Field Day is a yearly outdoor music festival in London. It was first held in Victoria Park in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets on 11 August 2007 and returned there each year until 2017. The 2018 festival moved to Brockwell Park, and in 2019 it was held at Meridian Water in Enfield. Between 2021 and 2024 the festival returned to Victoria Park, and in 2025 it is to be held in Brockwell Park.
Beginning in 2021, the festival partnered with AEG's Goldenvoice, merging into All Points East.
In April 2023, the festival was acquired by Superstruct Entertainment.
Village mentality The festival once hosted an annual village fete titled Village Mentality. Beginning in 2008, the area includes a sack race, tug of war and egg and spoon race. In 2008, the events took place until 5pm, finishing earlier than the rest of the festival. In 2009, the area was extended to include its own musical line-up, playing on the Village Mentality Stage. Acts included Mumford & Sons, Toumani Diabaté and Malcolm Middleton. The area is handled by organiser Tom Baker's partner Natalie Silk. Village Mentality was formerly known as Homefires, the last Village Mentality at Field Day was in 2018
Field Day radio Field Day and Eat Your Own Ears founder Tom Baker, together with radio production company Folded Wing, recorded a series of radio shows in the run up to Field Day festival in 2012. It featured sessions and interviews with the performing artists and has been a regular feature of the festival since. Episodes included exclusives interviews and mixes from the likes of Pixies, Grimes, Solange, Mulatu Astatke, Panda Bear, Caribou, Omar Souleyman, Metronomy, John Cooper Clarke, Four Tet, Kurt Vile and many more.
Lineups
2007 festival The inaugural Field Day festival took place on 11 August 2007, with the first Underage Festival taking place the same weekend. Over fifty artists featured across four stages, as well as a musical bandstand. Artists included the 1990s, Absentee, Adem, Alberta Cross, Andrew Weatherall, Archie Bronson Outfit, Bat for Lashes, Battles, Caribou, Casper C, The Cock N Bull Kid, Crispin Dior, El Plate, Electrelane, Erol Alkan, Euros Childs, Fanfarlo, Filthy Dukes, Florence and the Machine, Foals, Four Tet, Fridge, GoodBooks, Gruff Rhys, Hannah Holland, James Yorkston, Jo Jo de Freq, Justice, Kid Harpoon, Late of the Pier, Laura Marling, Liars, Matt Walsh, Matthew Dear, Miss Odd Kidd, Mystery Jets, Nadia Ksaiba, Patchwork Pirates, The Pictish Trail, Pull Tiger Tail, Skull Juice, The Aliens, The Concretes, The Earlies, The Lovely Jonjo, Vetiver, Warboy, White Rabbits, Young Turks and Zombie Disco Squad. Originally being billed as a capacity of 6,000, the amount was increased to 10,000 shortly before the festival.
2008 festival The 2008 event took place on 9 August 2008, with the Underage Festival taking place the previous day. The entire site was redesigned by Vanguardia Consulting, who provide specialist advice on sound control. Capacity was increased to 20,000, and bars and toilets across the site were doubled. More than fifty artists were again billed for the festival, including Simian Mobile Disco, Les Savy Fav, Mystery Jets and Laura Marling. The event was headlined by Foals, in what was their first UK headline festival performance. A 25-member brass band was also added as a final addition to the line-up. The event now featured five stages, an increase from the previous year. The main stage was retitled the "Converse Century Stage", to reflect the company's 100-year anniversary in 2008. A similar stage was used at Underage Festival the previous day.
Converse Century Stage NME Stage Homefires Stage Bugged Out! Stage Bloggers Delight Stage Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve El Guincho Foals Howling Bells Huw Stephens (DJ set) Laura Marling Les Savy Fav Lightspeed Champion Mystery Jets Noah and the Whale Of Montreal The Field Wild Beasts Dan Deacon Filthy Dukes Magistrates Simian Mobile Disco The Emperor Machine The Notwist White Lies Benga Crispin Dior Matt Helders (DJ set) Stopmakingme (DJ set) The Mae Shi Alasdair Roberts Efterklang Emma Pollock Fionn Regan Jeffrey Lewis King Creosote One Little Plane The Pictish Trail Rob da Bank Tunng Brodinski Crookers Disco Bloodbath DJs Hannah Holland and MC Chickaboo James Holden Matt Walsh Modeselektor Richie Hawtin Casper C Corman Heartbreak Ian Robinson Jacob Husley Matt and Olly Mikki Most Peter Pixzel Primary 1 Rory Phillips Skull Juice The Lovely Jonjo
Dan Deacon had been due to play on the NME stage, but was later forced to pull out due to passport issues. Mystery Jets also pulled out due to illness. They were later replaced by Lightspeed Champion.
