The Just So Festival 2026 returned with a bang after a year's break in 2025, inviting families to leave their cares at the gateway and simply play all weekend long. Held in the grounds of Rode Hall near Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, the festival offers surprises and adventures at every twist and turn in the forest.
Zoe Chamberlain, Parenting Editor at Brummie Mummies, has been taking her children to the festival since it first began in 2009, describing it as part of her family history. She notes, "I don't think you can buy memories like that."
A stripped-back, handmade feel
This year's festival felt different to previous years, stripped back to the early days with fewer people, a less packed programme, and a more 'handmade' feel. Chamberlain said she absolutely loved it.
The festival's concept came from founder Rowan Hoban and her friend Sarah Bird, who took their kids to Glastonbury and found that while there was plenty for children and adults separately, there wasn't much they could do together. Just So's magic lies in every activity being fun for all ages to do together, creating precious memories.
Music, tribes, and voting
The main stage, The Shindig, was right in the heart of the festival on an enchanting, double-layer stage, which was intimate, with trees visible behind performers and red kites circling overhead. Highlights included soulful trio Loop & Swing and groovy folk band Good Habits, whose American violinist ended up fiddling on the roof. Eight-piece gypsy funk band Klonk lost power but jumped off stage and played in the middle of the chanting, clapping, foot-stomping audience.
Audiences at Just So are special, with everyone choosing a tribe before arriving—foxes, stags, bees, lions, fish, frogs—and making costumes to wear throughout the weekend. This year, instead of the tribal tournament of previous years, there was an election with each tribe running a campaign. Every child received a voting slip, and there was a polling station with voting booths and ballot boxes. The foxes won (Chamberlain's tribe), and the parade to announce the winner was a fun way to get kids interested in voting.
Highlights and unexpected treats
Highlights included a live music pub quiz with guitarist Paul Bytheway, where Chamberlain's family scored 68 out of 80. There was Drum Machine drumming by the lake at sunset for a fish party, dream-weaving, and laughter yoga in the orchard.
Chamberlain loved the unexpected treats, like lying in her sleeping bag listening to a dad recounting a story from storyteller Ian Douglas, playing cards in the ambient Here Comes the Sun workshop, and dancing to old rave classics from DJ Pheeva in the sunshine. She concluded, "The older my children become, the more I realise how precious these moments really are. Grab them with both hands whilst you can, Just So is the place to do it."
Early bird tickets for Just So 2027 are on sale now, with the next festival running from August 20 to 22. Zoe Chamberlain was gifted review tickets, but all opinions expressed are her own.
