barrioke - Summer Festival Guide

Wychwood 2025 – The Giant Review!

June 7, 2025June 5, 2025 by Shôn Douglas

This year marks Wychwood Festival’s 19th anniversary having first taken place in 2005. With 204 UK festivals closing altogether since 2019 it’s great to see a much-loved festival continue to thrive and a testament to the organisers’ hard work to keep Wychwood delivering the goods year in year out.

As a festival with more than one eye on nostalgia, the line up promised blasts from the past in the shape of Shed Seven, Daniel Beddingfield and James, but also emerging talents and fan favourites – meaning there really was something for everyone at Wychwood.

For the third consecutive year the festival site sits at the north end of the famous Cheltenham Racecourse, with Cleeve Hill overlooking the site and the Malverns off in the distance to the west. It’s as pretty a location for a festival as you’re likely to find and bathed in sunlight it scored top marks for aesthetics.

Although the festival site is technically on the racecourse site, and that’s where most attendees would enter, it’s basically in the small village of Southam. This location isn’t without its challenges and following a handful of noise complaints submitted by residents on nearby streets following 2024’s event the local council reviewed the festival’s licence council at the end of March.

Thankfully sense prevailed and, with assurances from the organisers who had been forced into making adjustments to the layout of the festival site by the wettest spring in almost 40 years last year, the licence was renewed with additional monitoring and changes to the layout of the site put in place.

For anyone not driving to or camping on site, the local Stagecoach operated D bus service runs from Cheltenham Spa train station, through the town centre and out to the park and ride at the racecourse. A day ticket costs £4.60 and lasts until 1am the next day with regular buses through the day and the last bus leaving the bus stop at the top of Evesham Road (next to UCAS) at 00:31.

The pickup/drop off point in the racecourse grounds has been moved closer following challenges exiting site last year, and local taxi firms such as Starline can be booked either direct through their app or using the Uber app.

DAY ONE – FRIDAY

Gates open to campers at 9:30am on Day One, and by the time the gates to the arena open at 12pm the eager beavers in the queue are more than ready to make their way into the colourful embrace of Wychwood.

On day one the first bands start on the Sam Shrouder Main Stage at 2pm. The stage, named after the co-founder of Wychwood who sadly passed away in November 2023, sits at the far end of the arena. Most of the catering options, more of which later, are in the middle of the site and flanked by fair rides and with bars both sides – including a VIP area which guests can upgrade their tickets to access.

As with last year The Garden stage’s big top sits at the opposite end of the site to the main stage closer to the campsite. The fairground rides dotted around site seemed to have heeded some of the

noise complaints from last year and were noticeably less oppressive – allowing for music to flow across site and give this reviewer the reminder of who was on next and where I needed to be!

Howlin’ Pete’s sat on the edge of the Village Green area where once again Wychwoodians were offered a multitude of workshops teaching all manner of new skills from belly dancing, to samba drumming, yoga sessions, screen printing and circus skills.

Heading over to the merch tent I was delighted to see that the merch makers had extended the largest size of the official festival T-Shirts by an entire X to XXL! With jukebox prints on a black tee featuring the bands performing, I Heart Wychwood shirts in white and a light blue option with yellow and red font available at £25 for adults £20 for youths, there were mementos galore to take home.

For those failing to prepare, and as such preparing to fail, hoodies (£38 for adults, £28 for kids), ponchos (£5) and ear defenders (£20) were all available – with the hoodies proving very popular with the chilly nights once the sun went down. The ever-popular lanyards with stage times on (£7) were also spotted around plenty of freshly sun screened necks.

First up on the Sam Shrouder Main Stage were Bristol-based Pocket Sun – one of over 2,250 applicants to the festival’s Apply to Play scheme and the first of eight to perform over the course of the weekend. Aptly named and with their dreamy jazzy synth-pop sound welcoming the audience in, the band’s cover of ‘Smooth Operator’ was one of the best of the weekend.

After that it was off to find sustenance and having completed a couple of circuits of the site I opted for The Duck Shed’s ‘The French Duck’ – slow roast pulled duck, grilled Raclette cheese, onion chutney, cornichons and rocket in a burger bun (other options were a wrap or salad box). It was a bit lacking in raclette but absolutely rammed with duck, which more than made up for it…Raclette would also feature in another format later in the weekend.

