Festival guide 2015

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to you by Local Wor Festival Guide 2015 was brought

WELCOME...

What are you planning to do this summer?

If you are dedicated party animal, foodie, music fan, culture vulture, or appreciate the finer points of a decent pint, you’ve got buckets of events to choose from.

And why wouldn’t you? The south west of England pretty much invented the modern music festival, which is why we’re so good at them.

All over the south west tents are being checked, brewers are testing their brews, cheeses are maturing in caves and storehouses.

Musicians are tuning up, the pantechnicons are ready to roll, marquees are coming out of storage.

Festivals of all kinds, and for every taste will spread smiles on faces of millions.

And if you don’t fancy this weekend’s offerings, well, just give it a few days, there’ll another batch along in a minute.

Whatever you fancy from a family day out to a full blown hardcore rave you’ll find it here.

We even let you know about events away from the south west.

And we’ll be updating our website www. festivalguide.co.uk all through the summer.

Get your travelling shoes on – it’s time for a party in the best venue in the world.

THE BEST IN SOUTH WEST, NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT

South West Music Festivals ............ 4 National Music Festivals .......... 31 International Music Festivals .......... 45 Food & Drink Festivals .......... 55 Arts & Culture Festivals .......... 64

THE FESTIVAL TEAM Writer/Researcher Oliver Hulme Sub-editor Steve Mellen Production Cath Evans Commercial Manager Daren Stainton Advertising Sales Zemone Latto, Yvonne Ellis, Guy Lewis, James Kerton, Jodie Guichard, Allison Fry, Andrew Evans Sales Support Ruth Wood, Emma Gorton, Katie Turner-Hands Bristol Office Bristol News & Media, Temple Way, Bristol, BS99 7HE Tel: 0117 942 8491 Fax: 0117 934 3566 To be involved next year please contact: Daren Stainton on 0117 934 3769 or email daren.stainton@localworld.co.uk

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVALS BATH BRISTOL IT’S the biggest city in the South West, so it’s no surprise that Bristol’s festival scene is the largest in the area – in fact it’s probably the best city for a party outside of London in the UK. True, it’s been a while since the ‘Bristol sound’ of pioneers such as Massive Attack, Roni Size and Portishead were regulars in the charts, but that’s not to say the city isn’t still a hotbed of music – and music events.

From the International Jazz and Blues Festival in the spring to Arcadia in the late summer the meat-and-Americana vibe of Grillstock to the 1980s-themed Let’s Rock Bristol, there is something for every taste.

And this year new boundaries will be explored, with the first ever Mod and Ska festival taking place in Bristol, another feather in the city’s cap.

So there’s plenty going on and that’s without listing all the many local events which makes this one of the best places to live if you love your music.

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Music forms an important part of Bath's every-day cultural scene. In the city, you're never too far away from a busker - and a music festival is never too far away either.

Each May, the city explodes into life with Bath International Music Festival. Celebrating local talent, the free event is Bath's answer to Rio de Janeiro's carnival, with performers filling the city's streets.

For lovers of classical music, the city's Bachfest (February) and Mozartfest (November) are two popular festivals. This year, Mozartfest will be celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Bath's Folk Festival (August) is one of the newest of the genre to emerge across the UK, yet it already attracts acclaimed musicians from around the world as well as helping to nurture local talent.

Just outside Bath, between June and August each year, there is also Iford Arts Festival. Held in the gardens of Iford Manor, picnicking visitors are treated to a broad range of opera and classical concerts.

The city currently boasts no rock music festivals. Back in 1969, however, the likes of Led Zeppelin performed in central Bath for what some consider to be the UK's first ever rock festival.

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVALS

SOMERSET Somerset is the birthplace of the modern British music festival – and with 45 years honing their skills it’s no wonder that the organisers of the biggest and best parties in Britain are based here.

The biggest show in Britain takes place at Pilton at the end of June, and the creative geniuses that add that something special need

something to occupy their time the rest of the year.

Weekend events like Farmfestival and Sat In A Field, one day spectaculars like Glastonbury Extravaganza and Godney Gathering, Yeovil Blues and Rock Festival and Home Farm Fest at Chilthorne Domer Community parties such as Wells May Fair and Collet Park Weekend in Shepton Mallet,

the week-long Glastonbury Fringe and the three day celebration of Somerset’s most famous product the Outcider Festival high on the Mendip Hills appeal to many.

For those less keen on the thrash of a guitar or the spinning of a set of decks there’s the Priddy Folk Festival, delighting visitors for well over two decades, the 10th free Burnham on Sea folk festival, and, just over the border in Wiltshire, Village Pump.

And down on the Dorset coast, you can find the UKs most family friendly festival, Camp Bestival.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE You can find all kinds of musical entertainment in Gloucestershire and on the other side of the Severn.

From the choral splendour of the Three Choirs festival to the fun and games of Wychwood there’s something to delight the ears whatever your tastes Cheltenham Jazz Festival this year features Jamie Cullum is the guest director of this Spring festival.

For those looking for the more populist end of the music scene Red Red Wine and Kingston Town is bound to be resonating around Cheltenham Racecourse this year as UB40Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue reunited are announced as headliners at this annual family-friendly, music festival which has been described as one of the first of the many bijou Glastonburies.

And where Monmouthshire FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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really shines is in the championing of the low impact eco-festival.

Green Man is known as the daddy of the green music festivals, this rather civilised folksy event has a reputation for discovering talent before it hits the big time. Think Mumford and Sons in 2008. Eager fans snapped up early bird tickets back in August so don’t leave it too late if want to be at Glanusk Park in late August.

After running their only little

patch of the Glastonbury Festival for years, the Croissant Neuf crowd have started setting up their own solar powered tents in a stunning, remote Monmouthshire valley. Definitely more of an intimated party than a festival but very chilled.

And the eco-friendly, ethical Sunrise Celebration has moved across the Severn Bridge from Somerset to Chepstow and is as much about promoting an alternative lifestyle as it is about the music.

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W I LT S H I R E ’ S B I G G E S T LITTLE F ESTI VA L

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: STAGFEST WHERE: Stag & Hounds, Bristol WHEN: Thursday 2nd – Sunday 5th April Bringing a mixed bag of bands and artists from all over Europe to the Bristol pub, Stagfest is in its fourth year and shows no signs of slowing down. Idles headline this time around, with plenty of beer on tap.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.stagandhoundsbristol. co.uk

BRISTOL FOLK FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Bristol WHEN: Saturday 2nd – Sunday 3rd May Soundtrack your Mayday weekend with a handpicked selection of folk artists of all shapes and sizes. Established, up-and-coming, bearded or less bearded, there’ll be something for everyone.

PRICE: £63, more for camping WEB: www.bristolfolkfestival. co.uk

WE LOVE THE 70S WHERE: Butlin’s, Minehead WHEN: Friday 17th – Sunday 20th April / Friday 9th – Sunday 12th October (without Dr Feelgood and other line-up changes) Dig out your flares and go 40 years back with a bill topped by Dr Feelgood and also featuring Slade and Showaddywaddy, plus tribute acts like Bootleg Blondie and Absolute Bowie.

PRICE: From £78 pp room only, from £90 pp self-catering apartment WEB: www.bigweekends.com/ the-weekends/we-love-the-70s

THE MASKED BALL WHERE: Porthleven, Cornwall WHEN: Saturday 2nd – Sunday 3rd May The classy biannual shindig is boutique and proud, and its painstakingly-picked line-up of DJs includes Bonobo, Simian Mobile Disco and Nightmares on Wax for a bank holiday weekend of coastal decadence.

PRICE: £30-£60 WEB: www.maskedball.net

HIT THE DECK WHERE: Various venues, Bristol WHEN: Saturday 25th April Skindred head up an uncompromising bill of acts who will be shaking the foundations of Bristol before taking to the road to hit the deck all over again in Nottingham.

PRICE: £33 WEB: www.hitthedeckfestival.com

SOUTHPORT WEEKENDER WHERE: Butlin’s, Minehead WHEN: Friday 8th – Sunday 10th May The 52nd instalment of the UK’s biggest black music celebration brings Chaka Khan and Faith Evans to the stage, with DJs including Carl Cox and Moodymann providing underground overtones.

PRICE: £215, different accommodation options available WEB: www.southportweekender. co.uk

CHELTENHAM JAZZ FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Cheltenham WHEN: Wednesday 29th April – Monday 4th May One of the UK’s biggest jazz events is a bastion of the genre but also looks beyond it. Guests this year include Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Wilko Johnson and Sun Ra Arkestra.

PRICE: £16-£66, concerts ticketed individually.

WEB: www.cheltenhamfestivals. com/jazz

YEOVIL BLUES FESTIVAL WHERE: Westlands Leisure Centre, Yeovil WHEN: Saturday 9th May Hotly-tipped blues players take centre stage to channel the spirits of Hendrix, Clapton and more.

PRICE: £24 WEB: www.yeovilbluesfestival. co.uk

THE CURSUS CIDER & MUSIC FESTIVAL WHERE: Sixpenny Handley, Dorset

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WHEN: Friday 15th – Sunday 17th May The team behind the semiinfamous Outcider festival bring another no-frills intense music experience. With no circus-style distractions and no traders, just kick back in the beautiful Dorset countryside and enjoy the, well, cider and music.

PRICE: £49 WEB: www.cursusfestival.com SOUL WEEKENDER WHERE: Butlin’s, Minehead WHEN: Friday 15th – Monday 18th May Smooth sounds from a soul-heavy line-up which includes Jimmy James and the Vagabonds and Tavares. Tributes to UB40 and Kool and the Gang are also on the bill.

PRICE: From £70 room only, from £85 self-catering apartment WEB: www.bigweekends.com/ the-weekends/soul-weekenders BATH INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Bath WHEN: Friday 15th – Tuesday 26th May Closing with the free Party in the City, the festival brings together a classy roster of artists from classical, jazz, folk, roots, electronica and world music, often for outside-the-box collaborations.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: bathfestivals.org.uk/music SUNRISE CELEBRATION WHERE: Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales WHEN: Thursday 21st – Sunday 24th May Sunrise Celebration was born in Bruton ten years ago, and just look how it’s grown! A move to Chepstow took the organic festival to another level, and its rejection of corporate sponsorship and bad music is stronger than ever – only good vibes at Sunrise.

PRICE: £95, family ticket £215, child £25.

WEB: www.sunrisecelebration. com

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS:

BEST OF THE BRISTOL FESTIVALS BRISTOL HARBOUR FESTIVAL

The mother ship of events in a city where there feels like there’s a festival every weekend.

Around 250,000 people head to the Harbourside to enjoy the tall ships, live music and food markets.

INTERNATIONAL BALLOON FIESTA

A free event, and you don’t have to go to Ashton Court on the edge of Bristol to enjoy it as the prevailing winds normally take the many multicoloured balloons west over the city and towards Bath.

Probably one of the most photographed and filmed events in the UK.

BRISTOL INTERNATIONAL JAZZ AND BLUES FESTIVAL

Based at the Colston Hall, 2014 saw this celebration of all things jazz and blues come into its own and the signs are that 2015’s weekend will be the biggest yet, as Bristol establishes stronger and stronger musical links with New Orleans.

ARCADIA

The Arcadia team have been wowing audiences for the past five years, ever since their first incarnation at Glastonbury Festival. And after taking their show to Thailand and Florida, they are coming home to Bristol in the late summer with a show that you would be a fool to miss.

UPFEST

Returning after a year off in 2014, this weekend of street art in South Bristol sees artists from around the world painting sometimes huge murals live, watched by large FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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crowds, many of whom come from long distances. Not popular with everyone but the colourful reminders of this festival last all year round.

GRILLSTOCK

In the height of summer, things really hot up on Bristol’s Harbourside as the smell of barbecued food fills the air, along with the chomping of people taking on the now legendary chilli-eating contest.

Previous headliners include the Fun Lovin Criminals so it’s a punchy event in terms of music too.

EAT, DRINK BRISTOL

Giant tepees will once again appear on Queen Square in the city centre this summer as the cream of the West Country’s cooking talent gather to whip up their classic dishes for hungry punters.

FESTIVAL OF NATURE

Given that 2015 is the year Bristol takes on the title of European Green Capital, this annual celebration of all things green will take on added importance this year.

BRISTOL SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

Some of the most beautiful spaces in Bristol echo with the words of the Bard as various theatre companies, some but by no means all, perform his work – sometimes in very unusual settings.

LET’S ROCK BRISTOL

By no means unique to the city, but an event that will no doubt draw one of the biggest crowds of the year as some of the stars of the 1980s roll back the years

LECHLADE FESTIVAL WHERE: Riverside Park, Lechlade WHEN: Friday 22nd – Sunday 24th May Proof that anywhere can stage a music festival if people get their heads together, you’ll be rocking all over the Cotswolds with headliners Status Quo, who are joined by more than 80 others; you’ll find rock, regga, punk, ska and jazz on offer.

PRICE: £57-£77 for weekend and camping WEB: www.lechdalefestival.co.uk CHIPPENHAM FOLK FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Chippenham WHEN: Friday 22nd – Monday 25th May More than 200 bands, dance troupes and other events are promised in this homage to traditional folk music. No new kid on the block, this, as the festival is now in its 43rd year.

PRICE: £90 weekend WEB: www.chippfolk.co.uk DOT TO DOT FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Bristol WHEN: Saturday 23rd May Geographers may be shaking their heads but Bristol is the meat in the sandwich between Manchester and Nottingham as the Dot to Dot Festival crosses the country. No matter the extra motorway miles, as Saint Raymond tops a fresher than fresh bill.

PRICE: £25 WEB: www.dottodotfestival.co.uk SHINDIG WEEKENDER WHERE: Secret location, near Bath WHEN: Saturday 23rd – Sunday 24th May A dance music extravaganza which sticks true to its roots as a party for friends, the familyfriendly weekender boasts a Circus & Cabaret venue alongside the main stage, which this year will be graced by Norman Jay MBE and a Dub Pistols DJ set amongst others.

PRICE: £75 adult, £35 children,

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: £185 family ticket WEB: www.shindig-events.co.uk LOVE SAVES THE DAY WHERE: Eastville Park, Bristol WHEN: Saturday 23rd – Sunday 24th May If you’re an underground music fan in the South West this really isn’t one to miss. Turntables will be graced by the likes of DJ EZ, Grandmaster Flash and Shy FX, and you’ll be left feeling the love for weeks afterwards.

PRICE: £35 - £45 day, £79.50 weekend WEB: www.lovesavestheday.org BATHFEST WHERE: Bath Racecourse WHEN: Friday 29th – Sunday 31st May Keeping things strictly alphabetical with the first announcements, Bathfest is punching with the big boys by bringing Andy C, B.Traits, Clean Bandit, Eton Messy and Gentleman’s Dub Club for a day at the races.

PRICE: From £44.90 weekend, £34.90 day WEB: www.facebook.com/ bathfestuk

TEMPLES FESTIVAL WHERE: Motion, Bristol WHEN: Friday 29th – Sunday 31st May A punishing array of curated chaos features Converge, playing their only UK show of 2015, and Sun0))).

Temples festival comes back for round two after a successful opening bout last year.

PRICE: £41 day, £93.95 weekend WEB: www.templesfestival.co.uk WYCHWOOD FESTIVAL WHERE: Cheltenham Racecourse WHEN: Friday 29th – Sunday 31st May A yearly fixture in the ‘best family festival’ category at the UK Festival Awards, the line-up this year boasts UB40, the Proclaimers and Ghostpoet, with a side order of workshops and comedy.

PRICE: £129 weekend, £42-£57 day WEB: www.wychwoodfestival.com CONCERT AT THE KINGS WHERE: The Kings Arms, All Cannings, Devizes, Wiltshire WHEN: Saturday 30th May Organised in aid of Rock Against Cancer, the charity event welcomes electro pioneer Howard

Jones and Squeeze to the sleepy village. Since 2012, the event has raised £70,000.

PRICE: £51.50 adult, £257.50 platinum WEB: www.concertatthekings. co.uk LEMONFEST WHERE: Newton Abbott Racecourse, Devon WHEN: Saturday May 30th More refreshing lemonade than face-collapsing sours, the Dub Pistols, the Subways and DJ Yoda keep the good times coming at the one-day event. Glastonbury favourites Lords of Lightning will also be there, being irresponsible with electricity.

PRICE: £20, £30 for camping WEB: www.lemonfest.co.uk HOME FARM FEST WHERE: Chilthorne Domer, near Yeovil, Somerset WHEN: Friday 5th– Sunday 7th June There are four stages with lots of different music as well as bars, food stalls, children’s activities and market stalls activities over the three days, which kicks off with Friday night’s Posh Frocks and Wellies. And all the proceeds go to the charity School in a Bag. PRICE: £36 weekend adult, £12 Fri, £20 Sat WEB: www.homefarmfest.co.uk LET’S ROCK BRISTOL WHERE: Ashton Court estate, Bristol WHEN: Friday 5th – Sunday 7th June Depending on your point of view it might not rock you as hard as you’d like, but with a line-up ranging from Chas & Dave to Aswad to the Boomtown Rats, there’s certainly a chance to relive the glory days.

PRICE: £43-£131 day, £76-£176 weekend WEB: www.letsrockbristol.com

CHAS AND DAVE AT LET'S ROCK BRISTOL 10

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WILD LIFE (LOW LIFE) WHERE: Secret location, Dorset WHEN: Friday 5th – Sunday 7th June FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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WHERE IS ALL BEGAN...

The first real rock festival in the South West was the Bath Blues Festival of 1969.

This featured the cream of British blues bands plus a few progressive groups.

The 1969 Festival attracted 12,000 punters who saw Colosseum, Roy Harper, Champion Jack Dupree, Chicken Shack, Led Zeppelin, John Mayall, Fleetwood Mac and Ten Years After. The show was compered

by John Peel. The success of this Bath bash resulted the following year in the 1970 Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music at the Royal Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet.

By 1970 the desire from music fans for a British Woodstock or Monterey festival was enormous, and a stunning line up was attracted to a festival that went on for three days, 24-hours-a-day. Donovan, Fairport Convention, Steppenwolf, Pink Floyd, Canned Heat, Frank Zappa, Santana, Led Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane and The Byrds featured and Fairport Convention arrived escorted

by Hells Angels, whose presence was one of the defining images of the festival.

Pink Floyd did their show at 3am with a choir, a brass section and fireworks. Frank Zappa and the Mothers Of Invention played in the afternoon following Santana, with Carlos Santana hiding his fretmelting from the film cameras so his technique could not be copied – an act that led Frank Zappa to produce a track on his next album with a Latin flavour entitled “Carlos Santana’s Secret Chord Progressions”.

More than 150,000 people gathered for Led Zeppelin’s set at 8pm and shortly afterwards heavy rain disrupted the proceedings by interfering with the power supplies and the safety of the artists onstage – guitarist Paul Kantner from Jefferson Airplane became concerned over the chances of receiving an electric shock due to the rain that was being blown over onto the sound equipment.

The festival was attended by one Michael Eavis, who came home to Pilton inspired to hold a festival of FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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his own.

Away from the South West there were three big festivals on the Isle of Wight in the early 1970s, and the Reading Jazz Festival turned to rock as the tastes of its audience changed.

Future TV star Jeremy Beadle organised Bickershaw, which was notorious for being the wettest festival of all time, and there were three free festivals on Crown land near Windsor from 1972-74 and fourth massive free festival at Watchfield in Hampshire that went on for nine days.

Knebworth House held the biggest commercial festivals in the 70s, with the likes of the Allman Brothers, Pink Floyd, Steve Miller, Genesis, The Tubes, Peter Gabriel and Led Zeppelin headlining.

Meanwhile back in the South West, the Stonehenge Free Festival, which took place at the same time as a Glastonbury festival that was just getting into the swing of things – was going from strength to strength.

By 1984 the Stonehenge festival was the target of the Government wanting to flex it’s muscles – and to a large extent it was more about drugs than music, with heroin and cocaine being openly sold, and large and threatening men with firearms and machetes were there in abundance.

The festival ended dramatically in 1985 at the Battle of the Beanfield when the police moved in and smashed up the vehicles of the organising convoy as they moved away from the site after being refused access to set it up.

Further south were the Hood Fair in Devon and the truly beautiful Elephant Fayre at Port Issac in Cornwall – this last festival had many groundbreaking features – arts and circuses joined the line up – and like Glastonbury it was in a lush valley site.

When the Elephant Fayre shut up shop in 1986, after an invasion the previous year by some violent travellers known as The Brew Crew, it had a huge impact on Glastonbury, as many of the organisers moved north to Somerset to organise aspects of the festival at Pilton – as did many of the travellers from

Stonehenge, whose own efforts became a vital part of the festival, ultimately resulting in their own festivals – one of which will come to Bristol this September.

For many years afterwards the free festival circuit contracted, and Glastonbury and Reading emerged as the biggest commercial festivals.

A host of small free festivals at places like Avebury, Westbury in Wiltshire and Inglestone Common attracted thousands with some broken up by the Police and others too large for the authorities to impose their control over.

Many of these evolved into the raves of the early 90s, with an unusual alliance of experienced free festival types mixing with the dance music crowd.

Ashton Court, Bristol’s own community festival was once billed as the UKs biggest free festival. It moved to Hengrove Park, then back to Ashton Court, and struggled manfully through to 2006, before collapsing, being reborn as BrisFest.

As the twentieth century ended that free-wheeling spirit had to face commercial realities – It became harder and harder to do things without playing the game with the authorities, but those whose edge had not been blunted found ways of changing the festival from a threat to a benefit, and built a massive multi-million pound industry on the back of it.

And the spirit that was born in the heady days of 1970 lives on in dozens of smaller summertime events, whether those small 500 person events born out of changes to the licensing system, to bigger more professional ones.

It seems that everyone wants to go to a party, and the best parties are held right on your doorstep.

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July 10th – 12th 2015

24th year !

Wolfstone, Dick Gaughan, Duncan Chisholm trio, Nizlopi, Saltfishforty, Leveret, Barrule, John Kirkpatrick, Elephant Sessions, Will Pound Band, Seriouskitchen, Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer, Wizz Jones, Dragonsfly, Harp & a Monkey, Telling the Bees, The Drystones, Keston Cobblers Club & lots more ...

Ceilidhs, Workshops, Dance & Children’s festivals, Arts & Crafts Fairs, Beer & Cider Tent, World Foods In the picturesque Mendip village of Priddy

Great music, beautiful setting

Tickets from www.priddyfolk.org THE OUTDOOR EVENT SERVICES EXHIBITION

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FAMILY EVENT LIVE MUSIC GREAT FOOD ICE CREAM CHILDREN UNDER 18 FREE BEFORE 7PM

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Event Times: Thursday 11am – 11pm Friday 11am – 11pm • Saturday 11am – 11pm Sunday 12pm – 6pm For exhibitor & visitor information contact: Lance Show

& Publications Limited, Courtyard Office,The Courtyard, Parsons Pool, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 8AP

Tel: 01747 854099 Fax: 01747 854634 Email: info@showmans-directory.co.uk www.showmans-directory.co.uk

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: FOO FIGHTERS AT GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL

The third year of the festival started by New York party people Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton has Low Life All-Stars on the bill, with a hatful more to be announced. And if you went last year, wipe that smirk off your face; the location has changed, so it’s still a secret. You’re still in the dark.

PRICE: £95 WEB: www.facebook.com/ lowlifeparty ELECTRIC BEACH WHERE: Fistral Beach, Newquay Cornwall WHEN: Friday 12th – Saturday 13th June The festival rings in its relocation to Fistral Beach with the incredible Cat Empire, who may cautiously be dubbed the Australian Arcade Fire. Old-school hip-hop has been a favourite with the organisers in years gone by, so keep your ears open for new announcements.

