Let's Play Boomtown 2024

In August last year, I found out at the last minute that I’d secured a press pass to Boomtown. Given where I was in life at the time, I grabbed it with both hands, dropped everything, and raced down to the Matterley Bowl. I went in alone, or at least as alone as someone can be at Boomtown when they know half the festival scene, with one goal in mind—to finally experience the Boomtown Story properly. Not just dabble in it, not just hear about it from others, but to actually follow the narrative as deeply as possible. What started as a personal challenge somehow spiraled into a full-scale adventure. Filming as I went, I threw myself into the role-playing madness, befriending clowns in Old Town, running sidequests for the Daily Rag, taking a job on Letsbee Avenue, and most importantly, chasing my ultimate goal: completing Boomtown’s infamous main quest. Over six months and weeks of editing later, I’ve emerged with a film that captures the chaos, humour, and depth of the festival’s narrative world. This is not a festival highlights reel or a music review. This is an exploration of what makes Boomtown truly unique—the deep, multi-layered storytelling experience that allows you to slip between reality and fiction. Along the way, my alter ego, Terry B L English, infiltrates factions, takes on tasks, and ultimately gets caught up in a battle with the forces of capitalism and autocracy that threaten the city. Expect laughter, mayhem, and a whole lot of queues. I know people say Boomtown isn’t what it used to be. I know the crowd has changed, that it’s part corporate-owned now, that people who were there in its heyday say it’s a shadow of its former self. But for all its mainstream shift, Boomtown still has something no small, independent festival can offer—a true alternative reality. Whether you’ve completed the whole story for ten years running or only heard about it in hushed tones from your most adventurous, slightly unhinged mates, join me as I Play Boomtown 2024.