Back over on the main stage and locals Sophie & The Sticks, a three-piece comprising of Sophie (on vocals and keys), The Sticks (Leah on drums) the ampersand (Jon) on bass guitar, were up for their slot. The band describes their sound as ‘moody, soulful pop’ and Sophie’s vocals channel Stevie Nicks in places. With plans to record new music in the summer, there’s definitely more to come from the group.

This year the most notable switch to the order of proceedings was the decision to bring comedy forward from the usual late-night slot to a lunchtime kick off. It was always a bit of a shame for headline comedians to be on around 11pm as folks made their way home or back to their tents, so the opportunity to enjoy some comedy during the daytime was definitely a plus.

Local comic Bridget Christie headlined day one. The Taskmaster star asked a packed tent if any of them had seen the cheese rolling on Bank Holiday Monday and informed those gathered of her wishes to have her ashes rolled down Coopers Hill when she dies. I can only assume in some sort of Morbier-esque set up with Bridget’s ashes creating a seam through the middle, replacing the more traditional Double Gloucester. Who knows, but the visual created had the audience in stiches.

Across to the Village Green and in Barbara’s Storybox, authors and illustrators do live readings book signings. The Storybox was re-named this year after its founder, Barbara Pendrigh, passed away in January following a long battle with cancer. The Storybox brings lots of joy to children and their families and the team did her proud with an expertly curated lineup of performances for all to enjoy.

Roving Crows’ performance was packed with foot tapping Celtic-influenced folk music which got the crowd moving. The four-piece closed out with a phenomenal Irish folk rendition of Avicii’s ‘Wake Me Up’ to finish their set which sounded absolutely epic from every corner of the arena.

Across to The Garden stage next to catch Cheltenham’s Truck. They brought a truckload (sorry) of loyal local fans with them who sang along to the 90’s influenced rock which channelled elements of The Lemonheads and Dinosaur Jr. Latest single ‘Spit It Out’ was recorded at Abbey Road but judging by the music video to the hook-laden ‘Treading Water’ filmed on the streets of Cheltenham, they’re far more likely to make the most of pedestrianised areas than cause a traffic jam like that inconsiderate OTHER Fab Four…

Keeping the retro vibes going was Daniel Beddingfield. It’s been a bit of a renaissance for the Beddingfield’s this last year, with a remix of Natasha’s ‘These Words’ receiving over 170million streams on Spotify and then Burnley FC players singing ‘Unwritten’ as they sealed promotion back to the Premier League.

Daniel bounded on stage in brightly coloured pink and blue outfit and no shoes, a fact he acknowledged as a nod to his Kiwi heritage. He kicked off the set with a UK garage homage including the mega hit ‘Gotta Get Thru This’ moving through genres including Jungle (M-Beat and General Levy’s ‘Incredible’) and drum and bass he climbed the barrier and joined the crowd who were loving the energy – if not some of the colourful language.

A cover of ‘These Words’, a massive sing along to ‘In Your Arms’ and ‘If You’re Not the One’ gave Beddingfield’s voice a workout, surprising himself at hitting a high note having recently had his wisdom teeth removed. With a new single (‘Get Some’) and festival slots galore, 2025 looks like Daniel will be having a whale of a time for the foreseeable.

The ever-popular Scouting for Girls made their Wychwood return having last played in 2023. Now, I’ll admit I was a BIT of an indie snob about the boys when they released their self-titled debut album but I’m a definite convert. At one point a fan held up an “I HEART SFG” sign and for a brief moment I thought it was love for Summer Festival Guide, and maybe it was…

Speaking with Summer Festival Guide after their show, frontman Roy Stride revealed the band had to lean on the contents of their debut album due to an enforced change in line-up which brought back guitarist Jamie O’Gorman who only knew the band’s earlier material – making the setlist an easy pick!

With certified hits ‘Heartbeat’, ‘This Ain’t a Love Song’, ‘Posh Girls’, ‘Elvis Ain’t Dead’ and an epic closer with ‘She’s So Lovely’ to pick from, there weren’t many complaints in the crowd. A rowdy cover of ‘Come On Eileen’ added to the weekend’s excellent covers list and with that the band were done – smiles etched on the crowd’s faces and those in the know more than ready for one of the highlights of the weekend…Barrioke!

