Catton Park, Derbyshire
22nd – 25th May 2025
Nestled within the stunning greenery of Catton Park, Bearded Theory five-day festival delivers a creative mix of sonic brilliance, immersive experiences and pure festival joy. In it’s 18th year, the festival organisers listen to feedback and book acts people want to hear and see, which proves to be a huge success given they have won multiple awards and see return revellers year on year. It is our favourite festival to attend, we love the chilled vibe and warm friendly atmosphere.
Here’s Team Cobspix round up of events from the brilliant weekend.
The main gates opened for festival goers at around 4pm Wednesday, with some acts taking place that evening and Thursday. Due to other commitments, this meant we couldn’t make it until Friday morning. Upon arrival we collected our press passes, parked our vans in the spacious camping field and headed down to the main festival site.
Unlike last year, the festival gods had smiled upon Bearded Theory, gracing it with mostly warm, golden sunshine and hazy evenings that made for perfect outdoor revelry, giving festival-goers a chance to bask in the sun before the music took hold. We were ready for a weekend full of powerhouse of performances, blending nostalgia, high-energy punk, indie, guitar based, horn and brass based, folk, funk, ska, reggae and electronic mastery across multiple stages
We were just in time to catch Dakka Skanks early set over on the Woodland stage. I (Ange) personally love this setting, such a chilled and lovely surroundings in the woods. The band were fab, a great way to start the day, taking in some reggae, ska and punk vibes.
We headed to main stage, aka The Pallet to see Bess Atwell. We were blown away by her voice! She certainly brought everyone to silence to listen to her beautiful folk music and perfect vocals. Another new artist to follow and we’ve not even grabbed a beer yet! Already the festival is showing what a diverse genre they have lined up, from ska and reggae, to wonderful folk melodies already! Ned’s Atomic Dustbin brought us their 90’s Madchester inspired style. Tunes such as ‘God Fodder’ and ‘Kill Your Television’ were added to the lively set from these guys. Singer Jonn Penney gave us a Tim Booth style show, dancing round that Pallet stage. The crowd clearly loved these guys.
Whilst wandering round the site, from stage to tents, it was clear people were having a fun time so far. Lots of shiny happy faces filling up the site and food stalls, fair rides and bars were all becoming busy.
The Sugarhill Gang & Furious Five smashed out loads of old-school classics that had the crowd grooving the night away with their legendary showcase and made you feel like you had been transported back in time to the birth of hip-hop. Billy Nomates delivered a great performance, bringing her signature soul-punk energy to the Meadow Stage – her set was a perfect Friday night vibe. She has great stage prescence. Thee Headshrinkers raucous set gave us a lift. Yard Act were a class act! This being their 2nd time at the festival they delivered another strong performance. Front guy James did not disappoint the fans down the front with his bounding energy and the odd joke, kept the smiles on the faces.
The Sisters of Mercy delivered a moody, atmospheric set, leaning heavily into their signature gothic rock sound. Their performance featured a mix of classics and more modern material. Their dark and smoky stage setting proved difficult for us photographers to capture any of the band properly On speaking to a lifelong fan of theirs, this is how their show is meant to be, dark and theatrical. It appeared they had a large following from the fans in the crowd, who were immersed fully in the show.
Paul Heaton with Rianne Downey headlined the Pallet Stage. His performance was a masterclass in nostalgia and timeless songwriting. Heaton along with Glaswegian singer Rianne’s strong support vocals delivered a carefully curated set packed with classics from The Beautiful South and The Housemartins, alongside solo material that perfectly balanced old with new.
Friday Gallery
Saturday
Fuelled up with breakfast, and we are off for day 2 and another cracking line up. Upon arrival on site, we immersed ourselves in some festival atmosphere before band shooting. It really is the best atmosphere of any festival with the best people! The Cult of Orange were a highlight for us, grabbing any unsuspecting orange wearer to join their cult. So much fun!
If I wasn’t already awake I was after the first track from Trupa Trupa on the Meadow stage. After initially thinking it could be an ABBA tribute band (daft I know) it quickly became apparent that I couldn’t be any further from that! These guys are 4 piece art-rock psychedelic post punk band from Gdansk in Poland. Their energetic set sure packed a punch, making sure myself and the crowd were properly awake.
