Bearded Theory: 3 Delightful Days of Music and Diversity in Derbyshire [Photos]

It was an absolute joy to return to Catton Park in Derbyshire for this year’s Bearded Theory festival. Last year’s edition made us fans for life, even though it was one of the muddiest festival experiences we’d had.

What sets Bearded Theory apart from many other festivals is its diversity – offering everything from punk and alternative legends, dub and reggae all-stars, new up and coming acts, comedy, social commentary and plenty of wonderfully bizarre lunacy too. There’s pretty much something for everyone and it doesn’t take too much searching to find something classic that evokes nostalgic memories of your youth, or stumble across something completely new and exciting to spark your next obsession.

Anyone that survived through last year’s mud bath may have had a bit of trepidation when packing their cars and campervans with wellies this time, but there was nothing to worry about as the weather was incredible for most of the weekend, and the little rain there was wasn’t about to put a dampener on proceedings for anyone.

The Friday began with local(ish) three-piece Girlband! who played an enjoyable and properly danceable set of defiant rock with the likes of “21st Century Suffragette” making it easy for the crowd to get their days going with a smile. They were followed by one of Kurt Cobain’s favourites The Vaselines. Writers of some truly great songs in their time, 3 of which were covered by Nirvana. Hearing the originals of “Molly’s Lips,” “Son of a Gun” and “Jesus Don’t Want me for a Sunbeam,” was so good in the blazing sun.

With the layout of the festival being pretty much perfect – big enough to have 7 or 8 stages yet not an enormoslog to get around like Glasto – it’s easy to get from one bit to another and witness as much of the musical offerings as possible, but there are always going to be clashes at any festival and on any other day it would have been blasphemy to miss Dream State’s set at The Meadow, but The Vaselines won our attention until the end. We did however catch the crescendo of Dream State’s set which by the look of the crowd had gone down extremely well.

Having heard plenty of good things about Du Blonde we tried them out but left a little underwhelmed. There were a few technical issues but overall, the set was a little difficult to connect with. That led to heading to the main stage for Ezra Furman who turned out to be the outstanding highlight of the day – and one of the best of the weekend. Full of vulnerability, angst and anger, theirs was a set that was truly captivating. They made an instant connection with the audience and took them on an enthralling journey from the beginning. Exhilarated by Ezra, the next couple of bands were good but lacking in comparison until it got to Ned’s Atomic Dustbin.

If you had a pound for all the “God Fodder” t-shirts on display at a festival when we began going to them you wouldn’t quite be Elon rich, but you’d be pretty bloody well off because they were absolutely everywhere. It was really good to see the original 5 members on stage tearing through a nostalgic set and enjoying every minute of it. Even when frontman Jonn Penney took a tumble behind his monitor he popped back up with a massive grin on his face. Brilliant fun!

Next up, and the last act we caught on the day (so our headliners) were the brilliant Yard Act from Leeds. The last time we caught them they came on stage and instantly smacked us around the face and gained our attention with a flurry of energy, this time it felt like they were building the set up gradually to a big finish and although it felt different it felt just as enjoyable. With a new track “Gonna Need a Little Music” thrown into the mix and showing promise for the future they’re definitely one of the best about right now.

Bearded Theory @ Catton Hall (Derbyshire, UK) on May 23rd 2025

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Saturday had (for us) the strongest line up of the weekend with none stop must sees, beginning with this year’s MOBO Best Alternative Music Winners – Alt Blk Era. These sisters are making a big name for themselves and that is plain to see by the size of the audience that gathers for their midday set. High on energy and with big personalities their music mixes all kinds of styles and is extremely enjoyable. The singalong for the anthemic “I’m Normally Like This” with everyone’s middle fingers in the air was a real festival moment to remember.

The Lovely Eggs are brilliantly quirky, funny and full of energy. Not your average old married couple – these two are celebrating a 20th anniversary of the band. They proved to be a perfect early afternoon jolt to the system and got everyone going. Holly shared that they had a dastardly plan to crop dust the crowd with MDMA to get the party going – but it wasn’t needed as the crowd was extremely lively already – and apparently, they’d not got the budget to do it either. If you love quirky, energy packed oddballs – these are the dynamic duo for you.

The Terrorvision time-machine arrived on the main stage next. Purveyors of bouncy bangers, they not only have the tunes to take you back to the 90s, but they have the energy that makes you feel like you’re 18 again, wiping years off many of the audiences’ lives for the best part of an hour, all of whom will have been paying for it dearly afterwards as the knees aren’t quite what they used to be. With a setlist that was just fun from start to finish and big shit-eating grins on their faces for all of it the band were on fire. The new tracks like “Baby Blue” and “Shine On” get just as big a singalong as “Alice What’s the Matter?” or “American TV” and by the time they finish with “Oblivion” everyone is knackered. They are THE perfect band for a Saturday afternoon party and were a highlight of the whole weekend.

There wasn’t much reason to leave the comfort of the main stage for the most part of the day as the punk from Philadelphia Mannequin Pussy were up next – and had been recommended as ones to watch this weekend – and although they were good, the urge to see quirky soulstress Ruby J over on the beautiful Woodlands stage was enough for us to cut short the experience.

The Woodlands area is a stunning stage surrounded by trees and adorned with colourful bunting which provides a completely different vibe from the rest of the festival site – and as Ruby J took to the stage it was absolutely packed. Her set was a joyous experience that captured the hearts of the audience, who boogied their way through her set. It’s music that makes you smile and with a full band including brass section – and Ruby’s stunning voice – it proved it was a wise decision to leave the main stage area.

