Bearded theory stands out as being a bit different from other festivals; where did the idea for it come from and how do you maintain its individuality?

The idea basically evolved from a birthday party 4 years ago and I was lucky enough to have the 3 Daft Monkeys play at it and we thought we could do something similar but for charity.

Bearded theory is unique in quite a few ways. We hold several open meetings throughout the year to allow our attendees to come along and tell us what they want at the festival, if its viable we will do our best to accommodate it. The line up is also booked on the back of suggestions from the attendees, so we know everyone will get something out of it.

We are a non profit enterprise and we donate profits to charity each year and employed homeless stewards last year to come to the event in the return for food and references to help them find employment.

Apart from that we are a festival that is fantastic value for money and offer line ups that basically other larger festival offer but for double the ticket price.

You had a brush with the elements last year that could have spelt the end for the festival, but you have come back bigger than ever, can you describe what happened and how you coped with it?

We had a large scale incident which involved a tornado which ripped down our Main Stage, fortunately we had no serious casualties and it could have been a lot worse. Financially it was devastating but we have resolved that now through personal investment as well as various gigs over the year to pay back the deficit. Our emergency plans worked well and were praised from various authorities.

You have two options when you have a major incident and that is to fold or to investigate into what happened to ensure it doesn’t happened again

We have invested heavily in the health and safety practice of the event and employed land surveyors, topographical engineers, structural engineers and soil scientists to inspect and plan the site for us to ensure we have done everything in our power to ensure the site is planned perfectly. While we cannot predict the weather or stop tornados we can plan for them and that’s what we have done.

Are you surprised at the festival’s growth in a relatively short period?

I am and it has come as a shock as basically it was a hobby but it has got out of hand. However I am pleased with its growth as it shows we are getting something right.

What do you think the secret of a successful festival is?

Offering good value and a varied line up always helps. We try not to exclude anyone from Bearded Theory and have something for everyone. The other key part is to gain a loyal following which we are doing and they have been fantastic.

Where did the beard theme come from, and can you tell us a bit about the record attempt this year?

The Beard theme came from a drunken night in Amsterdam 4 years ago and it has kind of stuck ever since. With regards to the world record attempt we are going to try and get the world record for the most amount of fancy dress beards in one place. We were going to do it last year but we didn’t have a stage at that point!!!

How do you attract such a diverse range of acts without the huge budget of bigger festivals?

We go to the bands and tell them what we can afford and the ethos of the event. We write a personalised proposal and tell them why we would like them at Bearded Theory and why we think they would make it special. It’s not just a question of booking an act or enquiring about them, it’s about inviting them into our family.

Any upcoming acts to look out for at BT this year?

Lots, Billy Vincent are a brilliant act that seems to be going places and also I am enjoying the King Blues at the moment. The good thing about Bearded Theory is that we mix up seasoned professionals with up and coming talent. The mix works well!

Apart from the music, what makes BT special?

The atmosphere. Everyone that comes to the festival seems to make the best out of what they are given and never moan. A festival is far more than bands and fancy stages it’s about people coming together and creating something special themselves whether it’s molesting an ostrich with a kazoo or stealing a toilet door.

Can you tell us a bit about the Solar Stage and the Busk Stop idea?

We want people to come along and be the heroes of the event and to add that bit of personalisation to it. That’s why we have busk stops, to give people the chance to entertain others.

How do you make BT more environmentally friendly each year?

We can’t do as much as we would like as we are only small and our ticket price is small. But we have an outstanding public transport system with shuttle buses from all over Derbyshire and buses coming from various major cities. We also recycle all the rubbish and have a team going through all the litter to see what we can recycle. We have also had solar powered stages and offer lift share initiatives.

What essential items should visitors bring to BT?

A beard and a tent

How do you envisage the future of BT?

We take every year as it comes and try to avoid making concrete plans for future years as you never know what might happen. The only plan for the future is to move to a permanent site in 2011 and from there who knows, hopefully more of the same!

Click here to view the Spiral Earth coverage of the festival

www.beardedtheory.co.uk