Main stage acts...
David Devant and his Spirit Wife
Still going strong after 27 years, and compared musically to David Bowie by 6 Music's Mark Radcliffe, David Devant & his Spirit Wife will being their highly inventive indie art-rock to the woods. What makes their live shows particularly special is their theatrical, sometimes even magical, performance and stage presence, so we're all in for a spectacle!
Satsangi bring their amazing-sounding world-influenced psych rock 'n' roll to the woods and we're very excited at that prospect! Lauded by the likes of Tricky, Talvin Singh and Rolling Stone Magazine, the band have gigged extensively in the UK and Africa, bringing their unique sound to millions of listeners. For us, they'll be playing a rare & chilled acoustic set, and we can't wait!
Every year we try and bring Balkan and Klezmer music into the woods, and this year we're very excited to welcome an entirely new band for us: Near East Collective, who bring us the traditional sounds of Greece, Turkey and the Balkans. Their music is beautiful, mesmerising, but also very dance-able.
We're very happy to welcome World Wide Welshman, AKA Liam Rickard to the woods to perform his beautifully sung multi-lingual folk-rock. He will take you on an exhilarating musical journey from Wales to China via the rest of the world, with his infectious tunes, multi-lingual musings on modern life, international party classics, and funk-rock-jazzed-up welsh folk.
So many grooves, so little time…. As we hurtle blithely towards disaster, Doomsday Dance Band offers a unique toe-tapping soundtrack to the apocalypse. With a dollop of funk, a rush of rock and a profusion of vocal harmonies, DDB comprise four venerable musicians who have worked in nearly every genre of music known to humankind – and who now come together to enable you to dance all night, or possibly till the end of time. Whichever comes first
Impossible to categorise, but incredible to watch, Akeim is a multifaceted performing artist, born in Jamaica and raised in England. He seeks to create moving, thought provoking, accessible, organised and free spirited projects. He combines expressive skills such as dance, writing, film, poetry, beat-box, singing and acting to create performances that tell stories to bring together diverse audiences.
Children's acts...
We're delighted to welcome back Jake, whose one man band is perhaps the nation's best known, with performances on Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show, singing Beyonce’s single ladies in the pub style with Al Murray, and being a steak and kidney pie taster and cockney knees up instigator for Jamie Oliver. Jake’s silliness and infectious fun will entertain 2 year olds to 92 year olds, which is precisely what he accomplished at last year's festival (though we can't verify we had any 92-year-olds)
Our children's entertainment looks a bit different this year as we welcome magician Andy Hiccup to the main and children's stage. Andy's fun, fast-paced magic shows are just right for our family audience - expect a lot of comedy, some impressive magical moments and plenty of audience participation. Andy will appear for us twice during the day, and might even pop up to astound you with some magic among the trees. With routine titles like 'The milk jug of doom', 'The shoe machine' and 'The kids' revenge' anything could happen!
We welcome back the dearly-loved Wishworks with their unique brand of madcap puppetry. Whether you've seen them perform or not, they are firm favourites of ours, and an absolute must-see
Special guests...
DJ Otter returns to spin his foot-tapping reggae sounds between bands, along with a pinch of soul, just a hint of bass & a sprinkle of old classics.
Warning - His vinyl records comes with a smile!