Words by Ed King / Event pics by Hannah Metcalfe & Daisy Denham
On Saturday 30 July, the mighty MADE Festival throws open its doors (tent awnings) for another raucous ride of UK rap and hip hop, drum & bass, house, disco, jungle, reggae, and bass music.
Having outgrown its not so humble beginnings in Digbeth, Birmingham – this year the celebrated music and arts festival has upped sticks to Dunstall Park in Wolverhampton.
20000 people can squeeze into the new site, as MADE presents it’s eighth festival since the first packed out show in 2014.
But never fear your footsies, because Dunstall Park (or Wolverhampton Racecourse is you’re a fan of the ponies) is only a traffic dodging 16 minutes on a train from Birmingham New Street – which is roughly the time it takes to walk from the Bullring to The Custard Factory.
If you’re a designated driver there are all day parking passes for less than £15, or shuttle buses to carry you back to Brummagem if you’re sensibly avoiding all responsibility for the night.
And with headliners including AJ Tracey, Eats Everything, Andy C, Pa Salieu, Ms Banks, Bru-C, Shy FX, Kings Of The Rollers, TQD, Prospa, Alisha, Jaguar – spread across eight stages – we think a couple of shekels to West Midlands Trains is a burden worth bearing.
There’s also some stella DJs on the Police Rave Unit, including d&b legends Nicky Blackmarket and Kenny Ken – alongside the Midland’s own Mistress Mo. If only getting picked up by the bees always turned out so well…
But if you really don’t want to go home when the final whistles blow (it’s a rave thing…) then you can head over to the official MADE Festival 2022 after party at The Hanger, Pearson Street – with Australia’s very own Luude and Scottish duo LF System heading the line up, with a smorgasboard of acts alongside them. So if you miss the bus, or just want another 6 hours to really stamp out those last few braincells, the after party might be a pretty good option.
But however you decide to start or end the day, night, or morning, MADE Festival 2022 offers a strong and diverse line up for a ticket price most promoters would be desperately adding a booking fee to that looks more like a modern day gas bill.
Put it this way, for roughly the same price you could go and see the Blue 20th Anniversary Heart & Soul tour. Or times it by three and you get to spend the night in a small room with the boy band’s most ardent followers. So, you know, it could be worse event ‘bang for your buck’.
MADE Festival Director Pete Jordan said: “Putting on MADE last year took a titanic effort but it was worth it to see the enjoyment on people’s faces after enduring such a hard time.
“We’ve moved to a bigger home in Dunstall Park this year so we can step it up again. More space, more bars, more toilets, less queueing and really easy to get to.
“We want fans to focus on the music, the atmosphere, the incredible line up we’ve been working so hard to put together, and on enjoying one of the friendliest festivals the UK has to offer.”
MADE Festival 2022 – Saturday 30 July @ Dunstall Park, Wolverhampton
MADE Stage:
AJ Tracey / Pa Salieu / Ms Banks / Bru-C x A1 x J1 x Shasimone / Shae OT / Girl Grind UK / Ninteen97 / Reepa Of Wolves / Vital Powers / Plus very special guests: Bad Boy Chiller Crew
Weird & Wonderful:
Shy FX & Dynamite MC / TQD (Royal-T x DJ Q x Flava D) / Sammy Virji B2B MPH / 24hr Garage Girls / Mr Traumatik / Jamie Duggan / Tom Shorterz / Joe Hunt / Mini69 / TomFire / Jay Hatton
Weird Science:
Andy C / Kings Of The Rollers & Inja / DJ Zinc / A.M.C / TNA x P Money / K Motionz / Georgie Riot / LFM / LUCE / H.O.L + MC’s: Tonn Piper, Eksman, Phantom, IC3, Busta, RVS
Afta Dark:
Eats Everything / Alisha / Jaguar / Afta Dark DJs – Alex Parkin, Ryan Nicolls, A.D.H, George Davis
Levels:
GW Harrison / Saffron Stone / Murphy’s Law / Alex Bowen / Jack Gardner / Roberto / Guy Burns / Alex Wilson / Lewis Carroll
Carnival Magnifico:
Deekline / Reggae Roast / Jamie Rodigan / Young Culture DJs / Mali / Boxout – DJ Buxley / DJ Danni
Police Rave Unit:
Nicky Blackmarket / Kenny Ken / Gray / Mistress Mo & Boogieman / Frenetic / Court-T / Police Rave Unit DJs
VIP Stage:
Disco Pussy x Voyage / Jay Carder / Nikki Tesla / Trieste / Karakat / Talk To Frankie / BIMM Artists / Disco Pussy Drag & Stage
MADE Festival 2022 comes to Dunstall Park in Wolverhampton on Saturday 30 July.
For more on MADE Festival 2022 and links to online ticket sales, visit www.made-festival.co.uk