Festival review: Cocoon in the Park at Temple Newsam, Leeds

Wet and wild is how I would sum up my Cocoon in the Park experience this year. Yes, it rained a fair bit, but why wouldn't the heavens open for such amazing DJs?
Cocoon in the Park, LeedsCocoon in the Park, Leeds
Cocoon in the Park, Leeds

This was my third year attending the festival and each year is equally as insane as the last, with the likes of label legend Sven Vath who never lets the Cocooners down, the children of Ibiza The Martinez Brothers, Green Velvet, Patrick Topping and Enzo Siragusa back to back with Rossko and more, this can only be explained as the most delicious recipe for a cake baked in the House of Temple Newsam yet. 

What I love about Cocoon in the Park is that it is very raw int he sense that the festival doesn’t need any fancy lights, flowers, rides or any other means of entertainment to attract its audience. The majority of the festivals budget is spent on the amazing sound systems which is what makes the beat so crisp and the base so deep, and this is exactly why so many people return year after year, because that quality of sound is so important to house and tech lovers, you would never turn down an experience like it. 

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Leeds itself has lots of nightlife being a student city, there are many house and tech clubs to enjoy here and Cocoon definitely brings all of these clubs together. There is a sense of a real family community within this genre of music at Cocoon in the Park. 

Cocoon in the Park. Picture: Olivia ChapmanCocoon in the Park. Picture: Olivia Chapman
Cocoon in the Park. Picture: Olivia Chapman

I would have to say my highlight of the night was meeting Green Velvet himself, an extremely talented American electronica, house music and techno singer, songwriter and producer. During our conversation he said: “Cocoon in the Park is by far the best festival in England.”

The organisers, technical staff and family of Dj’s all deserve huge pat on the back for their efforts in making Cocoon in the Park of 2016 as good as it was for everyone who was there, even the security staff who were loving life on shift too – every effort was mustered to create the perfect atmosphere possible despite the weather and it goes to show that stripping down a festival to its two true meanings, music and people, that is all it sometimes needs.

It really was a day that know-one wanted to end, which is why there is always a sensational after party to top it all off. Bring on 2017!

Related topics: