This piece is based on a live interview we recorded with Freddie at the Secret Garden Party site earlier this year. To watch our interview video in full, check out The UK Festival Podcast on Youtube or Spotify!
For over two decades, the Secret Garden Party has been one of the UK’s most beloved independent festivals, known for its whimsical spirit, creative ethos, and dedication to fostering a truly participatory experience. As the festival prepares for its 2024 edition, founder Freddie Fellowes reflects on its origins, evolution, and plans for the future in an era of increasing challenges for independent events.
The Secret Garden Party began in 2003, when Fellowes was in his mid-20s and fresh out of art college. “We were desperately trying to avoid a real job,” he recalls with a laugh. The initial spark came when a friend was working for Red Bull, converting an old truck into a mobile party vehicle with hydraulic roof, speakers, and DJ equipment.
Fellowes and his friends were tasked with finding landowners who would allow parties on their property. This experience planted the seed for what would become the Secret Garden Party. “We set up office to do this production brand, whatever – I didn’t really understand what the company was supposed to be,” Fellowes admits.
After a falling out with his business partner, Fellowes was told he could keep the event but not call it “The Garden Party.” Inspiration struck when he heard a mention of The Secret Garden book on BBC Radio 4. “The light bulb went on and I was like, not only is it a perfect name, but it’s a real ‘up yours’ to my mate who tells me I can’t call it The Garden Party,” he says.
From the beginning, Fellowes had a vision for creating a different kind of festival experience. “I’d started developing an idea about what made a good party, and that it wasn’t about the headliner or some fireworks show or whatever. It was actually about the people you’d met and those interactions,” he explains. “Those were the sort of nights that burned bright in your memory.”
As someone who describes himself as “naturally not very social” and “quite shy,” Fellowes found that organizing parties gave him a sense of purpose and helped break down social barriers. This ethos of participation and interaction became a core tenet of the Secret Garden Party.
“We started putting toys out for people to play with and props that people interact with,” Fellowes says. Early examples included a door that led to nowhere, which “people would have fun with for hours,” and the somewhat questionably named “Suicide Sports Club” which involved rolling people down hills in tractor tires to knock down oil drums like human bowling pins.
The Secret Garden Party grew rapidly in its early years, expanding from 5,000 attendees to over 30,000 at its peak. But Fellowes is quick to point out that growth was never the primary goal. “This isn’t about being an apex predator and making loads of money,” he insists. “We believe in it.”
As the festival evolved, Fellowes and his team learned important lessons about operations and finance. “It took us a long time to work out things that were really apparent to people who ran festivals, like actually the bar was quite an important area of revenue,” he admits. But they maintained their ethos of keeping drink prices low, priding themselves on offering “the cheapest pint” at UK festivals for quite a while.
The growth brought challenges, particularly around site capacity and infrastructure. “We did have a year where there was over 40,000 and we were like, actually that’s a bit hairy, this is… the site can’t really hold this,” Fellowes recalls. Wet weather exacerbated issues as pathways became crowded.
But through it all, the festival maintained its reputation for creative programming, artistic expression, and fostering a sense of community. Fellowes speaks proudly of the diverse array of experiences on offer, from orchestral performances to “blistering hard techno.”
For 2024, the Secret Garden Party is making some radical changes to its format and ethos. Most notably, they’ve decided to “drop the headliner” and refocus on grassroots creativity and emerging artists for their upcoming roots event.
“We could see the way things were going, that actually taking big risks wasn’t going to be tenable for an independent,” Fellowes explains. “There was a certain amount of hunkering down and doing what you do best and just keeping to that.”
The decision has been met with enthusiasm from agents and artists. “The response that came back was massive,” Fellowes says. “It was sort of like that moment when you realize that you’re the most attractive person in the room and so your standards suddenly go up.”
For the first time, Fellowes says he’s excited about every single act on the bill. “I’ve had to sort of say I don’t really want to DJ anywhere this year because all I want to be is in front of the Wild King stage watching every single band we’ve got on,” he enthuses.
The festival is also taking a different approach to bars and revenue, partnering with mental health-focused brewery Peoples Captain and allowing more content providers to run their own bars. “We don’t have a line in for bar income in our budgets,” Fellowes explains. “We’ve just gone, you know what, let’s go back to the old days and let’s keep this really diverse and different and allow everyone else to operate and feed as well.”
While excited about the future of Secret Garden Party, Fellowes is clear-eyed about the challenges facing independent festivals in the current landscape. Rising costs, unpredictable fuel prices, and shifting consumer behavior in the wake of the pandemic have created a perfect storm for many events.
“It’s really sad to see the amount of independent festivals that are having to postpone or potentially cancel completely,” Fellowes laments. He believes radical thinking is needed for independents to survive in a market dominated by large corporations.
One potential solution Fellowes is exploring is creating a collaborative model where multiple independent festivals could join forces to use Secret Garden Party’s site and infrastructure while maintaining their individual identities. “Unless people start thinking a bit more radically and play a different game… it’s going to get harder,” he warns.
Despite the challenges, Fellowes remains passionate about the cultural importance of independent festivals and events like Secret Garden Party. “This never has been an ego or a money trip for us,” he insists. “It’s about really believing in this culture and its validity and its importance.”
As the Secret Garden Party prepares for its 2024 edition, it stands as a beacon of creativity, community, and resilience in an increasingly corporatized festival landscape. By returning to its roots and doubling down on its core ethos of participation and artistic expression, the event hopes to chart a sustainable path forward while inspiring a new generation of festivalgoers and creators.
For Fellowes, the magic of Secret Garden Party has always been about creating a space where people can showcase their talents and passions, whatever form they may take. “It’s what’s so awesome about parties like this,” he reflects. “Just seeing how amazing life and people’s skills are and watching people do what they do at the best of their ability, whether that is playing a guitar or mixing records or whether it’s how well they do a costume or crocheting or cartwheels… There are so many different things that we are all amazing at. I think it’s wonderful to have a place where you can witness and celebrate that in all its glory.”
As the festival industry faces an uncertain future, the Secret Garden Party’s blend of whimsy, creativity, and community spirit may prove to be exactly the tonic needed to revitalize the independent scene. With its commitment to innovation and its unwavering belief in the power of collective celebration, the Secret Garden Party continues to write its own unique chapter in the story of British festival culture.
Tickets for Secret Garden Party Roots are still available.
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