PRICE: £25 day, £35 w/e WEB: www.electricbeachfestival. co.uk COLLETT PARK FESTIVAL WHERE: Collett Park, Shepton Mallet WHEN: Friday 12th – Sunday 14th June After the success of last year’s two-day event, there’s no looking FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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back for the long-running festival’s new structure. Expect music on the Friday night, before a family-friendly Saturday full of professional entertainment.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.collettparkfestival. co.uk WIMBORNE MINSTER FOLK FESTIVAL WHERE: Wimborne, Dorset WHEN: Friday 12th – Sunday 14th June A festival truly dedicated to folk, with Gilmore & Roberts and Ninebarrow among musical acts already confirmed, and a host of Morris and other traditional dancers also on the bill.

PRICE: £40-£45 weekend, £5-£12 evening and afternoon concerts WEB: www.wimbornefolk.co.uk BEHIND THE CASTLE MUSIC FESTIVAL WHERE: Sherborne Castle, Dorset WHEN: Saturday 13th June There’s an unmistakable folk aspect to the picturesquelysituated festival, which has Nizlopi and Larkin Poe topping its bill this year. It might be a one-day event, but camping is available.

PRICE: £46 or £55 with camping weekend.

WEB: www.behindthecastle.co.uk

UKULELE FESTIVAL OF GREAT BRITAIN WHERE: Various venues, Cheltenham WHEN: Friday 19th – Sunday 21st June It’s been doing what it says on the tin for six years, and there is absolutely no reason for it to stop.

Not only is there a stellar cast of uke players, but ample opportunity to find out more about the instrument, and to get up and play.

PRICE: SOLD OUT WEB: www.ukulelefestival.co.uk BRISTOL SUMMER SERIES WHERE: Bristol Harbourside WHEN: Wednesday 24th – Saturday 27st June Four consecutive nights bring George Ezra, Kaiser Chiefs, Seasick Steve and Jessie J down to the Bristol waterfront for alfresco concerts in the heart of the city.

PRICE: £33, George Ezra SOLD OUT WEB: www.bristolsummerseries. com GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL WHERE: Worthy Farm, Glastonbury WHEN: Wednesday 24th – Sunday 28th June The mother and father of music festivals needs no introduction.

Last year brought Arcade Fire and Metallica to Somerset and with the Foo Fighters and Lionel Richie confirmed for this year, the sky’s the limit. Get ready to wear sun cream and wellies all weekend again, and don’t pretend you don’t love it.

PRICE: SOLD OUT WEB: www.glastonburyfestivals. co.uk FOLK ON THE QUAY WHERE: Various venues, Poole WHEN: Saturday 27th – Sunday 28st June A coastal folk celebration, with a ceilidh each afternoon to get people dancing in the streets.

Friendly local pubs host intimate performances, and watching the sun set on the water is an added bonus.

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: PRICE: Free, some paid concerts £TBC WEB: www.folkonthequay.co.uk

LOVE SAVES THE DAY Love Saves The Day festival is a Bristol based event, which is now in its fourth year, is one of the premier dance festivals in the country and sells out each year.

Conceived by the brains behind Glastonbury’s WOW stage, See No Evil and one half of the team behind the much lauded In:Motion series, Love Saves The Day has become known for being at the forefront of the dance scene.

The two-day festival is held on the May bank holiday weekend and normally takes place in Castle Park.

The decision was taken to move the event to Eastville Park following last year’s heavy rain which turned the festival into a mud-bath and left many parts of Castle Park closed off to the public for a large part of the summer.

This year’s Saturday headliner will be the soulful South Londoner and ‘Wildest Moments’ singer-songwriter Jessie Ware.

Tale Of Us, the Berlin-based musical duo will also be appearing.

Other acts include Fabric resident Craig Richards, Brighton house producer Leon Vynehall, German duo Âme, and Maxxi Soundsytem, known for his classic house vocals and catchy grooves.

Grandmaster Flash, one of the early pioneers of rap music has also signed up for the festival.

Other names on the bill for Saturday include London duo Gorgon City plus Hannah Wants, who has taken to the forefront of the hard-hitting bass house scene, with recent hit ‘Rhymes’ alongside Chris Lorenzo.

Day two of the festival welcomes New York rapper, singer and songwriter Azealia Banks. Also on Sunday’s main stage will be American recording artist and one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing Grandmaster Flash, as well as the gorgeous R&B vocals and chilly, metallic production of Kelela.

Other acts include Four Tet, Phantasy label owner and BBC’s Radio 6 Mix Resident Erol Alkan and renowned vinyl specialist Floating Points.

Daniel Avery will also bring his mind-bending, psychedelic sounds to the stage, alongside the extremely talented Ghost Culture.

The organisers say the new festival site will allow for a greater level of production throughout as well as increased facilities and more local traders.

WEEKEND & DAY TICKETS ARE ON-SALE NOW AT LOVESAVESTHEDAY.ORG

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KEYNSHAM MUSIC FESTIVAL WHERE: Keynsham, Somerset WHEN: Monday 29th June – Sunday 5th July A real community effort, with local musicians playing alongside more established artists in a verdant green setting, the family-friendly event is made for sunshine.

PRICE: £3 suggested donation WEB: www. keynshammusicfestival.co.uk CHELTENHAM MUSIC FESTIVAL PROMS WHERE: Cheltenham Town Hall WHEN: Tuesday 30th June – Saturday 11th July Consisting of five exquisite concerts, including Rachmaninov’s 2nd symphony. The highlight has to be a screening of Hitchcock’s Psycho, with the score played live by the Britten Sinfonia.

PRICE: Concerts ticketed individually, £12-£40 WEB: www.cheltenhamfestivals. com/music BOOGIE WOOGIE FESTIVAL WHERE: Sturminster Newton, Dorset WHEN: Thursday 2nd – Sunday 5th July No prizes for guessing what sort of music you’ll find here. Boogie woogie and blues pianists take the limelight, but there will also be workshops and history on the genre.

PRICE: Approx. £70 WEB: www.facebook.com/ UKboogiefest NORTH NIBLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL WHERE: Village playing field, North Nibley, Gloucestershire WHEN: Friday 3rd – Saturday 4th July Reach for your Stetson, there’s a Wild West theme at this small but well-loved festival. Music comes from anarchic ska-hop partystarters Imperial Leisure and, well, Scouting For Girls, and there is food and drink from around the FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: world too.

PRICE: £34 adult £14 child day, £43 adult £20 child weekend WEB: www.nibleyfestival.co.uk BARN ON THE FARM FESTIVAL WHERE: Over Farm, Gloucestershire WHEN: Friday 3rd – Sunday 5th July Celebrating its fifth birthday, the intimate festival is still keeping its ear to the ground in search of the next big thing. They have a good track record – Ed Sheeran, Ben Howard, Bastille, Hozier and George Ezra have all played there in recent years.

PRICE: £100 weekend WEB: www.barnonthefarm.co.uk CHRISTCHURCH FESTIVAL WHERE: Christchurch Quay, Dorset WHEN: Friday 3rd – Sunday 5th July Established in 1994, the festival wavered for a few years but it is now an established date on the local calendar, situated on the weekend following Glastonbury.

It’s a different experience, but well worth a look.

PRICE: £5 day, £7 weekend WEB: www.christchurchfestival. co.uk SOMERTON MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL WHERE: Somerton, Somerset WHEN: Friday 3rd – Friday 10th July There’s music every night in the Marquee from festival openers the Kaiser Thiefs to 60s and 70s rock throwbacks Whoo as the not-forprofit organisation brings music, art and culture to Somerton.

PRICE: Tickets available June 2015, £TBC WEB: www.somertonartsfestival. co.uk FROME FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Frome WHEN: Friday 3rd – Sunday 12thJuly From teetering on the brink of extinction nine years ago, the festival is now a fixture in Frome FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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town centre with a mix of music, arts and literature. Stereo MCs headline, with top comedians yet to be confirmed.

PRICE: free - £30 WEB: www.fromefestival.co.uk ST PAULS CARNIVAL WHERE: St Pauls, Bristol WHEN: Saturday 4th July You can hear the bass for miles, so why not just head down to St Pauls and enjoy all the benefits you get from being close up. The hoard of people you’ll see can’t all be wrong. If the sun is out there is probably no better party in the city with live music, sound systems, Caribbean food and the parade.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.stpaulscarnival.co.uk 2000TREES WHERE: Upcote Farm, near Cheltenham WHEN: Thursday 9th – Saturday 11th July With a homegrown feel and one of the best atmospheres in the country, the rock festival’s UKonly booking policy consistently unearths gems. Deaf Havana and Pulled Apart By Horses play starring roles this year.

PRICE: £72 Fri & Sat, £87 all weekend, £20/£40 buy now pay later scheme.

WEB: www. twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk BACKWELL FESTIVAL WHERE: Backwell Junior School, Backwell, nr. Bristol WHEN: Friday 10th – Saturday 11th July A family-friendly event showcasing a range of music in a laid-back environment. The festival has an added culinary dimension, with three guest chefs yet to be announced; Josh Eggleton was there last year.

PRICE: Approx. £15, u14s free WEB: www.backwellfestival.co.uk NASS WHERE: Bath and West Showground WHEN: Friday 10th – Sunday

12th July The action sports festival brings world-class skateboarders and BMX riders to Somerset, but is just as much about the music.

This year, Public Enemy and Enter Shikari headline, with a glut of other talent on the bill.

PRICE: £96 - £124 weekend, £45 - £55 day WEB: www.nassfestival.com SWANAGE JAZZ FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Swanage WHEN: Friday 10th – Sunday 12th July Nearly 50 sessions of high calibre jazz to sink your teeth into, from classic to modern and most places in between. The festival is gaining national recognition as a jazz destination, and its seaside setting can’t hurt either.

PRICE: £82 weekend WEB: www.swanagejazz.org WONKY DONK FESTIVAL WHERE: Halls Road Farm, Lytchett Matravers, Dorset WHEN: Friday 10th – Sunday 12th July Taking place on a retired donkey farm, the roots revivalist line-ups bring people back year upon year to the idyllic Dorset setting.

PRICE: £35 WEB: www.facebook.com/ groups/rightroyallywonkydonked PRIDDY FOLK FESTIVAL WHERE: Priddy, Somerset WHEN: Friday 10th – Sunday 12th July Since its 1991 inception in the village hall, Priddy Folk Festival has become one of the prime destinations for folk lovers in the South West. Its line-up mixes established artists with fresh talent, and the funds still go towards supporting the village.

PRICE: £55-£79 WEB: www.priddyfolk.org GALHAMPTON PARTY IN THE PARK WHERE: Galhampton, Somerset WHEN: Saturday 11th July The village of 400 nearly quadruples its population for a

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Get your tan on for Festival Season

59 The Horsefair, Bristol, BS1 3JP 0845 305 9922 www.consol.eu.

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ŠLW

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: day when its gates open for Party in the Park. The Beat and Yes Sir Boss swelled the ranks last year, but there’s no word as of yet for the music this time around.

PRICE: £20 advance SOLD OUT, £25 on the gate WEB: www.galhampton.com GROOVES ON THE GREEN WHERE: Ashley Cross Green, near Poole WHEN: Saturday 11th – Sunday 12th July 15 years young and still fresh as a daisy, Grooves on the Green more than lives up to its name. A friendly atmosphere and music for all helps its punters to get their moves on.

PRICE: £5 WEB: www.groovesonthegreen. co.uk LARMER TREE FESTIVAL WHERE: Larmer Tree Gardens, nr.

Salisbury, Wiltshire WHEN: Wednesday 15th – Sunday 19th July Peacocks strut through Larmer Tree Gardens, and for 25 years music lovers have joined them on an annual basis for relaxed bills of acoustic and world-led music which also touches reggae, jazz and blues.

PRICE: 3 days £164-£TBC, 4 days £194-£TBC, 5 days £229-£TBC, day tickets £TBC WEB: www.larmertreefestival.co.uk OUT WEST FESTIVAL WHERE: West Ashton, Wiltshire WHEN: Thursday 16th – Sunday 19th July West Country and proud, the experienced crew behind Once Upon a Time in the West Festival know what a festival needs and aren’t afraid to deliver it; cider and a knees-up, but friendly enough for all the family.

PRICE: £55, £20 teen, £10 child, £1 U5 WEB: www.outwestfestival.co.uk CHAGSTOCK WHERE: Whiddon Down, Devon WHEN: Friday 17th – Saturday 18th July The acorn of an ambitious garden party in 2003 has grown into the FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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DOWNLOAD

BY GEORGIE ROBBINS

Another year, another opportunity to bang those heads to some of the world’s finest rock and metal bands. Download at Donington Park has fast become Europe’s biggest rock festival with the likes of Marilyn Manson, KISS and Slash taking to the stage this year.

It wouldn’t be Download Festival without the weird and wonderful, and this year is certainly no different. An inflatable wedding chapel will allow you to test the waters, though you won’t be able to do a Ross and Rachel as the marriage isn’t legal, you can still have a practice run and celebrate afterwards with a hair of the dog pint in the ale house.

For those looking for a new skill or would just love to film your friends for a cheeky youtube clip then you can learn some circus skills or catch the pro wrestling.

In fact you should just check it out all. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy they you can grab your friends, head over to laser tag and make them regret that extra beer they had night previous in the silent disco.

When it comes time to relax (or mosh) to the music there is a wealth of rock talent that will have you raising those hands, raising those cans and literally creating the most civilised mayhem. In the mix this year is Muse, Slipknot and KISS as headliners, supported by Judas Priest, Faith No More, Motley Crue and Billy Idol to name but a few.

It isn’t all about the fantastic headliners, Download is well known for displaying some of the best up and coming bands on the Pepsi Max stage. If you hang around there long enough you may even get a surprise act, as we found out last year when Black Stone Cherry rocked on up, who coincidently are actually billed this year.

DOWNLOAD 12-14 JUNE 2015 DONINGTON PARK LEICESTSHIRE WWW.DOWNLOADFESTIVAL.CO.UK

mighty oak of Chagstock, an organic success on the festival scene. New Model Army take centre stage, but the most exciting announcement might just be the new partnership with Sandford Orchards cider makers.

PRICE: £85, £55 child. Children under 12 get in free, although they have to register to organisers have an idea of numbers.

WEB: www.chagstock.info THE BOONDOCKS FESTIVAL WHERE: Malmesbury, Wiltshire WHEN: Friday 17th – Saturday 18th July Born from a Kickstarter campaign

late last year, the Boondocks Festival is set and ready to go in 2015. Malmesbury is already a musical town, with a thriving folk and acoustic scene, but this festival looks to take things to the next level.

PRICE: £45, £15 teen, U14 free WEB: www.theboondocksfestival. co.uk JURASSIC ROCKS MUSIC FESTIVAL WHERE: Grove Farm, Portland, Dorset WHEN: Friday 17th – Saturday 18th July Working in harmony with its

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS:

FIELDVIEW FESTIVAL Could you tell us a little about Fieldview – how it got started and what it’s all about?

Fieldview grew from a small garden party that my brother James and I used to throw in our parents’ garden.

We had just enough room to fit a gazebo for the stage, grass for people to sit on and dance, and a BBQ on full power. After the second year with more bands and over 100 people, it was clear we needed a bigger site.

We were really fortunate that our friends in the village had a little field and in 2007 we hosted eight bands, had a slip ’n’ slide, and our parents upgraded to a bigger BBQ. From this point, the festival has grown really naturally year on year and ultimately has always been about great music, people, food, fun, creativity and good times.

What sets Fieldview apart from the others festivals?

For the people that come from far and wide every year it’s the opportunity to be part of a really exciting and special festival. The team of organisers are group of friends who all do it for the love of it. Match that with a broad diversity of tastes and I think a little bit of each of those people can be felt at the event; from comedy to games, bands to late night discos, the programme is kept as diverse as possible with no genres overlooked.

We have made a conscious decision to put on a festival that we'd want to go to and explore, and people really seem to connect with it.

A great story from 2013 was when we managed to book Hacktivist, an amazing heavy rap/metal band from the UK who have toured Europe and beyond playing at some of the biggest festivals going. Before the event, their social media was 18

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priceless, referring to the lineup as the 'most random ever’. They turned up expecting to play to a load of ‘hippies' and ended up staying the whole weekend after their amazing headline set in the Barn on the Friday night. Just one of many bands who have been blown away by Fieldview.

Fieldview raises a lot of money for local and national charities – why did you decide to donate money?

Which charities benefit from the event? How do you choose them and how much have you raised so far? Supporting what we believe in, both locally and globally, has been an important factor since the beginning. So far, we have supported Cool Earth, Oxfam, Jamie's Farm, Youth Cancer Trust and Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

Cool Earth is one that we really love to support. There are lots of carbon off-setting schemes but for us, saving the rainforest and reducing its decline is probably the most important one there is. We have managed to donate and protect over 76 acres of endangered rainforest, as well as supporting various local and national charities. Each year we have chosen one which has been relevant and close to our hearts What’s the best part of organising a festival? What’s the worst?

For me, it’s seeing nine months of preparation and bookings come together, feeling the excitement building, the site forming with all the amazing helpers, then the queue of people before the doors open.

Then it’s go and the whole event

is a whirlwind of excitement and music which I try my very best to see as much of as possible (I’ve not succeeded yet). Worst part: licensing. No doubt about it.

What’s your favourite memory from Fieldview?

A couple years ago we booked our friend's dad’s male voice choir. I’d never seen them before but I’d heard great things. Sixty well-dressed senior gents turned up to the festival on Saturday morning, with the sun shining and hung-over bodies all over the place. They had never played a ‘contemporary’ festival to such a young crowd before and to say they were a little apprehensive about it is quite an understatement.

I’ve never seen so many stubborn old men be proved so wrong with the most amazing results. With the mainstage PA in full swing, the choir packed the main arena and even did an encore to a standing ovation.

The majority stayed for the day receiving praise from a fancydressed crowd.

What’s the theme of this year’s festival?

This year we're heading to the warm and sunny 80's vibes of Club Tropicana. There’s lots and lots in store, so get your festival ticket to make sure you don’t miss out !

FIELDVIEW SEAGRY, WILTSHIRE 6TH – 9TH AUGUST WWW.FIELDVIEWFESTIVAL.CO.UK FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: beautiful location on Portland island, Jurassic Rocks boast three stages, a dedicated cider bar and free camping. Last year the Wurzels played, this year’s acts are not yet confirmed.

PRICE: £35 w/e, group discounts and single days available WEB: www.jurassicrocks.co.uk TROPICAL PRESSURE WHERE: Mount Pleasant EcoPark, Porthtown, Cornwall WHEN: Friday 17th – Sunday 19th July Careening into Cornwall like a carnival queen, Tropical Pressure is a vibrant celebration of the rich cultures of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. A treat for the ears, the tastebuds and the soul.

PRICE: £55-£70, £27.50-£35 child weekend WEB: www.tropicalpressure.co.uk BRISTOL HARBOUR FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Bristol WHEN: Friday 17th – Sunday 19th July Watch as the centre of the South West’s leading city reinvents itself as a festival. Bristol’s biggest free event boasts the musical depth you would expect, as well as food and fireworks in a family-friendly

UB40 AT GODNEY GATHERING

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atmosphere.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.bristolharbourfestival. co.uk GODNEY GATHERING WHERE: Garslade Farm, Godney, Somerset WHEN: Saturday 18th July A Somerset festival institution (no, not that one), the Godney Gathering will be settling into its new home with the help of UK reggae heavyweights UB40, and a melting pot of other acts.

PRICE: From £20 WEB: www.thegodneygathering. com SOMERSAULT WHERE: Castle Hill, North Devon WHEN: Thursday 23rd – Monday 27th July Last year’s sell-out debut probably made the Somersault organisers feel all warm inside, and now they’re out to return the favour, delivering a classy line-up alongside field trips, mountain biking, horse riding and general enjoyment of the festival’s lush situation.

PRICE: £125, £55 youth, £5 child for weekend, day tickets available WEB: www.somersaultfestival.com

WOMAD WHERE: Charlton Park, Malmesbury WHEN: Thursday 23rd – Sunday 26th July The globe-trotting festival cofounded by Peter Gabriel touches down for its 33rd year in the UK. A crucible of world music, it is an experience like no other, drawing artists from all walks of life and all genres together.

PRICE: £165 WEB: www.womad.co.uk BEER & BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL WHERE: St Aldhelm’s Hall, Poole WHEN: Friday 24th – Saturday 25th July Beer and bluegrass obviously go hand-in-hand, but British drinkers will be relieved to hear that craft ales and ciders from both sides of the pond are on offer – no need to drink the watery excuses for beer that the US does so well.

PRICE: £TBA WEB: www.poolerhythmroots.co.uk INTERNATIONAL GYPSY GUITAR FESTIVAL WHERE: Tumpy Green Lane, Gossington, Gloucestershire WHEN: Friday 24th – Sunday 26th July Celebrating fifteen years of delivering the finest from one of jazz’s most breathtakingly fleetfingered offshoots, the festival combines professional artists with spontaneous, open jam sessions.

PRICE: £65 weekend, £15 Friday, Sunday, £35 Saturday WEB: www.iggf.co.uk VILLAGE PUMP FOLK FESTIVAL WHERE: White Horse Country Park, Westbury, Wiltshire WHEN: Friday 24th – Sunday 26th July This year acts like Treacherous Orchestra and festival patrons Show of Hands take to the stage in the shadow of the Westbury White Horse. Camping and caravanning remains free.

PRICE: £109-£130, £54.50-£65 youth, £10 child WEB: www. villagepumpfolkfestival.co.uk

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: CAMP BESTIVAL WHERE: Lulworth Castle, Dorset WHEN: Thursday 30th July – Sunday 2nd August Bestival’s baby brother retains all of the boutique pomp but brings it to bear on a smaller, more family-friendly festival. With Rob da Bank at the helm, is it any surprise that heavyweights like Clean Bandit and Underworld are playing?

PRICE: £195, with family options WEB: www.campbestival.net FARMFEST WHERE: Bruton, Somerset WHEN: Friday 31st July – Sunday 2nd August Sticking true to its roots, Farmfest’s customary genre-hopping line-up goes arm in arm with its beautifully simple ethos – good music, good causes, good times.

PRICE: From £49 WEB: www.farmfestival.co.uk OUTCIDER FESTIVAL WHERE: Fernhill Farm, Compton Martin, Somerset WHEN: Friday 31st July – Sunday 2nd August You’ve got to love a festival where the line-up of ciders is met with just as much excitement as the line-up of bands. Outcider marries the best of both worlds, eclectic music standing shoulder to shoulder with local drinks.

PRICE: £49-£60

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WEB: www.outciderfestival.co.uk down there for a range of artistic and musical styles at East Bristol’s biggest party. The theme this year Y NOT FESTIVAL is “Redfest goes green”.

WHERE: Pikehall, Matlock, PRICE: Free.

Derbyshire WHEN: Friday 31st July – Sunday WEB: www.redfestbristol.co.uk 2nd August Surely the biggest line up in the LEOPALLOOZA festival’s 10-year history brings WHERE: Bude, Cornwall Snoop Dogg, Basement Jaxx WHEN: Saturday 1st – Monday and Primal Scream to the idyllic 3rd August spot in the Peak District. The The greatest house party…in a atmosphere is as organic and field. That’s the marketing hook pure as the fresh country air. for this one. Surf in the morning, PRICE: £84.50 - £94.50 weekend listen to bands in the afternoon and evening. Started in 2006 ticket. with no agenda other than fun, WEB: www.ynotfestivals.co.uk this festival has never lost its innocence. Long may it continue.

