From highly competitive dog shows to night-time stories read in a woodland, there’s a sense of character to Krankenhaus that is unlike most festivals. With fewer than 1,500 people, the Lake District event – created and curated by the art-rock outfit Sea Power – is intimate almost to the point of being familial. Set primarily in a barn with the faint linger of animal dung still in the air, within the stunning grounds of Muncaster Castle, it’s essentially an extended party for the band and their friends.
The Lovely Eggs make a glorious racket as they hammer out a stomping set of psychedelic garage pop before Sea Power team up with Dean Wareham to deliver an immaculate performance of Galaxie 500 songs in a set that is both gentle and sprawling at the same time. The Moonlandingz finish the evening with a wonderfully raucous set that ends with frontman Lias Saoudi screaming his lungs out in the audience over a relentless and filthy gabber beat.
A community choir singing Sea Power’s Blackout ends up being one of the most quietly moving things all weekend, while Gnod – who have a current setup of four guitarists – play a set so loud and punishing that it will have likely traumatised the numerous dogs present. This is something that Stewart Lee jokes about during a brief and expertly executed standup set the following day, while characterising the audience, with affection, as a bunch of “sandal-wearing” indie-folkers. Sea Power put in a herculean effort to play their third gig of the weekend on Sunday, despite some members being up until eight o’clock that morning, resulting in a chill and woozy set that feels custom-built for fragile brains.
While Krankenhaus is endearingly back to basics, it’s also deceptively vast. Steam train trips and guided walks in sublime mountainous settings open up its cosiness into even more beautiful terrain. While so many festivals feel like the equivalent of an airport experience – trapped in a space and rinsed for all you’ve got while stuck there – Krankenhaus really leans into its location and encourages festival-goers to do the same. It’s genuinely unique.
