BEAUTIFUL DAYS

Beautiful Days is the Levellers’ independent family music festival organised by DMF Music since its inception in 2003. The Future Sound of Exeter has been involved with Beautiful Days since its second year in 2004, when DJ Ambiessence was booked to play in The Big Top, between Ralph McTell and System 7 – so bridging the gap between a solo artist who finished with a number played on spoons and the electronic dance music of Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy. When The Little Big Top was added to the event a year later, FSOE was invited to programme the Sunday line-up for that stage, booking diverse live artists during the day and dance-oriented acts for the evening. Paul Giblin also comperes that stage when required over the weekend. Sunday headline acts have included Eat Static, The Orb, System 7, Dub Colossus, Big Youth with the Mad Professor, Demi Sosimi and Bronzehead, with great exposure for local talent such as Lionstar, Pattern Pusher, Sembalance, The Honey Pot,  Revelation Roots, The Embezzlers and Dr Splink, among others.

When The Future Sound of Exeter was asked to provide one of the silent disco sessions in The Little Big Top, it was turned into a ‘Silence of the Lambs’ disco, interspersing often sinister pop and rock tunes with horror samples. Likewise, for his set before production legend Youth in the Little Big Top in 2021, DJ Ambiessence presented a ‘Rebel without a Pause’ mix of stoppy songs peppered with samples from protect movements.