Just So, the family festival is just three weeks away

JUST SO FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES INTRIGUING ADVENTURES FOR ITS 2015 EXPEDITION – THREE WEEKS TO GO

The award-winning Just So Festival (21 – 23 August), produced by Wild Rumpus announces its brilliantly bonkers programme based on the golden age of travel for 2015, the largest programme in its six year history.

An annual, intimate, weekend-long camping festival for children and their families the Just So Festival provides an imaginative outdoor adventure like no other, showcasing the best art, music, literature, comedy and theatre for families all embedded and entwined in a wondrous landscape of woodland clearings, rolling parkland, arboreal amphitheatres and lakeside spots in the Rode Hall Estate, Cheshire.

With an incredible mix of regional, national and international artists and performers, it promises to take you on an expedition of mischief and mayhem, to lands full of magical midnight feasts, raucous pillow fights, tribal tournaments, curious creatures and breathtaking beauty.

The eagerly anticipated Tribal Tournament will once more be headed up by that motley crew from immersive theatre specialists LAS Theatre. The Fox, Frog, Owl, Fish, Stag and Lion tribes will compete in ridiculous games and all manner of unexpected shenanigans. Find your tribe on festival Sunday and round off the festival in style with the Tribal Parade. Inquisitive and adventure driven family explorers can expect to tour the most curious of lands and encounter creatures and characters beyond your wildest dreams.

A visit to Grand Central complete with Passport Office, Bureau de Change and mischievous luggage porters is advice worth heeding, before venturing into the uncharted territory that is Just So Festival 2015. Head to our new eccentric Village Green to encounter ridiculous knitting, toddler jousting, pillow fighting and a nonsensical, outrageous game of Consequences.

Roll up, roll up at Head over Heels for the most spectacular and flamboyant area of Just So yet. Expect tumblers and somersaults, aerial mastery and juggling galore. Gasp and faint at amazing shows, and try your hand yourself at all manner of circus amazement.

Step into the Spellbound Forest to a place quite extraordinary. Woodland theatre, dancing and exploring by day, bonfire bands, stories and songs as dusk falls and the woodland magic really begins

Whispers have reached our ears of a Fairy City and Fairy Ball found within Away With The Fairies, an enchanting woodland, home of the Fairy Queen.

Make your way into the perilous High Seas supported by SunSense. Maps will be needed, encounter massive battleships, pirate training camp and watch out for the kraken.

At Footlights and Jitterbug we will see foot stomping, wild whirling and swirling, and unmissable family music and theatre performances including poet John Hegley, comedian James Campbell and authors Emma Carroll and Paul Stickland. When evening comes, dance the night away here.

At Silver Screen take part in BFI slapstick workshops, delve into the Picture Palace, encounter eccentric producers from the turn of the century, or bring a blanket while night falls and snuggle up to watch family classics.

Peekaboo, supported by Weleda, is where to find the best arts (and right royal facilities) for the tiniest visitors. Music, paint, clay, dens and bubbles, listening to stories and songs and baby bath time will ensure the littlies doze off to the sound of our choral lullabies as dusk falls.

Don’t miss The Marie Celestial. A co-commission between the Northern Festivals Network, headed up by Just So, and Glastonbury Festival, this melancholy, mechanical beast will form the incredible beating heart of Just So Festival and other Northern festivals in 2015.

Winners of Festival Kidz Gold Award for three years running Just So Festival aims to create memories treasured by families year-round. Rowan Hoban and Sarah Bird, Directors of Wild Rumpus who produce large scale family arts events in wild natural landscapes set up Just So Festival in 2009 to create a spellbinding weekend where families could play, dance and create together and see the world class breathtaking outdoor arts.

Rowan says “At Just So 2015, audience members will be journeying through the most magical, awe-inspiring landscape for three nights. They must watch carefully the whole journey…as Roald Dahl once said, the best adventures and greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places”.

Sarah says “we immerse families into a world of imagination, letting their creativity run wild. We believe in the power of a wonderful moment to change the way that a family engages in the arts together. If we don’t give you goosebumps we are not doing it right.

For the full line-up, further information and tickets visit www.justsofestival.org.uk.

Follow Just So @justsofestival https://www.facebook.com/justsofestival

 

Green Man 2015 Lineup expands with forty new acts

First up, we are thrilled to announce ‘Atomic Bomb! The Music of William Onyeabor’ will be bringing the party to the Mountain Stage on the Friday night. Atomic Bomb! celebrates the music of enigmatic Nigerian synth-funk pioneer William Onyeabor and is performed by the Atomic Bomb! band featuring a constantly revolving collective of internationally acclaimed musicians.
 
Making a welcome return to Green Man this August are Villagers – with the Black Mountains as your backdrop, where better to take in Conor’s poetic and
wistful alternative folk?
 
Plus… Patrick Watson brings his energetic pop, rich orchestration, and spine-tingling lyrical musings to Green Man.  Joining him are staggering, multi-layered Brooklyn three-piece The Antlers; the legendary Tom Robinson Band; festival favourites Teleman; trippy danceable falsetto melody makers All We Are and a massive bunch more.
 
We are also delighted to welcome Meic Stevens, the Welsh singer-songwriter often fondly referred to as the ‘Welsh Dylan’! 
 
Our inimitable festival atmosphere has always left Green Man guests with hazy, happy memories, and this year will be no exception. Experienced vibe-setters Chai Wallahs are delivering the goods with a heady mix of live acts and DJs from around the globe – including afrofunk nine-piece Jungle By NightDizraeli & The Small GodsBirth of Joy and psychedelic jazz quartet Syd Arthur

Stay tuned for more acts coming very soon (including our yet to be revealed Thursday night headliner) and don’t forget to buy tickets to join us for what’s shaping up to be the party of the summer.
 

New additions in full: Atomic Bomb! The Music of William Onyeobor, Villagers, Patrick Watson, The Antlers, Teleman, All We Are, Meic Stevens, Black Yaya, Tom Robinson Band, Midland, Colorama, C Duncan, Landshapes, Hannah Lou Clark, Rozi Plain, Vok, Aurora, Anna B Savage, Deep Throat Choir, Chelou, Benedict Benjamin, Declan McKenna, Toby Hay, Emily Davies, Palenco, Jungle By Night, Dizraeli & The Small Gods, Syd Arthur, Birth of Joy, Stuff, Fingathing, Low Leaf, Cocos Lovers, Loyle Carner, The Moulettes, Will Varley, Moneyshot & Cheeba, Sam Brookes, Sola Rosa, Bombs, Gringo Ska, Gypsies of Bohemia
 

Super Furry Animals to headline Green Man Festival 2015

We're sure you agree Green Man just doesn't feel the same without SFA who join us as our Saturday night Mountain Stage headliners. We’ve been waiting for the Furries to reform for years and we can’t wait to welcome them to Wales’ own Green Man in what promises to be a truly amazing homecoming show. 

Also joining us in the Black Mountains, are Shoegaze pioneers Slowdive – as well as the mighty Televisionwho play their seminal 1977 album ‘Marquee Moon’ in full.

We’re super excited to announce London-duo Public Service Broadcasting with their unique blend of electronica influenced music. Jamie XX brings the party to the Beacons, playing out tracks from what we hope might become his first solo record. And we welcome back Temples to Green Man where they made their first ever-festival appearance in 2012.