2009 festival The 2009 festival took place on 1 August 2009, one day prior to Underage. The first line-up announcements were made on 28 January 2009, when NME announced that Mogwai would headline the event. Four Tet, James Yorkston, Apes and Androids, Malcolm Middleton, Fennesz, Errors and Skream were also announced. Further line-up additions were announced on 7 April 2009, including The Horrors, Little Boots, Santigold and Mystery Jets. Other line-up announcements have been sporadically announced through the festival's Twitter account.
Eat Your Own Ears Main Stage Adventures in the Beetroot Field Stage Village Mentality Stage Bugged Out! Stage Bloggers Delight Stage Eat Your Own Ears DJs Errors Fanfarlo Fennesz Final Fantasy Gaggle Mogwai Santigold Skream The Horrors The Temper Trap Allez Allez Crispin Dior (DJ Set) Devil Made Me Do It Four Tet King Charles Micachu and the Shapes Mystery Jets Plugs S.C.U.M Sian Alice Group Stopmakingme (DJ Set) The Big Pink Wild Beasts First Aid Kit James Yorkston Jon Hopkins Juana Molina The Local DJs Malcolm Middleton Mumford & Sons The Thing Toumani Diabaté Twisted Folk DJs Wet Paint Woodpigeon Aeroplane DJs Audion Delphic Erol Alkan Fake Blood JD Twitch (Optimo) Little Boots Wild Geese DJs Casper C Dave I.D. Drums of Death Greco-Roman Soundsystem No Pain in Pop DJs Rusko (DJ set) Skull Juice The xx Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Work It
2010 Festival The 2010 event was confirmed to take place on 31 July 2010, in their fourth annual outing in Victoria Park. On 9 February 2010, it was announced that Phoenix would headline the event, with Amiina, Beth Jeans Houghton, Caribou, Esben and the Witch, Chilly Gonzalez, Corsano and Flowers, Gold Panda, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, James Holden, Joker & MC Nomad, Max Tundra, Memory Tapes, Mouse on Mars, Pantha Du Prince and Silver Apples also announced to perform. Further acts were announced on 12 March 2010, when Babeshadow, Carte Blanche (DJ Mehdi & Riton), Chapel Club, Hudson Mohawke, Lightspeed Champion, No Age, Simian Mobile Disco, Tamikrest, The Fall, These New Puritans and YucK were added. The festival is set to expand further to six stages, including the Outdoor live stage, Adventures in the Beetroot Field arena, Homefires stage, Bugged Out! arena, Bloggers Delight stage, and the musical bandstand.
For the first time in 2010, Field Day is to take part in a festival 'twinning' scheme, organised by the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF). The initiative encourages twinned festivals to swap artists and cross promote each other's events. Field Day was 'twinned' with the Øya Festival in Oslo, Norway.
Eat Your Own Ears Stage Adverntures in the Beetroot Field Stage Bugged Out! Stage in association with Full Circle and Dummy XOYO / Lock Tavern Stage Bloggers Delight Stage Village Mentality Stage in association with The QuietusAndrew Weatherall DJ Anna Calvi Bethan Elfyn * The Vinyl Vendettas Caribou Erland and the Carnival Gilles Peterson Holly Miranda Hypnotic Brass Ensemble Lightspeed Champion Phoenix Ramadanman Steve Mason The Fall The Invisible DJAtlas Sound Cate Le Bon Chapel Club Egyptian Hip Hop Is Tropical Last.FM DJ No Age Now Wave DJ Our Girls DJ The Kissaway Trail These New PuritansCarte Blanche (DJ Mehdi & Riton) Chilly Gonzales Fake Blood James Holden Joker & MC Nomad Memory Tapes Moderat Rory Phillips Simian Mobile Disco DJ Tensnake The Golden FilterBabeshadow Club.The.Mammoth DJ Dam Mantle Don't Die Wondering DJ Factory Floor Hounds of Hate Leather Boy DJ MIM (Black Cab Sessions No Pain in Pop DJ Prizes Sexbeat DJ Sunday Girl Toro Y Moi Von Haze Walls YuckBloggers Delight (Casper C, NikNikNik, Skull Juice) Dam Funk & Master Blazter Deadly Rhythm DJ FACT DJ Feeding Time DJ Gold Panda Live Hudson Mohawke Live Mount Kimbie Live Night Slugs (L-Vis 1990 & Bok Bok) Off Modern DJ Pantha Du Prince LiveAmiina Archie Bronson Outfit Beth Jeans Houghton Double Denim DJ Esben and the Witch Flower Corsano Duo Gruff Rhys vs Tony Da Gatorra Max Tundra Mouse on Mars Runners Shula Wigwam DJ Silver Apples Thisaintnodisco
2011 Festival The 2011 event took place on 6 August 2011. The next day, a companion festival took place, with the same organisers and similar stages at the location, under the name The Apple Cart festival.