Just as wise though was to head back there for the always incredible Nova Twins – who are without doubt THE hottest act around. They pit opens up for them instantly and bodies are hurled back and forth throughout their set, which features a few new songs from their upcoming album Parasites & Butterflies. The pulses race as Georgia’s unique bass sound lands riff after riff and Amy Love’s vocals psyche everyone up. A new song has the crowd singing “N.O.V.A” back to the band at full volume in a performance masterstroke that is likely to be a highlight in their set for years to come. They are, on any line up they appear on, one of the must-see bands and they’re about to enter a new era that hopefully propels them to the heights they deserve to be at.

The iconic Iggy Pop was the Saturday night headliner, and it could not have been a better choice. The godfather of punk, body ravaged by years of rolling around in broken glass and volatile performances, was the icon everyone wanted to see – and it was as if everyone on site had gathered to witness this set.

He was shirtless within 5 seconds of getting on stage and danced around it like a man possessed – acting nothing like the 78-year-old he is.

With simple introductions to songs, he throws out hit after hit after hit. “Raw Power,” “The Passenger,” “Lust for Life” – all feel like old friends, and make for a memorable show, but it’s the mid-set combination of “I Wanna be Your Dog” and “Search and Destroy” that absolutely nail this as a perfect example of artist and festival being an ideal match. Honestly, I don’t think there could have been a better booking than this one.

It’s hard to follow an act like Iggy Pop, and as with a lot of festivals there are still performances happening after the main stage headliner has finished – so it fell to 90s rockers Ash to close the Meadow stage. Ash are one of those bands that you’ve definitely heard of, but until you hear their music you forget how many Ash songs you do actually know. “Shining Light,” “Oh Yeah” and “Girl from Mars” are all lapped up by an adoring crowd and do provide a great dessert to the proceeding main of Iggy Pop.

Bearded Theory @ Catton Hall (Derbyshire, UK) on May 24, 2025

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You’d imagine by the time Sunday came around that festival fatigue might have begun to set in. Days of over stimulation and partying can have that effect sometimes, but the Bearded Theorists didn’t seem to suffer from that particular issue as the Sunday quickly turned into another rager of a day.

One of the best acts we saw all weekend were first up on the Meadow stage – and they weren’t an ‘ease you into the day’ type of act either. The None are an engaging and noisy act full of individuals from other successful bands banded together to create an emphatic, chaotic and captivating racket. Truly a great way to wake yourself up for the final festival day to come and ones to follow on their journey afterwards.

Then the batshit crazy Anoise made their bid for most chaotic and bizarre performances of the weekend – and definitely deserve the title – after what we witnessed. Complete lunacy, ear worm infused danceable tunes and quite a few costume changes all crammed into a frenetic 30-minute set which nearly tore the roof off the Convoy Cabaret tent. Pure unadulterated silliness, utterly compelling.

It seems like a thing at Bearded Theory that a band from the main stage do a second ‘covers’ set on The Meadow stage.

Last year Bodega did a Bob Dylan set that was fantastic and this year it was the turn of Japanese pop-punk band Shonen Knife to do that. Their main stage set was really enjoyable and showed why they were one of Kurt Cobain’s favourite bands. Influencing the likes of the 5,6,7,8’s – and they’re simple, fun punk-pop was spellbinding – but later in the day they morph into the Osaka Ramones and perform an even livelier set of Ramones covers – which sees a full tent dancing their way through some of the finest songs ever written – although I still can’t hear “Blitzkreig Bop” without singing Mark and Lard’s version (if you’ve not heard it check out The Shirehorses).

The main stage provided yet another highlight of the weekend in Nadine Shah – who with vocals to die for, a wicked sense of humour and important stuff to say, completely stole the show. Her voice has a mix of Patti Smith, middle eastern influences and anger in it to become something of its own and be an equally iconic and powerful instrument. Powerful really is the word to describe her set and it should go down as one of the best Bearded Theory sets ever to be played. Her crowd was full of fans but drew many people in with its energy and must have created a whole new set of fans.

With Throwing Muses, The Selecter and Asian Dub Foundation to follow the afternoon was a treasure trove of musical treats to enjoy.

Throwing Muses, and Kristin Hersh in particular, are masters of their trade – with introspective personal lyricism delivered with both gentle and delicate to explosive and feral vocals and off-kilter sonic crescendos. Equal parts beautiful and unsettling it was one of the standout sets of the day. The only thing that would make this even better would be to have Kristins’ sister Tanya on stage with her – but Belly are touring again later in the year so it looks like fans will have the chance to catch her then.

National treasure Pauline Black brought The Selecter to the main stage for a wonderful run through of 2 tone ska classics. Showing support for key workers with “Frontline” and getting the crowd skanking for “On My Radio” and “Too Much Pressure” it was simply joyful. She is a class act!

Asian Dub Foundation combine jungle, ragga, dancehall rock and rap to impactful effect. They are a complete attack of the senses and are fantastic. Their energy transferred directly to the crowd and back to create an almost overwhelming yet extremely enjoyable set that gave us a second wind at a time we were beginning to tire.

That left only the Manic Street Preachers to close out a weekend that had been truly enjoyable. With Welsh flags flying in the crowd, they played a celebratory set that flowed back and forth through their illustrious career with the likes of “Motorcycle Emptiness and “La Tristessa Durera” arriving early in an expansive set. A wonderful way to close out yet another wonderful Bearded Theory experience. It was one to remember for a long time.

So, to sum up, if you’re a music lover with an interest in anything alternative, punk, reggae, dub or otherwise from the last 40+ years right up to today’s latest bands, then Bearded Theory is THE place to spend your May Bank Holiday weekend. Next year is sure to be as eclectic as this year and we are already looking forward to returning for yet another dose of delight in Derbyshire.

For more information on Bearded Theory or two get all the news for next year’s event, head over to the Official Bearded Theory Website.

Bearded Theory @ Catton Hall (Derbyshire, UK) on May 25, 2025

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