InCider

Held indoors at a Sand Bay holiday park each February, this is a deliberate antidote to the long gap between summer seasons. The mood is chalet-holiday-meets-festival: catered accommodation, an indoor heated pool and a bar-based programme of karaoke, bingo, quizzes, gameshows and late-night discos sitting alongside the live music. Bands are drawn from the folk, indie and rock end of the summer circuit, with recent editions featuring acts such as The Longest Johns, She Drew The Gun, Beans On Toast and Skimmity Hitchers across a couple of dozen slots. It is an 18-plus event with a returning crowd who treat the weekend as a reunion, and fancy dress and seaside silliness are part of the fabric. Morning beach walks along the shoreline are a common way to shake off the night before. It suits people who want festival company and live music without tents, mud or winter weather.