Become part of the foundations
The Great exhibition presents
Why Foundations Festival ?
Foundations Festival is a brand new, collective-led music and culture festival that celebrates the roots of the UK’s underground, reigniting the energy of the free party movement to build something bold, inclusive and future-facing. It’s a raw, real, and rebellious response to over-commercialised festival culture, driven by community, built from the ground up, and made for those who live it.
THIS IS NOT JUST A FESTIVAL
It’s a raw, real, and rebellious response to over-commercialised festival culture, driven by community, built from the ground up, and made for those who live it.
Foundations is about rebuilding culture from the ground up, rooted in the spirit of the UK’s underground and free party scenes. It celebrates origin stories and grassroots beginnings, giving a platform to collectives and communities who shaped the culture and are now shaping its future. Rejecting commercialisation in favour of raw creativity, Foundations is a collaborative, community-first festival that values authenticity, independence, and progressive politics. It’s inclusive by design, driven by radical joy, and powered by those who live and breathe the culture, not just consume it.
To honour the roots of underground culture by building a bold, inclusive, and community-led festival experience that empowers collectives, reactivates the spirit of DIY, and lays new foundations for the future of UK music and creates a movement.
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Because underground culture is being sidelined by algorithms, ticketing giants, and corporate festivals that sell the vibe but not the values.
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Because the crews, collectives, and communities that shaped UK music culture deserve more than a footnote, they deserve a platform.
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Because people are craving something real again: not just headliners and hype, but purpose, community, and connection.
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Because we believe in rebuilding from the bottom up, centring the voices that too often go unheard, and creating space for creativity that isn’t filtered through profit margins.
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Because this moment needs it: a festival that remembers where we came from, reclaims what we’ve lost, and lays down new foundations for the future of music, movement, and collective joy.
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We are a new kind of gathering, rooted in the raw energy of UK sound system culture, inspired by the DIY spirit of free parties, and built in collaboration with the collectives who live and breathe the underground. Welcoming established names and partners (to be revealed soon) who believe in the festival's ethos, it rejects the traditional “main stage” model, empowering each crew to create and run their own space with full creative control. It’s a decentralised, community-led festival that prioritises cultural authenticity over spectacle, bringing together generations of ravers, artists and activists to honour the past, challenge the present, and lay down new foundations for the future of the scene.
Foundations is a strictly 18+ event, but it’s for everyone, whether you’re stepping into the rave for the first time or you’ve been there since the start. This festival is about shared roots and collective futures, welcoming all generations of ravers, artists, and culture lovers. It doesn’t matter if your first rave was last summer or at Castlemorton, if you believe in community, creativity, and sound that moves you, you’ll find your place here.
FOR THE HEADZ, THE OGs & 90s RAVERS…
Foundations is a call-back to where it all began. For those who were there when the first speakers hit the fields, who remember the thrill of the unknown, the freedom of a proper rig, protecting the genny and the unity that came with every sunrise, this one’s for you. We’re bringing the spirit of the ‘90s back, not through nostalgia but through intention and sound. No polished replicas or watered-down tributes, just real crews, real sound systems and the same rebellious energy that sparked a movement. Whether you haven’t raved in years or never stopped, Foundations is your space to reconnect, pass it on, and help build what comes next.
WHY SHOULD YOU BUY A TICKET & JOIN US?
Because this isn’t just another festival, it’s a moment in the making. Foundations is where the roots of UK rave culture collide with its future. It’s powered by the collectives you trust, the music you live for, and the freedom you’ve been craving. You won’t be herded between main stages or sold the same recycled line-up. You’ll move between self-built spaces, curated by the crews that shape the underground, alongside names you respect and new voices you’re about to discover. Buying a ticket means backing a movement, supporting a festival that puts culture before commerce, and community before clout. This is your chance to be part of something real from the ground up.
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