IN 2015, I capped off a fairly memorable summer by heading to the very first Lindisfarne Festival – a last minute decision made on the basis that Northumberland doesn’t have many festivals, and any new ones should be wholeheartedly supported.

Despite the slightly misleading name, the festival doesn’t actually take place on Holy Island itself – rather, it’s found on Beal Farm, on the coastline opposite the island.

Not only does that mean that festival-goers don’t have to time their arrival with the tide (which would almost certainly go very, very wrong), it also means that festival-goers get truly beautiful views of the island from the festival site.

Back in 2015, Lindisfarne was a tiny festival with just one stage, with the likes of Reverend and the Makers and Craig Charles’ Funk and Soul Club attracting a relatively small crowd of around 2,000 people.

All the same, it was a brilliant weekend, with a fantastic, chilled atmosphere, good music and beer all set to that stunning backdrop of Holy Island and the north Northumberland coastline.

At the time, I was a university student just out of my first year – fast forward to the present day, and it’s not just me to have gone through a lot of changes.

The festival is now one of the largest events of its type in the North-East – this year’s line-up contained the likes of The Happy Mondays, electronic group Dub Pistols and folk rock band The Levellers.

In total, 200 acts played across 10 stages, with the capacity more than doubling since 2015.

Almost every type of music was represented, from drum ‘n’ bass and house to traditional Scottish music, folk and ska.

It’s easy to see why Lindisfarne Festival has grown so quickly – the organisers have managed to cultivate a genuinely nice vibe through a combination of the music they choose, the food vans and hippy- inspired vendors that remain open into the early hours and quirky rules, like the ban on children under 18 whilst allowing dogs.

Unlike some larger festivals, there’s never a sense that there are people there looking to cause trouble, and even the drunkest people merely stumble around in a happy stupor, with any thoughts of destroying tents clearly far from their thoughts.

Despite doubling in size, the festival has managed to retain its intimate, friendly feel – everyone you meet there is immediately your friend.

The community feel is perhaps best summed up by the crowdfunder that was set up to fund this year’s event.

Aiming to raise £70,000, the target was smashed by the time the deadline rolled around, and a new record of £75,000 was set for a festival crowdfunder, showing just how much of an impression Lindisfarne has made in its short lifetime.

A special mention has to go to Scottish ska band Bombskare, whose cover of Toxic by Britney Spears in a frantic two-tone style was one of the highlights of the weekend.

Dub Pistols, closing their set on Friday evening with a brilliant cover of the outrageous Mucky Weekend, was a memorable way to get everyone in the mood for their own mucky weekends, and the Happy Mondays followed immediately after with a set that highlighted the showmanship of Shaun Ryder and Mark “Bez” Berry.

It wasn’t only the stars that shone, however – the festival also deserves praise for the platform it provides to local acts, including some artists from Tynedale.

Local band Dansi brought their usual high octane brand of music to the festival, playing to a packed out crowd on the main stage on Friday night.

Band member Wilf Stone, from Haydon Bridge, explained that the weekend marked the end of a summer that had seen the band constantly touring festivals.

Wilf said: “It was brilliant, the crowd was fantastic and it’s a beautiful location.

“Lindisfarne is one of the best young festivals, and it just keeps getting better and better. We played there last year and the year before that.

“It’s been a crazy year; we’ve been on tour all summer and this weekend was the last two festivals we played.

“Playing a festival is great because everyone is in a crazy mood, which helps the gig go smoothly.

“We played Solfest recently, and that was what festivals are all about, playing with the sunset in the background, everyone dressed up and going mad.”

This year’s festival also marked a first for Hexham artist Matty Stokoe, who opened the main stage on Saturday, playing drum ‘n’ bass under the handle of Statik, thanks to BBC Introducing.

Matty said: “It was an amazing experience – the best thing about it was the speakers, it was 10 times as loud as gigs I usually play.

“It was great being able to play my own productions, and the support from BBC Introducing was fantastic.

“The rest of the festival was fun too, it was good being able to see other acts like Mudfoot Blaps and Randall in the dance tent.”

All in all, Lindisfarne totally exceeded my expectations – and I was expecting it to be brilliant. Even the weather held up, which is something almost unheard of for a British music festival.

It’s no wonder this little Northumberland festival has already done well in terms of awards since it was founded, and this year will surely see more success. It definitely deserves it.