Shaun Williamson aka Barry from Eastenders has carved a niche for himself with Barrioke – taking his version of karaoke on tour to festivals across the land and filling tents and rooms wherever he goes. Despite hopes for a main stage slot, Barrioke was again in Howlin’ Pete’s which was overflowing with fans craning their necks to catch the man himself in action. Bedecked in a shiny red jacket and every bit the showman, Shaun gave the fans what they wanted and is surely a permanent fixture in organiser’s planning.

Despite being on at the same time as the Barrioke behemoth, Gloucester collective Dub Catalyst dominated The Garden stage with their eleven members and a tent filled with a dub hungry crowd. A later slot and dub-adjacent acts performing meant there was a real party mood at Wychwood which the band gleefully played up to. If you get chance to catch them this summer then do!

Back at the main stage The Lottery Winners rocked up on stage in matching denim jackets with their names embroidered on the back creating a whole lot of wardrobe envy in this reviewer. Kicking off their set, frontman Thom Rylance apologised for his exuberance – saying “Sorry I got carried away there – I feel like Freddie Mercury, but fatter!” before living out his own version of Queen’s iconic Wembley set for Live Aid.

I’m late to this particular party, but The Lottery Winners were excellent! A singalong of ‘Worry’, followed by the 80’s tinged ‘You Again’ brought the sun out as the golden hour slot delivered again. Frontman Thom has genuine star quality – especially when giggling through a cover of Snow Patrol’s ‘Chasing Cars’, asking the audience to “Pretend it’s a hit” before each song and berating the same crowd for chanting the name of other band members “I DON’T LIKE IT”.

Buoyed by the joyous set I headed off to get some food before the last band on the main stage, visiting Harissa & Lemon for a Lamb Shawarma salad box. It was absolutely delicious, with perfectly seasoned lamb and a delicious salad dressing. I could happily have had a second portion but it was headliner time!

Shed Seven were this year’s Friday headliners. With more than a smattering of Shed Seven t-shirts on display throughout the day, it was clear the York natives would be playing to a partizan audience and you could tell they loved every minute of it as they ripped through a 15-song set mixing new and old, including the anthemic ‘Speakeasy’ and ‘Disco Down’.

Reminiscing about performing ‘Going for Gold’ on This Morning in Liverpool after a night of excess, Witter stated he associated the song with Judy Finnegan and the desire to vomit.

At one point lead singer Rick Witter went through a list of dedications, celebrating birthdays, weddings, wishing fans well from ill health – showcasing their bond with their fanbase which is as strong as it was in their 90’s heyday.

To close the set the band delivered a barnstorming ‘Chasing Rainbows’ which the crowd sang back at them with arms aloft and voices straining into the night’s sky. Included in the crowd was a young boy called Lucas who had been introduced to Shed Seven by his York-born Dad and knew the words to LITERALLY every song. Recognising the youngster’s gusto, guitarist Paul Banks handed a guitar pick and setlist down to the pit for him – something the lad will never forget!

And that was that. Day one drawing to a close with fans still singing Chasing Rainbows as they made their way for another drink, some food before bedtime, back to their tents or to the waiting taxis – all ready for another day of it on Saturday!

DAY TWO – SATURDAY

Wychizens were welcomed back to Cheltenham Racecourse by another scorcher, giving attendees chance to break out their finery – including lots of Hawaiian shirts, cowboy hats, sequins, floral prints, jazzy leggings, Superhero costumes, fox paws and tails and a LOT of face paint.

Saturday saw a definite increase in numbers on site as day ticket holders descended on the racecourse for a packed day and firing out of the blocks with all the energy you’d expect was Joe Wicks PE. Joe became an icon during Covid for his daily early morning workouts and the muscle memory was still there for many of the crowd.

More than a few parents had a thousand-mile stare in their eyes as trauma of the pandemic and working from home with kids came flooding back. Still, they put their backs, glutes, quads, and shoulders into it and earned whatever refreshments they sought out. Having not participated, but still feeling in need of a boost, I opted for an iced americano (with an extra shot) from the Character Coffee Roasters van to the right of the main stage for £4.75.

