FROM humble beginnings, when one of the founder members of Beat-Herder, Nick Chambers, recalls selling tickets from the window of a rusting second hand caravan, Lancashire’s best-loved festival will celebrate their tenth birthday in the Ribble Valley next month.

“I remember sat on a grass bank in 2013, looking down at the main stage and Nile Rogers (Chic) was singing Lost in Music, one of the greatest disco songs ever written, and the hairs stood up on the back of my neck,” recalled Nick.

“It was like, here was this musical legend playing in a farmer’s field a couple of miles outside Clitheroe next to the A59 and I could see the joy on people’s faces.

“You could taste the atmosphere and that was such an incredible thing.

“We are so proud of Beat-Herder, and I think the Ribble Valley has embraced the festival as one of the jewels in the summer crown.”

Three days of sheep-chaperoned fun, and all the good bits that people really love about Glastonbury, just about sums up this wonderfully barmy and typically northern bash in the shadow of Pendle Hill.

“Beat-Herder is more than the music,” adds Nick.

“We build a little town, and the people who come and make into that fun-loving community for three days in July, means it is the biggest party of the summer.

“Even though they don’t know us personally, they have trust in what we do and that’s an incredibly special thing.

“From the start we wanted Beat-Herder to be an escape from the machine of life, and the people who come immerse themselves in the art work, theatre, music and most of all the vibe of the festival in this truly beautiful part of the world.”

Two of the acts from the first Beat-Herder - Dreadzone and Eat Static - are back to join in the celebrations.

Dancefloor groovers Basement Jaxx are Friday’s headliners while folk-rock heroes The Levellers are lined up for the Sunday slot along with legendary New York hip-hoppers Sugarhill Gang.

“We had 1,500 people at the first one, and for five years it was a word of mouth festival, without any advertising.

“Since then it has grown to 12,000, with Leftfield, Orbital, Jimmy Cliff and many others coming here.

“It is a national event now – we’ve people travelling from America, Cornwall, India and Spain this year.

“But it is still us – six friends from school – who live down the road and care passionately about what we do.”

Set across a dozen stages, some buried in the Sawley woods, the Beat-Herder arts gurus have built an old Victorian street, (Quality Street) complete with functioning bookshops, sweetshops and a barbers to get that essential festival haircut.

New additions last year included a swimming pool in the woods, housed in a Scandinavian style wooden cabin, and The Ring, a huge earth mound with a Stonehenge style entrance.

There’s even a Beat-Herder and District Working Men’s Club if you fancy a pint of Mild and a quiet sit down if the pace gets too hot.

Most of all, though, Beat-Herder remains a staunchly independent festival that has stayed true to its homegrown roots.

Crowned winner of the Extra Festival Activity Award at the UK Festival prize Awards, Nick added: “They said that we paid that extra bit of attention to detail, creating a magical and unforgettable experience.

“People do create that magic, you know, and the memories are made just as much at seeing an unknown band in a 50 capacity tent, or having a chat with somebody in the stone circle, as watching the headliners on the main stage.

“The special atmosphere is Beat-Herder’s biggest strength.”

Beat-Herder. July 17-19. Dockber Farm, Sawley, near Clitheroe

See Beatherder.co.uk for ticket details.