Big hits and hard hats at Northants festival
The world’s only music festival created for builders is coming to Northamptonshire this summer.
Organised by construction radio station Fix Radio, the festival, called FixFest, has moved to the Midlands, and will take place at Delapre Abbey on July 11.
Headliners include Ocean Colour Scene, Hard-Fi, Goldie Lookin Chain and Sigma, with thousands of tradespeople and their families expected to attend.
The festival, first headlined by qualified plasterer Dizzee Rascal in 2025, will not only be providing great music, brewing tea, making bacon butties and pulling pints for the nation’s hard working trades people - it will also be giving them advice on the industry issues that mean the most.
Dedicated areas away from the main stage will host debate and advise tradespeople on the challenges affecting them day to day.
FixFest is the brainchild of Fix Radio founder and CEO Louis Timpany, 33 - who launched Fix Radio in 2017, getting the idea whilst working as a labourer on a building site.
The station has gone from strength to strength and now one in four trade workers listens to the station, which gets 742,000 listeners a week.
Timpany said: “FixFest2026 is a celebration of what it means to be part of the professional trade community. We looked at about 20 potential sites for the festival this year - Delapre Abbey was the natural choice as 17% of our listeners are based in the Midlands.
Visitors and their families can enjoy a whole host of experiences including JCD Dancing Diggers and activities including the ‘Beat the Brickie” challenge to build a wall as quickly as possible.
Other attractions include a Gaming Bus where eventgoers will be able to have a go at operating a simulator crane, digger or forklift - using the same technology the Ministry of Defence uses to train tank drivers.
FixFest will also have help on hand to encourage youngsters to take up an apprenticeship in a trade with a dedicated zone for young people to consider apprenticeship schemes required to take up a trade.
Ocean Colour Scene were a major force during the 1990s Britpop era, with hits including The Day We Caught the Train and The Riverboat Song. Hard-Fi made it big in the early 2000s with rousing singles including Living for the Weekend and Hard to Beat. Goldie Lookin Chain have entertained for years with their comedy rap, while drum and bass duo Sigma topped the charts in 2014 with their hit Nobody to Love, and also hit Number 1 with their Paloma Faith collaboration Changing.
Visit www.fixfest.co.uk to book.