Carnival in the Barn
August Bank Holiday Weekend 28th – 30th 2021
500 capacity reggae sound system all-dayers with camping at Wilkswood Farm, Swanage.
For those of you lamenting the cancellation of this year’s Wilkswood Reggae Festival, this August Bank Holiday has a treat for you right in the heart of the Purbeck countryside. The Carnival in the Barn, a series of three separate soundsystem events, will take place at Wilkswood Farm in Swanage from Saturday 28th to Monday 30th August. Channel One Sound, Prince Fatty, Birmingham’s One Nation, Unique Star, Ras Diplo, Brother Culture and many more established and emerging reggae soundsystems are are all confirmed to play over the weekend.
Organised by the Wilkswood Reggae team, the events will bring some much-needed live outdoor entertainment to a limited number of festival-starved reggae lovers. Taking place over the same weekend as the also-postponed Notting Hill Carnival, the Carnival in the Barn will relocate the sights, sounds and atmosphere of Ladbroke Grove’s finest soundsystems into the woods by the sea. Each event will be limited to a manageable and relaxed 500 capacity each day and will feature a separate line-up of sound systems, MCs, deejays and selectors throughout the day. Ticket holders can also get a night’s camping on same site in order to enjoy the sounds right into the night.
Each day’s entertainment starts at 11:00 am and goes right through to 11:00pm (arena closes at midnight). Individual tickets are priced at £30 for the day (which includes a £10 camping to directly support the farmer). There are no limits to the number of days that can be booked and there is a discounted price of £70 (including camping) for booking all three days.
The site has an extensive camping area and pitches are very well spaced with ample space for safe distancing (should you still need it). Campervans are allowed in the designated Camper Field for an additional £5 per vehicle (this is a single payment for the whole weekend). There are no youth concessions and it should be noted that, whilst kids are welcome, these downscaled events do not have any specific entertainment or provision for children.
There will be a limited allocation of complimentary tickets for existing Wilkswood Reggae Festival ticket holders as a way of saying a small thank you for all those that have rolled their tickets over till next year. Ticket holders will be contacted directly in order to allocate tickets and, after a short period, any unallocated tickets will be offered for general sale.
The live acts will perform undercover in the main barn so not even the rain will stop play. The arena will feature a large main bar with draught ales, lager and cider and a Jamaican food outlet offering Caribbean and jerk barbecue fare. There will also be a tea & coffee stall and a breakfast bar with traditional and vegetarian options to start the day.
The line-up for each day has been confirmed and is as follows:
Saturday August 28th
One Nation Soundsystem
Unique Star
Countryman Soundsystem
Reverence Soundsystem
Angus Taylor
Sunday August 29th
Channel One Soundsystem – Full system carnival set!
Countryman Soundsystem
Reverence Soundsystem
Monday August 30th
Prince Fatty, Sheniece and Horseman
Countryman Soundsystem artist showcase featuring:
• Brother Culture
• Clint Walker
• Ras Diplo (original Jah Revelation crew)
• Brixton Heights
Reverence Soundsystem
The Carnival in the Barn is an upbeat effort by the organisers to recover from the disappointment of being forced to cancel this year’s Wilkswood Reggae Festival just a month before it was due to commence. The lack of guarantee that the July 19th lockdown deadline would not be extended and the lack of financial support meant that it was just too much of a risk to go ahead. Both the Notting Hill Carnival and Womad Festival did likewise and for the same reasons shortly following the Government’s announcement on June 16th. This had already come on the back of last year’s postponement so the Carnival in the Barn is a shining star amongst all the gloom.
