Why did you start the festival?
I never originally planned start a festival. Each year since the original party for 30 people in 2001, we have simply set out to create a better party than the year before. Each year it’s been a case of getting more and more ambitious and in doing so we have built a festival whilst ensuring we haven’t lost any of the sense of fun and intimacy of the original house party.

My aim is to create a sense of mass euphoria when everything — music, art, theatre, lighting and performers - blends together to create a moment that engages every one of the senses and brings the audience as one.

What do you think marks it out from other festivals?
First we have a really chilled out and intimate vibe and an amazing crowd. This is helped by the location of part of the festival in the grounds of a 16th century manor house, which gives the feel of an overgrown house party. Because initially the festival grew on a word of mouth basis so there is still a feeling that people are somehow connected to each other which encourages interaction and making new friends.

Secondly, the music. For a festival of our size we have a line up the matches those of much greater festivals. This year we’ve got world renowned artists like Femi Kuti whilst at the same time we’re aiming to live up to our reputation for picking the best of the emerging talent (last year we booked Glasvegas, Florence & The Machine, Esser) and I’m really looking forward to Micachu & The Shapes, Mumford & Sons and Paloma Faith.

Thirdly, we collaborate with artists, set designers and performers to lead the audience through surprise themed worlds and spectacles. I think the element of surprise is really important. My aim is to create a sense of mass euphoria when everything — music, art, theatre, lighting and performers - blends together to create a moment that engages every one of the senses and brings the audience as one. We try to achieve this at Standon by revealing secret areas at midnight to build anticipation and a sense of shared experience for the audience at just the moment when they think it’s all over.

Lastly, revenues from the festival benefit two charities, Phoenix Futures and their work with drug addiction and a local community centre. This year, even if we don’t make a profit, we’ll be giving the £2.50 a ticket booking fee straight to the charities.

What are you particularly looking forward to about this year’s event?
Femi Kuti. It has been a dream of mine for Femi to come to Standon since I first saw him 5 or so years ago at Glastonbury. Also, Ladyton and The Whip on Friday night. Definitely, Tony Christie closing the festival on Sunday.

How do you think your event compares to the big festivals?
I think the approach and mindset of the organizer is totally different. When you are a small festival it’s a lot easier to conceive of the festival as a whole and think in terms of how your decisions will affect each individual’s experiences. Clearly once a festival grows you lose this connection with the individual.

We have the nicest festival toilets around because we’ve had them since we were a party for 100 people. We provide shower facilities for all because it makes each individual’s festival experience that much nicer and there’s also a swimming pool which in 2008 won us the Innovation Award at the festival awards for our underwater disco. It’s different from “luxury” which is a term that suggests exclusivity and expensiveness. Standon Calling is much more about focussing on the individual’s experience which of course also means good value and at £89 we are certainly providing that!

Full line up, buy tickets and all that good stuff at www.standon-calling.com