Powys musicians perform at this year’s Boomtown Festival - review

The Inexplicables brought something truly original to live dance music.

With soulful vocals and insightful rhymes fronting heavyweight beatbox, infectious bass-lines and next-level horns, The Inexplicables are truly a force to behold.

The Inexplicables

Effortlessly blending styles ranging from Jungle and Hip Hop to Reggae and Jazz. Easily capable of rocking a dance-hungry crowd with a high-tempo extravaganza, whilst able to adapt their sets accordingly with exquisitely written Dub ballads and heartfelt intelligent Hip Hop, simultaneously lighting up the dance floor or soothing the armchair listener.

Olly, a.k.a Hobaps, and Jack have known each other since they were two years of age, having grown up in Powys together.

Olly has always had a love for Hip-Hop, especially the vocal aspect.

He fell in love with the art of the written word through rhyme.

This developed into Olly’s first group, Major Triadz with Powys-born turntablist Mix Masta Millz and then evolved into other projects, including The Inexplicables and also Almatic.

This year The Inexplicables played in Downtown at the brand new “Skankin’ Stage”.

For anyone who hasn’t attended Boomtown Festival, I can still say, after 10 years that it is the most incredible, jaw-dropping festival I have ever attended.

Nothing can or will ever compare to the colossal machine that is Boomtown.

For those who have not yet experienced it, Boomtown is like a real, living and breathing make shift town with each district having its own story to tell.

It takes you to another place, a fictional, magical place where you really become part of the fantasy.

At every other festival I’ve been to you have different areas with different stages offering different music but exploring this festival you really are in a town.

Streets leading to more streets with very cleverly designed building fronts, but not just for show, they all serve a purpose, each containing something new and exciting to immerse yourself in, from dancehalls, discotheques, themed bars, and stalls offering a fusion of vibrant, energetic, and often bizarre and outlandish experiences.

We were lucky enough to be offered the chance to camp at the brand new VIP area, Boomtown Springs, which is a utopia in suburbia.

An immersive theatrical camping experience in the heart of the fair.

A Boomtown Springs ticket provides access to the designated theatrical camping area, and of course, the rest of Boomtown city, as well as some added extras to make life a little bit easier including its own festival entrance, close proximity parking and plenty of space to set up camp.

Also, the Pamper Parlour and hot showers were a huge plus for me! We hired the cutest little Podpad which was a saving grace for us when the rain came.

I would highly recommend scoring yourself a Boomtown Springs ticket for next year, we felt like royalty!

The Boomtown Springs is curated by the award-winning Bearded Kitten, the masterminds behind The Bank, The Opera House and The Gentleman’s Club in previous chapters.

With an endless reel of ridiculous ideas, this incredible collective guided us into a whole new realm of interactive experiences.

The line up this year was the best yet in my opinion. The sublime Bang Hai Towers, The Lion’s Den and Sector 6 are stages that truly will never be forgotten in your memory, they are a sight to behold.

The visuals and pyrotechnics are just out of this world, along with exceptional sets from the likes of DJ Zinc, Eats Everything, Dimension, DJ Marky, Die Antwood, Benny Page…seriously I could go on for paragraphs, Boomtown always deliver the most astounding line ups.

The closing sequence at Bang Hai Towers was incredible, bringing all the Boomtowners together on a wave of celebration for the weekend we all just experienced.

I have so much gratitude for everyone involved in making this festival possible each year, the sheer amount of work, dedication and love that goes into every aspect of Boomtown is what makes this festival the best in the world (in my opinion!).

Thank you so much to all you crazy Boomtowners, all 80,000 of you! I am already counting down the days until next year’s chapter.