Electric Paradise - National Bowl - Milton Keynes (08.08.2026)

As mentioned on my Facebook, I was out yesterday. Me and the missus had some ticket for a party at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes, and the event was called 'Electric Paradise'. And as you can see from the image above, it had a lot of great words to describe the event, and looking back at it, it did have all of it. And we were pleasantly surprised to the diversity of the event, not only when it comes to the music, but food, and overall vibes. I've been to many events/festivals before, but this one stands out.

We ordered a cab to pick us up from Stewartby, and it took us roughly 25 minutes to get near the National Bowl. If you don't know the history behind the National Bowl, there's a page on Wikipedia on it, worth a read. It's a historic place where a lot of big names have performed before, but we've never been, didn't really knew its location, or what it looked like. Once the cab dropped us off a mile or so away from it, we followed the noise, and a small crowd. We were following them until we hit a larger group of people, all queueing to get near the entrace.

The event started at 12am, but we got there around 2:30pm. The queueing went fine, and we were blessed with nice weather. And people were getting excited. And then, out of nowhere, the entrance. And boy, was it busy? It certainly was! A sea of people, all waiting to enter. That took roughly 10-15 minutes, which wasn't so bad, and once they scanned our entry tickets and our bodies too, we were allowed in.

It's certainly a big area, this National Bowl. After going through the entrance, we always have a look around, to see what's where. Or where's what. On the left was the Big Love Stage, and next to that was the Glitterbox stage. Next to that, you had a lot of food venders, who sold a wide variety of food, from burger and chips, to noodles, to pizza, and more. You weren't limited to just one. If you went right at the entrance, you would walk toward the main stage, and as we approached it, we saw Sister Sledge featuring Kathy Sledge, and she was putting on a show! It was already busy, but not busy enough: people were still coming in, finding their feet, but for those who were there, it was certainly Kathy Sledge who got us dancing. Such a great voice, and an energetic woman on stage. She knew how to handle the crowd.

Not worried too much about food, we were thirsty, so we bought a few drinks. The drinks weren't cold enough, and especially the water was lukewarm. And for once, going to an event, I had a few drinks, but did not feel drunk, or even tipsy. But even though the drinks weren't cold, there were plenty of bars all around. And waiting to be served, that didn't take that long.

We made a list of all the artists we wanted to see, and after Kathy Sledge, we decided to see Heather Small, and we also caught the end of Gok Wan's set. My wife likes her songs, and I would have to disagree, but she was energetic on the stage. Even when her microphone stopped working (the Big Love Stage seemed to have a few technical issues throughout the day). She made us all sing along. I wasn't dancing so much, but at least my head was bopping.

A quick wander about, toilet visit or drink, I can't remember. But we needed a quick pause before we continued.

Back to the Big Love Stage, for Jocelyn Brown. Another legend. But it took a while for her and her band to start, because of technical issues, and the sound wasn't as good as it supposed to be. She was in good faith, talked about faith, and she did not let anything stop her, performing her biggest songs. But as she started slightly later than expected, we had to make a decision: stay there and listen to Jocelyn, or go to the main stage to see Kool and The Gang. Sorry Jocelyn, but we could not miss The Gang. Oh, and Kool too!

Quickly went back to the main stage to catch the last few Kool and The Gang songs. We were gutted to not have been able to hear more songs, as the last 2-3 were great. And again, they got us dancing. But it is what it is: that's the downside of having multiple big names playing at the same time, or overlapping. But they brough the kool with them. The soul and funk was there, certainly got my white ass dancing!

We had roughly an hour, to wonder around, eat something. We weren't really peckish, but we just had the simple, OG fries. Bland, but it filled us up for the next few hours. Decided to eat the chips near the Glitterbox area, because that was the place to be for us, but sweet Lord, did those toilets smell? Christ, that was a pungent smell. Maybe because of the smell it made the fries with mayo taste better? Who knows.

Before we went to the next set, we absorbed the Sun. During the whole day we were blessed to have a pleasant temperature, and every so often a nice cool breeze. It wasn't too hot, or cold/windy, and we certainly had no rain. That would lead to some unforgiving moments of dust being blown everywhere, and even 12-24 hours later, I am blowing my noise, and bits of the National Bowl are coming out of my nose!