SIDMOUTH FOLK WEEK PRICE: £80 weekend ticket.

WHERE: Various venues, Sidmouth WEB: www.leopallooza.com WHEN: Friday July 31st – Friday August 7th BOARDMASTERS With a free bus pass fast WHERE: Newquay, Cornwall approaching, the Folk Week has WHEN: Wednesday 5th – Sunday been running since 1955, but just 9th August like an aging musician sees no Music, surfing, skateboarding reason to slow down – in fact, it and BMX. Leave your skinny jeans might just be putting on its best at home and bring something shows to date. baggy. Faithless and Rudimental PRICE: All access £238, week are bringing some fire, and Bastille £198, weekend £80-£122, day £38. must be closet surf-fanatics as they WEB: www.sidmouthfolkweek.co.uk return for their second consecutive headline slot at the festival.

PRICE: from £110 weekend, from REDFEST £119 for camping WHERE: St George Park, Bristol WHEN: Saturday 1st August WEB: www.boardmasters.co.uk A community-run festival in Bristol is something a bit different to BRISTOL INTERNATIONAL JAZZ anywhere else, so get yourself AND BLUES FESTIVAL WHERE: Colston Hall, Bristol WHEN: Thursday 6th – Saturday 8th August Bristol’s elegant Colston Hall hosts the cream of the jazz and blues crop. Guitars will weep, brass will sing and time signatures will go out the window at the festival which can call Huey Morgan one of its patrons.

PRICE: £21.50 - £30.10 WEB: www.bristoljazzand bluesfest.com/info BRISFEST WHERE: Ashton Court estate, Bristol WHEN: Thursday 6th – Saturday 8th August Hurtling back from a fallow year in FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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The Ultimate 80s Festival returns to The Ashton Court Estate on the weekend of the 5th-7th June 2015.

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rock Bristol! brings the biggest line-up ever to bring you the very best of the 80s, and with an action packed day of general 80s madness, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s loads to do for everyone at this Family Friendly Festival.

2015 will see our new look, funky 80s themed VIP enclosure. Pay a visit to our 80s stylists for the ultimate 80s makeover or simply kick back and relax in our comfy chill out zone or enjoy the outdoor seating area.

Camping and glamping is available for those who want to spend the whole weekend with us.

Fancy dress is recommended, but not compulsory!

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Gates open 11am Festival starts 12pm For further information and to book please visit www.letsrockbristol.com

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JONATHAN BAILEY:

GLASTO

sic festival goer or festival virgi Whether you are a hardened mu member festival group on F regulars on Glasto Chat, an 11,000 s the greatest Glastonbury fest virgin festival goer and what wa

Wristband on the opposite side to the hand you normally wipe your bum with. That was advice, not an experience. Well, not the second time anyway.

ANDY GLASTOFARIAN HOBBS:

My best ever Glasto was 2003 with my son.I had been going since 1983. He was 10 and my wife let me take him, she has never wanted to go. It was a completely different experience.

I didn’t drink much or take any substances. We saw the whole festival and I remembered it all.

Good times.

MATTHEW HANNAGAN:

Advice - Pace yourself and relax...

Experience - Kasabian’s Eezeh blasting out of the Pyramid, with attendant light show and the entire crowd jumping in time. Still get flashbacks today.

NANCY SMITH:

Do things differently. Explore every inch. Be kind to everyone.

You don’t have to get right down the front to enjoy a set.

Take in the atmosphere and make friends. Try to get to your favourite sets.... look out for the surprise ones. Explore the after-hours life. Wellies aren’t for everyone. Walking boots suit the more delicate of ankle. Cellulitis is a sod and it can kill ya!

PAUL RAVETEDTASTIC GILLINGHAM:

Be open minded to all that you

see, don’t judge just because they are rave, hippie,pop etc etc and the main one....DON'T BE A DICK enjoy yourself . Best experience for me personally was Carl Cox smashing Fat Boy Slim off the decks, at the dance village in 2011.

LAURA MCLAUGHLIN:

Take good foot wear, warm night time clothes, torch and food/ drink money. That is all!!

LAURA ZAKY WOLFERS:

Feet - look after them! The right foot wear for the weather and comfort. If it’s welly’s get

MANDY WINTER:

I think it’s a waste to get so off your face that you can’t remember the festival personally.

Good memories and experiences are what it’s all about for me.

I agree with pacing yourself, both with booze/substances and energy.

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS:

O CHAT

ing new to learn. We asked the ival virgin, there’s always somethce of advice they would give a oup on Facebook what single pieever had. bury festival experience they’ve welly socks so your shins do not get rubbed if you wear boots.

Get gaiters if it’s wet. If it’s dry supportive sandals as your are on a farm & the ground can be uneven. Keep hydrated.

SHARON MAIN:

If you find a hidden door, or tunnel, or tent or anything similar - ALWAYS go through it. Just don’t expect to find it again.

ROGER IRVING:

Chill and don’t try to do everything .. you’ll go crazy

JOHN HARDY:

embrace it all. You will totally fall in love with it and that’s a promise!

RICHARD NOBLE:

At Glastonbury, rather than queue for toilets which are overflowing in the campsite, take a short walk into the car park every morning where there is no queue and the toilets are pristine - yes

STEVE NEWBY:

There are only two things you need to take to a festival. An open mind and a decent pair of boots.

Glastonbury can be a festival of extremes from mud and rain to scorching sun with little shade, so come prepared. It’s big so can be disorientating for a first timer, It takes a long time to get from main stage to main stage. Don’t plan too much.

NATALIE MARSH:

ANGELA MARIE DEAN:

NATALIE ROSS:

Be realistic, as in you won’t be able to see absolutely everything as its so vast, the sheer size of the place is awesome. But just go with the flow, have a wander off the beaten track, soak up the fabulous atmosphere and FESTIVAL FESTIVAL GUIDE GUIDE 2015 2015

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£3 Solar shower + gas stove for heating water = hot shower every day... Mmmmm

SIMON PALMER:

“Wipe and Rave... Not Shower and Shave” Last year at Glastonbury we turned off the track into some trees and ended up sat round a fire with a fresh cooked veggie meal and glass of elderflower champagne for less than £4! Was lovely.

PAULINE BRONTE WATSON:

Wear good goertex walking boots and add gaiters if it rains, Not wellies, they really aren’t good for your feet. A chain that attaches your wallet to your trousers. Pack light.

You need less then you think. Really warm sleeping bag. It gets really cold at night. Be nice to others and just put your rubbish in a bag. So much wastage and it is avoidable.

Best moment... soo many to choose from! You have at least one each year 2009 Dancing to Tom Jones with knickers been thrown all around us.

2010 Muse: The moment my fave song started and the green lasers landed on me!

2011 Starting my own group for people going alone and meeting them all at the meet up in front of the pyramid stage.

2013 Dancing with some amazing people to Example then Chase n Status.

2014 Meeting and talking to our fave artist who was just walking about.

2015 Who knows?

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS:

MY GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL MADNESS...

BY ALASDAIR COSNETT (BUGMOUTH) As I have been around this area as both man and boy so there have been many dangers, delights and downright moments of madness directly squeezed from the teat of the mother of all festivals. In that time, I have managed to experience this annual trip to an alternate reality in many guises.

These include in no particular order: on-site steward and offsite, punter, fence jumper (back in the days when it would have cost a lot more than a sore ankle!), stallworker and stager.

I have seen and done things that have become with the gift of time and tongue, epic tales of legend amongst my brethren. Yet one position had always eluded me...that most coveted of all roles...the stage performer!

I had come close a couple of times, one being a call for an early Sunday afternoon performance in one of the small tent stages in the green futures area. This was unfortunately after a mammoth jam session at the magic tea tent (a mission my friend and I would set ourselves to find for many years) which had included such imbibement through the night as to render this opportunity moot.

In the year of our music moshing party freak lord love a duck 2014 however, my time had come...in spades!

It really was a mixture of emotions I felt that only another performer can truly know, but needless to say it is a heady cocktail indeed. The first call up was as a pick up player for Pete Gage, a localish guy who used to play with Dr Feelgood.

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or had ever met Pete before.

Needless to say it was a blast and I blagged my way through the set with the help of my friend and super guitarist, Brad Lister who was also in on the fun. My enduring moment of that gig is when in the middle of the set, after looking out over the joyous crowd, Brad turned to me to say “Why would you want to be anywhere else?!” and I really couldn't have agreed with him more.

Next day was the gig proper with the mighty Swampgrass who were on at 6pm at said Fluffy Rock Cafe and I was properly stoked for this one, being such the gig ready band that we were. It started off better than we could have dreamed as the sudden heavy rain had driven people to shelter, resulting in a totally rammed tent. The proverbial captive audience looking for a good time. We got them swinging from the start and were just about to take the roof off the joint when there was a site wide shutdown of all generators, resulting in the loss of power for about 20mins...disaster! At this point ubermusician Joe Armer turned to me and uttered the words “That was almost the greatest gig of my life!”

With hindsight, I don't know why we didn't just acoustic, but we didn't and so we finished the remainder of the slot with a much emptier tent and spent the rest of the evening drowning our sorrows, tromping about all over site with a maddened glint in our eye.

Luckily for me, I had a chance of redemption late Sunday afternoon at the Avalon Cafe Stage with Frome funkers Fat Stanley, half of whom were working backstage.

The set started well and we were soon drawing in a crowd with our grooving tunes when calamity called again as the lights went out and the amps died. “Not twice in the same weekend!” I cried inside my own head. But this time would be different. This time, we kept going. Miles kept the rhythm of the beat, every band member without a working instrument picked up something percussive and I kept calling to the crowd to do the same whilst also scatting away at the top of my party tired voice until the power came back on.

In that moment I felt like the luckiest guy in the world. It is moments like this that make being a musician truly worth all the effort and sacrifice we put in for comparatively little financial reward. It is moments like these that make memories to keep forever...

FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: 2014, the celebration of up-andcoming acts from the Bristol area promises to once again spread quality across 15 stages.

PRICE: £21.50 - £30.10 WEB: www.brisfest.co.uk FIELDVIEW WHERE: Little Somerford, Chippenham, Wiltshire WHEN: Thursday 6th – Sunday 9th August A garden party gone wild, what was once a regular gathering of friends and family is now one of the best small festivals in the country. The indie-orientated event is back after a year break with early bird tickets selling out in record time.

PRICE: £50, 4-6 person glamping £340-£380.

WEB: www.fieldviewfestival.co.uk GAUNT’S HOUSE SUMMER GATHERING WHERE: Gaunt’s House, Wimborne, Dorset WHEN: Thursday 6th – Sunday 9th August Live music across three stages is just the start, with workshops and therapies based around the environment and a creative mind.

PRICE: £80-£100 adult, £40-£50 teen WEB: www.gauntshouse.com/ LAKEFEST WHERE: Croft Farm Waterpark, Gloucestershire WHEN: Friday 7th – Sunday 9th August Overcoming a small financial stumble early in life, Lakefest is now immensely popular, and an important part of the West Country festival scene. With no intentions of outgrowing its roots, a varied line-up and relaxed atmosphere look set to stay.

PRICE: £90 arrive Thursday, £80 arrive Friday WEB: www.lakefest.co.uk ON THE BUS WHERE: Secret location, Corfe, Dorset WHEN: Friday 7th – Sunday 9th August FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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The fourth year of the secretive festival features the inimitable Goldie Lookin’ Chain (I thought we’d all forgotten about them), as well as Ed Cox and Bentley Rhythm Ace. 80 hours of DJs will be curated by Bournemouth’s top club nights.

PRICE: £55 WEB: www.facebook.com/ onthebusparty GLASTONBURY EXTRAVAGANZA WHERE: Glastonbury Abbey WHEN: Saturday 8th August There’ll be a Waterloo Sunset over the Abbey as Ray Davies takes to the stage for the official warm-up to Glastonbury Festival. Is there a pattern between Extravaganza headliners and slots at Worthy Farm? It’s not out of the question.

PRICE: £35, £20 child WEB: www. glastonburyabbeyshop.com/ view_event.php?event=1000008 FAIRPORT’S CROPREDY CONVENTION WHERE: Cropredy, near Banbury, Oxfordshire WHEN: Thursday 13th – Saturday 15th August Emmylou Harris, Level 42, the Proclaimers and, of course, Fairport Convention perform for the locals of Cropredy and anyone else who cares to attend.

PRICE: £115 weekend ticket.

WEB: www.fairportconvention.com SPORTBEAT FESTIVAL WHERE: Oxstalls Sports Park, Gloucester WHEN: Saturday 15th – Sunday 16th August Taking a different approach to festivals by putting sport and music together on the same poster, there’s volleyball and rugby to your left and live music from the likes of last year’s acts Razorlight and Jaguar Skills on your right. Disorientating but fun.

PRICE: £45, concessions available, extra for camping WEB: www.sportbeatfest.com ARCTANGENT WHERE: Fernhill Farm, Compton Martin, Somerset WHEN: Thursday 20th – Saturday 22nd August ArcTanGent curates a juddering line-up of post-rock, noise-rock, math-rock and alt-rock bands, with the Dillinger Escape Plan topping the bill this year. The festival has a partnership with 2000trees, and joint tickets are available.

PRICE: £75 2 days, £95 3 days, buy now pay later £20/£40 WEB: www.arctangent.co.uk GREEN MAN WHERE: Brecon Beacons, Wales WHEN: Thursday 20th – Sunday 23rd August

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: Whether the festival bears its name just for the “new whirled order” pun or not, it is certainly making an impression on its dedicated regulars, combining the spirit of Avalon with a varied musical palette and a helping of inner peace.

PRICE: £89-£99 adult, £49 teen WEB: www.whirl-y-fayre.co.uk/

BOOMTOWN RATS AT WATCHET LIVE MUSIC FESTIVAL Let yourself go in the stunning setting of a festival which caters to your need for freedom and exquisite music, with St Vincent and Hot Chip already confirmed.

Escape modern life and lose yourself.

PRICE: £165-£210. Less for concessions.

WEB: www.greenman.net BEAUTIFUL DAYS WHERE: Escot Park, Devon WHEN: Friday 21st – Sunday 23rd August The Levellers know a thing or two about music festivals, and bring all of their experience to bear on the family-friendly gathering in Devon. At time of going to press music is still to be confirmed, but there’s acts on the bill that the boys have been waiting for ten years to book.

PRICE: Approx. £130 WEB: www.beautifuldays.org PURBECK VALLEY FOLK FESTIVAL WHERE: Purbeck Valley Farm, Dorset WHEN: Thursday 27th – Sunday 30th August With stages tucked neatly away in barns, each one exhibiting a genuine folk talent, the festival makes full use of its farmyard setting. There is plenty for kids and parents to enjoy, and Purbeck Rising

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introduces up-and-coming artists.

PRICE: £80-£120 adult, £40-£60 youth, £10 child WEB: www. purbeckvalleyfolkfestival.co.uk BEERMAGEDDON WHERE: Stoke Prior WHEN: Friday 28th – Sunday 30th August With a name like this, there’s really not much else to say. It’s a metal festival called Beermageddon, go figure.

PRICE: £40 WEB: www.beermageddon.co.uk SAT IN A FIELD WHERE: Lower Notlake Drove, Wedmore, Somerset WHEN: Friday 28th – Sunday 30th August A resolutely intimate affair which sticks close to the essence of what a festival should be – as you can guess from the name. With an emphasis on local and emerging talent, expect to come away with a new favourite band.

PRICE: £40-£50 adult, £25-£35 teen, £5 child WEB: www.satinafield.com WHIRL-Y-FAYRE WHERE: Vale of Avalon, near Glastonbury WHEN: Friday 28th – Sunday 30th August

WATCHET LIVE MUSIC FESTIVAL WHERE: Parsonage Farm, Watchet, Somerset WHEN: Friday 28th – Sunday 30th August The Wurzels are back in Watchet for their sixth show in seven years, so it’s business as usual for cider drinkers, straw-hat wearers and proud Somerset revelers. Will Bob Geldof be boarding the combine when he’s not on stage with the Boomtown Rats?

PRICE: £60-£65 adult, £40-£45 child, £140-£160 family (camping), £40-£50 adult, £30-£35 child, £110-£135 family (no camping) WEB: www.watchetfestival.co.uk BURNHAM-ON-SEA FOLK FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Burnham-on-Sea WHEN: Thursday 3rd – Sunday 6th September The tenth anniversary of the town centre folk festival kick off with a taster gig on Thursday 3rd – if you like that, dive straight in to the extensive line up for the rest of the weekend.

PRICE: Free with some ticketed shows £4-£10 WEB: www.folkfest.co.uk END OF THE ROAD WHERE:, Larmer Tree Gardens, near Salisbury, Wiltshire WHEN: Friday 4th – Sunday 6th September For a September weekend, End of the Road exists as one of the best small festivals in the country.

For the rest of the year it is a treasured memory and a subtle yearning to return in the hearts of those who attended. With a magic all its own, Sufjan Stevens is making his UK festival debut FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: there, alongside the War on Drugs and others.

PRICE: £195 WEB: www.endoftheroadfestival. com DIDMARTON BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL WHERE: Kemble Airfield, Gloucestershire WHEN: Friday 4th – Sunday 6th September No acts announced yet for the main stage but this always reliable festival shouldn’t disappoint.

There’s an open stage where anyone can sign up to perform, plus a late-night bonfire party.

PRICE: From £45 weekend WEB: www.didmarton-bluegrass. co.uk WOOKEY HOLE MUSIC FESTIVAL WHERE: Wookey Hole Club, Wookey Hole, Somerset WHEN: Friday 11th – Sunday 13th September Now in its 12th year, WHMF presents a pleasingly diverse range of acts inside and in the garden of this friendly villagebased venue. Folk, blues, jazz, classical and world beat with Bristolian Bhangra band RSVP headlining.

PRICE: Mostly free, £10 for headliners WEB: www.wookeyholemusic. co.uk CORNISH BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL WHERE: Hendra Holiday Park, Cornwall WHEN: Friday 18th – Sunday 20th September Good things come to those who wait, they say, and that’s true here. Growing from a small-scale ‘picking weekend’ in 2003 the Cornish Bluegrass Association’s annual event is now a fixture in the bluegrass calendar.

PRICE: £48 weekend, day tickets available WEB: www.cornishbluegrass. co.uk LOOE FESTIVAL WHERE: Looe Beach and Town, Cornwall FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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THE ITCH It was in 2002 at Glastonbury Festival where I first caught ‘the itch’. I was twelve years old, whining incessantly at my father for making me spend a weekend walking around a muddy field and being deafened by the sound of hundreds of rumbling bass notes being played consecutively- I just wanted to shoot aliens at home all day; ‘Why would anyone find this fun?’ I wondered to myself. Until Saturday afternoon, that’s when it made perfect sense.

The sky was that deep grey that tells you it’s about to open up and let rip, I was being dragged along to the Pyramid stage and as we drew closer the perpetual rumbling dulled and began to take shape; a steady slam of a kick drum, then a meaty buzz-saw guitar playing a riff that made my heart jump. When we arrived I couldn’t see who was making this incredible racket; people were leaping about, shaking their fists in the air or simply nodding away to that steady pulse of the kick.

Everyone was having the time of their lives- I desperately wanted to see. My father placed me on his shoulders and the twelve-year-old me saw the two tiny specks responsible beyond the rippling crowd. It was The White Stripes playing Seven Nation Army. In my head I realised ‘I wanna be that man or that woman hitting stuff up there. I wanna be up there’ I was itchy. Then, six years later I got my chance to play at Glastonbury. We were Damages and had two sets lined up at the Fluffy Rock Café, the first was the shortest set we had ever played. We got on stage, plugged everything in and started flailing around, making our instruments howl as normal. Thirty seconds later the power was cut and we were politely told “We can only do acoustic sets until Friday” - Oops (Free lunch though!). We came back Friday and I finally got my chance, to finally be in my element.

The next festival was Farmfest 2014 with my current band Seafoam (where we hope to return this year) and though the festival isn’t Glastonbury it has a stronger sense of intimacy you lose in larger festivals, as well as a spotlight for underdogs to get their chance to shine. There’s a distinct difference between playing a concert and playing at a festival; a concert is one night only where you spend hours, just, waiting. Then you get your thirty minutes, maybe a free beer and -if you’re good enough- an after-party, but that’s it. A festival, however, is a three to five day experience that everyone present is a part of. Total strangers collide with one another as the days pass and you have a real sense of a community that spawns out of a collective love for music, a desire to say “Goodbye world” and shake, dance, flail and scream your cares away. To be one of the people on that stage providing that sweet catharsis for so many is why I will never stop trying to scratch that itch.

DANIEL FINN IS THE DRUMMER WITH BRIGHTON BAND SEAFOAM. CATCH UP WITH THEM AT WWW.SOUNDCLOUD.COM/ SEAFOAMIN WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SEAFOAMIN

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS:

BOARDMASTERS 5TH - 9TH AUGUST

Not much beats partying on a beach, and Boardmasters in Newquay allows festival crowds to do just that.

40,000 people will rock up to Cornwall’s biggest and oldest music festival when it returns to Watergate Bay and Fistral from Wednesday, August 5, to Sunday, August 9.

Heading to the main stage will be Grammy Awards winners Arrested Development, of Mr Wendal and People Everyday fame, the UK’s much-heralded new indie fourpiece Catfish & The Bottlemen, festival favourite Seasick Steve, hotly tipped singer-songwriter Rae Morris, Scottish synth-pop band Prides, Australian singer (and keen surfer) Kim Churchill and Liverpool’s rising indie-rockers, Circa Waves Just announced for the picturesque The Point stage are DJ collective Eton Messy, The Magician, Low Steppa, Monki, Waze & Odyssey, T Williams plus Apres, Disciples, Doorly, Grades, Illyus & Barrientos, Jax Jones, Just Kiddin, Lxury, Marquis Hawkes, SG Lewis, and Weiss.

As well as Bastille, Rudimental and Faithless, performances across the weekend will also come from already announced Clean Bandit, De La Soul Live, Duke Dumont, Nick Mulvey, Lower Than Atlantis, Reef, MNEK, Sunset Sons, DJ EZ and The Darkness with loads more acts still to be revealed across seven stages.

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Combining surf with music, Boardmasters attracts a varied audience. If the dance music is too much for you, then acts like Rae Morris, Reef and Sunset Sons will keep you chilled out.

SEE WWW.BOARDMASTERS.CO.UK FOR TICKETS. FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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SOUTH WEST MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: Write down everything you would want a Bristol music festival to be and it would read like the Simple Things programme. Pivoting on a varied bill (last year threw the likes of Mogwai, Kode9, Turbowolf and SOPHIE together), it effortlessly captures the essence of the city.

PRICE: £25 early bird WEB: www.simplethingsfestival. co.uk

MADNESS AT THE HOUSE OF FUN WEEKENDER WHEN: Friday 18th – Sunday 20th September Out of nowhere, the sleepy seaside town of Looe evolves into a pitch-perfect music festival.

Last year punters danced on the beach to Squeeze and Frank Turner, but this year’s line-up remains a mystery at the time of going to press. Just try not to fall in the sea when you get there.

PRICE: 85 w/e £110 camping adult, £24 w/e £49 camping U18.

WEB: www.looemusic.co.uk STROUD FOLK FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Stroud WHEN: Friday 18th – Sunday 20th September A weekend of concerts, ceilidhs, morris and workshops awaits at the end of September. Explore everything from the folk you know and love to the sea shanties you maybe don’t. Jim Moray will presumably be playing the former, but you never know.

