Wychwood Festival

The Wychwood Festival is an annual music festival held at Cheltenham racecourse in Gloucestershire, UK, the weekend after the late May Bank Holiday.[1] It began in 2005 and features indie, folk and world music.[2]

Time Out magazine described the Festival as "an excellent hybrid of The Big Chill, WOMAD and The Cambridge Folk Festival."[3] The festival has also been called a "bijou Glastonbury".[2]

As well as music, the family-friendly three-day festival includes workshops, comedy, a children's literature tent, and a silent disco.[1][2] In 2010, the director of the festival, Graeme Merifield, signed a sponsorship deal with supermarket chain Waitrose.[4]

Acts

In 2007, notable acts included Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople, Robyn Hitchcock, The Levellers, Camera Obscura, Badly Drawn Boy, Fun Lovin' Criminals, Country Joe McDonald, Eliza Carthy and Afro Celt Sound System.[5]

In 2008, headline acts included The Proclaimers, The Divine Comedy and Duffy.[2][6] [7]

2009 featured Supergrass, Little Boots, poet Carol Ann Duffy, Stornoway, the Wonder Stuff, The Beat, Revere, Dub Collosus, and the Dhol Foundation.[8] [9] In 2010, the third stage was run by BBC Introducing,[10] featuring 28 bands from the West of England and Wales selected from 70 entrants.[11] Main acts included Happy Mondays, The Levellers, ex-Del Amitri singer Justin Currie, The Lightning Seeds, Dreadzone, and Seth Lakeman.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b Perrone, Pierre (5 June 2010). "First Night: Wychwood Festival, Cheltenham". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/first-night-wychwood-festival-cheltenham-1992081.html. Retrieved 7 June 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c d "Wychwood Festival gets under way". BBC News. 30 May 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/7427147.stm. Retrieved 7 June 2010. 
  3. ^ "Wychwood Festival - Our History". http://www.wychwoodfestival.com/ourhistory.html. Retrieved 2009-05-15. 
  4. ^ Atkinson, Simon (19 May 2010). "Festivals shunning sponsors' cash". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/10120490.stm. Retrieved 7 June 2010. 
  5. ^ Perrone, Pierre (5 June 2007). "Wychwood Festival, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham: Hen parties and hippies in the sun". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/wychwood-festival-cheltenham-racecourse-cheltenham--none-onestar-twostar-threestar-fourstar-fivestar-451834.html?cmp=ilc-n. Retrieved 7 June 2010. 
  6. ^ Perrone, Pierre (3 June 2008). "Wychwood Festival, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham: Duffy shows her Sixties sparkle". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/wychwood-festival-cheltenham-racecourse-cheltenham-838758.html. Retrieved 7 June 2010. 
  7. ^ Perrone, Pierre (31 May 2008). "Wychwood festival, Cheltenham Racecourse: Family-friendly festival kicks off with style, and even avoids the floods". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/wychwood-festival-cheltenham-racecourse-837506.html. Retrieved 7 June 2010. 
  8. ^ Dalton, Stephen (2 June 2009). "Wychwood Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse". The Times. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/festivals/article6408067.ece. Retrieved 7 June 2010. 
  9. ^ Harrison, Flicky (16 May 2009). "Wychwood Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse from May 29 to 31". This is Wiltshire. http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/leisure/music/4373098.Wychwood_Festival_at_Cheltenham_Racecourse_from_May_29_to_31/. Retrieved 7 June 2010. 
  10. ^ "Wychwood to feature music from BBC Introducing shows". BBC Gloucestershire. 15 April 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/gloucestershire/hi/people_and_places/music/newsid_8622000/8622365.stm. Retrieved 7 June 2010. 
  11. ^ Bray, Elisa (21 May 2010). "Unsigned but not unloved". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/unsigned-but-not-unloved-1978568.html. Retrieved 7 June 2010. 
  12. ^ "Madchester comes to Cheltenham racecourse". Gloucestershire Echo. 6 June 2010. http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/news/Madchester-comes-Cheltenham-racecourse/article-2273111-detail/article.html. Retrieved 7 June 2010. 

External links