Local festivals are totally becoming a thing!
It’s no surprise… with ticket prices for the big festivals out of reach for many people, town festivals are really upping the anti with organisers putting on quality community events, specifically FOMO Fest – and yes the ‘fear of missing out’ certainly rings true as they won the East Anglian Festival Network Award for Best New Festival of the Year 2025!
And it’s clear to see why they won the award. It’s held at The Food Museum in the market town of Stowmarket, Suffolk, which has 80 acres to play with. But also it’s a town centre venue that means no parking – but this was not a barrier at all as they worked with a transport company for a park & ride facility – they had thought of everything.
There were 2 stages, well 3 if you count the solo acoustic singer in the corner by the bridge…
Stage 2 was in front of the mansion house and run by the John Peel Arts Centre hosting regional talent, which had the line up: Beth Eliza & Millie Kirkpatrick, Sam Milne, James Morgan, Eels Eels Eels, Retrofile, Chest, Spangled, Sam Redmore, The Kubricks and Coach Party finishing off the night.
This was a lovely area with its own food & drink stalls and plenty of space to chill with friends or get up and dance.
The route to the second stage had some crafty/festival stands and as you go over the bridge it opens out to a fun fair, more food and drink stands and the main stage at the far end. This side of the bridge was certainly busier and although space was getting to a premium, there was still room to squeeze in next to a friendly group, and plenty of space at the front of the stage to stand, mosh, jump and cheer.
The line up for the main stage was more than expected for a market town: Leanne Louise & Wideboys, Showhawk Duo, The Mercians, Republica, The Ordinary Boys, AYO, Devlin, DJ Rizz and finishing off the night and getting the crowd into a frenzy was Example.
This was such a good day festival and what is so good about FOMO Fest is that they really thought about the space, used it well and put on a quality, professional event with acts which everyone enjoyed.
The vibe was friendly and the atmosphere over the whole event was fantastic. Massive congratulations to the organisers Ross, Dawn and the tiny team for putting on such an epic festival.