PRICE: £12-£24 WEB: www.stroudfolkfestival. co.uk BRISTOL FESTIVAL OF SONG WHERE: Bristol WHEN: Friday 9th – Sunday 18th October There are dozens, if not hundreds, of choirs operating across Bristol, to suit all abilities and tastes.

This festival brings many of them FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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together to celebrate the power of the human voice to move the soul.

PRICE: Various, many free.

WEB: www.festivalofsong.org.uk TWO MOORS FESTIVAL WHERE: South Molton, Devon WHEN: Thursday 15th – Saturday 24th October Festivals don’t have to mean raucous guitars and pounding drums, as demonstrated by one of the world’s foremost chamber music festivals, which attracts esteemed artists from all over the world. Policy on warm cider unclear at time of going to press.

PRICE: Lots free, £4.50 - £10 for paid events WEB: www.thetwomoorsfestival. co.uk BRISTOL CAJUN AND ZYDECO FESTIVAL WHERE: The Folk House, Bristol WHEN: Friday 16th – Sunday 18th October Smoky good times from Louisiana cross the Atlantic and settle in for a weekend of music and dancing in Bristol.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.bristolcajunfestival. com SIMPLE THINGS FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Bristol WHEN: Saturday 24th October

WESTFEST WHERE: Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet WHEN: Sunday 25th October The UK’s largest indoor dance event returns with one of the hardest line-ups in the business.

Friction and Hazard head up the drum & bass side of things, while everything from garage to hardstyle to techno and gabber gets a look-in elsewhere.

PRICE: £39.50 WEB: www.westfest.co SHIIINE ON WEEKENDER WHERE: Butlin’s Minehead Somerset WHEN: Friday 6th – Monday 9th November Madchester darlings the Happy Mondays headline a festival throwing right back to the indie music of the late 80s and 90s, joined by luminaries like the Inspiral Carpets and the Farm.

PRICE: from £139 WEB: www.bigweekends.com/ splash-pages/shiiine-weekender HOUSE OF FUN WEEKENDER WHERE: Butlin’s Minehead Somerset WHEN: Friday 20th – Monday 23rd November Madness superfans rejoice, the nutty boys have their own weekender. With not one but two sets from the British ska pioneers, the rest of the weekender is given over to live acts, comedy and DJs. PRICE: From £189 WEB: www.bigweekends.com/ the-weekends/specialist-musicweekends/madness-house-of-funweekender

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BRISTOL’S HOTTEST MUSIC VENUE!!

ARCHES 31 & 32, BRISTOL & EXETER MEWS, LOWER STATION APPROACH ROAD, TEMPLE MEADS, BRISTOL. BS1 6QF "Please see our website for upcoming events"

0845 6050255 thetunnelsbristol.co.uk Bristol Temple Meads, Bristol 30

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©LW

FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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NATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVALS According to Wikipedia there are 385 music festivals in the UK. Other survey’s put the number at closer to 700. We spend nearly half a billion pounds on them.

Festivals that include everything from the Cornish Bluegrass festival to the Whitby Goth Festival.

You could folk it up with the Scots at Belladrum, or go to the UK’s biggest free show Basingstoke Live.

The sheer effort of trying to attend as many festivals as possible could be injurious to your health – Indeed, there is something to be said for getting a couple of months in the gym under your belt before festival season starts.

Whether it’s a baking hot day and crowded or, more frequently sodden and mud-caked somewhere in a field, someone in a daft hat or a soggy raincoat will be grinning at you and giving you a thumbs up while dubrockfolkstep pounds out of the nearest speaker as you try to dance with a paper cup of cider in one hand and a burger of indeterminate origin in the other.

We know that there are those who hate music festivals and who will go to any lengths to avoid them - but they are unlikely to be reading this guide, so we can safely say that if you’ve come this far, then you are just a little bit addicted.

Are they too mainstream? Some would say that the bigger events – attracting as they do Royalty and political leaders are. But there’s still

plenty of opportunities to find yourself face down in a hedge mumbling incoherently if you are that way inclined.

So dig out your sturdiest shoes and your flip flops, pack the sunscreen and the plastic poncho, and stick a pin in our lists. It doesn’t matter where you turn up – it’s going to be a blast.

Its festival time. The funnest time of the year.

FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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NATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: TROYFEST WHERE: Baskerville Hall Hotel, Hay-On-Wye WHEN: Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd May Imagine a music festival without the rain, mud and wellies. This is it. Located in and around a stunning country mansion in Hereford, Troyfest this year features Mr Scruff and Gilles Peterson alongside a whole lot of other entertainment, including the Dirty Protest Theatre.

PRICE: £89.50 weekend WEB: www.troyfest.co.uk LIVE AT LEEDS WHERE: Various, Leeds WHEN: Friday 1st – Monday 4th May One way to feel like you’re still young and hip is to head to Live at Leeds and pretend you’ve heard of all the exciting new acts that will be performing. One day they’ll be household names and you’d have got in on the ground floor.

Appearing will be Hookworms, Dry The River and many more.

PRICE: £27.50 weekend WEB: www.liveatleeds.com BRIGHTON FESTIVAL WHERE: Various, Brighton

MR SCRUFF AT TROYFEST

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WHEN: Saturday 2nd – Sunday 24th May A diverse collection of the arts, from music to circus, film to literature and everything in between in the city that rivals Bristol for the title of “coolest place beginning with a B outside London”.

PRICE: Various, some free.

WEB: www.brightonfestival.org SWINGAMAJIG WHERE: Custard Factory, Birmingham WHEN: Sunday 3rd May The UK’s first festival dedicated to electro swing and gypsy folk, old meets new in the best way possible as hundreds of people of all ages dress like it’s 1929 and swing and bop until their shoes wear out.

PRICE: £15-£30 WEB: www.swingamajig.co.uk THE GREAT ESCAPE WHERE: Various venues, Brighton WHEN: Thursday 14th – Saturday 16th May Traverse Brighton’s seaside streets as you move between venues with up-and-coming acts stacked to the rafters and bursting out of the windows. The hardest decision is choosing which act to gamble on

while you prepare your “I saw them before they were famous” spiel.

PRICE: £43.45 - £63.25 WEB: www.greatescapefestival. com/line-up BEARDED THEORY WHERE: Catton Hall, South Derbyshire WHEN: Thursday 21st – Sunday 24th May, You don’t need a beard to get in, but don’t be surprised if facial hair abounds with line-ups mostly teased from the last couple of decades. New Model Army and James top the bill, and there’s some forward thinking below with acts like Dizraeli and the Small Gods.

PRICE: £87, £45 teen, £20 child WEB: www.beardedtheory.co.uk HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN WHERE: Globe at Hay, Hay-OnWye WHEN: Thursday 21st – Sunday 31st May The world’s largest music and philosophy festival (not that there is a huge amount of competition) returns with this year’s theme, ‘Fantasy and Reality’. A host of big-name speakers and lecturers share the green room with Sam and the Womp, the 2 Bears and Stornoway. Fantasy and reality indeed.

PRICE: £44-78 full midweek pass, £88-138 11 days, £28-58 midweek pass WEB: www.howthelightgetsin.iai.tv GLYNDEBOURNE WHERE: Glyndebourne, East Sussex WHEN: Thursday 21st May – Wednesday 15th July More Mozart than you can shake a conductor’s wand at (other composers also feature), but you’ll have to set aside a few quid to go to many of the events. Mixed in with the symphonies are plenty of cinema screenings and talks.

PRICE: Tickets range from £20 up to £250, depends on the event and where you sit or stand.

WEB: www.glyndebourne.com FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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NATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: LIVERPOOL SOUND CITY WHERE: Various across Liverpool WHEN: Friday 22nd – Sunday 24th May The largest metropolitan music and arts festival in the UK focussing on three diverse themes – football, music and style – in the city that claims to have invented at least two of them. The musical side of the festival is headlined by the Flaming Lips with a number of speakers lined up on the conference side of things.

PRICE: £65 weekend, £35 day WEB: www.liverpoolsoundcity. co.uk GLASTONBUDGET WHERE: Turnpost Farm, Wymeswold, Leicestershire WHEN: Friday 22nd – Sunday 24th May Even better than the real thing, sang Bono once. This festival claims to be the world’s biggest and best gathering of tribute acts.

Knotslip, One Step Behind and Four Fighters help the festival celebrate its tenth birthday.

PRICE: £76 weekend ticket WEB: www.glastonbudget.org UNORTHODOX PARADOX WHERE: Fellfoot Wood, Lake Windemere WHEN: Friday 22nd – Sunday 24th May Get away from it all and connect with the beautiful surroundings of Lake Windermere for a pancosmic musical woodland trip (their words).

Unorthadox Paradox has no corporate sponsorship, no fast food and no cash points, just an eclectic mix of music and good vibes.

PRICE: £50-£60 weekend WEB: www. unorthodoxparadox2015. wordpress.com ELDERFLOWER FIELDS WHERE: Pippingford Park, near Brighton WHEN: Friday 22nd – Monday 25th May If you needed any more proof that festivals are not just for teenagers, here it is. While mums and dads enjoy 40 bands across two stages,

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their children are kept amused by parkour, archery and trying new instruments. You’ll pay for the joy of being away from the little ones though, see below.

PRICE: Price: £105 adults, £50 children.

WEB: www.elderflowerfields.co.uk RADIO 1’S BIG WEEKEND WHERE: Earlham Park, Norwich WHEN: Saturday 23rd – Sunday 24th May Grumbling about the license fee aside, Radio One’s travelling musical circus is a pretty good gauge of what’s popular right now. And that would seem to be Taylor Swift and Florence and the Machine, whose constant ‘new music’ teasing must be going somewhere soon…surely.

PRICE: Free (but online registration is required).

WEB: www.bbc.co.uk/events/ ewh8q9 COMMON PEOPLE WHERE: Southampton Common WHEN: Saturday 23rd – Sunday 24th May Rob da Bank just cannot sit still – not content with Bestival and Camp Bestival, he is now moving onto Southampton Common for the bank holiday weekend. Pre-

dictably, he has artists like Grace Jones and De La Soul in tow for another achingly boutique event.

PRICE: £60.25 adult w/e, £33 day WEB: www.commonpeople.net LEESTOCK WHERE: Melford Hall, Sussex WHEN: Saturday 23rd – Sunday 24th May The festival set up in memory of local musician Lee Dunford, who was struck down by Hodgkins Lymphoma at the age of 17, goes from strength to strength. This year it’s headlined by Scouting For Girls.

PRICE: £30 weekend ticket options.

WEB: www.leestock.org KINTYRE SONGWRITERS FESTIVAL WHERE: Cambletown Grammar School, Cambletown WHEN: Friday 29th – Sunday 31st May Enough standing around watching someone else play, this one is all about discovering the next Morrissey (and hopefully not the next Kelly Osbourne), with an emphasis on undiscovered songwriters.

Don’t play Mull of Kintyre. That joke’s been done before.

PRICE: £TBC WEB www. kintyresongwritersfestival.co.uk

DE LA SOUL AT COMMON PEOPLE

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NATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: DETONATE FESTIVAL WHERE: Colwick Country Park, Nottingham WHEN: Saturday 30th May Rumour has it that if the bass frequencies stopped rumbling in Nottingham’s clubs, the castle would collapse. Public servants Detonate step into the breach and bring their wildly popular nights to the festival scene for drum & bass, house, dubstep and hip-hop treats.

PRICE: From £27.50 WEB: www.detonate1.co.uk/ detonate-festival/index.html WE ARE FSTVL WHERE: Upminster London WHEN: Saturday 30th – Sunday 31st May An electronic music fan’s dream comes true in Upminster, with stages curated by the likes of Hannah Wants, MK and Hospitality at an event which probably has more speaker stacks than artists.

PRICE: £39 day, £75 weekend WEB: www.wearefstvl.com BOOM BAP WHERE: Mildenhall Stadium, Suffolk WHEN: Friday 5th – Sunday 7th June One for the hip-hop heads, the UK’s biggest celebration of the genre supports the burgeoning UK scene with the likes of the Four Owls and Chester P, while inviting the cream of the crop from across the Atlantic with Earl Sweatshirt and Ratking in attendance.

PRICE: £70-£90 WEB: www.boombapfestival.co.uk ROCKFIELD COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL WHERE: Rockfield, Monmouth WHEN: Friday 5th – Sunday 7th June You won’t have to travel far from Bristol to find this festival, which offers anything that takes your fancy once you put a cowboy hat on. This includes line dancing lessons, a mechanical bull and the national fast draw championships, as well as more music than you can pluck a banjo at.

THE 8 WORST THINGS ABOUT ORGANISING A FREE FOLK FESTIVAL

BY DOM WILLS

1: BOOKING PARANOIA

Is that band you liked on YouTube really any good?

Really? Because, for some reason, people who come to a free festival and don’t enjoy it feel far more cheated than if they’d stumped up 200 nicker. And you know where the buck stops.

2: ALL WORK, NO PLAY

You put on a fest because you love fests. But with all the thanking, congratulating, commiserating, paying, humping (ooer!), supplying, re-supplying, organising, re-organising, putting up and taking down, this is one festival you’re going to miss.

3: TRAVEL EXPENSES

Sometimes musicians kindly offer to play for free, if you’ll cover their exes. Sounds good, yes? But beware the ones with northern accents because a cheap weekend rail return from Leeds will set you back approximately £8000.

4: EXPENSIVE STREET ENTERTAINERS

“Remember, I have played Covent Garden”, you’ll hear from chaps demanding eye-watering amounts for keeping three tangerines in the air for over a minute.

“Yes, mate, but you were busking on the street, not headlining at the Royal Opera House,” you muse before hanging up and continuing the search.

5: LOCAL MUSICIANS

Extremely accommodating for the most part, but pray

their gig goes well. You’ll have to live with their reproachful glances for the next 12 months.

6: RIDERS

The stuff bigger acts demand backstage. Usually first mentioned after the fee has been agreed. Stay calm or you may find yourself seizing the lead guitarist by the throat and shouting “Do I look like your mum? No? Then why do you expect me to cook your bleedin’ tea?”

7: SINGER-SONGWRITERS

There’s just so many of them.

And. with their rampant selfpity and horrible, hackneyed lyrics, most of them are soulcrushingly wretched.

8: WHINY PURISTS

“Well, that’s not folk, is it?”

You hear that one a lot. Yet nowadays there’s Trad Folk, Wyrd Folk, Psych Folk, Nu Folk, Pagan Folk, Folk Punk, Folk Pop, Folk Rock, Folk Metal, Folktronica, a Folk to cover all bases, basically. So we can quite justifiably put on anything we bloody well like. It’s not just about you, you know.

DOM WILLS IS CHAIRMAN OF THE FREE BURNHAM ON SEA FOLK FESTIVAL WHICH TAKES PLACE THIS YEAR FROM SEPTEMBER 3-6. THE FESTIVAL FEATURES DOZENS OF FREE SHOWS IN THE TOWN’S PUBS ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 5 AND A FREE CONCERT IN THE PARK ON SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6. FOR DETAILS VISIT WWW.FOLKFEST.CO.UK

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2015 JUNE 24

GEORGE OUT SOLD

JUNE 25

KAISER OUT SOLD

EZRA CHIEFS JUNE 26

SEASICK

JUNE 27

STEVE

BRISTOL HARBOURSIDE GIGSANDTOURS.COM TICKETMASTER.CO.UK BRISTOLTICKETSHOP.CO.UK BRISTOLSUMMERSERIES.COM A METROPOLIS MUSIC PRESENTATION 36

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NATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: PRICE: £40 weekend, £12 day WEB: www.countrymusicfestival. co.uk

GEORGE EZRA AT PARKLIFE

WILD LIFE WHERE: Brighton City Airport WHEN: Saturday 6th – Sunday 7th June Having conquered the hearts and minds of underground and mainstream fans alike, Disclosure and Rudimental join forces to dominate the festival scene in a different way, bringing Sam Smith, George Ezra, Nas and more to Brighton.

PRICE: SOLD OUT WEB: www.disclosureofficial.com FIELD DAY WHERE: Victoria Park, London E3 WHEN: Saturday 6th – Sunday 7th June Positivity abounds as the worlds of electronic and guitar-led music collide. Caribou, Patti Smith, Django Django and Floating Points are just some of the artists on show in central London.

PRICE: £83 w/e, £54.50 day WEB: www.fielddayfestivals.com PARKLIFE WHERE: Heaton Park, Manchester WHEN: Saturday 6th – Sunday 7th June If a city can accommodate the Warehouse Project then it’s only right that it should have a festival of the same structure. Parklife is a market leader in electronic music, with Disclosure and Rudimental headlining, but it is not afraid to diversify, bringing Ben Howard, George Ezra and Nas along for the ride too.

PRICE: £75 WEB: www.parklife.uk.com ISLE OF WIGHT WHERE: Seaclose Park, Newport, Isle of Wight WHEN: Thursday 11th – Sunday 14th June Just a short ferry ride away, lose your sea legs to some stellar songs.

Quite what Fleetwood Mac and the Prodigy will make of each other remains to be seen – imagine the collaboration! – but that just shows the variety on offer here.

PRICE: £208.20 adult camping,

options WEB: www.isleofwightfestival.com HAMPTON COURT PALACE FESTIVAL WHERE: Hampton Court Palace, London WHEN: Thursday 11th June – Tuesday 23rd June Jools Holland returns to the festival, but are the bookings of Paloma Faith and Peter Andre attempts to reach out to a younger audience? One more than the other, perhaps.

PRICE: Various WEB: www. hamptoncourtpalacefestival.com SYMMETRY FESTIVAL WHERE: Sennowe Park, Norfolk WHEN: Friday 12th – Sunday 14th June Ignore all the jokes about inbreeding, Norfolk is actually a very sophisticated place these days. Symmetry is five themed stages, designed by local artists, hosting a number of acts including Dub Pistols, Black Sun Empire and the Mouse Outfit.

PRICE: Weekend tickets start at £70 WEB: www.symmetryfestival.co.uk DOWNLOAD WHERE: Donington Park, Leicestershire

WHEN: Friday 12th – Monday 15th June Home of all things heavy metal and similar, Download will once again play host to some of the juggernauts of rock music. This year the responsibility for shaking skulls falls to Slipknot, Muse and Kiss, all of whom are sure to perform their duties admirably.

PRICE: Five nights camping £225, three nights camping - £215, options WEB: www.downloadfestival.co.uk THE ACOUSTIC FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN WHERE: Uttoxeter Racecourse, Wood Lane WHEN: Friday 19th – Sunday 21st June The home of all things unplugged, the Acoustic Festival of Britain plays host to a string (pun) of accomplished performers such as Paul Carrack, Show of Hands and the omnipresent Big Country.

PRICE: £85 weekend WEB: www.acousticfestival.co.uk AFRICA OYÉ WHERE: Sefton Park, Liverpool WHEN: Saturday 20th – Sunday 21st June The UK’s largest celebration of African music and culture including UK soul legend Omar, the BKO

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NATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS:

FARMFESTIVAL I find it quite nervewracking looking after the main stage at Farmfest. That’s a lie actually, I find it very nerve-wracking! That’s more a reflection on me than it is the job at hand. Most of the hard work is done in the run up to the festival. On the weekend itself it’s mainly a case of making sure bands turn up at the right time at the right stage.

Sounds simple enough, but we still had one band turn up on the wrong day last year!

Luckily that band wasn’t Public Service Broadcasting. They were our big booking, headlining the main stage. They turned up with a trailer the size of your average living room packed full of kit. There’s only two of them!

Obviously there was nothing really to worry about, we’d given them the time to get everything set up on stage and they of course came very prepared and knew exactly what needed to be done, and they smashed it. It looked spectacular. That’s when I can start to relax, when the last band is on and the crowd are loving it.

The line up this year is really exciting. We’ve got Lamb headlining and I still can’t quite believe it. I’m also really looking forward to Zun Zun Egui and The Lovely Eggs. The Eggs write brilliant songs and have struck up a great rapport with our crowd after a couple of previous appearances.

This’ll be their first time on the main stage though so I should actually get a chance to have proper chat with them, if I’m not too nervous!

JOE DOUHIG FESTIVAL ORGAINSER, ARTIST BOOKER, MAIN STAGE WORRIER 38

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Quartet from Mali and Lindigo from Reunion Island, as well as various traders and stalls.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.africaoye.com BLISSFIELDS WHERE: Vicarage Farm, Winchester, Hampshire WHEN: Friday 3rd – Saturday 4th July The Horrors might have been MIA for several years, but Blissfields have unearthed them and put them up on stage, along with Public Service Broadcasting, Grandmaster Flash and more at a festival promising a four-dimensional experience.

PRICE: £75-£95 weekend ticket, £48 Fri, £56 Sat WEB: www.blissfields.co.uk WIRELESS WHERE: Finsbury Park, London and Perry Park, Birmingham WHEN: Friday 3rd – Sunday 5th July For some the epitome of the corporate music festival, for others its line up, featuring Drake, David Guetta, Nicki Minaj and Avicii will be the best to hit our shores this year, and who are we to judge?

PRICE: Three-day tickets £209.50, days available WEB: www.wirelessfestival.co.uk GODIVA FESTIVAL WHERE: War Memorial Park, Coventry WHEN Friday 3rd – Sunday 5th July If you can negotiate Coventry’s mind-bending ring road then a consistently decent line-up awaits. No names have been confirmed yet, but local media speculates that a homecoming set from the Specials would go down a treat. If you need any incentive, it’s a free event.

PRICE: Free.

WEB: www.godivafestival.com NOISILY WHERE: Noseley Hall, Leicestershire WHEN: Thursday 9th – Sunday 12th July Turning a beautiful wooded valley into a technicolour rave, complete FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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NATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: with world-class DJs and visual art installations may seem to some like a waste, but if you know, you know, and the escapism will be like nothing else.

PRICE: £65-£130 WEB: www.noisilyfestival.com T IN THE PARK WHERE: Strathallan Castle, Perthshire, Scotland WHEN: Friday 10th – Sunday 12th July It’s business as usual in Scotland, as another year brings another knockout line-up to the gold standard festival. Indie fans rejoice as Kasabian, the Libertines and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds swoop in, and if EDM is your bag you’ve got Avicii and David Guetta.

PRICE: Weekend camping: £214.95 WEB: www.tinthepark.com CORNBURY FESTIVAL WHERE: The Great Tew Park, Oxfordshire WHEN: Friday 10th – Sunday 12th July It bills itself as an eclectic and eccentric musical carnival, but last year’s line-up features Jools Holland, the Feeling, Scouting for Girls and Simple Minds. Hmm.

NICKI MINAJ AT WIRELESS

Will it live up to its claims more this year? The festival site is not far from David Cameron’s, do what you like with that information.

PRICE: From £182 weekend WEB: www.cornburyfestival.com LATITUDE WHERE: Henham Park, Southwold, Sussex WHEN: Thursday 16th – Sunday 19th July For a festival with so much going for it other than music, last year’s line-up of Lily Allen, Damon Albarn and the Black Keys was staggering. Elsewhere at Henham Park, immerse yourself in comedy, theatre, film, dance, cabaret, literature, poetry and art.

PRICE: £195.50 weekend WEB: www.latitudefestival.com LOVEBOX WHERE: Victoria Park, Hackney, London WHEN: Friday 17th – Saturday 18th July This is London doing what London does best, churning the culture bubbling away beneath its surface out into the open for a weekend of beats and bass with the cream of the current dance crop.

PRICE: £93.50 weekend WEB: www.loveboxfestival.com

SECRET GARDEN PARTY WHERE: Mill Hill Field, Abbots Ripton, Cambridgeshire WHEN: Thursday 23rd – Sunday 26th July Once the hidden jewel of UK festivals, SGP is now emerging from its chrysalis as a glorious, multi-faceted butterfly of a boutique festival.

