Hevy Music Festival was a rock festival established by Claire Baker and James that took place annually near Folkestone, Kent, in the UK. It was originally held on 1 August 2009 on Folkestone seafront as a one-day festival with Feeder, Gary Numan and Ash as headliners. In 2010 it moved to Port Lympne Wild Animal Park and grew to a weekend camping festival held from 6–8 August. The headline artists included Glassjaw, Gallows, Sepultura and the Subways, and the festival provided a variety of rock music genres including punk rock, alternative rock, hardcore punk and heavy metal along with extreme sports displays and state-of-the-art thrill rides.

History

2009

Dates: 1 August 2009 Venue: Folkestone Seafront Attendance: ~2000 Headline bands: Feeder, Gary Numan, Ash Other bands: Attack! Attack!, The Blackout, Hundred Reasons, Cancer Bats, We Are the Ocean, The Ghost of a Thousand, Heartbreak, Sharks, In Case of Fire, Sonic Boom Six, Flood of Red, The Xcerts, Elephants, Lightsgoblue, Kingskin, One Day Elliott, Eleven Eleven, Amber Room, The Startover, After the Ordeal, More Than Normal, Farewell City, Mexico Fallz. In spite of a freak storm which flattened the security fencing two days before and some torrential downpours on the day itself, the 2009 Hevy Music Festival was a resounding success. Feeder performed brand a new song from their album Renegades for the first time, with this one being "Sentimental", although the title track was soundchecked, it was not performed for the main show. Gary Numan performed a typically energetic set including the classics "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". Rainwater damage to his guitar amplifier caused a delay which shortened the subsequent sets but all were completed before the 11 pm curfew.

2010

Dates: 6–8 August 2010 Venue: Port Lympne Wild Animal Park Attendance: 3000 Glassjaw flew over from New York to make an exclusive UK appearance at the 2010 festival which was a larger event lasting over a weekend with onsite camping. The media response was very positive: "A stellar line up all around.....it'll be hard to see another festival match up in terms of experience and value this year." and "Innovative, fresh and dedicated festival.....putting on a joyous choice of alt music this summer." The festival saw a fresh start, with new promoters, for live music at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park and is expected to continue to grow in future years. In the words of one reviewer: "From the triumph of this weekender, we expect an even better Hevy Festival (in) 2011."

2011

Dates: 5–8 August 2011 Venue: Port Lympne Wild Animal Park Attendance: 4000 Saturday headliners The Dillinger Escape Plan and Architects were announced in early March, along with 23 of the planned 80 bands across four stages. On 1 April the Sunday headliners were revealed to be pop punk heroes – Four Year Strong. They were joined by Welsh rockers Funeral for a Friend. Saturday's lineup additions included the last-ever show for The Ghost of a Thousand, who announced they were calling it a day after 7 years. In early May eight more bands were announced including Trash Talk who have risen to prominence following their first ever festival appearance at Hevy last year, although they pulled out at the last minute, with TRC and Feed the Rhino stepping in to perform mini-sets in Trash Talk's slot. Rot in Hell were forced to cancel due to the departure of vocalist Nathan Bean. Death Is Not Glamorous were originally booked to play the fest this year along with their tourmates in La Dispute and Touche Amore, although once they found out the festival was at an animal park they pulled out for ethical reasons (they are a Vegan band). Press reviews were universally positive; from Trebuchet magazine: "Hevy is the right sort of festival to really get into music. Talking to production staff, bands, bookers, punters and security there is a strong feeling of community amongst everyone that they are doing this because they love it. Long live Hevy fest see you next year!"

2012

Dates: 3–6 August 2012 Venue: Port Lympne Wild Animal Park Attendance: NA The 2012 dates were announced on 2 December 2011, with the first announcement made on 27 January 2012 and the second on 16 March 2012. The organisers of Hevy Music Festival decided in light of "temperamental" weather leading up to the festival they put roofs over the stages. This involved the Rock Sound Stage and the Punktastic Stage merge to have alternating bands meaning there is no time clashes between the two stages. They also merged the Punktastic Stage into the same roofed area with the two stages alternating as the "Main" Stage, while putting the Red Bull Bedroom Jam stage in its own distinct tent. Will Haven dropped out of the festival on Thursday 2 August and were not replaced. Instead all other bands had their sets adjusted to accommodate the space left by the group.

2013

Dates: 2–5 August 2013 (Cancelled) Venue: N/A Attendance: N/A Hevy Fest 2013 was announced on 4 January 2013, with the first band, Black Flag, announced on 25 January. 14 more bands were added to the bill on 1 March, including Hatebreed, Comeback Kid, Horse the Band and The Menzingers, and in April Killswitch Engage were announced as headliners. However the festival was eventually cancelled along with a planned replacement show at the Brixton Academy.

2014

Dates: 14–15 August 2014 Venue: Port Lympne Wild Animal Park Attendance: N/A Hevy Fest 2014 was announced on 30 April 2014, with the first twenty bands announced on the same day including Deez Nuts, Reel Big Fish, and Devil Sold His Soul. In all over 60 bands will be announced before the festival, including headliners across 3 stages.

2015

Dates: 14–15 August 2015 Venue: Port Lympne Wild Animal Park Attendance: N/A Hevy Fest 2015 was announced on 15 October 2014, with the first bands being announced on 18 December 2014. The festival headliners were announced on 22 February 2015, it was revealed Thrice would be headlining on the Saturday with Coheed & Cambria topping the bill on the Friday.