A wild old time in Boomtown Fair: Live review

This whimsical pop-up city on the outskirts of Winchester is possibly the most fun, entertaining and visually sensational festival around.

Hosting everything from a courthouse to a beauty parlour, with a job centre that morphs into club packed to the gills with maniacal party animals after dark, Boomtown Fair is seriously the most bonkers festival you could possibly attend. It's not only the actors who dress the part, but many of the punters go all out in costume, setting Boomtown apart from its peers. Divided into districts, you can lose your mind in a musical frenzy in the Devil Kicks dance hall, swing by China Town, then pop in to the roller disco. The attention the detail is simply incredible, and a real feast for the eyes.

Walking through the shanty-styled scenery of the Wild West, complete with cowboys, hay bales and wagons, a chorus of raucous revellers in the Rusty Spurs kick up their heels to Showhawk Duo's acoustically insane version of Daft Punk's “Get Lucky”, while across town in the Mayfair Opera House a women clad in fishnets and feathers riles up spectators to goad punters into smearing strangers with food - then instructs them to remove as much as they can with nothing but their mouths.....

On the Town Centre stage, festival veterans The Beat dish up their best loved iconic songs. Opening with Stand Down Margaret, the crowd needs no prompting as they get their feet and begin skanking with fervour.

Down at the Old Mines, Beans on Toast a.k.a. Jay McAllister has the crowd in stitches with his off-the-cuff humour and songs about everyday things. A born entertainer, Jay keeps it real with his quirky, catchy songs often with politicised lyrics, while in true festival spirit he encourages punters to be good to one another.

Deep in the thicket on the aptly named Hidden Woods stage, songster Undercover Hippy treats fans to some reggae grooves, before delivering favourites Boyfriend and Let's Dance to a bunch of happy festival goers.

Down in Trenchtown, the Lion's Den's impressive stage looks like a massive stone carved Aztec temple. Following Jamaican-born class acts Baby Cham and Anthony B on Sunday, The Skints (replacing Barrington Levy) are well received as they deliver a powerful set of reggae, ska, soul and hip-hop to thousands of delirious merrymakers, as fireworks explode cascading iridescent star bursts into the night.

Downtown, on Sunday night, a mob gathers at Bang Hai Palace, Boomtown's replacement for Arcadia. Over speakers we are instructed that the Revolution is about to begin. Drum and bass pump out of the sound system with intensity. Fuelled with an electric current of anticipation and excitement, revellers gather en masse, creating what can only be described as a rave of immense proportions. As the sensory overload kicks in, my entire body begins to shake with vibrations. Flames shoot up wildly from the palace, as a multitude of vibrantly coloured lasers fill the sky creating an aurora which can be witnessed from miles around.

If you thought Arcadia was spectacular, Bang Hai Palace is seriously just out of this world.

Boomtown Fair can be physically hard work. The districts are named Uptown and Downtown for a reason, and your body will get a full workout. In case the constant hiking up and down the hills makes you lose the will to live either because you've been partying too hard for too long, or are just plain knackered, help is at hand. I discovered that for ten quid you can buy a Festaxi wristband – this little beauty let's you hop on and off passing buggies on a whim and be shuttled around the site for the weekend. Job done.

Boomtown Fair has grown in both size and status, encompassing all the things you could possibly wish for in a festival. It's a theatrical masterpiece, with hazy days and hedonistic nights, featuring some of the best reggae roots music this side of Jamaica. As I left this mesmerising magical wonderland, I made a mental note to myself - Same time, same place next year – and don't forget the tenner.