We weren't going to see UB40. As nice as they are, they weren't our cup of tea. We caught the end of Barbara Tucker, who was great. A great pair of lungs, and an entertainer. But we came to see Kirollus, who brought the Disco and House with him. What a fantastic set, really enjoyed it. And during his set, it became apparent: this Glitterbox area was too damn small. He brought the classics, and made me dance like there was no tomorrow. Not the smoothest set I've ever heard, but certainly highly enjoyable.

Dimitri From Paris was on after, but we wanted to chill for a bit. Have a glimpse of what the Earth, Wind & Fire by Al McKay had to offer. But after one song, we decided that the technical issues still present, weren't making this an enjoyable set, so we left. And it turned out, some people made their voices be heard, by booing during the set. Technical issues are never pleasant, and it should have been resolved, but if it's not down to the act performing, it ain't there fault, right?

Got back to the main stage, and set down during Candi Staton's set. She did a fantastic set. Even at her age, she got us dancing and singing her songs. And I envied every artist on stage: I'm only 42, but I move my body much less than those people. 70 or 80+, and still rocking like they are in their 20s? I could not imagine doing that.

The diversity at this event, I had to get used to. I started going out in the late 90s, and there was never this thing of taking your camping chairs and blankets with you. An event isn't a picnic, right? Walking around the main stage, you had to keep looking out for people sitting down or laying down. The days of not bringing a camping chair to an event are now behind us, or is that just me?

At 8:30pm, we went back to the Glitterbox with a nice ice cream, ready for the legend Armand van Helden. And he came, saw, and conquered. What a blinding set. And the crowd were loving it, and screaming each song as loud as humanly possible. The only comment I have, is that 80% of his sets are the same records he plays everywhere, but at least he mastered the mixing of these records, he made sure that his set was flawless, and entertaining. He made me feel 20 years younger again, hearing his classic anthems again. He played so many great records. Probably one of the greatest sets I've heard in a long time.

And people were having it. The atmosphere was electric, and it was also crowded as hell. At one point it became very unpleasant, and people were pushing and moving about. But it's understandable: it's Armand van Helden. Who doesn't want to see him?

A blinding closing set, and it was time for us to leave. Grace Jones was still singing on the main stage, which sounded not like a set I would enjoy, so we left at a great time. Whilst walking out, toward the shuttle busses, there was a kerfuffle, but security were immediately on it. We are no drama seekers, so we didn't stop and looked: just move along and go home.

It took us an hour and a half to get home, and by the time we entered our house, we felt pleasantly surprised on how great this day was. Diverse, as mentioned. Young and old, all enjoying the funk, the house, the groove, the disco, and it was all held together by a day full of sunshine. Yes, we missed a lot of artists and we did not even see the Fools Paradise area, Clockwork Orange area, and the Data Transmission/Disco Infiltrators area. Unfortunately we had to choose which acts we wanted to see, and the Big Love Stage, Main Stage, and Glitterbox had all the artists on it.

It was a great experience. The pros? It was just on our doorstep. Great acts, great vibes.

The cons? Technical issues at the Big Love stage, the smell near Glitterbox coming out of the toilets, and how crowded it was at Armand van Helden. And those camping chairs. It you came to party, you party. And that's what we certainly did.

The best acts (according to me and the wife): Heather Small, Kirollus, Armand van Helden, Gok Wan, Kool & The Gang, Sister Sledge feat Kathy Sledge, Candi Staton.

The least favourite sets: Dimitri From Paris, Jocelyn Brown, Earth, Wind & Fire by Al McKay, and what we could hear during our walk away from the event (Grace Jones).

Overall, a great location we discovered. It has been around for a few decades, but we've never been before. Maybe next year, if the line-up looks great, we might go back. We just might want to experience the disco, the boogie, the funk, the soul.... again! It made us feel electric!

Here are some very shoddy pictures taken by yours truly. And as I'm NOT a photographer, they aren't the greatest. But at least it gives you a glimpse on how it was. But, maybe it's best if you go to Electric Paradise's Facebook page: their images are of much better quality. And they even have videos, if you want to see them.

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