With more camping sites, more bands and an environmental slant, this year’s Earth Garden festival promises to be the biggest ever. Ramona Depares rounds up the highlights.

It is the only festival in Malta to offer the whole shebang – from camping to multiple stages to on-site entertainment. Earth Garden, now in its eighth edition, is back with a number of changes that are likely to trump all previous editions.

This year’s festival once again features two main areas: The Greek Theatre main stage and the Open Village, with more hours of music by over 50 acts.

The Greek Theatre is synonymous with the bigger shows and will host three music concerts over three nights, with The Beangrowers and Brikkuni taking part in the festival for the first time in what will be the only performance this year for Brikkuni.

Brikkuni singer Mario Vella explains that the band is currently going through “crucial” changes in line-up, a factor that contributed to the decision not to play more gigs this year.

“We are currently working on a new project that we hope to unveil in November 2015. The upcoming concert will not feature new material, mostly because we are currently dabbling in some gloomy sounds, which aren’t ideal for the Earth Garden vibe.”

However, followers of the band will be pleased to know that set list will include Nixtieq and Brussel, which haven’t been performed live since February 2012.

Another potential attraction for the tourist industry, like other festivals

One of the deciding factors for the band’s participation, Vella continues, is the fact that the festival reaches out to a wider, more diverse audience.

“We had already been approached to take part some two years ago, but at the time we weren’t in a position to commit. The timing seemed right this time, so here we are.”

This will also be the first local concert for Beangrowers in over a year. Besides a number of concerts abroad, in the interim the band was busy working with American film producers to integrate their music in a film.

“This is our first time at Earth Garden and we are hoping to experience something of a real and natural music festival. The Maltese equivalent to Woodstock!” the musicians said.

The band is also in process of writing new material before recording starts.

Besides these two bands, the Greek Theatre will also host a massive rock party hosted by Xirka Rock and a performance by Airport Impressions, who will be debuting their album Mariette live for the first time.

Airport Impressions last performed at Earth Garden three years ago. This year, fans can expect a full-length show, with an opening set by Dana McKeon.

“Mariette has a very positive vibe; we wanted to bring out a sound which is less polished and that goes back to our song-writing roots. The first single, Hymns of June, has strong folk elements, with a deeper and more mature sound. But the content of the album is broader than that and the reaction to our second single, Berlin, was overwhelming,” frontman Errol Sammut said.

Not so mainstream

The Open Village this year will include the Roots Stage, which typically showcases non-mainstream artists. Twenty-five acts will take part, including The Rifffs (who will be launching their second album) and Tribali, the closing act on Sunday.

Tribali is a veteran at the festival; this year will once again see a full-length show with various session musicians taking part, in what Tribali says is an opportunity to “be less regimental... and to allow for improvisations”. The set list is expected to include both hits and new material.

But it’s not just about the music. As in previous years, the festival will include an ethnic market, a holistic section with educational stands and workshops, a variety of food stalls and the V18 Art Square.

The latter will present an installation, titled Lampuki, by Emanuel Bonnici; the installation covers an area of about 50m ² with an artwork made out of corrugated cardboard, an environmentally-friendly material which can be easily recycled.

Entry to the festival is against a minimal fee. The fee was introduced last year, after financial hurdles had previously resulted in a one-year hiatus.

“This measure gave us independence from economic shifts that can affect sponsorships. Last year, the festival hosted around 17,000 people through the three-day span. Our vision includes Earth Garden as another potential attraction for the tourist industry in Malta, just like other festivals in Europe. Last year was a very good indication of this,” Howard Keith, from the organising team, says.

Another change is the doubling of the camping area. The festival has a loyal camping base, with many ending up disappointed when camping tickets sold out in seven minutes in past years.

“This year we are hosting 1,000 campers, as opposed to 500. This meant that we also had to double the showers. Comfort is a priority, but we have to also deal with the restrictions we face. We take post-event comments very seriously and one common demand was to have a chill-out area added.”

This resulted in the introduction of a secluded area with Moroccan décor, which will be inaugurated this year. Another area which will be quite different from the usual is the Electronic Sphere, which hosts electro and psychedelic acts. This has now shifted to the hilltop, in order to make more space for the area which regulars refer to as the heart of Earth Garden.

“The area has been re-baptised the Enchanted Forest, and will offer acoustic sets throughout the afternoon, with dub, minimal and reggae sessions later in the evening,” Keith explains.

The tagline for the festival this year is ‘Our Environment, Your Well-being’, a concept that is the result of teaming up with the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change.

Keith says that the theme goes hand in hand with the festival’s aim to bring together people who want a better way of life in harmony with the environment around them.

Various NGOs will be present during the festival in order to promote various aspects which target environmental awareness.

Earth Garden festival runs between June 6 and 8 at Ta’ Qali National Park. Information about the full programme and ticket pricing is available online or by calling 7994 8529.

www.ticketline.com.mt