Exquisitely themed, beautifully set and wonderfully eclectic, the theme this year is ‘childish themes’ – start planning your outfits now.

PRICE: £154 - £190 WEB: www.secretgardenparty. com NOZSTOCK WHERE: Bromyard, Herefordshire WHEN: Friday 24th – Sunday 26th July Another romantic tale of a festival started by a music- and fun-loving family with a little help from their friends, this is exactly what people mean when they say the UK is full of fantastic little festivals. Wu-Tang Clan, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and London Elektricity are some of the highlights this year.

PRICE: £80 - £105 WEB: www.nozstock.com STANDON CALLING WHERE: Standon, Hertfordshire WHEN: Friday 31st July – Sunday 2nd August A UK festival exclusive from the Dandy Warhols tops things off at the ‘festival with a pool and a dog show’. “I like you I like you I like you” will become the catchphrase of the weekend, and I’m sure you’ll like the festival every bit as much as you say you like, er, “you”.

PRICE: £117 - £137 w/e, options.

WEB: www.standon-calling.com BIMBLE BANDANA WHERE: Secret Location, near Brighton WHEN: Friday 31st July – Sunday 2nd August Putting this guide together you get used to lots of marketing slogans but “100% solar powered” is a new one. So pray for a sunny day or there might not be enough energy to power the acts they haven’t announced yet.

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NATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: PRICES: £TBC WEB: www.bimblebandada.com EISTEDDFOD GENEDLAETHOL CYMRU (THE NATIONAL EISTEDDFOD OF WALES) WHERE: Carmarthenshire, Wales WHEN: Saturday 1st – Saturday 8th August The festival promises a little bit of everything including dance performances, art, comedy, markets, poetry and technology displays.

We dare you to book tickets without switching the language of the website from Welsh to English – live dangerously.

PRICE: Various.

WEB: www.eisteddfod.org.uk

Heavy metal in the sun, with Trivium, Within Temptation and the inimitable Rob Zombie headlining.

PRICE: £142 weekend and camping.

WEB: www.bloodstockuk.com WILDERNESS WHERE: Cornbury, Oxfordshire.

WHEN: Thursday 6th – Sunday 9th August Devastatingly creative booking brings Bjork, Ben Howard and George Clinton together on the main stage, while you can learn pretty much anything you want from the myriad talks and workshops on offer.

PRICE: £175.94 weekend ticket.

WEB: www.wildernessfestival.com

BELLADRUM TARTAN HEART FESTIVAL WHERE: Belladrum Estate, near Beayly, Scotland WHEN: Thursday 6th – Saturday 8th August The Kaiser Chiefs and purveyors of what is possibly THE festival anthem the Proclaimers headline this fancy dress-orientated affair.

PRICE: SOLD OUT weekend, day tickets available.

WEB: www.tartanheartfestival.co.uk

REBELLION WHERE: Winter Gardens, Blackpool WHEN: Thursday 6th – Sunday 9th August Blackpool – it’s not just candyfloss and stag parties. The Boomtown Rats, the Damned, Misfits, Sick of it All, Gang of Four… The list of guitar-led grit goes on.

PRICE: From £140 weekend WEB: www.rebellionfestivals.com

BLOODSTOCK WHERE: Catton Park, Derbyshire WHEN: Thursday 6th – Sunday 9th August

EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL WHERE: Various, Edinburgh WHEN: Friday 7th – Monday 31st August

GEORGE CLINTON AT WILDERNESS

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Best-known as the festival where stand-up comedy careers come to be born or die before they can walk. It’s not just comedy, as there’s plenty of theatre and dance on offer.

PRICES: Various, some free.

WEB: www.edfringe.com BOOMTOWN FAIR WHERE: Matterley Estate, near Winchester, Hampshire WHEN: Thursday 13th – Sunday 16th August Chapter seven of the multicoloured fantasy town where all your wildest dreams come true. Assuming that your wildest dreams involve cutting edge music with an emphasis on the low frequencies, which they surely do.

PRICE: from £120 WEB: www.boomtownfair.co.uk TRIBFEST WHERE: Sledmere House, Sledmere, East Yorkshire WHEN: 20th – 23rd August This is not the greatest festival in the world, no, this is just a tribute.

Almost-as-good-as-the-real-things the Cheatles, Badness and Oaces.

PRICE: £130 weekend ticket.

WEB: www.tribfest.co.uk V FESTIVAL WHERE: Hylands Park, Chelmsford and Weston Park, South Staffs WHEN: Saturday 22nd – Sunday 23rd August Critics say it doesn’t have the same friendly all-in-this-together spirit as Glastonbury but if you want to see 10 acts that would headline any other festival in one day then this is the event to go to.

PRICE: £TBC at time of publication WEB: www.vfestival.com SHAMBALA WHERE: Near Market Harbourough, Northamptonshire WHEN: Thursday 27th – Sunday 30th August This festival was green long before the rest of the summer’s parties cottoned on. Music, comedy, circus, cabaret and acrobatics complement acts such as Andy C FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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10 10

More acts added...

LAMB SUBMOTION ORCHESTRA SHERWOOD & PINCH (LIVE) STEALING SHEEP / PORTICO LONELADY / ALL WE ARE THE PARADISE BANGKOK MOLAM INTERNATIONAL BAND / ZUN ZUN EGUI DUOLOGUE / FEBUEDER / MOULETTES THE LOVELY EGGS / SHEELANAGIG NO GO STOP / B.O.M.B.S. / GOAN DOGS BITE THE BUFFALO / BAILA LA CUMBIA THE GENE DUDLEY GROUP / C DUNCAN FLAMENCO THIEF / TOYFACE & MORE...

NIGHTMARES ON WAX (DJ SET) J.D TWITCH (OPTIMO) PHAELEH / BRADLEY ZERO OCTOBER B2B APPLEBLIM FUTUREBOOGIE / OUTBOXX SHAPES / JUST JACK / RUF DUG / NY*AK APIENTO / BANOFFEE PIES / STUDIO 94 HARRI PEPPER B2B ΔDMIN / LOOSE LIPS PARDON MY FRENCH / THE DISABLISTS SOULWORKS / COEXIST / FACTA & MORE

Check out our full arts, entertainment and family programme online (feat Eddie Argos)

LIMITED £59 ADV TICKETS ON SALE NOW 31ST JULY & 1ST AUGUST 2015 GILCOMBE GILCO MBE FARM, F BRUTON SOMERSET ————————————————————————— ————— FARMFESTIVAL.CO.UK FARMF

        

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     

       

          

                        

 

                    

                

                  



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NATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: WEB: www.festivalnumber6.com ONE LOVE WHERE: Stockwell Farm, Leighton Buzzard WHEN: Friday 4th – Sunday 6th September Leighton Buzzard, the home of reggae and dub, for one weekend only. The Battle of the Dubplates promises to make the earth shake with good vibrations.

PRICE: £110 w/e early bird WEB: www.onelovefestival.co.uk

SKRILLEX AT SW4

and Gentleman’s Dub Club.

PRICE: £109 - £149 adult w/e, options WEB: www.shambalafestival.org READING/LEEDS WHERE: Richfield Avenue, Reading and Bramham Park, Leeds WHEN: Friday 28th – Sunday 30th August Time to get tribal at one of the biggest, baddest and longestrunning festivals in the business.

Metallica follow up last year’s Glastonbury performance and Mumford & Sons pitch in with another headline slot, but the show is stolen by the reunited Libertines, at the top of the bill for the first time.

PRICE: £213 weekend ticket.

WEB: www. readingandleedsfestival.com CREAMFIELDS WHERE: Daresbury, Halton, Cheshire WHEN: Friday 28th – Sunday 30th August A festival with barely a guitar in sight, surely not?! An originator on the dance music scene, Creamfields this year brings the likes of Avicii, the Chemical Brothers, Knife Party and Steve Angello to Cheshire.

PRICE: £200 three days with camping WEB: www.creamfields.com SW4 WHERE: Clapham Common, London WHEN: Saturday 29th – Sunday 30th August Considerately named for sat-nav users, the festival which turns Clapham Common into a gigantic rave is back once again with the ill behavior. Skrillex headlines, and with Fatboy Slim only making the second stage, imagine what the main stage has to offer.

PRICE: £110 weekend, £60 Sat, £55 Sun WEB: www.southwestfour.com FESTIVAL NUMBER 6 WHERE: Portmeirion, Gwynedd, Wales WHEN: Thursday 3rd – Sunday 6th September Not for nothing did this one win Line Up of the Year at the UK Festival Awards, with Beck and London Grammar topping the bill, and the booking of Belle & Sebastian and Beck continue a fine vein of form.

The festival also snagged the gong for Most Unique Festival Site at the AIF Festival Congress Awards.

PRICE: £160 - £TBA weekend

BESTIVAL WHERE: Robin Hill Park, Isle of Wight WHEN: Thursday 10th – Sunday 13th September Escapism in every sense of the word, walking down the hill into Robin Hill Park is like entering a parallel universe of decadent indulgence and far-out fancy dress, with the prophet Rob da Bank making all the right bookings. The original boutique festival takes place during school time, too.

PRICE: £195 WEB: www.bestival.net SCARBOROUGH JAZZ FESTIVAL WHERE: Scarborough Spa WHEN: Friday 25th – Sunday 27th September One of the country’s finest jazz festival with acts announced for this year including the Engines Orchestra, Beats & Pieces and Ben Cox. PRICE: £85 early bird weekend WEB: www.jazz.scarboroughspa. co.uk LOOP ALLU WHERE: Ullapool, Scotland WHEN: Friday 25th – Saturday 26th September This takes place in the middle of nowhere, 60 miles from the nearest town, but still attracts decent headliners. Previous years have seen Franz Ferdinand, Alabama 3, Mumford and Sons and the Undertones play. The haggis must be exceptional. This year’s line-up is to be confirmed.

PRICE: £85 weekend camping.

WEB: www.loopallu.co.uk

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INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVALS You might have heard similar statements over the winter – “I don’t go on holiday – I go to festivals instead” – there is a sizable horde of music lovers who eschew the pleasures of a place in the sun for a spot for their tent in a British field and an uncertain climate.

But there’s no reason to avoid the sunshine and the beach – we aren’t the only people who can organise a big bash.

You can have your veggie burger and eat it. Europe is full of great music festivals that you should be heading off to in the summer of 2015.

Benicàssim and Primavera in Spain are top of many party seekers lists - with Primavera near Barcelona recently announced the likes of Alt-J, Belle & Sebastian, Patti Smith and Electric Wizard while Benicàssim is a beach party by day and a musical spectacular at night.

While the Spanish specialise in big outdoor parties, there are top notch festivals in Germany like Rock am Ring, the French have Rock en Seine, the Belgians Rock Werchter and the Danes Roskilde - some of these festivals have been going longer than many long established British FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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shows - and they come in cheaper too - Rock Werchter costs £170, and Primavera just £130, while Rock en Seine is £85 - and for that you'll see The Chemical Brothers, The Libertines, Alt-J, Ben Howard and the Offspring - well worth popping on the Eurostar for.

The Balkan countries have long been famed for their passionate support of dance music with Dimension and Outlook in Croatia and Exit in Serbia, while the Sziget in Hungary situated on an island in the middle of the Danube, feels

like its own crazed citystate.

So check our listings and consider how much fun you could have if you traded the price a pair of Hunter wellies and a four-berth tent from Millets for a week in the sunshine seeing the best acts in the world.

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INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: COACHELLA WHERE: Empire Polo Club, Indio, California WHEN: Friday 10th – Sunday 12th April, Friday 17th – Sunday 19th April US festival heavyweight raising desert dust and setting trends with its choice of headliners, who are dissected the world over. Two weekends, each with Jack White, AC/DC and Drake topping the bill with a melting pot of genres underneath.

PRICE: $435 inc. shuttle WEB: www.coachella.com GROEZROCK WHERE: Meerhout, Belgium WHEN: Friday 1st – Saturday 2nd May A leftfield hard rock line-up for true fans is shot through with quality, with Social Distortion and Refused taking the headlines. The festival has multiplied its attendance by 100 over the course of its 24-year existence.

PRICE: €70 day, €110 w/e WEB: www.groezrock.be LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE WHERE: San Antonio Recreation Area, Bradley, CA WHEN: Thursday 21st – Monday 25th May Our transatlantic cousins get a hard time about a lot of things, including some of their festivals, but the environmentally-conscious LIB could just as easily happen in Somerset, with yoga to boot.

The incredible Flume is handed headline duties.

PRICE: $275 WEB: www.lightninginabottle.org SASQUATCH WHERE: Gorge Amphitheatre, George, Washington WHEN: Friday 22nd – Monday 25th May Carved into the basalt cliff high above the Columbia River, you’ll find Kendrick Lamar, Robert Plant and Modest Mouse serenading the Memorial Day weekend at the dynamic American institution.

PRICE: $350 WEB: www.sasquatchfestival.com

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AC/DC AT COACHELLA

SWEDEN ROCK WHERE: Sölvesborg, Sweden WHEN: Wednesday 3rd – Saturday 6th June A rock festival with a conscience, the Sweden Rock festival offers up its titular genre in every possible form. The UK flag is flown by Judas Priest and Def Leppard, so all you rock pilgrims will feel right at home.

PRICE: 2390 kr (approx. £185) WEB: www.swedenrock.com/en/ ROCK AM RING WHERE: Mendig Airfield, Nurburg, Germany WHEN: Friday 5th – Sunday 7th June Germany’s answer to Download is, predictably, devastatingly efficient when it comes to booking huge artists, with the likes of the Foo Fighters, Slipknot and Slash set to pack out the infamous arena.

PRICE: €184.50 WEB: www.rock-am-ring.com/ GREENFIELD FESTIVAL WHERE: Interlaken, Bern, Switzerland WHEN: Thursday 11th – Saturday 13th June The peace of a scenic alpine meadow will be royally disturbed for the duration of the 30,000-capacity festival. Slipknot pop up yet again on the European rock

circuit, alongside British legends Motorhead.

PRICE: 198CHF (approx. £134) WEB: www.greenfieldfestival.ch/ BONNAROO WHERE: Manchester, Tennessee WHEN: Thursday 11th – Sunday 14th June Set on a sprawling Tennessee farm, Bonnaroo is the archetypally American festival you would hope for, with Mumford & Sons, Florence and the Machine and Robert Plant giving it some soul. Hold on, there’s some American acts here somewhere… There you are, Billy Joel and Kendrick Lamar.

PRICE: $299.50 WEB: www.bonnaroo.com MEADOWS IN THE MOUNTAINS WHERE: Smolian, Bulgaria WHEN: Friday 12th – Sunday 14th June A pristine and historic Bulgarian scene steps through a hidden door into another dimension to create an atmospheric escape route from British beigeness.

Eco-conscious, unpretentious and pure, you won’t find A-list artists here, but you will find the most amazing experience.

PRICE: £145 WEB: www. meadowsinthemountains.com FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: NEWT BEER AND MUSIC FESTIVAL 2015 Thousands of people from all over the country will be making their annual pilgrimage to Somerset in July to attend the 24th Newt Beer and Music Festival. The festival is held at North Newton between Bridgwater and Taunton on Friday 10th July from 6pm until 1am and Saturday 11th July between noon until 1am.

The Newt is famous for the wide selection of Real Ales and the variety of music. This year there will be over 100 Real Ales and Ciders from breweries all over the country plus lager and other alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks. There will be a yard of ale contest on the Saturday afternoon at 3pm in the main marquee.

Among the bands playing during the festival will be on the Friday the UK's best Coldplay tribute band Coldplace and the UK's best Oasis tribute band OASIS along with The Blue Baboon and Cable Co On Saturday afternoon the bands that take to the stage are The Hardy Fentons , Delta 88 and The Blue Horizon. The headline band on the Saturday will be the fantastic The Special Brew, a Bad Manners tribute band, Filta, Green Haze, a Green Day tribute band, Nicholas Heale and Lakota 5 Full details of all the bands can be found at newtfest.com A wide selection of food will be available throughout the festival. This will include breakfasts for those who decide to camp. The cost of camping is £10 per person.

The cost of entry this year is £10 per person on the Friday, £15 per person on the Saturday, or £20 for a weekend ticket. If booked online for a limited period weekend festival tickets are only £17.50 Tickets are available from the website, on the gate or from various outlets.

FULL DETAILS OF THE FESTIVAL CAN BE FOUND AT NEWTFEST.COM OR CONTACT FRANK CLEGG ON 01278 663059 0R 07760367368.

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WELLS FESTIVAL OF LITERATURE Cook, food writer, television and radio presenter Mary Berry will be the star speaker at this year's Wells Festival of Literature which runs from 9th to 17th October. Our national treasure and TV judge will be visiting the festival for the first time. Following on the success of last year¹s venue, the Festival will be held in a marquee in the grounds of the Bishop‘s Palace.

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INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: ARTIST BRENDAN LANE CREATES INCREDIBLE STRUCTURES AND TAKES THEM TO FESTIVALS ALL OVER THE WORLD – WITH UNPREDICTABLE RESULTS… I was asked by the Irish Burning Man community to design an effigy to be burned at Burning Man 2011.

I spent 2 weeks salvaging materials and a month in my shed and build a 20 ft tall dragon head surrounded by seating. Then I said I had an idea. Put the cart behind a horse. Luckily they loved it and I took my dragon to No Place Like Dome in Sligo to trial it.

Saturday Night, much work, gaggles of cider and a filthy head later, its burn time. I suddenly thought ‘why have I built this giant sculpture, to set fire to it?’.

Too late, 500 people gathered, fire twirlers everywhere, and a half gallon of petrol by my side.

Time for a quick cigarette, just to add to the danger. There were petrol fumes in the air, folk walking through the cordon, the drummers drum and the flames rose up.

I was dressed in a silver body suit covered in flashing LED’s.

Burn dragon burn. The flames leap higher, a fundamental flaw emerges.

In order to secure the head to the body, we left no opening for air to get through. The body burns with 30 ft flames and the head just sits there, smoke coughing through his mouth.

Then it rolls forward, towards a large portion of the crowd, about 70 people. The crowds cheers turn into screams, the head fell over, sparks flying way up into the sky.

I lost myself. My girlfriend found me later on all fours, nameless, thoughtless, unable to

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jibber, leds blinking wildly.

A passer-by thought I was a performer and watched me for some time wondering when I was going to begin.

Lee dragged me to bed, and the last thing I heard was her saying ‘how do I turn him off?‘.

I’m at Burning Man. We go to the gate to pick our tickets up, and got lost straight away.

I’m in shorts and a t shirt. It starts to rain.

It has not rained in the desert for years and I can’t find the car, it’s hidden behind a mile long tailback of cars, trucks and huge campers, which has moved on us.

We have bikes, but the Nevada desert turns to mush beneath my feet. I have 2 addresses in this sparkly city, a hangover, it’s been 40 degrees all day and its getting dark and cold. Bad old buzz.

Cycling through the four inch deep mud in sandals, Burning Man suddenly looks like a refugee camp. I flew across the ocean for this?

Finally, found an Irish bar, yeah, even here. It’s a free bar though, and a savage spot. I told my story

to the barman. Warm clothes are willingly donated and beer begins to flow. I spot a fire being lit outside, so I wander over.

Getting toasted, getting toasty.

The sky lights up suddenly, a double-decker bus-cum-fire breathing dragon with 50 ravers on it freaking out pass by.

What the Jaysus? I want to find my friends, so this guy volunteers to bring me across the site, says on the way he’s not slept in 5 days. I leave him to it. Make my way to a friend’s camp, after hugs and shots we made our way into the chaos.

Capsules emerge. There’s that dragon again, or is it? A rabbit shaped mini, a medieval ship floats by with a huge sound system blaring, eight-legged stilt walkers offering shots to passersby, 50,000 bicycles all lit up and covered in fur. Mad Max’s mates are here, on steampunk leopards and in Rubik’s cube cars. I am mad out of it, but all of this is going on.

I wake up to 40 degree heat in a tent with 2 other people. I get out of there quickly. Where do I find water in a desert….?

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INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: PINKPOP WHERE: Near Heerlen, Netherlands WHEN: Friday 12th – Sunday 14th June An all-star cast jet out to the Netherlands for the Tulip nation’s premier music event. The Foo Fighters and Muse lock horns with Pharrell Williams and One Republic, Sam Smith and George Ezra duke it out and Robbie Williams, er, plays.

PRICE: €180 weekend, €95 day WEB: www.pinkpop.nl/2015 SONAR WHERE: Fira Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain WHEN: Thursday 18th – Saturday 20th June Nowhere can pull off an urban festival quite like Barcelona, and Sonar is the biggest on offer. Finally settling at the Fira Montjuïc, it is split into Sonar by Day and Sonar by Night.

To give you an idea, Fat Freddy’s Drop are playing by Day, and Skrillex is confirmed for by Night.

PRICE: €195 both, €54 by Day, €72

by Night WEB: www.sonar.es/en SECRET SOLSTICE WHERE: Laugardalur, Reykjavik, Iceland WHEN: Friday 19th – Sunday 21st June

PHARRELL WILLIAMS AT PINKPOP

Now THIS is unique – a 72-hour daylight music festival which plays to the strengths of its jaw-dropping Icelandic location. Moodymann, the Wailers, Nightmares on Wax and many more are on hand to guide you through the bizarre experience.

PRICE: 15,900 kr (approx. £80) WEB: www.secretsolstice.is BEST KEPT SECRET WHERE: Beekse Bergen, Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands WHEN: Friday 19th – Sunday 21st June The festival which actually seems to live up to its name brings the Libertines into play as a headliner, and the British connection is further driven home with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Alt-J. PRICE: €147.50 with camping WEB: www.bestkeptsecret.nl ROCK WERCHTER WHERE: Werchter, Belgium WHEN: Thursday 25th – Sunday 28th June A globally-famous and genre-defining festival takes over a sleepy village for a long weekend – sound familiar? Kasabian, the Foo Fighters, the Prodigy and Pharrell Williams will be the ones making

villagers’ curtains twitch.

PRICE: €226 WEB: www.rockwerchter.be/en TINDERBOX WHERE: Tusindårsskoven, Odense, Denmark WHEN: Friday 26th – Sunday 28th June Taking its first steps on the European festival scene, Tinderbox is putting Denmark on the map with a storming line-up. Baying for blood off the back of their new album, The Prodigy headline with, er, Robbie Williams making another European performance.

PRICE: 1495 DKK (approx. £160) WEB: www.tinderbox.dk ROSKILDE WHERE: Roskilde, Denmark WHEN: Saturday 27th June – Saturday 4th July In Britain we may be in love with all things Danish when it comes to TV dramas, but they’re still in love with our music it seems. Disclosure, Florence and the Machine, Muse and Jamie XX are all high on the bill, along with Pharrell Williams.

PRICE: 1940 DKK (approx. £190) WEB: www.roskilde-festival.dk HIDEOUT WHERE: Pag Island, Croatia WHEN: Sunday 28th June – Tuesday 2nd July The sort of sun-soaked dancefest that might well make you wonder why you ever dragged your protesting feet through the mud to see Coldplay. With DJ sets from Eats Everything and Sigma, backed up by more than 60 other acts on the island that has become Croatia’s answer to Ibiza.

PRICE: From £129 WEB: www.hideoutfestival.com OPEN’ER FESTIVAL WHERE: Gdynia-Kawasko Airfield, Poland WHEN: Wednesday 1st – Saturday 4th July When the Black Keys made their Polish debut at the festival, Dan Auerbach quipped that it was “a

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INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: festival held in the glorious open Hungarian air is attracting Faithless, Nicky Romero, Netsky and more to the glorious location.

