We caught up with Jess Brown at Brownstock HQ for a quick chat

This will be your 7th Brownstock Festival how has it changed from the inaugural festival? 

Well in size Brownstock has changed a lot since the first year in 2004. The first few festivals were an overgrown BBQ with a couple of local bands. Now we have roughly 3000 - 4000 visitors to the festival in Sept.

Then there is the line up. Athlete, Pendulum, Ms Dynamite and ShyFX are big names to be gracing our back field - meaning that this year more than any year the festival has taken an exciting turn.

So apart from the main stages, Silent Disco and Piano bar what other activities will there be at the festival this year?

The festival is about more than music. So yes we have nearly 50 bands on the main stage and similar in terms of DJs in the Good Shed Dance Arena. But aside from other festivities will be in full swing. The Art Camp, run by our sister Anna will be a really interactive area and will have lots of new nooks and crannies this year after a mere dabble in this area last year. Ten Bomb Artwork will be hosting The Doodle Bar and Doodle Competition - a cosy area where you can draw on anything - even them maybe. Their tent will have a Hill Billy theme where fancy dress is a must and you will be able to see their latest nic nac collection and wall projections.

Animux- the guys that graffitied Dad's combine harvester last year will be back to create a huge outdoor wall painting round the edge of the camp and we are in the process of finding art peeps who will be coming to take part too.

We have also been busy building The Free Runner's area. This year they will be given a display slot so that people don't miss their performances. Look out for videos of them in action on the site – and for some of the Skate Boarders that will be in the Skate Park.

Then new for this year is an area we are calling 'The Fancy Dress Box'. This will be all about bringing out your inner Thespian. There will be fancy dress shops, comedy shows, story tellers in fancy dress for the children, and AmDrams doing monologues and mini plays.

What food and drink can we look forward to?

Being farmers good food really is important to us - so we have carefully sampled and hand picked each food area. Shaken Udder Milkshakes - made by nearby farmers - will be on sale. Fire in the Hole stone fired pizzas (back by popular request) and Jimmy (of channel 4's) Farm Food will also be coming along.

And of course - a beef farmer's festival wouldn't be complete without some beef. So you will get to sample our own home grown Aberdeen Angus beef burgers and for the first time, our beef sausages with mash and gravy - which you can enjoy with a proper pint of Suffolk's own Aspall Cyder.

Do you have any special memories from previous Brownstock Festivals?

A few spring to mind

1. People getting involved with graffittiing the combine harvester. Dad is out combining in the field now with some pretty interesting doodles on the back and a big phallic drawing to the left of his cab. Priceless.

2. A plane flying over the site and every member of the festival lying down to spell out brownstock from above. This was a brilliant moment where the festival clubbed together to make it happen.

3. Matt Cardle taking to his guitar to the campsite to serenade campers 'impromptu style' on the Sunday night of the 2009 festival.

4. Beatboxer Beadyman showing off by improvising about a moth flying past – reminding everyone that 'live' meant 'live'.

What 3 essentials should we bring to the Festival?

1. Your instrument whether you are on the line up or not. Open mic in the piano bar and we are about to announce theThe Brownstock Big Band (one song played by as many Brownstockers on the Sunday) would mean you were kicking yourself if you didnt think you would need it. Trumpet or triangle we don't care.

2. Your Hill Billy Fancy dress outfit. Think funny teeth, facial hair, braces, checked shirts, and old hats for the boys, and gingham dresses and pigtails for the girls.

3. A marker pen for The Doodle Bar. We will supply some but we would want your creativity to be stunted once you are in the swing. 

Band we would most like to book dead or alive?

If Jimi H popped in I think we could find room in the line up!

Sum up the ethos of Brownstock?

Our motto has always been "As far from V as we can be".

We  still create the type of festival that we would want to go to. Which often starts with what we are not.

We are not an overgrown club night or music venue with huge sponsors shoving brands down your throat. You won’t spend hours walking from the car dragging your tent, to turn up for a fun weekend of musical queuing!

We are not a big events company hiring a field and pretending to be a small farm-run affair.

We are just The Browns, inviting you to our party - and we want you to go away feeling like that. Track us down, say hello, tell us what you like, tell us what you don't. Not sure where to find us - well look out in the silent disco at 4 in the morning and one of us will still be there pushing on through.

The dictionary definition of a festival is 'a celebration, including exhibitions, competitions and feasting' and we often look back at that as a guide.

Do you think there are too many Festivals in the UK?

Yes there are loads of festivals - but I think the UK's festival culture has really started to make our summers - and more importantly given people an excuse to be outside. The excitement of sitting down and picking which ones you are going to choose at the start of the season is becoming routine.

What I love is that festival goers are starting to become attached to the small festivals who inject hours of time and love into making an individual and unusual event. It means that we all sit up and think carefully about how to spend our hard earned pennies. Brownstock costs the same for the weekend as 3 rounds in the local pub – but has a lot more photo opportunities and talking points.

How important is it to support the local bands/community?

Really this is one of the biggest reasons for us to keep running the festival year after year. We had over 400 bands apply to play, and we listened to every one in the Brownstock Office. We have whittled this down to 40 seriously talented acts. We are only disappointed we can't sit in front of the stage and listen to during the weekend. For some of these bands this is a really big gig, playing alongside the likes of Athlete - and when they get seen and liked it makes it worthwhile.