Houghton festival is a four-day music festival taking place in Norfolk at Houghton Hall from the 8th to 11th of August. The festival, curated by DJ Craig David, is known for its unique blend of classical, electronic and experimental music, and often features performances from internationally acclaimed artists and up-and-coming talent.
The festival is known for its focus on creating an immersive experience that combines music with visual art and other creative forms. Houghton typically attracts a diverse audience and provides a platform for both established and emerging artists to showcase their work in a distinctive and inspiring environment.
The festival is also known for its picturesque setting as it is held at Houghton Hall, a Grade 1 listed building commissioned by the UK’s first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole.
The festival has received high acclaim, with Annabel Simpson of The Standard stating:
Houghton’s simple formula of extended DJ sets, bespoke sound systems, stunning settings, hidden stages and art installations created something very special. Throw a 24 hour music licence into the mix and the result is pure bliss.
However, this year the festival will take a slightly different form as The Quarry, one of the 14 stages, will not open due to high water levels resulting from heavy periods of rainfall throughout the year.
The festival made an announcement on a social media post, stating that “the Quarry sits at a low level on the water table, therefore it is susceptible to flooding. For the last month, we have been pumping water out every other day in the hope we would solve the problem. However, relentless rain has meant we were fighting a losing battle.”
To accommodate the artists that were meant to perform on The Quarry stage, the festival gained permission from the council to extend the finish times of two other stages in order to redistribute the artists. The Derren Smart Stage is now set to close at 3am and The Old Gramophone at 5am.
Houghton line-up – Friday
This is not the first time Houghton has been affected by the elements. In 2019, Houghton had to cancel the festival due to weather warnings, stating that they were “forced to bow to mother nature in the face of an unusually vicious storm.” The weather warning was correct, and Houghton Hall experienced a storm that was far stronger than predicted, with dangerously high wind speeds that would have put festival-goers at risk.
Despite the impediments to the festival’s operations brought on by the weather, Houghton will still run at full swing. Over 200 artists are set to perform, including Aba Shanti, Jade Seatle, Ben UFO and Zip, who will play with Craig Richards.
Information about tickets can be accessed here.
