We Love... Homelands 2003

United Kingdom | by Andrew Future, Paul Stickings, Wayne Hoyle, Duncan Hall, Becki Moss | 28 May 2003

It's over for another year but as ever Homelands has left a hallmark of ecstacy in our hearts with its solid eighteen hour sprint of great tunes and its eternal spirit of good vibes. It's why we love it!

'I seem to have left an important part of my brain somewhere in a field in Hampshire!'

What a way to kickstart the outdoor festival season! Sun, cider, Bacardi and lycra and some superstar DJs rocking up a chilled crowd from all over. There is no better dance event that Homelands and there are very few better festivals.

This year, aside from Radio 1's Outdoor Stage, the new-look Strongbow Rooms and Bacardi's B-Bar, the only branded area at We Love...Homelands is the Movement Arena. For many, the clubbing brand is just as important as the DJs or the live acts which make people decide to fork out the £50 or not. It doesn't prove too much of a fatal oversight given the quality of acts on offer exceeds even last year's, (despite their being 8 arenas to the previous 12) but it does make it a tad hard to sometimes remember who's where after a few hours of smashing beats and mashing vibes!

Winchester's Matterley Bowl, home as ever to the day's eighteen hours of entertainment, stayed clear of anything more than a quick shower and although the arenas were a little closer together this year, the energy and atmosphere on the dancefield was as good as ever. The clubby, bubbly communal feel is something you just don't get at rock events. It's all positive; people are chatty, there's no anger of frustration anywhere. Everyone always comments on Homelands having the most chilled out and friendly atmosphere, and it's true. Like you, we love it.