On my way back to the main stage I managed to avoid a fine from the Wardens of Wychwood, even sneaking a photograph before their “No Photographs” sign could be presented. The Wardens were on patrol throughout Saturday and enforcing the “rules” including walking without due care and attention; wearing a loud shirt in a built-up area; possession of an offensive child or whistling an infectious song.

Three members of Doreen Doreen arrived on the main stage beginning with the instantly recognisable riff of AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’ transforming into Van Halen’s ‘Jump’. What followed was a sequinned, leopard printed, feather boa’d fever dream of a show as they smashed through an hour-long set filled with disco, rock and pop covers – including ABBA, Shania Twain and Queen. The crowd danced throughout and Doreen Doreen legacy remained long after their set ended as pink feathers from their boas were left strewn across the stage.

Lee Ridley, also known as Lost Voice Guy, headlined Saturday’s comedy. The Britain’s Got Talent winner filled The Garden, wearing an “I’m Just in it for the Parking” T-Shirt and introducing himself as a “Stand up comedian who also struggles to stand up” had the crowd chuckling in the already quite humid tent.

A tragic overnight crash on the M5 led to a significant closure on the approach to Cheltenham which meant Lack of Afro were forced to cancel their slot. While this left a gap in the main stage schedule it granted an opportunity for Aderyn to shine in front of a busy Garden stage.

The Welsh native arrived on stage with pink knee-high boots and pale blue outfit and was joined by her band wearing fetching pink glittery waistcoats. If Doreen Doreen were in need of any extra members then Aderyn and band would definitely qualify in the aesthetic stakes. Recent single ‘Foreverever’ started off a set of spiky, hooky, infectious indie-pop songs about love and loss and culminated in ‘Chip Shop Boy’ – an ode to yearning for, well…a boy who worked in a chip shop.

Speaking of…the thought of chips sent me on a mission to find a gluten-free/vegan option to see how people with dietary requirements are catered to at the festival and found Chickenish Vegan Fried Chicken. Serving burgers, loaded bites and loaded fries. I opted for a meal deal option for a pretty punchy £20 which consisted of a portion of Spice is Right loaded bites in gochujang mayo, crispy chilli oil, spring onions, sesame seeds and coriander with fries and a can of coke. It was really good and saw queues throughout the weekend.

After the understandable pause in main stage proceedings, Mali natives Songhoy Blues were next up although there was some confusion at the start of the set when it wasn’t clear as to whether they’d started or if they were still sound checking. This meant we were treated to a mash up of their blues and afro-rock with Technotronic’s ‘Pump Up The Jam’ which was eventually hushed by the DJ.

A 45-minute set of funky guitar riffs, pulsing basslines and traditional instruments blended together into their unique desert blues sound and gave the audience a real treat as the sun continued to belt down.

Then things get a little bit peculiar as The Ogretones, the UK’s premier Shrek themed cover band, turned Howlin’ Pete’s into their very own swamp. The group, dressed as much-loved characters from the film franchise including Donkey on bass, the Big Bad Wolf on drums and the Gingerbread Man on keyboard rolled out the hits including ‘Accidentally in Love’ and ‘All Star’ before closing out with a singalong of ‘I’m A Believer’.

At one point the band split the audience in half for a ‘Wall of Death’ dance off to a cover of Nancy Sinatra’s ‘These Boots Are Made for Walkin’’. The band acknowledged that some of the audience may die, but it was a sacrifice they were willing to make. Much like Ogres, the band are like onions – no, they don’t stink – they have layers!

Cheeks hurting from smiling for the last hour, it was over to the main stage via a refreshment. The arena had bars in every corner, with cider, ales, lager, Guinness, wine, spirits and cocktails (including a Pimm’s stall) galore on offer. I was also impressed the with amount of non-alcoholic and gluten-free options available. A pint of Stowford Press (£6.75) complete with a Wychwood 2025 reuseable plastic glass for £2 in hand and it was time for Ibibio Sound Machine.

