What is Deva Fest you may ask? People that walk around dressed to kill, thinking they are the best looking, with an attitude that says look but don’t touch? Wrong! It is a music festival with a difference. This really is one for all the family. You can stay and camp for four nights or just turn up each day with a ticket.
Deva Fest is an independently-owned festival in Malpas, Cheshire, and you can tell it is from the attention to detail and the care for the public. Festival Director Phil Marston and his wife have put so much work into making this one of the top North West festivals. Well done! It started in 2018, a yearly festival, and has gotten bigger and better with every year with over 20,000 people attending.
The best loos you’ll see at a festival
The organisers run shuttle buses from different areas but it seems most people want to drive themselves to this event.
The portable loos – I was parked opposite and two men were in there cleaning them every time someone had been in. They had the full cleaning kit on them and lots of loo rolls – now that’s what I call luxury!
There are street food traders, bars, comedy stages – in fact five stages across the site. It is hot so most people are in shorts and t-shirts.
There is a main music stage – yes that’s where I’m heading. There is a wonderful fairground where all the rides are FREE – yes all included in the ticket, incredible – that’s going to keep the kids occupied.
Matt Goss’s four-legged sidekick
Matt Goss (Bros) management have invited me to attend and take photos of him. I arrive and am given an artist’s main stage wrist band. I meet Matt’s tour manager Jim near the main stage and he tells me Matt does not want anyone taking photos in the pit for more than three songs – maybe he is having an off day? I tell him I will come back when he goes on stage. There is nothing worse than pushy photographers who hang around backstage trying to intrude on the privacy of the artists and get selfies – unfortunately I did see a few doing this.
I am in the pit and Matt enters the stage. He always likes to look good, smart and very handsome. If there is anyone who does not remember Bros – let me mention a couple of hits: ‘When will I Be Famous’, ‘I Owe You Nothing’ – go and have a listen on YouTube! According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), Bros sold 1.3 million albums and 750,000 singles in the UK, and 16 million records worldwide.
I look at the side of the stage and see Matt’s girlfriend Chantel with his dog Reggie. I am worried it is too loud for his dog but am sure Matt would not have brought him on stage if Reggie did not enjoy being there. Do you think dogs should be on a music stage?
Songs, singalongs and selfies
Matt is in a playful mood. He picks out two men in the crowd and keeps having ‘banter’ with them all through the show. He says they look like they have just got out of prison?! He tells us that he has lived in America for 25 years. He held an 11-year Las Vegas residency – not many artists can claim such success. The fans keep shouting out to him. He gets the audience singing sections of his songs. Every so often he looks over to check Reggie is okay. I wonder why Matt wears a posh hat all the time? He prefers fedoras. I only see him lift his hat when he puts a guitar on – and yes he has a full head of perfectly quaffed hair, slicked back.
Matt is on stage for 70 minutes. The songs and banter flow. And the song everyone has been waiting for, ‘When will I Be Famous’, is performed at the end.
After coming off stage Matt takes Reggie to the crowd barriers at front of stage and is letting fans take selfies. He shakes hands with everyone – what great manners – and lets them tell him about a certain time when they went to see him in Bros. He must have heard these stories millions of times but is smiling and listening to everyone.
Great to see you Matt – come back to the North West soon.
Deva Fest’s finale features another survivor
Gloria Gaynor, the legend, is the last act on stage. ‘I Will Survive’, ‘Never can say Goodbye’, ‘I Am What I Am’. This lady is 81 years old. She looks amazing. How on earth does she manage to do a full concert? She moves across the stage and looks very emotional as she feels the love from the crowd. Let me know where I can get some of Gloria’s energy.
What an amazing festival – hopefully I will see you next year?
All pictures by Deborah Law
This year’s Deva Fest ran from 7 – 10 August 2025 at Cholmondeley Castle, Malpas, Cheshire. Tickets are now available for the 2026 festival, 6 – 9 August, at https://www.devafest.co.uk/
