BUGJAM: A Different Vibe
BassRate Review – Santa Pod Raceway
Day 1
Bit of a different vibe from the usual full‑on rave reviews we provide; Bugjam is far from a sole music festival, although there is a similar vibe!
Having turned up a bit later than the rest of the BassRate crew due to work commitments, myself and my daughter hit the final stretch of the Santa Pod entrance around 9pm. The group chat was going off — “Where are you?”, “Are you here yet?”, “Yeah, I’m heading up the stretch, I will see you shortly!” After zooming through security — just a cheeky check in the boot for restricted items and a quick barcode scan — we were in.
Jump on the group chat to find out bearings of a picture of a flag where we had set up camp. Luckily the wind was down; no flags were showing, even if they were there must have been a fair few hundred erected. After a response of “You’ve got no chance” from the security guard, I got down to putting pictures and comments in the chat to work out where base would be for the next few days. After successfully finding the pitch, we got to work getting the tent and mattress up quick‑time before sundown!
When entering the main area it seemed to be like a cute little festival. Confident I would be able to find them all, with a lack of signal we ventured up the massive hill to find this small setup was huge! A big drag runway separating the actual main area composed of stalls, food courts, a side rave tent, a main stage, a fairground, and eventually a dance tent. Confidence diminished and I changed my mission to just getting a beer and soft drink for the littlen.
We took heed on our hike to the main area, checked the side rave tent where the participants had definitely been smashing it out for the whole day loving life to the fullest, so we decided to check a bar with a bit more of a chilled vibe as this wasn’t what I wanted my littlen to experience as her first rave vibe lol. We got to the main stage and ended up queueing for around half an hour for some drinks. I decided to double‑fist a couple of pints and got her a coke, which came to around £15 — not too bad if the options weren’t Kestrel (which gave me a hangover you would expect from a beer called Kestrel).
After scouting the area, dipping our toes into what was going on, we headed back to the tent — which is when we all came back online with the signals and finally caught up with the rest of the crew! The main trio of us headed back to the dance tent where we were greeted with a last set of DnB. With the main headliners being Centreforce for the weekend, this was a lovely surprise for the crew! Nice little vibe, sound system not bad, but you wouldn’t expect it to be the full spec going off in this family‑friendly festival. After what felt like a nine‑mile walk back to the tent, it didn’t take long to get our heads down early doors around 1am, ready to hit the ground running the following day.
Day 2
6:30am — wallop. That Kestrel hit me; felt like a wine hangover after three bottles. Having only had a few last night, I decided at this point I was to be sticking to the cans we had brought for a rucksack pour.
After a trip to the portaloos — which were in decent condition to be fair considering some had arrived on the Thursday — a cheeky wet‑wipe shower, change of clothes, a freshen‑up for the p*&^%$£, I was good to go for a search for coffee. The main coffee stand queue was queueing, so myself and Nautkyl took a little longer walk to the 24‑hour diner‑type place where they were doing instant coffee for less at £3.50 a go — not bad for an inside‑festival purchase. We would also like to shout out the staff/owners of the setup, especially the gentleman; it was quite clear that he wasn’t on the instant coffees as we saw his face every time we ventured past there, which was a fair few times. I suppose “we can sleep when we are dead” is clearly his motto! Got a lot of time for this!
After heading back to the tent, Nautkyl decided to embark on his conquest of queueing for the showers to get cleaned up, to review, and overall to feel fresh! (With tent mi”£* only on offer, this is not my vibe for a festival.) The overall reviews of the showers were that although the queues looked long, they seemed to move quicker than expected, but the state of them — as expected — were gopping!
After we were all set and ready, we made our way to the hill to see the drag stretch to see Oklahoma Willy! A must‑see when it comes to Willys! Great little vibe, but with the Kestrel hang still hanging, it was time to crack open an early can! And with Pod face slowly creeping in, we went over to where the main stand for the motor cross, car stunt, and monster truck shows were about to start. Now this is not normally my type of vibe, but all I can say is… WOW! Sat there, sun blazing, Broke FMX doing some mad tricks, Terry Grant donuting cars whilst jumping into other cars to do the same, then followed by the in‑house monster truck PODzilla jumping onto a row of cars! “You can’t park there mate!” This display found me looking out the corner of my eye to my pre‑teen daughter cracking a smile… you heard it — a smile!
After the excitement, we went back to the tent, had some pre‑made munch, sat in the car whilst the others settled down in the Bugwam area to chill out and nap!
