Twenty thousand ravers, six stages, expanded builds, the freshest house and UKG, and the grounds of the historic Kelvedon Hall in the Essex countryside: the fifth edition of the Appetite On The Farm festival was certainly its biggest and most ambitious production yet.
Enticed by a lineup that featured Jamie Jones, Dyed Soundorom, Shanti Celeste, Dr Banana, MJ Cole and a whole host of other artists spread across the August bank holiday weekend, we set out to explore the first day of the event. Just a short thirty five minute hop on the Elizabeth line out to Brentwood followed by a festival shuttle bus, we fuelled up with pre-game pints at Liverpool Street station then headed out of London for our adventure.
The event arrived this year with impeccable British irony: after a scorching summer where we almost forgot that rain exists, the sunshine vanished at the exact moment it was actually needed – replaced by wind and rain which swept across the lovingly prepared festival site throughout the day. But it didn’t dampen the atmosphere – it was clear that the vibes remained high despite the unlucky weather. There’s a special kind of resilience that comes from a young crowd determined to party, and that was on full display.
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Submit your Mix of the Month DJ Competition entryFounded by friends Elliot Schooling and Liam Palmer, Appetite has grown from humble beginnings in Bristol to become a major London club brand, along with expansions into Europe and now their own record label which launched in 2026, Appetite Records. Fresh off the back of a weekly residency at Chinois Ibiza throughout July, it had already been a big summer for the pair in the build up to the festival – and they even managed to squeeze in a double-header of afterparty shows at fabric on both nights after the festival closed.
We were very privileged to catch Elliot for a quick chat backstage (while dodging ice cubes being playfully lobbed at him by Skream) to learn more about the Appetite story. And in particular at Decoded, we always love to hear what it takes to get noticed and booked at festivals as an up-and-coming DJ – so we took the opportunity to ask Elliot about that too.
It began for the boys with an obvious love of music – and a student budget. “I was at uni in Bristol, and it all started with a love for house music and wanting to put on parties,” he told me. “The difference now compared to then is crazy, but it still really comes down to the love of bringing people together, in an intimate space, where everyone feels connected and the vibrations are high.” That principle is something he’s keen to protect as the brand and festival have scaled up: “Appetite has an inclusive, family vibe. Wherever you come from, whatever you’re wearing, you’re going to be accepted.“
When it comes to booking artists, Elliot’s take was a helpful reminder that it’s not just about the music – being professional and courteous is important too. “It’s the music they play, and how adventurous they are in their sets, but also how they act in general goes a long way too“.
And he’s refreshingly open-minded about follower counts – being well known is obviously helpful, but isn’t necessarily a deciding factor. “We’ve sometimes booked people purely off the back of listening to their mixes, or a particular track they’ve put out. A few years ago, artists maybe needed to build themselves up over a long period of time, but nowadays you could potentially build an Instagram presence and blow up very quickly from that. That’s an amazing thing, although it’s not necessarily something we dial in on ourselves. If an artist is going to be able to provide a brilliant music selection, that’s great in itself. If they’re able to do that and bring a crowd, then even better.”
His advice to anyone trying to get noticed amongst the ocean of artists out there these days is this: “Don’t just follow a DJ and their angle – find your own niche and stick to it, because people will be attracted to it.“
With a decade of events now under its belt, it’s clear that Appetite is unpretentious, music-first, and built on a crowd that turns up regardless of what the sky is doing. Between the London parties, the festival, the label, the Ibiza residency and whatever Elliot and Liam have up their sleeves for the future, Appetite shows no signs of slowing down.
You can catch Appetite next at their Zombie Apocalypse Halloween show, at the brand new Ironworks venue in East London on 31 October – find out more and get your tickets here.
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