The Lovely Eggs Holly & Dave rocked up on the Pallet Stage and delivered a fast and frenzied set, proving once again why they’re one of the most unapologetically raw and DIY-driven bands in the UK indie scene. Their performance made us all shake off any festival fatigue and kept the laughs flowing. A banger loaded set with ‘Don’t look at me’ being a clear fan fave with the crowd bouncing and waving sausage roll thumbs in the air. Another brilliant set from the pair. Terrorvision’s set was a joyful, high-energy fun-filled blast, proving that their flavour of infectious rock anthems still resonate with festival crowds. Tony’s level of energy is endless bounding about the stage. The Nova Twins performance was nothing short of an explosion, fusing punk, grime, and heavy basslines into a sound that’s uniquely their own. Amy Love and Georgia South commanded the stage with both charisma and fantastic stage prescence.
Ash rounded off day 1 at the Meadow stage, and they were worthy headliners, proving why they remain one of the most beloved indie rock bands, the Northern Irish trio delivered a high-energy blast of nostalgia and raw indie rock power. Taking us back with hits such as ‘Girl From Mars’ and ‘Shining Light’ and I couldn’t help but dance and singalong from the pit..
At 78 years young, you could be forgiven for thinking that an Iggy Pop set would be an altogether more sedate affair than in years gone by, but you couldn’t have been more wrong. This shirtless punk shows no signs of slowing down yet as he had the largest crowd of the weekend so far lapping everything up that he could give them, and he gave them nothing short of everything. Stooges classics ‘I wanna be your dog’ (Gregg’s fave) and ‘Search and Destroy’ were belted out along with other classics such as ‘Lust For Life’ and ‘Passenger’ His set was an outstanding musical and visual masterclass that no one in that field will forget, we are honoured to have been there watching Iggy the legend. Brilliant set to round off another fantastic day.
Saturday gallery
Sunday
Day 3 and it is the last day of the festival! 😦 Gregg and I were a little sad, but also looking forward to another great day packed with various acts.
The day started off gently with a lovely set from new discovery band Divorce. what a fantastic blend of alternative country vibes, with great vocals from lead singer Tiger. The 4 piece set was received well by the crowd. From chilled vibe to bonkers in minutes, when I headed over to the Meadow stage to see Raised by Owls. I did not know what to expect, but what a show this was by the extreme metal band from Derbyshire. It was wacky, but disturbingly addictive, as I felt myself watching in awe! Metal fused with comedy, loaded with policital incorrectness is my take on it. Mr Blobby appeared waving a massive dildo in each hand, I thought I was in another world. Hilarious, I was laughing throughout. They had a moshing competition, and lead singer was a quiz show host at one point. Just bonkers! Brilliant!
Zion Train’s set felt like a celebration of movement and unity. Their live brass section added a rich, organic texture to their electronic, reggae foundation, making for a dynamic and immersive experience. Their performance was a festival highlight, effortlessly bridging generations of fans Leftfield’s performance was a pulsating, immersive experience that transported the crowd into a world of deep bass and hypnotic rhythms. With a fully engaged crowd dancing deep into the night as the pounding bass shook the festival grounds to their very core. The Asian Dub Foundation brought their blend rapid-fire beats and high speed intense lighting effects and delivered a very intense set that went down very well with a crowd that didn’t want it to end. She Drew The Gun performed on the Woodland stage. Their sounds include 80’s electronica, hip-hop and psychadelia with some political poetry. Louisa Roach’s ability to mix up genres keeps it fresh and the crowd that turned out for her is testament to the band’s popularity.
The Manic Street Preachers delivered a powerful and career-spanning set, that showcased perfectly their evolution as a band, blending their early raw energy with later highly polished anthems. I (Ange) saw them back in the 90’s and it’s like no time had gone by. Banger after banger was belted out ‘A design for life’ & ‘Motorcyle Emptiness’ being just two of the many highlights. Absolutely smashing the closing of the pallet stage for the festival, to a finale of fireworks.
Sunday Gallery
Here’s a gallery of some of the lovely happy faces of the festival and general atmosphere. We miss this already! See you all next year!
(click below to view the slideshow)
Photos & Review – Ange Cobham (Follow me on socials below)
Review – Gregg Howarth
Cobspix Photography 