PRICE: €130 weekend WEB: www.sziget.hu/ balatonsound_english

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EXIT FESTIVAL WHERE: Petrovaradin Fortress, Serbia WHEN: Thursday 9th – Sunday 12th July It’s attracted more than 2.5 million punters from over 60 different countries. It kickstarted a student movement fighting for peace and democracy in Serbia. Is there nothing the festival known as the best in the world can’t do?

PRICE: £79 WEB: www.exitfest.org/en quarter the size of Glastonbury with ten times the energy”. National pride forbids us from agreeing, obviously, but it’s something to think about.

PRICE: 530PLN (approx. £101) WEB: www.opener.pl/en GARDEN FESTIVAL WHERE: Tisno, Croatian WHEN: Wednesday 1st – Wednesday 8th July The slogan may be “One Step Beyond” but you won’t find Suggs sweating away on the Adriatic Coast. Be prepared to move your feet nonetheless at a festival that’s all about pushing musical boundaries, not big names.

PRICE: Week passes start from £120, day passes from £15 WEB: www.thegardenfestival.eu MAIN SQUARE FESTIVAL WHERE: Arras, France WHEN: Friday 3rd – Sunday 5th July Rocking in the surroundings of the UNESCO world heritage site of the Arras Citadel, there will be pomp from Muse, posturing from Lenny Kravitz and whatever it is that Pharrell Williams actually does.

PRICE: €135 (three day with camping) WEB: www. mainsquarefestival.fr

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MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL WHERE: Montreux, Switzerland WHEN: Friday 3rd – Saturday 18th July It’s all very well having a festival of jazz that lasts nearly three weeks, and this town, on the banks of Lake Geneva, may well be beautiful but it’s also a very expensive place to stay/eat. The line-up is yet to be announced, but you can bet that there’ll be more jazz than you can shake a saxophone at.

PRICE: Various WEB: www.montreuxjazzfestival. com POHODA WHERE: Airport Trencin, Slovakia WHEN: Thursday 9th – Saturday 11th July Mercury Music Prize winners Young Fathers crop up in the most unlikely of places to give one of only a handful of festival performances after receiving their honour.

Bjork and Roni Size are also in Slovakia.

PRICE: €89 for three-day ticket WEB: www.pohodafestival.sk BALATON SOUND WHERE: Zamardi Beach, Lake Balaton, Hungary WHEN: Thursday 9th – Sunday 12th July Stadium-sized electronic music

ELECTRIC ELEPHANT WHERE: The Garden, Tisno, Croatia WHEN: Thursday 9th – Monday 13th July The Adriatic Coast alone is something special, but the meticulously curated line-up that Electric Elephant brings takes it to the next level. The 2 Bears head up the thinking man’s dance festival.

PRICE: £130 WEB: www.electricelephant.co.uk BILBAO BBK LIVE WHERE: Bilbao, Spain WHEN: Friday 10th – Sunday 12th July No, Boy Better Know haven’t got their own Spanish residency.

Instead, the Basque festival marks its tenth anniversary with Muse, the Jesus and Mary Chain and Azealia Banks.

PRICE: £91, £98 with camping WEB: www.bilbaobbklive.com DOUR WHERE: Dour, Hainaut, Belgium WHEN: Wednesday 15th – Sunday 19th July Someone should tell the organisers that you don’t have to name a festival after the town where it’s being held. Looking at this year’s line-up, maybe they should have considered “synths” or “bassline”, with a FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: pile of electronic talent including Flume and Julio Bashmore.

PRICE: €130 five-days with camping WEB: www.dourfestival.be SLOTTSFJELL WHERE: Tønsberg, Norway WHEN: Thursday 16th – Saturday 18th July Any festival which remembers that Flogging Molly are worth a headline slot is alright in our book.

The US/Irish band are flanked by Ellie Goulding and Bastille, and if you still need convincing, it’s set on the site of a Viking fortress. A Viking. Fortress.

PRICE: 1990 NOK (approx. £189) WEB: www.slottsfjell.no STOP MAKING SENSE WHERE: Tisno, Croatia WHEN: Thursday 16th – Sunday 19th July In the grand scheme of Croatian music festivals this one is fairly small, but condensing a line-up of DJs from across the globe into a four-day dance music event ensures that the punters won’t be left short-changed. Quite the reverse.

PRICE: £80 early bird WEB: www.stopmakingsense.eu FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DE BENICASSIM WHERE: Benicassim WHEN: Thursday 16th – Sunday 19th July We’re not going to enter into a game of ‘my festival is better than yours’, but if we were we’d say that Benicassim is just a poor man’s Glastonbury. That would be childish, because the sun is always out and the line-up is monstrously big. Call it a tie?

PRICE: Four-day tickets for €160.

WEB: www.fiberfib.com PITCHFORK MUSIC FESTIVAL WHERE: Union Park, Chicago, USA WHEN: Friday 17th – Sunday 19th July Many US acts don’t travel well, so why not see them in their own backyard. Wilco, Chance the Rapper and Sleater Kinney headline

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in the Windy City, although plenty of UK acts feature as well.

PRICE: $150 three-day pass, $65 day WEB: www.pitchforkmusicfestival. com MELT! FESTIVAL WHERE: Ferropolis, Germany WHEN: Friday 17th – Sunday 19th July Alt-J, London Grammar, Jamie T, Jamie XX, beer, pretzels, efficient recycling.

PRICE: Three-day tickets from €136 WEB: www.meltfestival.de FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL WHERE: Naeba Ski Resort, Niigata Prefecture, Japan WHEN: Friday 24th – Sunday 26th July Muse and the Foo Fighters are racking up the air miles this summer, appearing in Fuji along with Catfish and the Bottlemen, FKA Twigs and the Happy Mondays, with a heap of Japanese artists to boot.

PRICE: ¥39,800 (approx. £215) for three-day pass WEB: www.fujirockfestival.com TOMORROWLAND WHERE: Boom, Belgium WHEN: Friday 24th – Sunday 26th July Unquestionably the biggest dance festival in this world or the next, Tomorrowland brings gargantuan names like Avicii and Hardwell to 15 stages complete with oversized flowers, active volcanoes, explosive butterflies and smoke cannons.

PRICE: SOLD OUT in Belgium, but tickets available for Tomorrowland Brazil and Tomorrowland USA. WEB: www.tomorrowland.com OYA WHERE: Medieval Park, Oslo, Norway WHEN: Wednesday 5th – Saturday 8th August Something old (Belle and Sebastian, Beck), something new (War on Drugs, Run the Jewels), and plenty

in between including Florence and the Machine and Flying Lotus.

PRICE: 2534 NYK (approx. £235) week pass (5 days) WEB: www.oyafestivalen.com SOUNDWAVE WHERE: Tisno, Croatia WHEN: Thursday 6th – Monday 10th August With pre-festival publicity parties littered all across the UK, you can dip a toe into the waters of Soundwave without heading to Croatia. Mala, Mr Scruff, Craig Charles and Maribou State will be waiting for you if you do.

PRICE: £99 early bird WEB: www.soundwavecroatia. com OFF WHERE: Katowice, Poland WHEN: Friday 7th – Sunday 9th August In the valley of the Three Ponds, a festival where organisers promise bands that have their best days ahead of them. The inclusion of Patti Smith on the bill might raise a few eyebrows, then, but Run the Jewels will probably be headlining Coachella next year so that makes up for it.

PRICE: 260 PLN (approx. £46) with camping for three days WEB: www.off-festival.pl SZIGET WHERE: Obudai Island, Budapest, Hungary WHEN: Monday 10th – Monday 17th August Florence and the Machine, Gogol Bordello and, er, Robbie Williams take care of the musical side of things, while the abundance of theatre, dance, cabaret, film and arts mean you could go the whole weekend without seeing any music.

PRICE: Five day pass €199 WEB: www.szigetfest.co.uk ROTOTOM SUNSPLASH WHERE: Benicassim, Spain WHEN: Saturday 15th – Saturday 22nd August The 22nd incarnation of the reggae festival will be drawing on experience to bring the best of FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL LISTINGS: roots, dubwise and dancehall to Benicassim. The place, not the festival, pay attention.

PRICE: €200 with camping WEB: www.rototomsunsplash.com LOWLANDS WHERE: Walibi World, The Netherlands WHEN: Friday 21st – Sunday 23rd August Music, comedy and film are on offer here, artists confirmed include Bastille, Major Lazer and Passenger.

PRICE: €195 WEB: www.lowlands.nl DIMENSIONS WHERE: Fort Punta Christo, Croatia WHEN: Thursday 27th – Sunday 30th August Outlook is pretty damned cool itself, but its skinny-jean wearing, top-knot bearing younger brother Dimensions is so hip it hurts.

Held at the same site as Outlook, Dimensions has a slightly more underground slant, with bigger looks for house and techno.

PRICE: €175 weekend WEB: www.dimensionsfestival.com

HAPPY MONDAYS AT FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL

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BURNING MAN WHERE: Black Rock Desert, Nevada WHEN: Sunday 30th August – Monday 7th September Call it the American Glastonbury – an experience people rave about, and one which can’t quite be put into words. A utopian city springs up in the middle of the desert and vanishes again, drawing thousands without wielding a mainstream line-up.

PRICE: $390 WEB: www.burningman.org

ELECTRIC PICNIC WHERE: Stradbally Estate, Co. Laois, Ireland WHEN: Friday 4th – Sunday 6th September Belle & Sebastian and the current beau of British music George Ezra are large and in charge at the Stradbally Estate. You can fly to the Irish capital from Bristol and take one of several coach options to the festival site.

PRICE: €195 weekend ticket, less if you can prove you’ve been before.

WEB: www.electricpicnic.ie

OUTLOOK WHERE: Fort Punta Christo Pula, Croatia WHEN: Thursday 3rd – Sunday 6th September Arguably the festival that kicked off the Croatian boom, the line-up reads like a who’s who of electronic music in 2015. Roni Size, Jurassic 5 and Gentleman’s Dub Club play, and there is calibre through the bill like a stick of rock. Calibre himself is yet to be confirmed though, drum & bass fans.

PRICE: Standard ticket £140 WEB: www.outlookfestival.com

LAKE OF STARS WHERE: Sunbird Nkopola Lodge, Lake Malawi, Malawi WHEN: Friday 25th – Sunday 27th September On the shores of the gorgeous Lake Malawi, Western and African music come together for a halcyon weekend of dancing in the sand and basking in the sun.

It’s received rave reviews from all who’ve attended. Line-up to be announced.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.lakeofstars.org ICELAND AIRWAVES WHERE: Reykjavik, Iceland WHEN: Wednesday 4th – Sunday 8th November It’s not an airline, it’s a festival to head to with an open mind, safe in the knowledge someone discerning has put the line-up together, and you will more than likely stumble across something new.

PRICE: 19,900 kr (approx. £160) WEB: www.icelandairwaves.is CROSSING BORDER WHERE: Various venues, The Hague, Netherlands WHEN: Thursday 12th – Sunday 15th November Not a music festival, or a literary festival, but a bit of both. In fact a lot of both. The Hague’s theatre district hosts five days of bands and books, with Kwabs and Dry the River amongst the musical guests.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.crossingborder.nl

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FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVALS BRISTOL Bristol is the city where you can find the baker of the year, a restaurant that lets customers decide how much they should pay for their meal, and can boast three Michelinstarred restaurants. No wonder Bristol is regularly talked about as having the best eating out scene in the country.

Away from the innovative restaurants and artisan bakeries, the festivals aren’t bad either.

Last summer saw the first ever Bristol Food Connections take over the city centre, with the country’s leading chefs

heading West to show off their skills.

And a regular fixture in the summer calendar is the Eat, Drink Bristol Fashion event, where giant teepees take over Queen Square and the best restaurant talent in the region cooks for hungry locals.

There’s also Grillstock, an event that celebrates everything great about meat (and features a fearsome display of hot chilli eating) and Love Food, which pops up

at various times and venues during the year to celebrate local producers.

Bristol is also the city where someone thought fit to invent the beef donut in 2014. But don’t let that put you off!

THE BIG FEASTIVAL If music be the food of love then the Big Feastival in the Cotswolds is the perfect venue for those who love both. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and Blur bassist Alex James are behind this August Bank Holiday happening.

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FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL LISTINGS:

BATH Food and drink has become an ever-increasing focal point in Bath’s festival culture. Every October, visitors from across the country flood to the South West for the month-long Great Bath Feast.

Michelin-starred chefs and Masterchef winners can be found among Bath’s streets during this event, which leads onto the Fine Cheese Co. Cheese Festival towards the end of the month.

Each April, the Bath Beer Festival provides a great opportunity to taste the produce of the area’s local breweries. For the past two years, the two-day event has been held in Bath Rugby’s premier suite.

Each summer, Bath Racecourse holds its own

TASTE CHOCOLATE WHERE: Brunel Square, SS Great Britain, Bristol WHEN: Saturday 4th – Sunday 5th April See your favourite food in ways you’d never dreamed of before as leading names from the Bristol food scene come together for demonstrations and workshops.

There’s also a prosecco bar, for obvious reasons.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.tastechocolate.co.uk

Real Ale Festival Racenight.

Since 2011, The Wine Gang has also come to Bath for a Christmas Fair, hosting a mix of local and national wine companies.

And Bath’s Christmas Market - the city’s most famous event - is always a great event for warming colds hands with a cup of mulled wine during the festive season.

SOMERSET & GLOUCESTER Come to Somerset and you are in a food and drink paradise. The best cider in the world, the finest cheeses, great real ales, free range meats, artisan bread.

Beer Festivals at Yeovil, North Newton, Cheddar, Ashcott, Glastonbury and Wedmore show off the ale-makers craft at its best, and there’s plenty of cider on offer as well – Newt Beer Festival at North Newton has achieved semi legendary status as a great event for music as well.

And the food festivals at Wells, Bath and the Royal Bath and West showground late FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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in the summer are a mouthwatering delight, as is the monthly Frome super marketand the world famous Frome Cheese fair Gloucester comes out to play for Gloucester Quays Food Festival. A three day event which sprinkles the gourmet offering with music and entertainment.

YEOVIL BEER FESTIVAL WHERE: Yeovil College WHEN: Friday 10th – Saturday 11th April Get in amongst a smorgasbord of local beers and ciders, with some live music thrown in for good measure, all in the name of charity.

PRICE: £5 per session WEB: www.yeovilbeerfest.com EXETER FESTIVAL OF FOOD AND DRINK WHERE: Exeter Castle and Northernhay Gardens, Exeter WHEN: Friday 24th – Sunday 26th April Exeter Festival of Food and Drink turns 13 this year – unlucky for some, but not for those in attendance who are treated to an event which comprehensively covers all aspects of food and drink. Stick around after the sun goes down for live music and chef demos.

PRICE: £19 w/e, £7.50-£9 day, £5 after dark, £12 day+after dark WEB: www. exeterfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk BRISTOL FOOD CONNECTIONS WHERE: Lloyds Amphitheatre and Harbourside, Bristol WHEN: Friday 1st – Saturday 9th May Taste, Learn, Eat, Do, Bake, Watch, Explore, Brew, Share, Shop, Grow, Listen, Drink, Feel, Enjoy, Hear, Smell, Meet, Talk, Cook. I think they have summed it up quite nicely themselves.

PRICE: Various.

WEB: www. bristolfoodconnections.com

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FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL LISTINGS:

PIZZA There are hundreds of them – those small foodstalls you see at creative and cultural events dishing out food to all and sundry .

Gone are the days where the only sustenance on offer was a dubious burger or a fried egg sandwich. These days the punters want more – and the result has been a huge leap in the number of street food sellers – and in their wake a wave of Food Festivals.

But what is it like on the other side of the counter?

Gill Cannell and Robert Ellis run the Barefoot Stonebaked Pizza Co – its not a full time operation – they have regular jobs during the week – but for four months over the summer they work seven days a week.

Each weekend they will pilot their Italian microvan ‘Pepe’, with its custom built pizza oven fitted in the back, and trundle off to food festivals, weddings, music events – in fact every kind of event that needs a tasty feed for those attending.

Gill and David have been

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in the pizza business for just over two years.

“We’re both vegetarians,” says Gill, “and we love our food, but we got tired with going to events and finding so much was meat based, so we set up Barefoot Pizza.

“We love good food, and are passionate about it, so we thought we could offer good quality vegetable and meat pizzas.

“We travelled a lot in France and Italy and our pizzas are properly authentically Italian.

“We bought our little van and had the oven built into the back of it and off we went.”

The Barefoot Pizza Co oven can reach up to 1000 degrees, and is entirely wood fired, using kiln dried wood.

Gill explained: “The base of the oven is stone, and we cover the bottom with wood and heat it up, which takes about 45 minutes. Then we push the wood out of the way, and pop the Pizzas in. It takes about an hour and half to set up – and the pizzas are cooked, fresh each time in two minutes.

“We have to use kiln dried wood because of its high calorific value so it burns so hot, and you get that nice woodfired taste.

“Everything is prepared on site from fresh ingredients, so it’s bursting with flavour when it comes

out of the oven” They use the best Italian Buffalo Mozzarella, devised their own dough and even grew their own chillies.

Eventually Gill and David would like to have a pizza restaurant of their own, but for the time being you’ll see the Weston-super-Mare couple out and about at music events and shows, food festivals and even weddings and private parties.

WWW.BAREFOOTSTONE BAKEDPIZZA.CO.UK FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL LISTINGS: HIGH FEARNLEYWHITTINGSTALL AT RIVER COTTAGE SPRING FOOD FAIR

EAT, DRINK BRISTOL FASHION WHERE: Queen Square, Bristol WHEN: Friday 1st – Monday 18th May Exploding into life with a fine dining masterpiece created by Nathan Outlaw and Valentine Warner, there is food and drink for all, dished up in a typically laid back Bristol style.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.eatdrinkbristolfashion. co.uk/ BRISTOL CIDER AND SAUSAGE FESTIVAL WHERE: Bristol Cider Shop, Bristol WHEN: Saturday 2nd – Sunday 3rd May Local cider, meat and a sprinkling of music. What’s not to like? Plus it’s over a Bank Holiday weekend so your sausage hangover can be soothed on the Monday, if needs be.

PRICE: £5 afternoon, £10 evening.

WEB: www.bristolcidershop.co.uk SCRUMPSTOCK WHERE: Exmouth Rugby Club, Exmouth WHEN: Friday 15th – Sunday 17th May Ciders, ales, ciders, a bit of music, and also ciders. Their website even talks about ‘incider trading’ and ‘incider knowledge’.

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PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.scrumpstock.co.uk DEVIZES FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Devizes WHEN: Saturday 16th – Sunday 24th May The Market Fair focuses this year on home-grown Wiltshire producers, but other attractions include the Famous Foodie Quiz and the Gala Cocktail Evening. Erlestoke Prison’s Pop Up Restaurant returns after an immensely popular showing last year.

PRICE: £17.50 WEB: www. devizesfoodanddrinkfestival.info BURNHAM-ON-SEA FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Burnham-on-Sea WHEN: Saturday 23rd May and Saturday 31st October Spread across five indoor venues and a large outdoor market, this free foodie festival is a real treat.

Don’t miss the judging of the Great Burnham Bake Off and Great Burnham Brew Off, and why not squeeze in a visit to the Tricky Cider Bar? PRICE: Free WEB: www. burnhamonseafoodfestival.org.uk

VEGFEST WHERE: Bristol WHEN: Saturday 23rd – Sunday 24th May The UK’s biggest vegan event packs more than 150 stalls full of food and more during the day, and DJs playing out in the evenings, into an eco- and family-friendly event.

PRICE: £3 before 5pm, £5 after 5pm WEB: www.bristol.vegfest.co.uk RIVER COTTAGE SPRING FOOD FAIR WHERE: River Cottage HQ, Park Farm, Axminster, Devon WHEN: Saturday 23rd – Sunday 24th May West Country food’s adopted spokesman Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall opens the gates to his farm for a food fair complete with market stalls and meet-and-greets with the livestock. It’s probably going to call for a pair of wellies, but you’ll work up an appetite.

PRICE: £12.50 per day WEB: www.rivercottage.net KINGSBRIDGE FESTIVAL WHERE: Kingsbridge, Devon WHEN: Friday 29th – Sunday 31st May We were all created equal, and according to the brains behind Kingsbridge festival that extends to music and food, too. Whether plectrums or sporks are your favourite use for plastic, you’ll be catered for here.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www. kingsbridgefoodandmusic.org PROPER FOOD MARKET WHERE: Holsworthy Livestock Market, Devon WHEN: Saturday 30th – Sunday 31st May Taking place as part of the Proper Woolly event, which brings together fibre crafters and producers, the Proper Food Market offers excellent choice, with the award winning Norsworthy Dairy Goats in attendance.

PRICE: Day ticket £5.50, weekend ticket £8.50, under 16s go free WEB: www.properwoolly.co.uk

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FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL LISTINGS: GLASTONBURY BEER WHERE: Tor Rugby Club, Glastonbury WHEN: TBC – expect June Details are scarce, but the organisers seem to be promising something bigger and better than ever before, including beer, music and more.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www. glastonburybeerfestival.co.uk SCANDINAVIAN MIDSUMMER FEAST WHERE: Harptree Court, Somerset WHEN: Saturday 20th – Sunday 21st June One for the hard-core foodies looking to expand their horizons, this celebration of Scandinavian cuisine has demonstrations from top chefs including Trine Hahnemann and Niklas Ekstedt, who also design exquisitely-crafted menus which are served up to guests. No children allowed.

PRICE: £200 WEB: www.scandifeast.co.uk ASHCOTT BEER WHERE: Ashcott, Somerset WHEN: Thursday 2nd – Saturday 4th July Expansion plans for the local beer festival, which will be introducing a Thursday evening dedicated to wine and cheese, as well as beer.

There’s entertainment for the whole family, too.

PRICE: approx. £5 WEB: www.ashcottbeerfest.org THE NEWT WHERE: North Newton, Bridgwater, Somerset WHEN: Friday 10th – Saturday 11th July There’s a new venue for the beer festival which combines over 100 different drinks on tap with live music for a feelgood weekend event.

PRICE: £15 Friday, £10 Saturday, £20 weekend WEB: www.newtfest.com

Previously known as Applefest, a weekend full of local drinks and live music beckons from Backwell, with 25% of the money made going to charity.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.nbbeerciderfest.wix. com/nailseabeerfestival SUDELEY CASTLE FOOD FESTIVAL WHERE: Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire WHEN: Friday 10th – Sunday 12th July This is an event organised by Fantastic British Food Festivals who cater for passionate foodies and their families with festivals designed to entertain and educate as much as they are to fill bellies and satisfy tastebuds.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www. fantasticbritishfoodfestivals.com ROCK OYSTER FESTIVAL WHERE: Dinham House, near Wadebridge, Cornwall WHEN: Saturday 11th July With a proper farmers market and a food academy, this isn’t a music festival with food on the side – it’s a food festival with stages.

Vibe-laden music keeps your feet moving while you eat, and there’s not a dirty burger in sight.

PRICE: Camping £29 Sat, £35 Fri & Sat; no camping £29 Fri & Sat, £23 Sat

WEB: www.rockoysterfestival. co.uk GRILLSTOCK WHERE: Bristol Harbourside WHEN: Saturday 11th – Sunday 12th July It’s a long-established fact that meat and music go hand in hand, and you get the best of both worlds here, with the King of the Grill BBQ competition vying for your attention with a stage hosting smoky American music.

