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Secret Garden Party Announces This Year's Festival Will Be Its Last

“I concede to the infamous phrase that ‘All good things must come to an end.’”
festival
Photo courtesy of the festival

UK boutique festival Secret Garden Party will host its last edition this summer, according to an announcement posted by the promoters on the official website. The final hurrah will take place July 20-23 at Abbots Ripton in Cambridgeshire, England with performances from Crystal Fighters, Metronomy, Tom Misch, Bonzai, Peaches, and more.

"Whilst I have always known I was going to have to write this, it still feels strange," wrote "Head Gardener" Freddie Fellowes. "We have been on a long journey but I concede to the infamous phrase that 'All good things must come to an end.'"

Launched 15 years ago as an independent alternative to mainstream festivals juggernauts, Secret Garden Party has grown into one of the UK's largest outdoor events with no branding or sponsors. Over the years, it has had performances from artists such as Faithless, Clean Bandit, Lily Allen, Florence & the Machine, The xx, Gorillaz, and more. Last year, it became the first UK festival to offer a drug-testing service.

"The Garden Party has defined and redefined outdoor events in the UK; we have all done this together as a collective of truly independent outsiders," stated Fellowes. "I have never compromised our principles and I never will. SGP has always been a beacon of what you can do within those terms… What better way to honor the love that has been given to this project and wholly demonstrate this principle, than going out with a bang."

However, as the website states, though this may be the end of Secret Garden Party, a new event replace it in the future.

To accompany the announcement, they have shared a special mix. Listen to it below.