Meadows in the Mountains

Meadows in the Mountains is a uniquely magical wonderland set atop the beautiful Rhodope Mountains Bulgaria

Revellers will return for 4 days of live acts and DJs from across the global musical spectrum, as well as bespoke wellness classes, art exhibitions and eco conscious workshops. The festival is built on principles of community, nature, intimacy, creativity, spirituality, conscious education and regenerative culture.
It’s a celebration of music and artistic diversity and inclusiveness; an opportunity to support underground music and showcase an eclectic mix of talent in a truly unique location: a nature reserve mountain top with the (bucket list) sunrise above the clouds.

Meadows prides itself on being environmentally conscious and stands firmly by its “leave no trace” policy. The site is constructed from local timber with minimal carbon footprint and consists mainly of wood from the surrounding forests. Materials are all recyclable, strictly no plastic policy and food is sourced locally from the village.

They have been working hard to implement permaculture principles and natural building into the festival infrastructure with compost toilets, compost heated showers, rainwater harvesting and the planting of a food forest.

In 2020 they started collaborating with the local forestry unit planting over 1000 trees for what is the beginning of a very exciting relationship to combat our carbon footprint, which is mostly made up from air travel to the festival. This initiative is also bolstered by their #trainnotplane initiative where, every year, they give 20 free festival tickets away to their green fingered community who make a trip to the festival using the European train network.

They have banned single use plastics in 2014 and switched to reusable, zero waste merch sets for our bars and water points. This year they received a Blue 3 Star award from Oceanic Global for their work in eliminating plastic waste from their festival.

Since its inception Meadows has remained a uniquely intimate festival. It’s a family run affair, the brainchild of one of the Sasse brothers who formulated the idea during regular visits to their parents’ retired home in Bulgaria. Damian Sasse spent the 90’s immersed in the rave scene, his summers working in Ibiza and experiencing some of the most iconic DJ sets and monumental after parties of that time. Damian and his brother Benji invited 20 of their best friends who were all DJs, producers, promoters, musicians and dance music aficionados to make the trip from the UK to the remote Bulgarian mountain-top. They spent 3 days spinning vinyl and only stopping to fill up the petrol generator. Since then the festival has built up an international following – crowds gather from all corners of Europe, to the US, Australia and beyond.

Alongside the music, another string to the Meadows bow is the holistic area called Mesa; the home for spirituality and workshops, as well as educational talks from inspirational teachers and leaders.

The festival uses a cutting-edge sound system courtesy of Sound Mind – best known for their rigs at We Out Here festival. It includes the Danley Sound Lab series and bespoke Bulgarian sound THC, with state-of-the-art amplifiers all installed and designed especially for the festival.

The festival works closely with the locals in the village to house guests in the traditional Bulgarian family homes. Often the grandmothers (Baba in Bulgarian) are there to host, offering home cooked meals and amazing hospitality. To be closer to the action camping facilities are also available; boutique bell tents are located in the flower filled meadows next to the festival site. Or go for the floating Tentstile Tents – these are tents that can be suspended from trees; they look amazing and are perfect for the mountain terrain.

What others say..

Meadows In The Mountains reputation continues to grow while still remaining intimate; the festivals beautiful escapism, musical diversity, and free-spirited ethos having caught the hearts of festival-goers and the press alike.

Crack Magazine – “Meadows in the Mountains is the actualization of a dream that plenty of UK festivals have been trying to emulate for the past 25 years, because it is genuine, rather than trying so hard to give the illusion of genuineness. Rather than redefining the idea of a festival, Meadows is a reminder of what a real festival is.”

The Telegraph – “Meadows In The Mountains combines the spirit of Glastonbury and Burning Man”

The Guardian – “Set in the lush environment of the Rhodope Mountains, mornings are blessed each day with the mist that glides over the landscape. The discerning line-up with pique the interest of anyone with an eye on the underground scene”