The countdown is on. Less than three months until the loudest and proudest metal festival in the UK pops back up at Catton Park. For many, Bloodstock is like Christmas, and to build some hype ahead of the event they have announced the weekends festivities, as well as their yearly fancy dress themes, which have gone down a storm on the recent installments.
This year has seen both some old and new ground on offer for the themes, and all are welcome to take park. Get creative, get weird, and bang your head.
THURSDAY: THINK PINK
Thursday kicks off with a classic, and the theme is simple: PINK. BLOODSTOCK wants a sea of Sylvia Lancaster’s favourite colour in honour of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. Rock an accessory or do as some have done and go as outlandishly bright as you can with it. Double points for pink corpse paint.
FRIDAY: GAME ON
One of the new offerings for the weekend, the Friday theme is calling for festival goers to rock up and rock out as their favourite game character. Now the standard Mario/Luigi combo is a fairly easy spot most years at Bloodstock. Personally the weekend wont be complete until the outlandish ones like the main character from DOOM is in the pit, or Sonic the Hedgehog is crowd surfing. THis makes for some amazing possibilities for the most ridiculous characters possible to be hanging around during black metal sets.
SATURDAY: HEROES VS VILLAINS
Saturday could well get very hammy. Superheroes vs Supervillians, and not one power metal band on the main stage? All we do know is Saturday headliner’s MAchine Head are all huge nerds at heart and are bound to shout out whoever they see (Robb Flynn has had Darth Vader on his guitar picks for years, so that is a must).
SUNDAY: DINO-MIGHT RETURNS
Bloodstock heads back in time for Sunday, quite literally. It’s the return of last year’s hit: Dinosaurs. Catton Park transforms once again into Jurassic Park, so prepare for another year of an absolute sea of inflatable T-Rex suits. All we ask is that the PA plays the
Throughout the weekend, BLOODSTOCK’s official photographers will be hunting the grounds for the best dressed, with standouts getting featured across the festival’s social media.
AFTER DARK ENTERTAINMENT
When the headliners have left the stage and the pits have calmed, BLOODSTOCK’s night-time offerings keep the energy alive until the early hours. The Timothy Taylor New Blood tent hosts the ever-popular silent disco on Thursday and Saturday from 11pm to 2am, with 1,000 headsets and three live channels featuring club and dance bangers from Little M, heavy rock and metal from Rich Harris (Desertfest), and party cheese from Lloyd. If you’ve never tried it, this is your chance. Each headset lets you flick between channels, adjust volume, and lose yourself in a uniquely weird dancefloor experience. One moment it’s Dolly Parton, the next it’s Deicide. Pure BLOODSTOCK madness. Friday night in the same tent swaps out the headphones for a live DJ set from Dawn Debenham and Darren “Deadsoul” Smith, who bring a mix of folk, pagan, and power metal to soundtrack your midnight moshing.
Meanwhile, the Sophie Lancaster tent keeps things equally loud and lively.
- Thursday night from midnight sees DJ Pressplay dive into a welcoming setlist of upcoming fest bands and metal bangers.
- On Friday, things get darker with The Blood Rave, as Little M and Lloyd spin an intense fusion of aggrotech, industrial, drum & bass, and more, inspired by the cult classic Blade.
- Saturday belongs to DJ Arockalypse and chaos connoisseurs Raised By Owls, delivering two hours of genre-hopping metal insanity and surreal surprises (yes, Ainsley Harriott and Fred Durst are involved).
- Bloodstock closes out on Sunday with DJ Rich Harris, who wraps the weekend in style with a selection of classic metal, stoner rock, and big sing-along anthems to send you home smiling.
