FRIENDLY FESTIVAL 2025
A pint of fresh lager can be inspiring!
Back in early May we hosted an event unlike anything we had ever dreamed of. Teaming up with our pals from Friendly Records, Friendly Festival 2025 was set to be one of the biggest events we had ever held! This would be a unique way to bring people together through the love of music and beer, all whilst raising awareness and vital funds for War Child UK.
The idea for Friendly Festival came about as all good things do – over a few pints! Tom from Friendly Records has been involved in fundraising for War Child since 2022, and together with our co-founders Annie and Alex, they came up with a concept that played to everyone's strengths – a one day festival, hosted in our brewery - Doing what we do best for a good cause.
The 4 months build up to the event was a buzz of activity, as we began transforming our brewery taproom into a festival space complete with staging, food vendors, additional bars and more. When the day of Friendly Festival finally arrived, the atmosphere was electric amongst the crew and volunteers. From building the stage to sound checks, door lists to setting up the bars, we were ready to host our first festival.
Sleaford Mods - a legendary headliner!
The phenomenal line-up of artists and DJs took to the stage, including headliner Sleaford Mods - in their only UK show of 2025 - and supported by local heroes Katy J Pearson, The 45s and Zalizo, playing to a crowd of over 400, all in aid of charity. As the glorious afternoon sunshine began to set into the evening, and the crowd became immersed in the atmosphere, we realised we had created something extraordinary.
“It was an absolute privilege to put together the Friendly Festival alongside Alex, Annie and all the lovely folks at Lost and Grounded. It was a lot of hard work but seeing the event come together, watching people have such a good time and raising as much money for War Child as we did, made it all worthwhile…A huge amount of thanks goes out to all the artists, crew and staff that gave their time for free and to all the lovely people who came and made the day so rewarding” - Tom Friend, Founder of Friendly Records.
We’re so honoured to announce that together we raised an incredible total of £11,967 for War Child UK from the net profit of tickets and bar sales, as well as from the raffle and further donations on the day. These funds will go towards providing safer places for young people, as well as educational opportunities, community support, specialist psychological support, and more to vulnerable children in some of the hardest to reach places around the world affected by war.
It was a day of full of joy and togetherness and is one that we won’t forget in a hurry. We’re so grateful to everyone who made this day possible as well as to those who joined us for Friendly Festival 2025.
Our Co-founder Annie Clements summed this up best :
“No child should be affected by war, but Friendly Festival shows that when like-minded people come together and share a day of music, beer and friendship, we can achieve something really special”
Sunset on an incredible day of music, beer and friendship.