"It’s a very welcome difference, to know that I’m not generating income for multinational corporations, just repping for certain regional plant species."
Located in the heart of the National Forest on the South Derbyshire, West Midlands and Staffordshire border, Bearded Theory is a spring gathering like no other, bringing together live music, comedy, talks, fancy dress and all-round magic.
Running since 2008, the independent festival thrives from being audience-led, booking both acts, vendors and bars off the back of audience recommendation, removing any need for sponsorship or branding throughout the site. The five-day camping festival scooped up Line Up of The Year at the UK Music Festival Awards last year for its 2024 outing and is set to have an equally impressive cast in 2025. Headline acts such as Iggy Pop, Manic Street Preachers and Paul Heaton will star alongside Rough Trade favourites English Teacher, Fat Dog, Yard Act, Ezra Furman, Miki Berenyi Trio and more.
This year Rough Trade On Tour makes its debut at Bearded Theory, our tent on site housing a specially curated selection of vinyl, books, merch and some amazing guest spots for album signings - watch our social channels for the full schedule announcing soon. Also making an anticipated debut at this year's edition is American musician and songwriter Ezra Furman, following the release of her anticipated tenth studio album Goodbye Small Head. In celebration of our joint first-timer status, we were lucky enough to catch up with Ezra to chat about her upcoming live dates in the UK and all things festival-related.
Five Minutes with... Ezra Furman
The indie rockstar chats advice for touring artists, celebrating independent music festival culture and the must-see names at this year's Bearded Theory.
This summer marks your return to the touring circuit after a near two-year hiatus, during which you recorded your tenth studio album, Goodbye Small Head. Did stepping away from the live scene influence your latest path to creating new music, and did it cause any reflection on what kind of shows you wanted to play for this next chapter?
You overestimate how much I know what’s going on with me, what influences me, and how much I reflect. I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m living moment to moment. I’m like a cat wandering around a house. All of a sudden, she gets some inscrutable impulse and she jumps up on top of a couch, sits there for a while. She falls asleep, she wakes up, she does something else, no reason, just waiting to eat, really, trying to give her muscles some minimal amount of exercise and dreaming her cat dreams that no one will ever know about. That’s me. Touring feels bad, so I stop. I get a little idea, I write it down. Eventually, a recording appears in the litter box. Then I get hungry, there’s no money, I go to England and try to get some money. In the midst of all that flailing, I find transcendent connection with strangers, I show them some glimpse of my little kitty cat dreams, because humans can do that. No plan, just vibes, baby.
"if they want to have an all-transsexual lineup one year, I certainly won’t discourage it!"
What's the most important piece of advice you would give to an artist new to the pressures of touring?
When people treat you like shit, tell them to please not do that. A lot of times, they’ll stop. I used to always forget to tell them that. Sometimes I still forget.
We're very excited to see you join a dynamic bill of artists for this year's Bearded Theory Festival, one of the UK's most proudly independent and audience-led festivals. You've headlined and performed at a real variety of brilliant independent UK festivals before (Green Man, Manchester Psych Fest, End of the Road and Kettering’s Greenbelt). What sets these festivals apart in terms of the culture, and what should we be celebrating about them?
I really like that there’s usually no giant corporate ads looming over me while I’m there. That’s the one difference that I really notice at all of them. I’m not playing at the Exxon Mobil stage, it’s always called the Welsh Poppyflower Stage or something, and it’s a very welcome difference, to know that I’m not generating income for multinational corporations, just repping for certain regional plant species.
"I’ve become increasingly aware of how much the performers onstage can shape the culture in the room in which they’re performing. I want to make a gathering happen where everyone feels free, safe, cared for and even loved."
There has been a continuous call over the past few years for festivals to address gender representation imbalances, whether headliners or throughout the lineup. Would you say there has been a shift with festivals taking responsibility for improving diversity, or is this a problem which needs to be tackled more from the grassroots up?
Okay, now you’re just trying to get me working as an unpaid diversity consultant, and I think I’m going to have to decline to answer this one in depth. But I’m glad you’re thinking about it! Yes, most festival lineups should be a lot more diverse. I really think more racial diversity is a more urgent concern than gender stuff, but if they want to have an all-transsexual lineup one year, I certainly won’t discourage it!
In addition to your Bearded Theory festival set, you are putting on your own one-day festival at EartH in London, Ezra Furman Presents A World of Love and Care. Can you tell us a bit about the curation of this event and what you are hoping it represents?
People get assaulted at concerts. People get slurs shouted at them, they get shoved around, unconsciously pushed out of the space in this way or that. I’ve become increasingly aware of how much the performers onstage can shape the culture in the room in which they’re performing. I want to make a gathering happen where everyone feels free, safe, cared for and even loved. That’s why we called it that. And also, I want to see bands I love do the genius things they do. Du Blonde, Jasmine.4.T, Modern Woman, and Westside Cowboy are all playing, and I can’t even choose which one I’m most excited to see. All of them. I guess I’m finally really starting to flex the power I have as a bandleader who can fill a room with people. I get to influence everyone to be more caring, and I get to choose the bands. It’s amazing.
And finally, can you share your Bearded Theory 2025 top artist picks?
I kind of didn’t even realise, until you asked, how absolutely great this lineup is. So, okay, in the “I’d Be Super Extra Excited If I Get To See This Band Live” category, there’s Mannequin Pussy, Sophie Jamieson, Du Blonde, Nadine Shah, Billy Nomates, Divorce, Iggy Pop, the Bug Club, McLusky, the Lovely Eggs, The Furious Five, Porridge Radio, the Vaselines and Martha. Damn, that’s fourteen groups! Did you raid my personal playlists to source this lineup? I’ll never have time to see them all. All those brilliant people aside, I hope I hear some music I’ve never heard before and fall in love with it. That’s one of the best things that can happen at a music festival.
