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It’s a gathering of five or so thousand music lovers of all ages who come together at Sledmere in East Yorkshire for four days of superb music, excellent company and some of the cleanest loos I’ve ever seem – shout out to Lincs Loos.
The fact that it was announced on stage that 11 people had lost their wallets over the course of the weekend and that all 11 were returned to their owners intact tells you all you need to know about the sort of people Tribfest attracts
Now in its 14th year (2020 was cancelled for Covid) it is an annual fixture in the festival calendar with bands travelling for miles to play and clamouring to be invited back year after year – Friday headliners Starfish had come all the way from Italy and hugely popular Blondie tribute Heart of Glass donned her elbow-length yellow gloves and PVC cape and came out of retirement just to play at the festival.
Tribfest started in 2007 when festival director Ed Faulkner, a member of Beautiful South/Housemartins band, had the idea of putting on a small tribute band event in Driffield. It rained incessantly but the few hundred or so who attended had a wonderful time, spread the word and numbers have increased every year since.
As well as the main outdoor stage the VIP tent hosts a full programme of acts and there are smaller tents dotted around the site for such as acoustic, comedy and kids.
For the first in the 11 years I’ve been attending with my gang of ‘girls’ we didn’t see a drop of rain although there were reports of storms just a few miles away. Being able to sit out on the field in the sun made the weekend even more special.
Thursday is always a relatively low-key day as campers get settled but proceedings got underway on the main stage at 6.30pm with U2 soundalikes U2opia followed by ELO Encounter and Johnny2bad (UB40). All enthusiastically received by festival goers just happy to have the chance to sing and dance ‘like nobody is watching’.
Where else would you see a line of four 30-something blokes dancing along with big grins on their faces to Carpenters songs early on a Sunday afternoon? Or thousands of people from young children to pensioners foot stomping and yelling at the top of their lungs to Badness, the headliners on Sunday night. What a way to close the proceedings on the main stage, I discovered I’d done 25,000 steps that day!
Fancy dress themes changed each day and there were some inspired costumes with people obviously putting a lot of thought into their creations. Some of my favourites on Best of British day were the ‘Four Candles’ from Leeds dressed in brown overcoats and flat caps and a group with traffic cones on their heads carrying diversion signs.
There are almost too many musical highlights to mention but UK Fleetwood Mac on Friday evening stand out – the first time there has been a Fleetwood Mac tribute band at Tribfest, I hope they become regulars. Ian Dury & The Blackhearts on Saturday afternoon were brilliant – their lead singer really getting into character, limp and all.
A perma-tanned Benidorm Tom looked and sounded uncannily like Tom Jones and performed a cracking set – he even managed to nail Tom’s Welsh accent. For his last song he whipped off his wig and beard, wiped his make-up off and belted out Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi – what a trouper.
As ever, Beautiful Couch, Ed Faulkner’s band played to a packed VIP tent on Sunday afternoon and festival favourites Beckwater Bushwackers had strangers swinging each other around to their inspired bluegrass/rock/irish/blues music on Saturday.
No matter what genre of music you are into you will find something to entertain. There was rock, pop, hip-hop, soul, blues and funk and just about everything in between. When the main stage closed the VIP tent hosted DJs who played a different mix each night until 2am for those who just didn’t want the party to end.
Last year’s event was pulled together at very short notice following speculation that Covid restrictions would not be lifted in time. Because of that Ed and the team were awarded the Hull Live business award for ‘Contribution to the East Riding’
Tribfest is also doing its bit for the environment. In a message sent out to supporters Ed said: “For next year we already have lots in place to ensure that we are sustainable and eco-friendly. Our reusable FestiCups, free water points which helps reduce waste and our fantastic waste management team to name a few.
“But we’re adding some more to the mix. Adult weekend tickets now include a refundable £5 eco bond, which will be refunded when a full bin liner of mixed recycling to the rubbish point upon departure.
“We are also looking into using alternative fuels/generators which will put us up there with some of the best festivals in the UK"
If you want to experience Tribfest 2023 for yourself, it takes place on August 18-20 with early bird entry on August 17.
Discounted tickets are now on sale for a limited time only.
Head to tribfest.co.uk