Triumphant 11th outing for Wychwood Festival 2015
Record breaking ticket sales and Saturday sell out lead to most successful year to date with stellar performances from UB40's Ali Campbell, Astro & Mickey Virtue Reunited, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Boney M, Ghostpoet & more.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo bestowed a fittingly momentous finale for festival-goers last night at the 11th annual Wychwood Festival. Ending with Shosholoza and deafening cheers from the crowd the revered South African choral group were the last act to perform in a weekend that saw other exciting headline performances from UB40's Ali Campbell, Astro & Mickey Virtue Reunited and Boney M. 2015 has seen record breaking ticket sales and a Saturday sell-out for one of the UK's best loved family festivals. Thousands journeyed to Cheltenham Racecourse to see unforgettable live performances from international and local talent along with stand-up comedy, craft workshops, children's area and dedicated Literature Festival. Festival partner Ecotricity hosted an inspiring and thought provoking debate on green issues in the packed Ecotricity Big Top tent with founder Dale Vince, Riverford Organic founder Guy Watson, People Tree Ambassador Geetie Singh-Watson and journalist Lucy Seagle. The action-packed weekend even saw Wychwood's first ever marriage proposal, as one festival-goer teamed up with brother-duo The Proclaimers on the mainstage to pop the question (to which the answer was a yes). Looking ahead to continue the Wychwood celebrations, the festival is offering 2014 ticket-holders an exclusive offer for next year with weekend adult tickets at just £102 and can be booked here wychwoodfestival.co.uk/2016. Additional highlights and more information is available at the Wychwood website.
Over the weekend the main stage hosted performances by heritage greats including reggae legends Ali Campbell, Astro & Mickey Virtue of UB40, 70s icons Boney M, Scottish twin-brother duo The Proclaimers and Northern Irish punk-rockers The Undertones. There were also a slew of local talent from around Gloucestershire, Hereford & Worcester and Coventry & Warwickshire, showcased on both the main stage and the BBC Introducing stage. The Ecotricity Big Top welcomed renowned contemporaries Ghostpoet, Lucy Rose, Mt. Wolf, Charlotte OC and Josephine & The Artizans each day before delving into late night hedonism with Wychwood's famous headphone disco. Other musical highlights of the weekend included an ever energetic DJ set from Craig Charles, incredible talents from Mali with both Songhoy Blues and Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba plus an extremely popular mainstage appearance from children's entertainer Justin Fletcher.
On top of the music Wychwood 2015 offered a programme for all the family. The Children's Literature Festival in partnership with Waterstones saw literary talents educate and inspire the young and young at heart, while festival-goers were tickled pink in the Hobgoblin stage as stand-up heroes Michael Legge, Keith Farnan, Mitch Benn and more delivered late night hilarity. Families got stuck into Bhangra dance, hula hooping, circus tricks in an array of interactive workshops and those looking for more of a relaxing experience were well catered for in Wychwood Festival's very own Healing Gardens.
Elated with this year's Wychwood Festival, founder Graeme Merifield said, "What a year! It's the busiest I've ever seen the festival thanks to a fantastic turnout from Wychwood fans and spectacular performances across all of our stages from legends like Boney M and The Proclaimers right through to rising stars Charlotte OC and Puppy. To top our landmark 10th year in 2014 with record ticket sales in 2015 is such an achievement and we'd like to thank everyone who joined us this weekend. We hope they enjoyed the festival as much as we did and look forward to making 2016's Wychwood better yet!"
To show their appreciation for everyone who came along to the festival, Wychwood organisers are offering 2015 attendees an exclusive offer for next year with full adult with camping just £102, Youth/Concessions £77, 10-15 yr Full Weekend £42 and under 10 for free available here. Early Bird tickets for Wychwood Festival 2016 will be available soon with more information from the Wychwood website.
Explore Gloucestershire
1 June 2015
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