GIVE! The underground music festival with a wildly important social history
When actor Ben Taylor was at secondary school in Feltham, ‘a tough working class suburb of London’, he had no idea the first-of-its-kind ‘Eton exchange’ would seed the growth of the UK’s most inclusive and colourful party community.
In this rare and exclusive interview, Ben-the-bee, talks candidly about how advancements in DJ’ing and drug culture shaped what is arguably the most colourful and inclusive dance music festival in the UK - if not the world!
Hear how GIVE! was forced to “turn away 5,000 people when the festival caught fire as an idea”.
Ben feels the parties success is in part due to a philosophical introspection that came at the height of his acting career, when he described having ‘an epiphany’ about happiness while in India filming the film ‘Far Pavillions’.
If you cant wait until summer, you can “Leave the troubles of the World at the door and greet the turning of Spring with fearless floral fabulousness” at PRIMAVERA, the House of Honey spring party happening at the cool London venue The Steel Yard on Saturday April 9th. In keeping with the festivals philosophy, a percentage of each ticket sold will be donated to Unicef Ukraine crisis appeal in light of the current conflict.
Give! Annaul music festival returns home to the magical Stanford Hall in Leicestershire between 7th-11th July 2022. For more information click here
For exclusive DJ sets, podcasts and films, you can join the long standing community of supporters by signing up to the House of Honey media player.
To get a feel of why the festivals home location is so magical, you can view the GIVE! 2019’s ariel film here.
You can also view the virtual GIVE! 2020 opening ceremony, which took place during during lockdown.
Or, to find out more about the Taylor family, click here to listen to ‘Our Dad’s Breakfast’ — Jackanory pastiche about the Taylor family growing up
Not had enough and want to delve further into the festival’s philosophy?
Listen to the Interview with author Karen Armstrong on ‘Compassion and the Golden Rule’
Or
‘Divan of Rumi and Bach’, a project for the British Council
As recommended by ‘Ben-the-bee’ Taylor himself.
