At Brown Paper Tickets we love to work with community projects and those who have a DIY approach and mentality. This is why it is such a pleasure to be selling tickets for LeeFest this year.

This is a festival that started from humble beginnings with the right mindset, principles and ethics and has now become a major player in the annual festival calendar winning “Best Independent Festival” in 2012 at the Association of Independent Music awards.

It certainly has come a long way from starting in founder Lee Denny’s back garden with 150 people, whilst his parents were on holiday. This small community has grown over the years and now the festival will run over 3 days in 2013 with the community swelling beyond 3000. Despite the rise in number the organizers are keen to keep the same atmosphere. As the numbers have grown so have the demographic and the younger crowd has grown out to a real cross section of the population throwing their energy into the mix and making this such a unique event.

The growth of LeeFest over the years is a truly staggering achievement, a fact that is aptly demonstrated by this cheeky graphic aid which shows that logistically it has become a different animal over the years.

It is this sense of fun that is central to LeeFest, there is a firm belief that everyone should be enjoying themselves, whether they are organizing, playing, volunteering or spectating. With this in mind, the festival has grown organically and any decisions made have been for the good of the festival not for a quick buck. LeeFest is actually a non-profit festival allowing it to not fall fowl to the greed of the potential profit margins, in fact the profits are divided with the money going to charity and the rest being reinvested back into the event. This model creates a fabulous atmosphere as everyone can enjoy the entertainment knowing that a) It’s worth every penny b) That the money is going to a good cause. Everyone is in it together, and this was before “the big society” was rolled out!

Leefest is renowned for putting the focus on emerging acts and is a platform for professionals and amateurs alike, giving amateurs an opportunity to play on the same stages and gain valuable experience. Indeed, there are opportunities throughout the festival though you can get involved in many other ways whether it is on the tech crew, creative design, building the site or working one of the bars. You can check out the opportunities that are available this year here the entry deadline is the 26th June 2013.

The Festival has won numerous awards since its inception including the founder Lee Denny receiving the Spirit of London award for Achievement in the Arts. The Festival continues to evolve and innovate and this year the Festival is taking the unheard of step in letting fans join it’s board of creative directors! Not wanting to sell out to big sponsors and investors Leefest is looking to raise £50,000 through crowd funding and Kickstarter so that it can continue to grow and remain independent and sponsor free.

As Lee Denny explains “We owe our current success to the amazing individuals involved so raising finance from the people and giving them creative control of the festival in return seemed perfect!”

Here is the link for their Kickstarter page. As this was only announced this morning you can get onboard early and peruse the options.

The Festival runs from 12th-14th July and you can grab a ticket now. All they ask is that you have fun and help them to leave the countryside as they found it, you can’t say fairer than that!

Some of the acts appearing this year include Delphic, King Charles and The Other Tribe to name but a few, we have selected a few tracks to wet your appetite.

This is Delphic’s track “Baiya” which is taken from “Collections” which is their eagerly anticipated second album following the critical success of first album “Acolyte.”

King Charles’s song “The Brightest Lights” featuring Mumford & Sons is taken from his debut album “Loveblood” which was released in May 2012.

The Other Tribe with their single “Skirts.”

That’s it for this week, we wish Leefest all the best with their Kickstarter campaign and we look forward to seeing you next week with more musical goodness.