The 11 best things about Bestival 2014

Photo: Dan Dennison

Countless festivals pride themselves on their 'atmosphere', but in most cases end up being a homogenous event in a field on the outskirts of an anonymous town based entirely around a line-up and nothing else (apart from some questionable fairground rides).

Bestival however, is the real deal, a non-stop four day party with perhaps the best audience in the world and a vast lineup of established talent and future-greats, from house to grime through indie via hip hop, not to mention the incredible dedication to a theme. This year was no exception, with Robin Hill County Park transformed into a site-wide Desert Island Disco, full of castaways, palm trees, the world's biggest disco ball and Nile bloody Rodgers.

We've already given you daily round-ups, shown you the beautiful people of the festival and asked what they thought about Outkast's headline slot, but here are our highlights - the 11 best things about Bestival 2014.

Photo by Victor Frankowski

1. Beck
Kicking off the festival in style, Beck's headline slot on the Thursday night was a stunning start to the weekend - a perfect testament to why he's one of the most influential artists on the planet. Kicking off with 'Devil's Haircut' before rolling into 'Black Tambourine' and 'Loser', his set was the perfect mix of classics and cuts from new record Morning Phase with a glorious sense of unpredictability underpinning the whole performance, evident in his slapdash rendition of 'Billie Jean' halfway through. It's been a while since he had played in the UK, but boy was it worth the wait.

Photo by Victor Frankowski

2. Ezra Furman
Taking to the stage in a dress (obviously) before storming into a visceral, captivating set, Ezra Furman was one the weekend's biggest surprises. With awkward-stage patter hilariously contradicting his empowered live vocals, every second of his set on the Invaders of the Future Stage was eye-opening, a frantic yet tight performance that got everyone in the tent going suitably crazy. If you get a chance to see this guy live, do it.

3. Outkast
One of hip hop's most important duos of all time, Outkast's headline slot was always going to be great, but nothing could have prepared us for what ensued on the Friday night. A rip-roaring ride through their acclaimed back catalogue, Big Boi and Andre 3000 found the perfect middle ground between hits and fan-favourites, playing the likes of 'ATLiens' off against crowd pleasers like 'Ms. Jackson' with ease. Naturally it was the likes of 'Hey Ya' and 'Roses' that saw the most rapturous reaction from the crowd, yet for every person that was only there for one song, there was someone who knew all the words religiously. Needless to say, it was a momentous occasion that will no doubt go down in festival history.

Photo by Victor Frankowski

4. SBTRKT
After catching him at Reading and Leeds earlier this summer, we knew SBTRKT's performance was going to be on-point, but the producer's Big Top slot on Saturday was pure madness. Packing out the tent to full-capacity and filling the stage with a massive inflatable creature, his set may have been short on guest stars, but upped the anti on the immersive front. Reeling of hits from his acclaimed debut alongside huge cuts from his forthcoming second album Wonder Where We Land, the intensity was repeatedly increased throughout, culminating in every person in the tent losing their shit to breakthrough track 'Wildfire'.

5. Foals
A triumphant send off for arguably Foals' best album to date, their headline slot on the Saturday was massive, even if they failed to draw a huge crowd like Outkast or Nile Rodgers. Opening with 'Prelude' and 'miami', the set followed a typically hit-fuelled direction, with the likes of 'Red Socks Pugie' and 'My Number' drawing strong reactions, whilst more intimate tracks such as 'Bad Habit' and 'Spanish Sahara' brought an atmospheric edge to proceedings. With confetti and streamers bringing things to a majestic close with 'Two Steps Twice', this was no doubt a celebratory show for Foals, and one that gets us considerably more excited for their next record. Hurry up, boys.

Photo by Caitlin Mogridge

6. Sohn
One of 2014's biggest breakthroughs, Sohn's debut album Tremors will no doubt plague the 'best of' lists later this year, and his fantastic live show in The Big Top on Sunday only further proved that. With awe-inspiring live vocals over luxurious live instrumentation, tracks from the acclaimed album were taken to soaring new heights in his short but sweet performance. Seeming genuinely humbled by the entire experience, the somewhat mysterious star effortlessly justified the hype that has surrounded him for the last year or so, proving himself as one of the best live acts around at the moment.

Photo by Caroline Faruolo

7. Public Service Broadcasting
On paper, the combination of vintage samples with live banjo may seem like a questionable prospect, however Public Service Broadcasting manage to provide one of the most intriguingly brilliant sets of the weekend. Tailoring everything to the occasion, even the ridiculously British vocal samples, their performance effortlessly combined seamless visuals with visceral live instrumentation, everything working in perfect harmony to create an engrossing live experience (and one that perfectly cured our hangover on Sunday).

8. The Port
A stage that's an actual boat, The Port is perhaps the perfect testament to Bestival's individuality. Drawing a huge crowd throughout the entire weekend, this year saw the stage play host to some of the biggest DJ's in the world, from Annie Mac to Sven Vath and the head honcho himself Rob Da Bank. With a stunning sound system to boot, it's of little surprise that this stage has become one of the biggest hits of the festival in recent years, and will no doubt continue to be for years to come.

Photo by Dan Dennison

9. The Ambient Forest
When one wants to take a break from the intensity of festival life (and believe us, we did quite a few times), then The Ambient Forest is the perfect antidote anytime of day or night. Full of hammocks, giant nets and overwhelming serenity, the wooded area became a place of refuge for many over the weekend, something that could only happen at Bestival.

10. Craig Charles
Yes, Craig Charles off of Robot Wars was one of our festival highlights. The best moments of any weekend lie in the unexpected, which is what made our last minute decision to see Charles play on the Sunday night at midnight such a good one. Just when we were ready to go home, fed up of sleeping in a tent and drinking warm beer, we were fully invigorated by the 90's legend's funk and soul set in the Aperol Spritz Social. Drawing a huge crowd and repeatedly climbing out of the marquee that doubled as a DJ booth, Charles was on top form, leading the dedicated audience through singalongs of Marvin Gaye, The Jackson Five and countless other classics. Shout out to the person in the front row holding up the homemade "bring back Robot Wars" sign as well.

11. Chic and Nile Rodgers
Not only a Bestival legend, but the founding father of disco, Chic and Nile Rodgers set was unsurprisingly phenomenal, but also tinged with sadness. Early on into the set Rodgers revealed that this show would be one of the hardest of his career, after finding out his guitar roadie of 19 years had passed away minutes before taking to the stage. Holding back tears, what followed was one of the most poignant sets in the festival's history, a barrage of hits from his incredible career underpinned by an air of dedication. Reeling off classics such as 'Le Freak', David Bowie's 'Let's Dance' and countless other megahits before closing with a ten minute rendition of 'Good Times', the band's set was a celebration of life and disco, the perfect closing to a majestic weekend.

Photo by Dan Dennison