From Friday 31 July to Sunday 2 August, Nozstock 2009 is set to wow 4000 eager festival goers with live bands, solo artists, and DJs from the mainstream to the diverse, playing music spanning rock, punk, indie, ska, hip hop, classical, folk, blues, world, acoustic and more over three live stages, and a dance-feast of drum 'n' bass, breaks, dubstep, hard dance, electronica, and psy-trance over three further DJ arenas.

Located in the lush green hilly countryside of Herefordshire and overlooking a lake, Nozstock offers resounding sounds in its main Orchard, with eclectic ramblings in the Garden, and electro-acoustics alongside theatrics and kid-friendly workshops in the Dingle.

Party-goers will weave their way late into the night down into the Coppice for a dance-off before striking out to some dirty tribal beats in the Bullpen and Cubicles.

So grassroots, it's munching with the cows . . . . .

As a cow raises its heavy head and moos out across the idyllic emerald hills of Herefordshire, a thumping bass beat swells on the breeze. A pink hazy sky welcomes the morning and dancers covered in a film of their own excitement loll about, slowly grazing their way back to camp and the horizontal, after many an hour of relentless activity and thrill-a-minute entertainment.

This 31 July Nozstock Festival beckons back its faithful regulars, their friends, friends of friends, and brand new curious cats to a farm that feels like home set on the Bromyard Downs, to the garden fete cum performance extravaganza that Nozstock has become. No longer just a barbecue on the lawn for the faithful 'Last Tuesday of the Month' Club, with a tasty rib and a folky friend crooning sweet melodies into the night, now the overgrown party showcases every array of musical and artistic performance across 8 stages and more hidden areas, enclosed in the intimate and homely environs of the 17th century farm.

With the pear tree covered Orchard at the epicentre of this grassroots event, the main stage has seen the likes of Hayseed Dixie warbling their tip top comedy bluegrass rock, and local pranksters The Anomalies, who will make a return this year, packing out the field with their punchy hip hop slogans. This focal point merges frivolous shopping, summer cider drinking and sofa surfing, and party-goers this year will bounce to the anthemic sounds of those kings of pop-punk, Buzzcocks, alongside a smooth brew of up and coming indie acts.

Wending a way towards the tudor farmhouse, the Garden Stage serves up experimental sounds, punk funk whimsy, alongside dance acts such as the iconic Scratch Perverts with MC Dynamite, who will be providing 2009's partygoers with a lazer-frenzied dance-a-thon.

Converted barns vibrate with sub-thumpings from the skilled fingertips of drum 'n' bass, breaks and trance DJs, silencing those old enough to say 'raves aren't like they used to be.' Nozstock's newest addition, TRIBE OF FROG will be serving up a storm of neon-induced psytrance revellry down in the Coppice.

Thanks to its late license and homegrown venues, Nozstock gives its punters all the fun and frivolity of a real festival, without the corporate sheen.

Shenanigans for the mini-festivaler occur off the beaten track and over the bridge in the Dingle, where workshops aplenty and theatrical splendour beckon every taste and size in investigation... Small hands meet clay and puppetry, large ones stroke the much-coveted vintage tractors. Ephemeral electro-acoustica rings out across the field and deep in the dark of the theatre, strange and intriguing behaviours ensue!

Catch a late night short film or music video from our mesmerising collections and take a detour to the comedy tent for the odd smirk and rib-busting chuckle, before the lights turn low for burlesque drama at the chime of midnight. Whose foot does the slipper fit?"

Article by Toki Allison