You’ll be hard pressed to find a concept more expertly conceived and realised than that of Festival Number 6. Set in the beautiful landscape of Portmeirion, a magical village reminiscent of a Mediterranean Rivendell, the festival uses the cult status of ’60s TV show The Prisoner as a sturdy backbone, before sculpting it into an astounding agenda of music, art and culture. Its debut last year was met with incredible reviews, with The Guardian awarding it the full five stars and flagging the amazing Welsh male voice choir‘s rendition of Blue Monday as a highlight (don’t worry, they’re back for more this year). Combining clean facilities and fantastic views with champagne and oysters, it appears that everyone was well and truly enchanted by its unique charm, and with an operation much slicker than anyone could expect for a premiere, the festival’s future looks pretty peachy. This year features a carnival, woodland trails, urban sketching, tonnes of live comedy and talks and a musical lineup including James Blake, Manic Street Preachers, My Bloody Valentine and Mount Kimbie, as well as Chic and the rather marvellous Nile Rogers. We can’t make any promises, but last year the portaloos remained fairly decent throughout the whole weekend – and if that’s not a sign of a good time then what is? Travel by train takes just over 2 hours from Manchester, and there’s a shuttle service to transport you straight from Bangor station to a whole new world.
Fri 13 – Sun 15 Sep, Portmeirion, Gwynedd, Wales, LL48 6ER, Weekend camping tickets £170; Day tickets £65, www.festivalnumber6.com
- Words:
- Jess Hardiman
- Published on:
- Sun 8 Sep 2013
