“Doing this full-time and committing to it is terrifying,” says Vicky Parsons, co-founder and festival director of Let Loose Festival. And she isn’t wrong.
Let Loose takes place in Rhayadar, Wales. For those unfamiliar, Rhayadar is a quaint green space found in the middle of the country that sports rolling hills, historic woodlands and is said to be the oldest town in that part of the world. On 10-12 July these pastures will host an intimate family and friends affair, albeit one that plays DnB, techno and disco until the wee hours.
But Let Loose is something of an anomaly in 2026, in that it’s a brand new festival for 2026. It shouldn’t be the case, but that’s a rarity in modern times. At least 20 UK festivals have been cancelled, pushed back or have taken a break so far in 2026. Festival tickets are being bought later, fewer are selling out in advance and everything is getting more expensive.
So, why do it? In the case of Let Loose, quite casually really.
Let Loose came together in a way that’s more reminiscent of the DIY rave days of the 90s, rather than a festival where you bank on big name headliners and live and die by a balance sheet. They knew some DJs, enlisted their mates who conveniently run a sound system called BS8 and know a guy who knows a guy who has a farmers field.
In her daily life Vicky works as a social media executive, while the wider Let Loose collective cover branding, stage design and everything else you need to make a festival get off the ground. Pooling their resources and experience, all while balancing club night raves with adult responsibilities, through what Vicky describes as a “fuck it” moment a festival was born.
Their overall intention, says Vicky, is to build something for the younger generation to experience something they did. “We want to build something new and exciting things for the younger generations to enjoy that will enable things in the future to happen,” says Vic. “I would have not done this if I had not enjoyed going to festivals when I was younger.“
This ethos for the festival comes from lived experience. While Vicky spent her teens in tented feels, she graduated university in 2021 so had roughly 18 months of normal university life before COVID shut everything down. Normally, university life comes with musical discovery in a new city and all the late nights and early mornings that come with it. This was not exactly the experience many people had through those years.
For nightlife and festivals the hangover from these years are still being felt thinks Vicky. “During COVID, people weren’t going out to clubs, and from what I’ve seen that’s still the case,” she says. “Students aren’t going out and they’re not having those experiences, and we need younger generations to enjoy these moments because that enables the future to happen.“
The information checks out, whether it’s young people drinking less to once bustling city centre venues struggling to survive. But through that, the inspirations and USP behind Let Loose came from this need to share nightlife. “I’ve seen 18 year olds at their first shows and discovering they’re best thing ever,” says Vicky. “Let Loose is for them.“
Once festival doors were allowed to properly reopen in 2022, many tried to replicate what they did before and appeal to a pre-COVID audience. But audiences had changed. A typical 17 year old who would ordinarily be attending their first festival suddenly became 20 and had no interest in sleeping in muddy fields. Older patrons found new hobbies in wellbeing, fitness and gourmet food. This created a new festival audience who needed to be catered to in new ways. Not everyone has reacted to that change.
This gives Vicky, the Let Loose crew, and really any young festival organiser world an advantage over more established promoters. Those who grew up in a post-COVID know the lay of the modern land, not chasing old ways of doing things.
Finding your first ever festival audience is all about knowing what your audiences want and how to reach them. A part of that is through using social media in the right way, something Vicky has an intrinsic knowledge of but other festivals fail to fully grasp. “Social media drips into everything, no matter what area of work you’re in. And we get that,” says Vicky. “We’re contending with a sea of AI content and everyone’s fighting you for your attention. You sometimes feel put in a corner to create a certain type of content, because you do need sales, you do need people to come and you do need people to see it. You need to strike a balance of it being very genuine and heartfelt, but without throwing every single sound effect hook or trend into every video.”
Perhaps most importantly, starting at just under £40 for a two-day weekender Let Loose is very much a bargain. But Vicky is also being realistic with what they’re doing and the message they’re trying to get across. “We’re not owned by a corporation so we can do exactly what we want,” says Vicky. “We’re a small festival in its first year, and we’re individual people with individual ideas. Is it just a festival in a field with music? Yes, but there’s an intention behind it.”
All that said, while it may seem like Let Loose simply dropped in to place seamlessly, their team are very much learning that launching a new festival comes with some learning curves. “It’s the most boring stuff that really takes the fun out of things,” says Vicky. “These things are essential for looking after people, but thankfully I’m the craziest over-thinker so we’re good.“
Some issues require more attention than others. While they aren’t exactly the reasons why you first decide to throw a rave in a field, water treatment, food hygiene standards and getting the local council on your side are pretty vital tasks.
There’s first year costs, but those are more of an investment than just a minus on a finance spreadsheet. “All the props, decorations and lighting we’ve had to source and pay for. It’s a hit, but having them automatically makes next year a little bit easier,” says Vicky. Other potential issues, whether it be noise complaints or annoying the neighbours, have been solved through gifts, a bottle of wine or some friendly convincing to local farmers that everything is going to be OK.
A brand new festival comes with the fear of taking that leap into the unknown, but how Let Loose are doing it seems like the very best kind of throwback. A festival built on friends, favours and a sound system. “Grassroots festivals are underfunded but full of a community who really care,” says Vicky. “That’s what we’re building.“
Final tickets for Let Loose 2026 are available now.
The post ‘We can do exactly what we want’: debut festival Let Loose on leaping into the unknown appeared first on Festival Insights.
