The Music Baa in Rockbourne

The Music Baa is a grass-roots live music weekend on a family campsite, not a town venue. For three weekends each summer a white stretch tent at Dreamacres, off Rockbourne Road between Fordingbridge and Salisbury, does the job of both stage and bar. You find it down a track past barns, following small blue sheep signs to Greenacres Farm.

That modest scale is the point. Numbers are kept to around 500 tickets, and each weekend has its own brief. Grass Roots Grazin, usually in late June, is folk and grassroots acts. Hillbilly Hootenanny, in high summer, is Americana and blues. Flocksteady Bleats, later in August, turns to reggae, roots, steppas and dub.

Exact dates change from year to year and are listed on the Music Baa website. The bar runs from 1pm on Friday through to 10.30pm on Sunday.

Camping is optional rather than required. The campsite opens at noon on Friday and stays open until midday on Monday, so a ticket can be a day visit or a few nights on the field. Children under six and campervans incur no extra charge, and dogs are welcome.

Food and drink at the bar come from local suppliers. Facilities on the field include showers and compost toilets.

Dreamacres sits inside Cranborne Chase, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with space and long evening views that suit the pace of the weekends. Line-ups are posted on the website with the tickets, including a season pass covering all three events.

For anyone staying around Fordingbridge, or coming out from Salisbury for live music without a large festival crowd, the Baa is a practical alternative: one field, a named weekend, and bands you can stand close to.