While festivals have traditionally been known as a hotspot for drugs, alcohol and substance misuse, Essex Recovery Festival is looking to fill a much-needed gap in this Summer’s festival calendar.
Over recent years, England has seen a huge generational shift in alcohol consumption. In a 2023 survey, a third of young people aged 18-25 said that they had made the decision not to drink and over 40% are moderating their intake. With Gen-Z being labelled “the sober curious generation”, the demand for more sober-friendly events has increased profoundly.
Essex Recovery Festival is a safe, fun and vibrant weekend for people to enjoy live music, wellbeing sessions, outdoor adventure activities and camping in a completely drug and alcohol-free space. Created by people in recovery from addiction themselves, the organisers reflect on the need for supportive and visible spaces for people to maintain their recovery.
The festival has been brought to Lambourne End Centre by Essex Recovery Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation which was created to build a visible recovery community in Essex. They have partnered with Not Saints, the UK’s first sobriety-based record label dedicated to working with music artists who are seeking a life free from drug and alcohol addiction.
The festival offers an action-packed agenda with a timetable to suit different tastes. In terms of music, the festival has announced an eclectic line-up of artists, all in recovery themselves, to provide the backing track for the weekend. Artists such as Hanna Piranha, Little Tealeif and Ella Hayes have all been confirmed, with DJ sets coming from Tracer, LYP and Paul Byrne to name just a few.
With wellbeing considered a core aim of the festival, attendees will be pleased with the extensive timetable which includes chakra dance, yoga, drumming, chanting and sound therapy. For those seeking adrenaline, Lambourne End Centre provides the perfect location to pursue adventure with ziplining, abseiling and archery at your fingertips.
The organisers of the Essex Recovery Festival are clear that the event is for anybody who is curious about sober living.
Laurence Hickmott, Chief Executive of Essex Recovery Foundation says:
“We are thrilled to be bringing a recovery festival to Essex this Summer, a concept which was born to offer people in recovery from addiction a sober-supportive space to come together, to celebrate and to have fun. However, it’s important to us that the festival is an open and welcome event to anybody who is looking for more experiences which are substance-free. We hope the festival clearly demonstrates what a life free from drugs and alcohol can look like”.