After we were rested and repaired, we all congregated in the tent area to get hyped for the evening/night ahead! The kids doing cartwheels, the Golf pumping out the DnB, faces being painted — it was time for me to step up and get my hair fishtailed and face painted. It didn’t take long for those to step up and help, which clearly seemed like years they had been waiting for an opportunity to stitch me up! What was meant to be a flower on the side of the face turned into makeup one side, moustaches and beards the other, and luminous paint in parts of my hair that didn’t come out for a week! The best part about this was forgetting I had it on and people’s reactions who didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, whether I was being serious or not lol. These are the interactions I live for!
Once we were set and ready, we ventured back out into the unknown for some food. With the inside‑festival prices, it was a matter of having to pick wisely, and I think the choice of kebab mixed with cajun chicken and chips definitely hit the bill. Altogether for me and my daughter — £27. It hit the spot, but you just get that feeling of having your pants pulled down to be fair.
We made our way to the fairground/dance tent seating area with the drag racing on the main screen to eat. This was a lovely little vibe and less strenuous on the ears as opposed to being sat on the stretch (which I also recommend doing, especially if you have ear defenders, as I have never been so entertained by something I genuinely thought I would never be entertained by!). And what is perfect to do straight after eating? To go on rides, silly! We went on only a few rides as a hit of £5 a go — which in this current climate isn’t too bad — but it tallies up! I would suggest a wristband option, but the amount of people that are at this event year on year, you would probably move into the realms of health and safety if it was more accessible, and I’m sure we would generate more queues lol.
Then the moment had arrived… the dance tent commenced. This was my littlen’s first experience, and I am glad it was more of that house‑type vibe instead of throwing her into the DnB scene too early and her thinking her dad is even more nuts than she already thinks I am! Within a few moments, the crowd started filling up, and again this did not disappoint! Kids dressed up in blow‑up dinosaur suits, a fella — some would call a nutcase, but we call him a hero — with a lampshade on his head! After an hour or so two‑stepping with her and the core BassRate crew, the moment arrived where the rest of the crew were heading back to the tent. When she was offered to go back with them, she gave them a resounding no! Mission complete… she’s a raver!
We clambered another hour of two‑stepping before I took her back to the tent on the pretence that the core crew would be waiting in that same spot. After getting back to the car, quick zap on the mobiles, and leaving the kids with the responsible adults to do their campsite shenanigans, I headed back to the dance tent…
And were they where they said they would be… were they f*%! After getting random spurts of signal and zooming around the fully packed dance tent, eventually we congregated and got ready for the Billy Bunter set! Nice little vibe in the tent, but not the usual raver style — seemed to be more of a concert vibe, of those stopping you mid‑dance so they can move to the front etc. Now every raver knows we don’t ask — we just go — and this here while I’m dancing is my zone… I didn’t ask about it being your 19‑year‑old son’s first Bugjam and it being imperative that he gets to the front. I’m all for a dance‑floor chat, which eventually I got from what I would like to call our Bugjam main character George, whose jaw was still in his tent, but being told a story to get to the front is not my vibe, sorry.
A few tunes that actually had the substance of bass and the vibe of the tent — I would put the dance tent experience down to a mere 5/10 sadly! After a few cheeky pitstops back to the tent, we got back relatively early doors again, which is always smart at a festival!
Day 3: The Wind Down
This day started up as expected — slow, very slow. Usual wet‑wipe shower routine, but today we stomached the coffee queue and made our way to the stalls for souvenir hunting.
We got ourselves onto the main drag strip for the second time of the weekend, and there is something therapeutic about watching supped‑up or even less supped‑up cars drag racing one by one down the strip, guessing their times before they have even taken off.
After our minimal chat Sunday morning, we said our goodbyes and got on the road for around 1pm. The exit was slow and arduous with so many campers leaving on the same day.
Overall Review
The dance tent: As I previously threw out there, it is definitely on a 5/10. The BassRate crew that were back at the tent said they could hear the main stage area — which was further away — louder than the dance tent. I feel the sound levels and the vibe itself let themselves down!
Facilities: Ample amount of portaloos, the option to shower for just £2, the wide range of food on offer — 8/10.
Food and drink: Pricing, with every festival, lets them down. Drinks clearly coming in around £6 a pint, but the option of only Kestrel — which is the sponsor, to be fair. The food options had a huge range, but I’m going 4/10 sadly. The bonus is you can have your own food and drink (tins in a bag).
The event itself: I would give a 7/10. With what is on offer, when you go to other festivals they seem to be predominantly music or a certain niche, but this seemed to have everything. I highly recommend giving this a go as an option not for a sole rave festival but for one that is kid‑friendly and will open your eyes to other types of entertainment that you wouldn’t have previously looked into.
