My favourite rave ever!

Over the weekend, Boxxed venue in Birmingham was host to the notorious Sub Focus filling the venue with over 1000 ravers with 180 bpm music. Ravers around the country all came together to enjoy the one thing they have in common, Drum and bass.

Birmingham is quickly putting a name in the scene for hosting some of the biggest and best events in the country, giving a platform for the best DJs in the scene.

It was a cold winter evening. with anticipation on the rise, me and my friends boarded the train to Birmingham for an unbelievable night. Once arrived, we took an overpriced taxi which was a short journey away. As we left the overwhelmingly large centre we arrived in Digbeth, which isn’t the nicest of areas – perhaps it adds to the feel of the event.

The crowd was your usual friendly, bucket hat wearing drum and bass lovers you often see. The crowd quickly built up after the annoyingly long queue that is always expected. Fellow ravers wore oversized branded clothing replacing the everyday wear people are more accustomed with.

The warm up sets included Darkzy and Holy Goof, who I was lucky enough to get a photo with. We spoke for a bit and they were genuinely the loveliest down to earth people who respect their fan base. It was the first time seeing either of the artists, which I have now seen multiple times due to how amazing their sets were. It made a pleasant change during Darkzys set, who had the whole crowd raving to some of his biggest tracks followed by a bit of Robbie Williams – everyone loved it!

It was 12pm and everything was in full swing, smiles on peoples faces when Sub Focus came on stage were heartwarming.

With the clock turning 5am it was coming close to the end of a memorable night and the dreaded wait for the 7am train quickly doomed on us. I knew it was worth it though, I knew I had just created memories I will cherish forever with my closest friends as well as all the lovely random people I had chats with.

It is a vibe you wont get in your standard nightclub, there is no bad energy. Every social group is thrown together and for a few hours. popularity, looks and wealth do not matter. Everyone is there to have a good time.

Highlights of Forbidden Forest Festival 2018

As the summer was coming to an end, the end of festival season was in sight. Forbidden Forest once again lived up to standards as one of the best drum and bass festivals in my opinion, and for good reason too.

Based in the heart of Wymeswold Forest, the festival provided a beautiful place for unique settings, sound systems that could be heard from miles away and a great place to enjoy with your friends.

What happens when SASASAS, Turno, Randall and DJ Hype all play at one sold out festival at the end of an adventurous summer? Pure magic, that’s what.

As me and my friends arrived to the remote location in the middle of the forest, you could sense the excitement of fellow ravers waiting to be let in.

As guests poured through the gates of the entrance, everyone danced their way towards the first performance. As Canista pressed play on one of the first of many mind blowing tracks, I new waking up to 7am was worth it.

Canista managed to erase every last remnant of sleepiness I felt with his selection of jump up, each even better than the last, ensuring there was no shortage of skanking and gun fingers thrown about. The vibe of the forest was through the roof.

As the day proceeded, we tried making our way through the maze like forest where multiple stages were set up. The attention to detail of the whole festival was indescribable, I had never experienced a setting like it at a festival before. The canape of leaves sheltered us from the brief moment of rain but that didn’t stop the fun. Not long after, the sun beamed over the transformed forest and provided sunlight over the five different stages.

As the night slowly came to an end, SASASAS couldn’t have been a better group to close the festival. Anticipation was high for the set, so high in fact that I had to queue to get into the entrance because of how busy it was. The mixture of lasers darting through the forest and the bass of the music made it one of the most unforgettable nights of my life.

Forbiddens Forests attention to detail is what made it so special. The sound system so powerful it gave you goosebumps.

Thank you for a very special memory – roll on next year!