The announce­ment, via Mag­i­cal Sounds own face­book page, came as a bit of a shock. The utter­ly bril­liant and beau­ti­ful dance tent to be found year upon year at Beard­ed The­o­ry fes­ti­val, pul­sat­ing away into the music-filled atmos­phere, will no longer be on site. Start­ing in 2024, Beard­ed The­o­ry’s new own­ers have decid­ed to pro­gramme their own dance tent.

So, no more Mag­i­cal Sounds with its cre­ative dec­o­ra­tions, lights, intri­cate ceil­ing, DJs and live artists of all dance-relat­ed genres.

Mag­i­cal Sounds has, over the years, built itself a beau­ti­ful and appre­cia­tive fan base, folk all ready to don their fin­ery with angel wings, wiz­ard cos­tumes, Lego beards and what­ev­er else. We all want to enter into the ten­t’s warm cocoon, where you’ll find a friend­ly crowd amid that warm thud of bass and beats, where you can lose your­self for a few hours in the com­pa­ny of Trans­glob­al Under­ground, Astrala­sia, Glow­bones, Ed Tan­gent, DJ Tem­ple­head, Ban­co de Gaia, Eat Sta­t­ic, Mad Mick… or many oth­ers from a huge roll-call of well loved bands and DJs.

I was first smit­ten by Mag­i­cal Sounds in 2013, and that love has con­tin­ued over the years. Here’s look­ing for­ward to the ten­t’s new home. Build it and they will come. Mag­i­cal Sounds will rise again.