As the festival bounces back for its 2025 edition, photographer Chester McKee takes to the grassy dancefloors
Chase the thump of basslines through Norfolk’s quiet fields and you’ll find a hidden cluster of tents and makeshift stages. Sold as “a million miles from reality,” Field Maneuvers is a pocket of escapism that has steadily grown into one of the UK’s most refreshing festival experiences.
Only a year ago, the beloved “dirty little rave in a field” was on the brink of cancellation, undone by ballooning costs and the harsh realities of running an independent party. But while the 2024 edition was feared to be the last dance, 2025 showed that Field Maneuvers isn’t going anywhere (just yet). This year, FM handed the reins to some of the UK’s most exciting crews, with club nights, collectives and labels curating takeovers across five stages – The FM Tent, Lake Stage, Laika, The Packet Inn and Sputnik – and The Sanctuary, the ambient wind-down zone.
“The mood going into this edition was the most relaxed and excited it’s been,” says Leon. "Our team behind the scenes was the strongest yet– featuring some amazing new people and lots of returning characters who form our current FM dream team." A long way from the festival’s humble (but beloved) early years, when the crew were dragging crates of beer out of Cash & Carry and hammering together dancefloors. But that doesn’t mean the workload was light this time around. “We go to sleep thinking about FM, then we dream about it, then we wake up thinking about it, and then we spend all day working on it,” team member Ele tells us.
That effort translated into a carefully curated lineup that stretched from formative heavyweights like Hyperdub – with a full takeover from Kode9, aya, Ikonika, Cooly G and Nazar – to grassroots ventures like Gut Level, Cobalt Studios and Cosmic Slop. “All takeover crews this year are people we really admire and love and have a similar ethos to us,” Ele says. “It was very uplifting to collaborate with some like-minded collectives who pour their heart into creating community even when it’s against all odds.”
This championing of resistance and independence has become a defining part of the festival’s identity. It is visible in the crews that FM invites, the line-ups they book, and the energy they create on the dancefloors. As was the case with the Uhaul Dyke Rescue takeover, a standout of the weekend that spiralled into one of this year’s most unruly moments. Their crew had dancers on tables waving signs that read “Dolls For Palestine” and “Fuck the Supreme Court, I’ll Piss Where I Want.” It’s a form of resistance central to electronic music, and something the founders feel has happened naturally as FM “takes on a life of its own.”
While the FM team are wary of overstating the festival’s role in the wider scene, its sense of community feels particularly important against the backdrop of politics today. “A good rave may not be able to dissolve societal boundaries altogether, but it’s a step in the right direction if you leave with a sense that there are alternate states outside of the distant, transactional modes that seem commonplace in the ‘real’ world,” says Leon. As Henry puts it, “Turns out if you create a really positive, friendly and fun space, it fills up with great people.”
After a year of uncertainty, it’s clear FM has found firmer ground – though that doesn’t make it a stable time for grassroots music events like theirs. FM is already confirmed for 2026, but, as the team advises, “treat every FM like it’s your last.”
Next year’s edition of Field Maneuvers takes place 21-23 August, 2026. Grab tickets here.