PRICE: £30 Sat, £25 Sun, £40 weekend WEB: www.grillstock.co.uk/ bristol-festival GLOUCESTER QUAYS FOOD FESTIVAL WHERE: Gloucester Quays WHEN: Friday 17th – Sunday 19th July Be guided by your taste buds as you explore food and drink from Gloucestershire, the Cotswolds and beyond, or listen to talks and workshops from famous chefs – last year featured Paul Hollywood and James Martin.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.gloucesterquays.co.uk BRISTOL THAI FESTIVAL WHERE: Queen Square, Bristol WHEN: Friday 24th – Sunday 26th July The colourful celebration of Thai

GRILLSTOCK

NAILSEA & BACKWELL BEER & CIDER FESTIVAL WHERE: Backwell Rugby Club WHEN: Friday 10th – Sunday 12th July

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FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL LISTINGS:

TOP SEVEN THINGS TO BEWARE OF AT FOOD FESTIVALS CARRON GARDEN BUFFALO BURGERS

You won’t be able to move for them. Why? No one knows. Where are the herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically across the British countryside? Basil Fawlty was right, they don’t exist. But at the moment you decide what you really fancy for lunch is a juicy, two-inch thick burger, made with proper British beef, all you’ll be able to find is bison. You’ll spend a frustrating half hour dragging hungry kids through the crowds in search of beef, only to find the stall you spotted earlier has sold out (of course it has, what everyone really wants is beef). You’ll end up buying pancake-thin, greaseslicked burgers from a van.

KITCHEN GADGETS

The days of “miracle” gadgets went out in the late 1970s, but you’ll still find the odd hopeful demonstrator in an unfrequented corner, convinced that his complicated bit of plastic, turned down in Dragons’ Den six years ago, will transform your life in the kitchen and make him a millionaire. Before you splash out, ask yourself: how often do I really need to peel and core a mango?

CUPCAKES

Surely this twee trend must be waning by now? But no, every other stall at any given food festival will be swathed in gingham, scattered with “vintage” china, dripping with Cath Kidston bunting and FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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pockmarked with garishly decorated cupcakes.

The cupcakes themselves, when all’s said and done, are a bit of sponge with two inches of sickly buttercream on top, which smears across your upper lip and nose when you bite into one. Are they the only cakes which exist anymore? Where are the stalls laden with chocolate eclairs and cream horns? Where are the jam tarts and iced buns?

Trouble is, they just don’t lend themselves to decorating.

How’s a yummy mummy to show off her creativity on top of a custard slice?

face it, the choice of locally produced, organic, handcrafted artisan beers and ciders is enormous and baffling. So we all go for the one with the funniest or rudest name. Piddle In A Bottle, Kneebender, Grim Reaper, Old Slapper, Skull Splitter, Jingle Knockers ... none of these are made up.

CUBES OF CHEESE ON PLATES

INSECTS

Yes, it’s great to be able to try before you buy but before you do, spend five health-preserving minutes observing that plate. How many fingers brush over the tempting chunks, choosing the one they’ll taste? And did that chap really just let his chocolate labrador lick his fingers before going back in for another bit? How many people lean intently over the plate, breathing in the aroma and breathing out their germs - as they select a nibble? How many five years olds have grabbed a fistful before being forced to put all but one back? Still sure you want to try a piece?

BEER AND CIDER NAMES

Forget taste, it’s all about the name. Let’s

PULLED PORK.

Once upon a time we had hog roasts. Now it’s pulled pork barbecues. What’s the difference? Less crackling and an extra £2, that’s the difference.

A small but apparently determined group of foodies continues to try to persuade us that eating insects is a good thing and that food festivals are a great place to get the message across.

Deep-fried grasshoppers, freeze-dried caterpillars and tempura spiders – you’ll almost certainly find someone trying to tempt you to a leggy mouthful. I’m sure they’re a great source of protein, and if I wanted to cut down on the weekly food shop, one short sweep of my house and garden, armed with a jam jar, would certainly yield an evening meal. But in spite of all this protein dangling, crawling and wriggling around me, I have never, ever, ever been tempted to incorporate it into my diet. Not even marinated in lime and chilliinfused extra virgin olive oil.

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FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL LISTINGS:

GRILLSTOCK Bristol’s celebration of all things barbecued, meaty and smoked, is one of the most spectacular success stories in the field of food festivals – so much so that the weekend event has spawned its own chain of restaurants.

Founders Ben Merrington and John Finch both came back from the USA in 2010 with the same dream – despite being on separate trips.

Ben said: “They are really into food and the culture surrounding it – we had both been to the barbecue competitions they have over there and we both thought they could work in a place like Bristol.”

Neither had any experience in food, or in festivals. “We just got lucky,” said Ben. “Bristol is a great place and is full of great people – the sort of people we could bring together to produce the festival.

“We had the first Grillstock in 2010, with meat smokers taking part in the King of Grill contest. Barbecue groups got together and smoked the meat over the weekend and they were formally judged in seven rounds, to find the grand champion.”

That’s the heart of it. It might not sound particularly exciting, but the smokers are surrounded by people learning about the intricacy that goes into producing the best smoked meats. As well as the formally judged rounds, other rounds include the chef’s choice.

“Last year we had a three tier pork pie wedding cake,” said Ben “The first year we had 3,000 people – last year we were up to 17,000.” Music is a big part of the Grillstock experience, but it’s never allowed to overwhelm the food. Ben said: “Music is such a massive part of what we do. It’s a celebration of food, music and people getting together.” With those criteria Ben and John pick the sort of acts that will go down best with the Grillstock crowd – this year Bristol will feature De La 60

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Soul, DJ Yoda and Goldie Lookin Chain.

For the competitors the experience can be life changing – one group, The Beefy Boys got together in the early days for, as Ben puts it: “a bit of a laugh and a drink, all mates together”. Last year they won the contest – and then took their burgers to the World Food Championships in Las Vegas, where they came second overall, beating the Americans at their own game.

For Ben and John Grillstock has also changed their lives. From the festival was born a stall in Bristol’s St Nicholas Market, which in turn spawned a restaurant in Clifton Triangle, another restaurant in Bath and a third opening this year in Walthamstow, as well as festivals in Manchester, Bristol and London, “It started off as a hobby, but now takes up most of the year. We’re super proud of it,” says Ben. Grillstock has become a monster. A sweet, succulent, tasty smoked monster at that.

GRILLSTOCK IS AT BRISTOL HARBOURSIDE ON JULY 11-12.

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FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL LISTINGS:

MITCH TONKS AT DARTMOUTH FOOD FESTIVAL

culture moves to a new waterfront home. There’ll be plenty of food, but also Thai dance and music.

An energetic display of Muay Thai boxing will round the day off nicely.

PRICE: £5 Adult, U13 free WEB: www.desythai.com THE BIG FEASTIVAL WHERE: Alex James’ farm, near Kingham, Oxfordshire WHEN: Friday 28th – Sunday 30th August The brainchild of Jamie Oliver and Alex James features impressive lineups of musicians and chefs; last year Fatboy Slim and De La Soul rubbed shoulders with Mark Hix and Gennaro Contaldo, with fine food aplenty.

PRICE: Early bird sold out, next releases £TBC WEB: www.jamieoliver.com/ thebigfeastival WEDMORE REAL ALE FESTIVAL WHERE: Wedmore Village Hall, Wedmore WHEN: TBC, expect September Still in the planning stages for this year’s installment, 2014 was a bumper year for the small-scale beer festival, which pulled more than 5000 pints over the weekend.

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FISHSTOCK BRIXHAM WHERE: Seafood Pavilion and Eastern Jetty, Brixham, Devon WHEN: Saturday 5th September Combining music and seafood into a one-day fundraiser for the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, Fishstock Brixham boasts fantastic local food and a chance to get to grips with the marine environment.

PRICE: £5 adults U15s free WEB: www.fishstockbrixham.co.uk ASHBURTON FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL WHERE: Ashburton town centre WHEN: Saturday 12th September Over 50 stallholders take over the town centre to peddle only the best local and regional produce in a carnival atmosphere. The Ashburton Cookery School organises the Cookery Theatre, and there is even a dedicated park and ride for the day. Sorted.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.ashburtonfoodfestival. co.uk STURMINSTER NEWTON CHEESE FESTIVAL WHERE: Sturminster Newton, Dorset WHEN: Saturday 12th – Sunday 13th September Situated in what Thomas Hardy

once referred to as the ‘vale of little dairies’, Sturminster Newton has been a cheese-making town for over 100 years. The natural setting, then, for a cheese festival boasting more than 80 exhibitors alongside local beers and ciders.

PRICE: £5, U15s free WEB: www.cheesefestival.co.uk GREAT CORNISH FOOD FESTIVAL WHERE: Truro town centre WHEN: Friday 25th – Sunday 27th September Returning for its 12th year, the festival dedicated solely to food and drink produced in Cornwall is going from strength to strength, with over 60 exhibitors and more than 40 chefs and food experts in attendance to prove that there’s more to Cornwall than pasties.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.greatcornishfood. co.uk/festival SOMERSET FOOD & DRINK FESTIVAL WHERE: Bath and West Showground WHEN: Saturday 17th – Monday 19th October A celebration of food and drink from across the South West, offering everything from real ale to fresh vegetables. The Bath and West never smelt so good and, yes, there will be samples and tasters.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.bathandwest.com/ somerset-food-drink-festival DARTMOUTH FOOD FESTIVAL WHERE: Dartmouth town centre WHEN: Friday 23rd – Sunday 25th October Not for nothing did the Guardian count this one of the ‘top ten food festivals in the UK’. With a battalion of chefs present, including Mitch Tonks, Mark Hix and Diana Henry, there is nowhere better to give your tastebuds a workout, and there are numerous events happening within the festival, too.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.dartmouthfoodfestival. com

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BURNHAM-ON-SEA FOOD & DRINK FESTIVAL The team behind the Burnham-onSea Food & Drink Festival has been working hard to line-up another packed one-day, free event on Saturday 23 May 2015.

There will be over one hundred food and drink stalls will be offering high quality local products from across Somerset, spread out through five indoor shopping areas and a huge open air street market. The food on offer ranges from Caribbean jerk chicken to masala dosa, and stone baked pizzas to all the usual suspects at food markets â&#x20AC;&#x201C; cheeses, breads, fruit & vegetables, meats, preserves, cakes, and an excellent choice of juices, wines, ales and ciders.

In the KDS Demo Stage youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be able catch tips from the pros, as local chefs from prestigious hotels and restaurants demonstrate their cooking skills, or join in with handson workshops in Somerset Skills & Learning.

You can take the chance to strut your stuff too, in the Great Burnham Bake Off for the home bakers amongst you.

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will be a great selection things to keep the children engaged like giant tractors to clamber on, sheep, ducks and chickens to see, face painters, edible seed sowing and a welly wanging competition.

There will be live music through the streets, with plenty of busking pitches and seating to sit back on and enjoy the sights, smells and sounds of the festival. On top of all this, many of the shops in and around the town centre will be making special offers to coincide with the weekend of the festival, so you can wander around the seaside town of Burnham-on-Sea to search for bargains while you visit.

BURNHAM-ON-SEA FOOD & DRINK FESTIVAL SATURDAY 23 MAY AND SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER 2015 WWW. BURNHAMONSEAFOODFESTIVAL.ORG AND ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVALS BRISTOL IN a city famous the world over for its street art, you won’t be surprised to hear a graffiti festival is one of the biggest events in Bristol.

Upfest, where artists from all over the world take over the streets and buildings of Bedminster and Southville, returns this year after 12 months off, no doubt bringing thousands of visitors back to watch giant murals being painted live.

We also like a bit of the Bard as well, in the form of the city’s annual Shakespeare Festival, where various companies take over different venues – not always theatres – to put on his plays.

The Bristol Slapstick Festival has grown in recent years to the point where some of the biggest names in British comedy make for the city to be involved in the event.

This year, Stephen Fry, Chris Addison and Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer all came to the city to pay homage to some of the greats of silent and slapstick comedy in the last century.

All the above events have specific dates but one never stops – the Bristol Festival of Ideas. Aimed at stimulating debate, it runs throughout the year in the form of discussion forums and meetings looking at various topics.

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BATH Home to Jane Austen and Ralph Allen, friend to the 18th century poet Alexander Pope, Bath boasts an enviable literary history that is given a new chapter each year with the city's annual literature festival.

This year - the festival's 20th anniversary - world-famous authors such as David Nicholls ('One Day') and Kazuo Ishiguro ('The Remains of the Day') are set to make an appearance.

Last November, Bath Film Festival drew national attention when it became the first UK festival to use the 'F-rating' (films with a female lead or director).

The ten-day festival is set to return in December.

Bath Fringe Festival, staged across May and June, provides 17 days of comedy, visual arts and dance. Since it started in 1981, audiences have been entertained by the likes of Barry Cryer and Jamie Cullum.

Every September, Bath also hosts its ten-day Jane Austen Festival.

Last year, 550 festival-goers packed into the Jane Austen Centre to break the world record for the number of number of people dressed in Regency costume.

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ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL LISTINGS:

SOMERSET Frome and Wells both boast long established arts and literary festivals bringing scores of talented writers artists and musicians to Somerset.

Frome’s fortnight features film, art exhibitions, readings, talks and shows from A-list writers and comedians and a feast of musical performances among its dozens of events.

Meanwhile the Wells Festival of Literature, now in its 25th year, is a series of sellout talks from the best British and international writing talent providing insights into everything from writing satire to lectures on the colonial wars of the 18th century.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE Bill Clinton once descirbed Hay Festival as “the Woodstock of the mind”, and Hay still carries enough kudos to tempt literary, heavyweights to a little book town in the middle of nowhere. Last year Dame Judi Dench was coaxed into admitting she would be starring with Benedict Cumberbatch in Richard 111 and Stephen Fry and his husband were caught speeding in a flash sports car en-route.

When Professor Brian Cox says Cheltenham Literature Festival is the best event of its kind in the country, you know it’s going to be teeming with wannabe Sheldons who think the Big Bang Theory is a fly on the wall documentary rather than a comedy. For six days in June eggheads from around the world ponder big questions ranging from the meaning of life to the formula to produce a serial killer.

Name a living author or celebrity who has a book out this year and you can practically guarantee they will be giving a talk at the Cheltenham Literature Festival this Autumn. You don’t have to go to Hay to enjoy hundreds of events over ten days but tickets for the top names sell out as soon as they go on sale so you have to be quick.

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BATH COMEDY FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Bath WHEN: Friday 27th March – Monday 6th April More than 100 rib-tickling events are lined up for the seventh year of this innovative festival, which is the first of its kind to be ‘F’ rated, meaning a fair showing is given to female comedians on a bill split between established funnymen (and women) and up-and-coming jokers.

PRICE: From £8 WEB: www.bathcomedy.com GLASTONBURY MEDIEVAL FAYRE WHERE: Glastonbury Abbey, Glastonbury WHEN: Saturday 4th – Sunday 5th April Step back in time with a weekend of living history encampments, battle re-enactments, falconry, wicker weaving and more. There’s also medieval music, courtesy of Caliban’s Dream.

PRICE: £9, less for children WEB: www. glastonburymedievalfayre.co.uk FROM PAGE TO SCREEN WHERE: Bridport WHEN: Wednesday 8th – Sunday 12th April Proudly proclaiming itself to be the UK’s only film festival celebrating the art of adaptation, this unique event is coming back bigger and better than ever in 2015 with a variety of guest curators, yet to be confirmed at the time of going to press. Jon Ronson and Joe Dunthorne have done the honours in previous years.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.frompagetoscreen. org.uk DEVERILLS FESTIVAL OF PERFORMING ARTS WHERE: Various, The Deverills WHEN: Saturday 2nd – Sunday 3rd May An eclectic mixture of music, drama and comedy completes this celebration of the performing arts, which takes place in a valley in Wiltshire. Only a ‘mini-fest’ this year, but there’s still a heck of a lot

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ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL LISTINGS: to see and do.

PRICE: Events are priced individually with the most expensive being £15.

WEB: www.deverillsfestival.com WELLS MAY FAIR WHERE: Cathedral Green, Wells WHEN: Monday 4th May In new hands this year as Wells Lion Club take the reigns, the traditional fair will provide a magnificent family day of fun and frolics in the heart of Wells, with stalls, rides, live music and, of course, a maypole.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.wells.gov.uk/index. php?page=community-events NORTH SOMERSET SHOW WHERE: Bathing Pond Fields, Wraxall WHEN: Monday 4th May It’s North Somerset Show number 156 this year, and as you would hope it’s business as usual, with plenty of livestock, myriad trade stands and a fleet of vintage vehicles. And don’t miss the tractor pulling and blacksmith competitions.

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PRICE: £12 adult, £5 child, £30 family WEB: www.nsas.org.uk SWINDON FESTIVAL OF LITERATURE WHERE: Various venues, Swindon WHEN: Monday 4th – Saturday 16th May Starting off with a dawn chorus, the festival launches into thirteen days of talks and more with the likes of Sandi Toksvig, Shami Chakrabati and Patrick Gale. And don’t worry, the famous Swindon Performance Poetry Slam isn’t going anywhere.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www. swindonfestivalofliterature.co.uk FOWEY FESTIVAL OF WORDS AND MUSIC WHERE: Various venues, Fowey, Cornwall WHEN: Saturday 9th – Saturday 16th May To celebrate turning 18 you’ll be glad to know that Fowey Festival isn’t off to the pub to throw up five pints of Fosters. Instead the brainchild of the du Maurier Fes-

tival Society is pushing the boat out with talks and interviews with best-selling authors, workshops, theatre, guided walks and river cruises.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.foweyfestival.com CRIMEFEST WHERE: Bristol Marriott, College Green WHEN: Thursday 14th – Sunday 17th May More than 100 writers from the genre of stabbings, stranglings and poisonings will gather in Bristol to put together a programme featuring interviews, panels, a gala dinner and – this being crimewriting – one or two surprises. There will be workshops, murder pub quizzes and the chance to meet new authors.

PRICE: Many events priced individually, full pass £135-£175 WEB: www.crimefest.com MAYFEST WHERE: Various, Bristol WHEN: Thursday 14th – Sunday 24th May The Bristol Old Vic is the castle around which the moat of creativity that is Mayfest swirls. Loved by the Guardian, this is an impressive array of contemporary theatre from Bristol talent and beyond.

PRICE: various, priced per event.

WEB: mayfestbristol.co.uk RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW WHERE: Royal Hospital, Chelsea WHEN: Tuesday 19th – Saturday 23rd May An orgy of geraniums and roses, with the most-filmed plants in the world being dragged to London in their various pots. Prices go up to £59, but if that all seems a bit much to go and see Alan Titchmarsh, then there’s always Leigh Woods, which you can wander round for nothing.

PRICE: Varies depending on what day and time you go.

WEB: www.rhs.org.uk HAY FESTIVAL WHERE: Hay-on-Wye, Brecon Beacons, Wales FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL LISTINGS: WHEN: Thursday 21st – Sunday 31st May Bill Clinton may sometimes have had a creative relationship with the truth, but he was on the money when he called Hay Festival “the Woodstock of the mind”. The literary goliath this year brings Steven Fry, Kazuo Ishiguro and many more to the Welsh village.

PRICE: Earlybird £9 - £15 WEB: www.hayfestival.com FAL RIVER FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Falmouth WHEN: Friday 22nd – Sunday 31st May A not-for-profit event held around the Fal river is a true Cornish celebration, which attracts more than 100,000 visitors each year. This time around, the diverse programme of events includes the Fal River Walk, Castle to Castle swim and the award-winning Film on the Ferry.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.falriver.co.uk SALISBURY INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Salisbury WHEN: Friday 22nd May – Saturday 6th June A true showcase of the arts, incorporating theatre, dance, music, film, comedy, literature and visual

arts into a compelling, challenging and eminently rewarding twoweek event.

PRICE: Mostly free, ticketed events £7 - £42.50 WEB: www.salisburyfestival.co.uk/ GLOUCESTER TALL SHIPS FESTIVAL WHERE: Gloucester Docks WHEN: Saturday 23rd – Monday 25th May Hit the water this Spring Bank Holiday and take a peek around some fantastic vessels, including the brigantine Morganster, or experience pirates with shows on land and water.

PRICE: Free event, price to board ships £tbc WEB: www.thecityofgloucester. co.uk/tallships BATH FRINGE FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Bath WHEN: Saturday 23rd May – Monday 8th June One of the best-established Fringes in the UK runs the gamut from music and theatre to green events and comedy, providing entertainment for everyone. The Bedlam Fair street festival operates under the Fringe umbrella.

PRICE: Mostly free, ticketed events £TBC WEB: www.bathfringe.co.uk

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SHERBORNE CASTLE COUNTRY FAIR WHERE: Sherborne Castle, Dorset WHEN: Monday 25th May A traditional country fair with all sorts of attractions, including dragon boat racing and a dedicated circus big top. There’s also more food than you can shake a stick at, and the rare breed show is a particular highlight.

PRICE: £10.20 adult, £3.40 child, £24.65 family (advance), £12 adult, £4 child, £29 family (on gate) WEB: www.sherbornecountryfair.com BATH AND WEST SHOW WHERE: Bath and West Showground WHEN: Wednesday 27th – Saturday 30th May Celebrate everything the West Country has to offer at one of its biggest events. Highlights include the British Cheese awards and the British Cider Competition. New additions this year include the Sports Village and a horticultural section.

PRICE: £17-£22 WEB: www.bathandwest.com/ royal-bath-west BODMIN MOOR POETRY FESTIVAL WHERE: Sterts Theater, Upton Cross, Liskeard, Cornwall WHEN: Saturday 30th May – Monday 1st June Over the five-year course of its existence, the festival has brought the likes of Carol Ann Duffy and Louis de Bernieres to Cornwall.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www. bodminmoorpoetryfestival.co.uk CHELTENHAM SCIENCE FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Cheltenham WHEN: Tuesday 2nd – Sunday 7th June Cutting edge science made accessible, whether you want to get hands on or listen to some of the greatest minds stretch its boundaries at the UK’s gold standard science festival.

PRICE: Lots free, paid events £TBC WEB: www.cheltenhamfestivals. com/science FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL LISTINGS:

BATH FRINGE 2015

BY STEVE HENWOOD

Bath Fringe is whatever anyone wants to bring to the party, and that means we never really know what’s going to happen until we finish putting the programme together (starting it about now, as we write this).

What I do know is that we had a best-ever response to our Open Meeting in January, with lots of people coming forward with interesting ideas. Even if only 10 per cent of that happens we’d still have a great festival!

We’re in a collaboration with Bath Spa University to run their place at Burdall’s Yard (town end of London Road, by Cleveland Place) as a multi-act Fringe venue, with several events every day, both student and visiting pro work, and one of our very favourite companies is coming. We’ve also got events in – and in collaboration with – the other Bath University’s new ICIA building on the Claverton Down campus.

Expect mayhem in town and on the riverside (down below Homebase & Sainsbury’s) for bedlam fair, Bath’s street arts festival on the last weekend of May. Plus of course the FAB Fringe Arts Bath visual arts festival will be putting art into unexpected corners and unused/ unloved buildings throughout the fortnight. Putting art all around the city, in streets and empty shops, it’s pretty much what we like doing best: there’s no point having a festival if it’s all hidden away in art institutions!

Bedlam Fair will also feature the latest instalment of our one-off street theatre experience ‘Outside! NOW!!’, created by Bath people with the assistance of Natural Theatre and other professional Street Arts experts.

