Four years in the making. Four years of dancing to make up for. Houghton 2022 was everything we imaged it to be, picking up exactly where 2018 left off.

Many things come together in harmony at Houghton. Nestled away woodland stages; extended DJ sets; crystal clear soundsystems and music all day and night. It’s a carefully-curated recipe, spearheaded by Bobbi and Craig Richards, that produces a hard-to-come-by experience in today’s clubbing landscape. Good sound, good people, good location. Defining traits of an industry-defining festival.

Onto the performances. Minimal-maestro Riccardo Villalobos certainly deserves a mention, in light of his mind-bending Saturday evening set at the outdoor Derren Smart stage. It featured everything you’d expect from the Chilean-German talent: orchestral elements, eerie vocals and thick, low-slung kicks, all blended into a two-and-a-half-hour joyride. As the sun began to sunset, we couldn’t have asked for much more.

Another highlight came later that night, from Hessle Audio linchpin Pearson Sound. This was one for the books. He took few prisoners, serving up a relentless stream of chunky, up-tempo house to rapturous applause throughout. Quarry was the perfect setting for such a show. As was the peak-time dropping of this number below.

Shanti Celeste was fantastic too, as was Midland and Voigtmann. And a special hand has to be given to Terminus, the secret stage. Whichever time we went – be it rolling through mid-morning as the sun reared its head, or deep into night with the day still to come – the atmosphere was always electric.

Which is exactly what Houghton’s about. It’s a proper party, with an up-for-it crowd and DJs who know how to set the mood just right. An unintended four year hiatus has finally been brought to an end, with memories made that will last a lifetime.

Tickets for Houghton festival 2023 will be made available via their website. Photo credit: Khroma Collective.