Eat Your Own Ears Stage Bugged Out! Stage in association with Resident Advisor Village Mentality Stage in association with The Quietus Bloggers Delight / Lanzarote Stage Laneway Festival Stage in association with Last.FM Shacklewell Arms / Lock Tavern Stage Do You Come Here Often? StageBaio (Vampire Weekend) DJ Chimes Electrelane Huw Stephens DJ Jen Long DJ John Cale Junip Justin Speak DJ Sun Ra Arkestra The Coral Villagers Warpaint Wild Beasts Willy MasonBenga & Youngman Carl Craig presents 69 Erol Alkan James Blake DJ Kieran Hebden B2B James Holden L-VIS 1990 Matt Walsh DJ Michael Mayer Pearson Sound RoskaAbout Group Anna Calvi Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti Factory Floor Faust Gruff Rhys Jon Hillcock DJ Konono No.1 Mark Kozelek Omar Souleyman The Sea and Cake ToyActress Anika Bleed DJ Casper C DJ Darkstar Ducktails Hype Williams Jamie xx Lanzarote DJ Nik Nik Nik DJ Oneotrix Point Never SBTRKT Skull Juice DJ Zola Jesus2:54 Baio (Vampire Weekend) DJ Connan Mockasin James Blake Live Jamie Woon Jon Hopkins DJ Laneway Festival DJ Matthew Dear Live Mount Kimbie The History of Apple Pie The Horrors Twin ShadowBeach Creep DJ Born Ruffians Chad Valley Clock Opera CocknBullkid Creep Dollop DJs Factory Floor Feeding Time DJ Givers Glasser God Don't Like It DJ Leather Boy DJ Martin Creed No Pain in Pop DJ S.C.U.M. Sexbeat DJ Spector Tribes Trophy WifeAlitrec Boom Boom Cabaret Club.The.Mammoth vs Grimes DJ Dance Party 4000 Echo Lane Greenwich Tea Party Jig T DJ John McIvor Kicker Conspiracy DJ No Bones DJ Spectrals Star Slinger DJ Still Corners The Bookhouse Boys Veronica Falls Visions of Trees
2012 Festival The 2012 festival date moved from the traditional August month to Saturday 2 June 2012 (bank holiday weekend). This was due to Victoria Park being used for events to celebrate the London Olympics. The Apple Cart festival took place again on the next-day Sunday.
Eat Your Own Ears Stage Bugged Out! Stage Laneway Festival Stage in association with Last.FM Village Mentality Stage in association with The Quietus Bleed / Lanzarote Stage Shacklewell Arms Red Bull Music Academy StageAndrew Bird Beirut Eat Your Own Ears DJ Franz Ferdinand Huw Stephens DJ Justin Spear DJ Last Dinosaurs Liars Metronomy Pond SavagesBlawan DJ Daniel Avery DJ Eats Everything DJ Hudson Mohawke Live Julio Bashmore DJ Koreless Live Maya Jane Coles DJ Modeselektor Rustie Live The Internet LiveBlood Orange Deco Child DJ Dum Dum Girls DJ Errors Here We Go Magic Kindness Sega Bodega DJ Sleigh Bells Spector Summer Camp The Vaccines Two JackalsAfrocubism Django Django Gold Panda Grimes Mazzy Star Papa M R. Stevie Moore Revere Rocketnumbernine Tim Burgess TortoiseBlackest Ever Black DJ Casper C DJ Com Truise Fennesz Julia Holter Kassem Mosse Laurel Halo Paddy O'Neill DJ Peaking Lights The Haxan Cloak DJ Zomby DJAmateur Best DJ Austra Baxter Dury Beach Creep Bobby Tank DJ Citizens! Crocodiles Double Denim DJ Friends