What else? We were just down discussing doing some start-your-evening-off-the-fringe-way shows in and outside Green Park Brasserie: put Openings Night (May 22), the first night of Bedlam (May 29) and the Bank Holiday Sunday (May 24) in your diary now! But my favourite bits are always the ones I hadn’t heard of before, or haven’t heard of yet. With participating venues all round the city there’s bound to be something you’ll like – and something that will surprise you!

BATH FRINGE 2015 FRIDAY MAY 22 – SUNDAY JUNE 7 FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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COLOURFEST WHERE: Shaftesbury Estate, Dorset WHEN: Friday 5th – Monday 8th June With its roots in yoga, Colourfest goes in search of inner rest while expanding horizons with dance classes, music, art and poetry. Top international yoga teachers will be offering workshops for all abilities.

PRICE: £115-£145, weekend £100, day £55 WEB: www.colourfest.co.uk FESTIVAL OF NATURE WHERE: Bristol Harbourside WHEN: Saturday 13th – Sunday 14th June If you can’t go the wildlife, Bristol Natural History Consortium brings it to you, letting you get up close with the wonders of nature, with over 150 organisations present, and lots of hands-on things to do.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.bnhc.org.uk/festivalof-nature BIG GREEN WEEK WHERE: The Centre of Bristol WHEN: Saturday 13th – Sunday 21st June A nationwide festival of ideas and activities aimed at the natural environment graces Bristol in mid-June.

This is a very family-friendly event and there’s plenty to get stuck in to, including walks and tours, talks, comedy and food markets.

PRICE: Free.

WEB: www.biggreenweek.com GLASTONBURY FRINGE FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Glastonbury WHEN: Thursday 18th – Tuesday 30th June You can expect Glastonbury’s characteristically eclectic range of events and activities - music, dance, art, crafts, comedy, theatre, gigs, workshops, concerts, performances, classes, demonstrations, exhibitions and more - to suit every taste & interest.

PRICE: Some free, some ticketed, prices £TBC WEB: www.glastonbury-fringe. org.uk

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22 May 6 June 2015

Circa Gandini Juggling Omid Djalili Ballet Black John Cleese Rory Bremner Alan Johnson MP

And much more...

To book tickets visit salisburyfestival.co.uk or call 0845 241 9651

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ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL LISTINGS: 3 WISHES FAERY FEST WHERE: Mount Edgcumbe House and Country Park, Cremyll, Torpoint, Cornwall.

WHEN: Friday 19th – Sunday 21st June Most festival goers have three wishes: For a clean toilet on day three, their smuggled-in booze not to be confiscated at the gate and sunshine. You may find it hard to believe that a festival based on fairies exists, but even if you don’t believe in them, don’t say you don’t, because they’ll die. We don’t make the rules.

PRICE: £99 weekend ticket options WEB: www.faeryevents.com

assured that St John’s Ambulance will be in attendance to help treat split sides.

PRICE: Various.

WEB: www.bristolcomedygarden. co.uk

BRISTOL VOLKSFEST WHERE: Washingpool Farm, Easter Compton, Bristol WHEN: Friday 19th – Sunday 21st June Activities and music will be included in the ticket price but let’s not kid ourselves, this is about looking at old Beetles, and what’s wrong with that? (Other VW –branded vehicles will be on show).

PRICE: £27 weekend ticket.

WEB: www.bristolvolksfest.co.uk

THE COTSWOLD SHOW AND FOOD FESTIVAL WHERE: Cirencester Park, Gloucestershire WHEN: Saturday 4th – Sunday 5th July An agricultural show with a difference, that difference namely being the 100+ food stands offering tastings and local produce alongside street food vendors. Falconry and monster truck displays are headline entertainment.

PRICE: £10 adult, £5 child, £28 family (advance), £12 adult, £6 child, £35 family (on gate) WEB: www.cotswoldshow.co.uk

BRISTOL SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL WHERE: Various, Bristol WHEN: July, exact dates TBC Entirely staffed by volunteers, this is one of the best showcases for Bristol’s creative spirit. At time of going to press some details are yet to be confirmed but if last year’s event was anything to go by expect some of the Bard’s most popular works being played out in some of the most beautiful green spaces and buildings in the city.

PRICE: Various.

WEB: www. bristolshakespearefestival.org.uk BRISTOL COMEDY GARDEN WHERE: Queen Square, Bristol.

WHEN: Wednesday 1st – Sunday 5th July A reliable source of strong comedians last year brought Al Murray, Josh Widdicombe and Nina Conti to Bristol. No announcements have been made yet, but rest FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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WAYS WITH WORDS FESTIVAL WHERE: Dartington Hall, Devon WHEN: Friday 3rd – Monday 13th July This Daily Telegraph-sponsored event brings word lovers from both sides of the publishing process together. Writers and readers unite at a vibrant gathering in a beautiful location.

PRICE: £TBC. WEB: www.wayswithwords.co.uk

BRISTOL PRIDE WHERE: Various, Bristol

WHEN: Saturday 4th – Sunday 12th July A week’s worth of celebrations of Bristol’s diversity, culminating on the Saturday with Pride Day (which includes live music, stalls and food) and Pride Night (headlined by the best clubnight DJs) at Castle Park.

PRICE: Various, mostly free.

WEB: www.pridebristol.co.uk PENZANCE LITERARY FESTIVAL WHERE: The Acorn Theatre, Penzance WHEN: Wednesday 8th – Saturday 11th July With a theme of ‘sparks’, the festival celebrates words in all their forms, be they written, spoken, recited or sung. Offering talks from prize-winning authors and engaging with the area’s heritage, it is an accessible and fascinating way to spend a long weekend.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.penzance-literaryfestival.org.uk TOLPUDDLE MARTYRS FESTIVAL AND RALLY WHERE: Tolpuddle, Dorset WHEN: Friday 17th – Sunday 19th July A celebration of the Tolpuddle Martyrs – farm workers who formed a trade union – and of trade unionism more widely, the festival is organised by the TUC. It culminates in a march, and there

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ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL LISTINGS:

JANE AUSTEN FESTIVAL The 15th international Jane Austen Festival, the largest in the world takes place in Bath from Friday 11th to Sunday 20th September 2015. It officially opens on Saturday 12th at 11am when the Grand Regency Costumed Promenade departs from the Assembly Rooms. This spectacular opening is a parade of over 500 costumed participants through the streets of Bath and brings the city to a halt.

The Festival is ten days full of events to appeal to everyone. There are walking tours, bus tours, food tasting, bonnet dressing, learning the harp workshops, dance workshops, talks on all sorts of Austen related topics, the reading of Emma in Bath Central Library throughout the week and the stunning Regency Costumed Masked Ball at the Roman Baths and Pump Room.

Even though many dress in period costume throughout the Festival it is not essential wear for all the events. Regency dress is not obligatory for the Country Dance at the Pavilion being held on the first Saturday.

Many historic buildings are used for events during the Festival and these include the Pump Room and Roman Baths, the Assembly Rooms, the Pavilion, the BRLSI, the Min (Mineral Water Hospital), The Mission Theatre, Bath Theatre Royal, to name just a few.

The programme will be available in July both in hard copy and online. Festival Friends receive their copies of the programme a couple of weeks before the tickets go on general release. As the Masked Ball and minibus tours sell out very quickly it is worth becoming a Festival Friend for the priority booking.

The novel Emma is 200 years old this year and the Festival will celebrate this fact with specialist talks, demonstrations and workshops.

FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE JANE AUSTEN FESTIVAL IS AVAILABLE FROM THE WEBSITE WWW.JANEAUSTENFESTIVALBATH.CO.UK AND TICKETS WILL GO ON SALE FOR FESTIVAL EVENTS IN JULY 2015.

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are debates and music too.

PRICE: Tickets on sale April 1st.

WEB: www.tolpuddlemartyrs. org.uk GREAT WESTON RIDE WHERE: Bristol to Weston-SuperMare WHEN: Sunday 19th July On normal days, cyclists line up against buses, taxis and cars in a pointless, frustrating struggle to see who rules the roads. But this time it’s different, with hundreds of cyclists making the two-wheeled trip from Bristol to Weston-SuperMare.

PRICE: Free.

WEB: www.betterbybike UPFEST WHERE: North Street, Bristol WHEN: Saturday 25th – Monday 27th July The Urban Paint festival proves that graffiti is art, as talented artists descend on Bristol from more than 50 countries for Europe’s largest urban art festival.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.upfest.co.uk GODDESS CONFERENCE GLASTONBURY WHERE: Various venues, Glastonbury WHEN: Saturday July 25th – Monday 3rd August Now in its twentieth year, the conference is open to all women, men, young people and children who love Goddess for ten days of workshops and presentations.

Ceremonial dress and offerings are a must.

PRICE: £24-£350 WEB: www.goddessconference. com PORT ELIOT FESTIVAL WHERE: St Germans, Cornwall WHEN: Thursday 30th July – Sunday 2nd August Napoleon reportedly called Port Eliot the most beautiful place in England, and here it hosting what Jarvis Cocker calls “a festival of ideas”. Public Service Broadcasting head up the musical side of things, but staying true to its FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL LISTINGS: by every horse lover as an opportunity to watch some of the best equestrian partnerships compete against each other in dressage, show jumping and cross country.

PRICE: £45, concessions available, extra for camping WEB: www.gatcombe-horse.co.uk

PORT ELIOT FESTIVAL

literary roots the festival tackles all facets of the arts on the site of the Elephant Fayre.

PRICE: £145-£165 WEB: www.porteliotfestival.com UNICORN VILLAGE CAMPS WHERE: Wildflower Meadow, Somerset and Wiltshire border WHEN: Saturday 1st – Sunday 23rd August Healing through the power of song, healing through the power of constellations, healing through the power of dance. That’s more like it. Four different camps, each focusing on one of the above aspects.

PRICE: Various WEB: www.jacapella.co.uk/unicorn MELLS DAFFODIL FESTIVAL WHERE: Mells Somerset WHEN: Monday 6th August With streets lined with stalls and smiles on faces all around, is this archetypal British village kneesup? It certainly looks like it when the sun is shining.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.mellsdaffodilfestival. co.uk INTERNATIONAL BALLOON FIESTA WHERE: Bristol FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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WHEN: Thursday 6th – Sunday 9th August Look to the skies for the famous flotilla of more than 100 hot air balloons. Be one of the 500,000 spectators who pass through the gates over the weekend, or watch from afar. Either way, you’re guaranteed a spectacle.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.bristolballoonfiesta. co.uk TAUNTON FLOWER SHOW WHERE: Vivary Park, Taunton WHEN: Friday 7th – Saturday 8th August The UK’s oldest and wisest flower show has been a regular fixture in the county town since 1831 and is showing no signs of wilting any time soon. There are 200 trade stands and a food hall, but the main attractions are the competitions which receive over 1500 entries.

PRICE: £12 Friday, £10 Saturday WEB: www.tauntonflowershow. co.uk FESTIVAL OF BRITISH EVENTING WHERE: Gatcombe Park, Gloucestershire WHEN: Friday 7th – Sunday 9th August This event should be flagged up

MID SOMERSET SHOW WHERE: Cannard’s Grave Road, Shepton Mallet, Somerset WHEN: Sunday 16th August It’s been running for more than 150 years and the sense of tradition is strong at the annual celebration of Somerset’s agriculture. Bursting at the seams with family entertainment, whether it’s cheese, classic cars or prize-winning cows which float your boat there’ll be something for you. It makes you proud to be from the West Country.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.midsomersetshow. org.uk GILLINGHAM & SHAFTESBURY SHOW WHERE: Motcombe Turnpike Showground WHEN: Wednesday 19th August A classic agricultural show, with over 500 trade exhibitors, a jampacked food hall and a host of attractions which last year included ferret racing and the Cornish Wurzels.

PRICE: From £49 WEB: www.gillshaftshow.co.uk THE DUNSTER SHOW WHERE: Dunster Castle Lawns, Dunster, Somerset WHEN: Friday 21st August Offering a fantastic opportunity to get up close and personal with some of Somerset’s finest livestock, one of the biggest shows in the county is a great family day out.

PRICE: £12 adult, £5 child (4-14) WEB: www.thedunstershow.co.uk MELPLASH SHOW WHERE: West Bay Showgrounds, Bridport WHEN: Thursday 27th August Known locally as ‘the Friendly Show’ this family-friendly agri-

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ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL LISTINGS: cultural event last year featured the Sheep Roadshow, complete with on-stage shearing. Freestyle motorcross was another big hit, and all the traditional trimmings are present and correct, too.

PRICE: £12 adult, first child (5-15) free, additional child £4, U5s free (advance), £14 adult, first child (515) free, additional child £5, U5s free (on gate) WEB: www.melplashshow.co.uk

Roman amphitheatre since gladiators fell out fashion, Anonymous is a free event packed to the gunnels with activities and entertainment for all the family, from music and dance to graffiti and zorbing.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.anonymousfestival. co.uk

GREENBELT WHERE: Boughton House, Cheltenham WHEN: Friday 28th – Monday 31st August “Where arts, faith and justice collide”. Greenbelt is a faith-centred festival but one with an open mind.

Discussions, lectures and music.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.greenbelt.org.uk

BERKELEY SHOW WHERE: Castle Meadows, Berkeley, Gloucestershire WHEN: Monday 31st August Varied attractions and a wide catchment area keep the Berkeley Show fresh and interesting. Recent additions include the thrilling Rockwood Dog Display Team, but traditional entertainment like the gymkhana and showjumping is still the focal point.

PRICE: £10, children and OAP £5 WEB: www.berkeleyshow.com

ANONYMOUS FESTIVAL WHERE: Maumbury Rings, Dorchester WHEN: Saturday 29th August The most fun you can have in a

GREAT DORSET STEAM FAIR WHERE: Tarrant Hinton WHEN: Wednesday 2nd – Sunday 6th September Witness the power of steam

GREAT DORSET STEAM FAIR

with an array of locomotives and tractors before getting up to date with monster trucks, coming via an encounter with a fleet of vintage vehicles. There’s also music and more.

PRICE: £16.50-£20 WEB: www.gdsf.co.uk BRISTOL BURLESQUE FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues WHEN: Thursday 3rd – Saturday 5th September Back for its third year, the threeday event celebrates Bristol’s diverse burlesque scene, promising “badass booty shakers from Bristol and beyond.”

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www. bristolburlesquefestival.co.uk MORETON SHOW WHERE: Moreton-in-Marsh Showground, Gloucestershire WHEN: Saturday 5th September The show is all about improving the standard of farming and farm crafts in the local area and is run with a whole heap of voluntary support. Luckily for us the community spirit translates into a wonderful show which packs horses, livestock and crafts into just one day.

PRICE: £13.50 adult, £4.50 child, £35 family (advance), £17 adult, £6.50 child, £42 family (on gate) WEB: www.moretonshow.co.uk DORSET COUNTY SHOW WHERE: Dorchester Showground, Dorset WHEN: Saturday 5th – Sunday 6th September Over 6000 animals parade through three entertainment rings, with live music and food and crafts available from over 450 trade stands. What a perfect way to spend a weekend.

PRICE: £12 advance, £15 on gate, U16s free WEB: www.dorsetcountyshow. co.uk BRISTOL WOOL FAIR WHERE: Clifton Downs, Bristol WHEN: Friday 11th – Sunday 13th September

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ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL LISTINGS: ST IVES SEPTEMBER FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, St Ives WHEN: Saturday 12th – Saturday 26th September There are more than 300 events planned for this year, so drag your festival-going self right to the edge of winter in St Ives for a two-week exercise in walks, talks, comedy, theatre and music.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www. stivesseptemberfestival.co.uk

THE INTERNATIONAL AGATHA CHRISTIE FESTIVAL

The guerrilla knitting left around trees in Victoria Park or on the Goal Ferry Bridge confirms Bristol’s status in the world of needles and wool. At the Wool Fair there’ll be sheep, spinners, weavers, feltmakers, dyers, fibre artists, markets, workshops and more.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.bristolwoolfair.co.uk THE INTERNATIONAL AGATHA CHRISTIE FESTIVAL WHERE: Torre Abbey, Torquay, Devon WHEN: Friday 11th – Saturday 19th September Celebrate the Queen of Crime’s 125th birthday with like-minded folks at Torre Abbey, where period dress is the norm.

PRICE: £TBC

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ENCOUNTERS FESTIVAL WHERE: Watershed and Arnolfini, Bristol WHEN: Tuesday 15th – Sunday 20th September The UK’s leading short film and animation event brings filmmakers, industry professionals and film lovers together to enjoy a cinematic festival experience. The annual International Competition will run again, with masterclasses, panels and the opportunity to network also on offer.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: encounters-festival.org.uk

WEB: www.agathachristiefestival. com FROME AGRICULTURAL AND CHEESE SHOW WHERE: West Woodlands Showground, Frome WHEN: Saturday 12th September Over 1200 cheese entries from the UK and overseas find their way to Frome to compete for the title of Global Supreme Champion. There is also an abundance of local produce and numerous categories of livestock competition.

PRICE: £11 adult, £9 OAP, £3 child, £24 family (advance), £14 adult, £12 OAP, £5 child, £32 family (on gate) WEB: www.fromecheeseshow. co.uk

BATH CHILDREN’S LITERATURE FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Bath WHEN: Friday 25th September – Sunday 4th October The largest dedicated children’s book festival in the UK has brought names like Michael Morpurgo and Jacqueline Wilson to Bath, all in the name of entertaining children and nurturing a love of reading which may see the lovely little people graduate to the Bath Literature Festival before too long.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.bathfestivals.org.uk/ childrens-literature APPLEDORE BOOK FESTIVAL WHERE: Appledore, near Bideford WHEN: Saturday 26th September – Sunday 4th October Initially started to save the local library, Appledore Book Festival is now a well-established literary event, and the library is still open.

Could there be anywhere better to indulge your love of words than FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL LISTINGS: the postcard village of Appledore?

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.appledorebookfestival. co.uk WILDSCREEN FESTIVAL WHERE: Bristol WHEN: TBC, expect October If you’re one of those people who can’t be bothered to watch the credits scroll up the screen at the end of TV programmes, you might not realise how many of the best wildlife documentaries are produced here in Bristol. This event will, as always, bring some of the best people in the field together.

PRICE: TBC. WEB: www.wildscreenfestival.org CHELTENHAM LITERATURE FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Cheltenham WHEN: Friday 2nd – Sunday 11th October A holistic celebration of literature, drawing not just from fiction but politics, television, art, sport and food. Expect talks from luminaries from each field, and more.

PRICE: Lots free, paid events £TBC WEB: www.cheltenhamfestivals. com/literature/ THE DAIRY SHOW WHERE: Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet WHEN: Wednesday 7th October The one day event has become the key event in the dairy farmer’s calendar, where top quality dairy cattle are exhibited alongside a comprehensive trade show.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.bathandwest.com/ dairy/96 WELLS LITERATURE FESTIVAL WHEN: Friday 9th – Saturday 17th October WHERE: Bishops Palace, Wells Wells is the perfect location to indulge a love of books, and taking place over nearly three weeks of literary lunches, talks and competitions in the Bishops Palace there is something here for anyone with even a passing interest in the written word.

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EDINBURGH FESTIVAL # OLLIE HULME BY

Why should you leave the South West and go to the Edinburgh Festival?

Because it is the biggest and best arts festival in the world.

It’s not just the Fringe – there’s the international festival too, and film and literature.

But it is the Fringe that most people will be going for, so here are some tips.

If you haven’t booked your accommodation yet, prepare to have your wallet lightened heavily.

The truly lucky are those who have friends or relatives in this amazing city, who can loan a couch, a bed, or even a few square feet of floor. Otherwise you are going to find it hard to get a roof over your head – indeed, it could be worth organising your accommodation and then deciding what you want to see…

Flights are also likely to be heavily booked, but trains and buses are are good bet.

Edinburgh is a capital city, and expect capital city prices for food and drink, head to Grassmarket for a good selection of bars and restaurants.

But that’s the boring stuff.

What should you see? Well you should always head for the Royal Mile to see the street performances and pick up the mountain of flyers on offer. Wander along the Meadows to see al fresco rehearsals – last time I was there I saw a full production of Macbeth by an Australian theatre company – with chainsaws.

Check the Scotsman listings to find the best small shows – two a day if you can afford it. Try and pick one big headliner, and a couple of highly rated theatre shows – but also, go for at least one student theatre production. It could be the worst piece of dramatic self-indulgence you’ll ever see, but it will be the one you remember for years to come.

Go on the free comedy circuit, and hang out in the Pleasance courtyard if you are the sort of celebrity spotter who is keen for a glimpse of Nicholas Parsons or Susan Calman or the Udderbelly if you are a devotee of Channel 4, and, if you can get in, stop off at the Spiegeltent on late nights for a proper hooley.

And don’t forget to have a pint of 80/- in Sandy Bells, or a Punk IPA .

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ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL LISTINGS: PRICE: some free, £8.50 for speakers WEB: www. wellsfestivalofliterature.org.uk CHARMOUTH LITERARY FESTIVAL WHERE: Various venues, Charmouth WHEN: Saturday 10th October Details are thin on the ground for the sixth incarnation of the Charmouth Literary Festival, but last year speakers came from all angles, including fiction, history and poetry.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.charmouthlitfest. wordpress.com MERE LITERARY FESTIVAL WHERE: Mere, Wiltshire WHEN: Monday 12th – Sunday 18th October Talks and workshops provided by writers from the national stage run alongside a platform given to local wordsmiths at a volunteer-run event in the small town of Mere.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.merelitfest.co.uk NORTH CORNWALL BOOK FESTIVAL WHERE: St Endellion, Cornwall WHEN: Friday 23rd – Sunday 25th October Having provided an enchanting, and dog friendly, book festival last year the team have decided to do it all again, with events for school-age readers on the Friday.

PRICE: £TBC WEB: www.endelienta.org.uk/ whats-on-book-festival CARNIVAL WHEN: Saturday 7th – Saturday 21st November WHERE: Various towns in Somerset The jewel in Somerset’s crown will be taking to the streets in Wells, Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet and elsewhere to emit light, sound and joy in a way you won’t quite find anywhere else in the world.

Don’t try and explain it to people not in the know, just take them by the hand and show them.

PRICE: Free WEB: www.somersetcarnivals. co.uk/events

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THE THREE CHOIRS FESTIVAL The Three Choirs Festival is a weeklong programme of choral and orchestral concerts, cathedral services, solo and chamber music recitals, masterclasses, talks, theatre, exhibitions and walks, rotating each summer between the beautiful English cathedral cities of Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester.

It is the oldest non-competitive classical music festival in the world, celebrating its 300th anniversary in 2015 and providing a spiritual presence at the heart of the nation’s cultural life.

At the heart of the modern festival are the daily services of Choral Evensong sung by the professional choirs of the three cathedrals, representing the venerable and unique tradition of Anglican music and liturgy, and the large-scale evening concerts featuring the Three Choirs Festival Chorus and the Philharmonia orchestra, which has been resident at the festival since 2012.

Concert programmes feature internationally-known solo artists and combine the established favourites of the British classical choral tradition with works drawn from a broader, more international musical canvas. Some are conducted by the Directors of Music of the three cathedrals, who also undertake the role of Artistic Director of their city’s festival, and some by guest conductors from the UK and abroad. The main festival’s packed schedule of daytime events is augmented by a community programme which varies slightly in style in each city.

The Three Choirs Festival is run by dedicated voluntary committees in Hereford, Worcester and Gloucester, supported by a small professional management team based at the Three Choirs Festival Association’s office in Gloucester.

THE THREE CHOIRS FESTIVAL RUNS FROM 25 JULY - 1 AUGUST 2015 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON EVENTS AND TO BUY TICKETS VISIT THE WEBSITE WWW.3CHOIRS. ORG FESTIVAL GUIDE 2015

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