a festival. On this occasion we were lucky.
The amusement park was open to the general public until the early evening, then closed thereafter exclusively for ticketholders. Many attendees seemingly chose to arrive later, with the stages taking time to fill up. However this allowed you to jump from ride to ride without any difficulty (we may have spent a lot of the afternoon on the dodgems . . .) The music wasn't just confined to the two rooms inside either; there were DJs dotted around the park, the likes of Rivla, Novelist and Wookie amongst the names – providing energy and of course, banging tunes.
There were two rooms inside: The Roller disco – this was the larger room, and The Ballroom. As the festival started to build up, Artwork put on a great set in the Ballroom – even creating a full dancefloor dance-off. We of course got fully involved.
Approaching the early evening the venue recognisably got busier, the drink started flowing and the music became all encompassing. It got louder, it got quicker and was increasingly more intense. The crowd was predominantly late teens/early twenties and the energy was relentless. Combine that with amusement park rides, and some superb DJs – you've got yourself a party atmosphere.
Some of the sets worth a mention were Salardo, Joy Orbison and Groove Armada – with Salardo being particularly impressive, even with the earlier performance time, the place was buzzing and they were unrelenting with their house and techno beats. In between these sets, the option to venture out and mix up the night with a casual spin on the Big Wheel added a lot of value to the experience.
Unfortunately the last train from Margate back to London was at 10pm, which meant we missed Skream and The Martinez Brothers, a massive shame. However, this festival was a refreshing difference – with some real promise for next year. Make sure you get this in your diaries now.