New music and vintage clothing festival coming to Derbyshire this summer

Fox Fest – a family-friendly event that will also feature street food, entertainment and fairground rides - will take place at Kenslow Farm, near Middleton-by-Youlgrave, in July.

There will also be vintage clothing vendors selling goods at Fox Fest, which is being organised by the owners of award-winning Fox Vintage Wholesale; a successful vintage clothing company based in Pride Park, Derby.

Director Roxie Webster, who is leading the project alongside sister Issy and brother Ki, said: “I have been going to festivals since I was very young, and it’s always been a dream of mine to set up my own.

“As a family, we have been lucky enough to go to Glastonbury as well as festivals closer to home and we’ll be taking inspiration from our own experiences to make sure that there is something for everyone at Fox Fest.

“Ticket sales have been good. The Early Bird tickets have almost sold out and we’re constantly adding new acts to the line-up.

“There’s a bit of a mix of genres at Fox Fest; from throwback 90s classics to well-known indie bands. We wanted to offer music for all ages.”

Other artists performing at Fox Fest include rockers Toploader, whose hit ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’ has been streamed and downloaded around the world more than two million times, Ultra Beat and music producer Ayo beatz, who most recently worked with Clean Bandit and former Love Island contestant-turned-musician, Wes Nelson.

There will be a dance tent headlined by British drum and bass DJ and record producer Nicky Blackmarket, and on-site weekend camping available for revellers, too.

Roxie will draw upon her experience in the vintage clothing industry to make sure that those searching for a bargain are well catered for.

She said: “The idea of Fox Fest originally came as a bit of a spin-off from our current company – Fox Vintage Wholesale.

“We’re one of the UK’s largest vintage wholesalers and supply retailers all over the world with branded and vintage clothing. The initial idea was to have some of our current retailers that we work with trading at the festival as boutique vintage and branded clothing vendors.

“We wanted music and good food there, too, and so we started looking for artists to book for Fox Fest and the idea just grew. We’re very excited about bringing something new and a bit different to the area and we’re hoping that this will be the first of many festivals that we organise.”

Fox Fest will aim to be as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible with an aim to be more sustainable at it as it expands. There are currently plans for a solar-powered stage and a children’s area with zero-waste.

“We have built Fox Vintage Wholesale on sustainability; we stop clothing from going to landfill, are proud to be a Living Wage employer and have invested in watercoolers throughout our warehouse via AquaAid who, in turn, donate to The Africa Project. They are currently installing a water pump into an African village to ensure that everyone living there has access to clean drinking water,” added Roxy, from Belper.

“We want to be trailblazers in the events industry and a lot of thought and planning has gone into Fox Fest. As well as having great names in the music industry playing at our event, we’re also keen to support local artists who will be playing over the three days.”

The application for the festival was approved by Derbyshire Dales District Council last month despite concerns from environmental health officers who objected to the application, as the site already hosts two summer festivals.

They said that they were concerned about disruption caused to the site and surrounding area between June and August.

The application was given the green light, though, on the condition that there was a mandatory gap of 28 days between each festival.

Roxie added: “We have held productive meetings with the organisers of the other festivals – Rosa and CEX – to come to a mutual arrangement that works for everyone.

“Fox Fest will be a great thing to bring to the area and I can’t wait to showcase what we can do.”

Early Bird tickets for the event are now limited, with Tier One tickets still available. Visit www.foxfestival.co.uk for details.