Norma Jean Martine

Just as it is right and proper that you support your local football team, regardless of their performance, so it is I think that you should support your local festival. (Lounge On The Farm, set in the idyllic Kent countryside just outside Canterbury, is mine). Not everyone can go to Glastonbury and not everyone should support Manchester United; it's not all about the most money, the highest gate or the biggest names. If in doubt, there is always pride, hope, aspiration and an undying loyalty that should lead you to see the positives.

Lounge On The Farm had been going from strength to strength in recent years with numbers swelling, performance areas and performers growing in number and, in general terms, their pedigree rising year on year. Last year may have not seemed like that upon early inspection but it turned out to be a triumph of instinctive and intuitive booking: Emeli Sande (What a year she had in the end), Nile Rogers with Chic (After their Daft Punk collaboration LOTF would have had no chance this year and he didn't even headline), Dexys, The Charlatans (Both enjoying a critical resurgence) and The Wombats etc.

This year the line-up didn't look that strong, or seemed to have strength in depth, and in part that was true. It was a little like seeing your team climb from the fourth tier of the football league, show real championship playoff potential and then have their hopes scuppered by premiership teams coming in for your best players leaving you with no time, or money, left for a new signing. 2 years ago the Vaccines played at about 4pm, as did Spektor. Graham Coxon was somewhere in a far off field and Katy B wooed the crowd in the early evening before The Streets, Ellie Goulding and finally, but magnificently, Echo & The Bunnymen brought the weekend to a close. (Oh yeah and Example and Annie Mac came too....there were real decisions to be made)

Continue reading: Lounge On The Farm - Merton Farm, Kent 26th-28th July 2013 Live Review