From legendary sound systems and dub icons to woodland electronic stages, this independent festival near Lewes is doing things a little differently – and every ticket sold supports Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare.
Fancy a festival that swaps endless queues and identikit stages for reggae legends, electronic music in the woods, community and a miniature railway through the Sussex countryside? We know we do.
One Love / One Sun is back at the gorgeous Bentley Estate, just outside Lewes, this August, bringing together two musical worlds that don’t often share the same festival: roots reggae, dub and UK sound-system culture alongside electronic music, all set across meadows and woodland.
The independent festival centres around One Love, celebrating reggae, dub and sound-system culture, alongside One Sun, a woodland area dedicated to ambient, leftfield electronic music, trip hop, techno, jungle, drum & bass and deeper dance sounds.
This year’s edition also marks a major milestone for legendary London reggae collective Saxon Sound System, who’ll be celebrating their 50th anniversary with their full crew and sound system across the weekend. They’ll be joined by reggae heavyweights including Luciano, Linval Thompson, Admiral Tibet, Bushman and Little Roy, while the woodland stages welcome big electro names like The Orb, A Guy Called Gerald, Ray Keith and The Grid.
But it’s not just about the music.
Rather than feeling like a collection of stages, the organisers are pitching it as a full festival experience, with woodland arenas, Caribbean street food traders, craft stalls, a live graffiti art wall, bars, glamping and even Bentley’s miniature railway, reimagined for the weekend as the ‘Train to Skaville’.
And if your ears fancy a little break or you need some space from the crowds, the Rasta Village and Om & Bass area swap basslines for breathwork, yoga, meditation and sound baths before you head back into the music. The Rasta Village is hosting mindfulness sessions, meditation, creativity workshops and community activities, while the Om & Bass area (under the brilliant ‘zen as f**k motto’ adds (mostly) free yoga, breathwork, sound baths, tai chi and other wellbeing sessions between sets.
One of the nicest touches is that every ticket sold helps support Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare, which has been announced as the festival’s official charity partner. Local brewery Long Man Brewery will also be pouring beers across the site, giving the weekend another Sussex connection.
And if camping isn’t your thing, there’s no need to commit to the whole weekend. Day tickets are available, making it an easy option for Brighton and Lewes music fans wanting a countryside festival without packing a tent. Organisers say they are also working on organising coach travel from Brighton and Hastings.
Friday 21st – Sunday 23rd August; from £65
onelovefestival.co.uk