Lead vocalist Eno Williams led the band through a high-energy, funk filled set complete with singalongs, crowd participation and the brief spell of cloud gave way to the sun again and the vibe-o-meter went up to max! Williams is a captivating performer and with the incredible Alfred Bannerman on guitar, the band were really giving it full beans up there. The insanely funky ‘The Talking Fish(Asem Usem Iyak)’ made me feel like I was John Shaft and that’s about as big a compliment I can give.

Things were really ramping up now as the evening drew in and Public Service Broadcasting arrived on the main stage with no small amount of intrigue amongst the crowd. With an extensive back catalogue of concept albums on subject matter ranging from the collapse of the coal mining industry in South Wales to the space race and the story of Amelia Earhart’s final, ill-fated journey in 1937 it was hard to know what their hour-long set would bring.

Judging by the amount of PSB t-shirts in the crowd there will have been a lot of happy campers (and day ticketers) after the show as their set included new material as well as the hits, including ‘Spitfire’, ‘Go’ and closing with a sky scraping ‘Everest’.

It was time for another food stop and this time it was Think Greek. The queue had been pretty constant throughout the first couple of days, but having seen other people’s orders I was committed so joined the queue. A minor battery issue for the payment machine caused a bit of a delay, but the wait was well worth it! I chose the Pork Souvlaki portion which came with two skewers of grilled pork with pitta, sauce, salad and chips (£15).

It was really good and set me up for the rest of the evening which began with indie darlings, The Magic Numbers who were playing out the sun setting with their honeyed harmonies and folk-pop sound. The Garden Stage was packed to the rafters with fans spilling out of the tent as they started with ‘Forever Lost’ before a set mixed with songs from their self-titled debut, including the bittersweet ‘I See You, You See Me’ and ‘Love Me Like You’ to second album Those The Brokes lead single ‘Take a Chance’, 2014’s ‘Shot in the Dark’ and most recent album Outsiders with ‘Ride Against the Wind’.

As the band’s vocal melodies drifted over the area it was time for our Saturday night headliner, certified legends James.

The Manchester group have a career spanning 42 years and they have an enviable back catalogue to pick from, although distilling it down to an hour and 45-minute-long slot is an unenviable task. Their production team had made some changes to the stage layout, including a runway into the pit to allow the band to get up close and personal with the partisan James fans in the crowd.

Frontman Tim Booth emerged on stage with a long brown coat and woolly hat announcing his expectations for the festival setting were slightly different to what he was confronted with: “I pictured some sort of forest wilderness at Wychwood, so planned a set full of more spiritual numbers, rather than the blockbusters.”

Booth lasted all of one song (‘Getting Away With It’) with his woolly hat before casting it aside, strolling down the walkway and taking the hand of fans as he walked past not missing a beat. The crowd’s energy was through the roof and the band were feeding off it.

A breathless set made up of new (‘Way Over Your Head”), old (‘Tomorrow’) and older (‘Ring the Bells’) satisfied all but a couple on the way off site who complained they hadn’t played ‘Sometimes’. The band rolled out their biggest hits ‘Born of Frustration’, ‘Sit Down’ and ‘Laid’ to suck in even the impartials out there in stage-lit night and then it was time for James to bid the crowd adieu, saying

good night to the “Witchy, woody, woodians” with ‘Sound’ from 1992’s Seven and departing the stage to the adulation of their audience – many of which came purely for the draw of James.

The neon glow of fairground rides and silent disco headphones plotted the way off site and in a pretty swift exit I managed to power walk from the day pass exit point, through the racecourse site and across the road to the Racecourse Roundabout bus stop at the top of Evesham Road to catch the D bus back into town in 28 minutes – a new PB. Day two, mission accomplished!

DAY THREE – SUNDAY

A brisk wind and grey skies greet day three’s attendees but patches of blue gave hope that the sun would show its face later in the day. In the short term the merch tent did roaring trade in hoodies while others brought out the DryRobes with a look of sheer smugness etched on their faces (more so than usual).

To kick things off Roscoe Street did their best to bring the sunshine and the main stage audience were getting into the spirit of things as sax solos and funky riffs from the five-piece who met while studying in Liverpool and had been busking on site the night before to drum up a crowd which looked to work wonders!

On the hunt for coffee I caved to the lure of a festival breakfast (I’m only human) and opted for a breakfast crepe filled with bacon, cheese and chilli jam from the accurately named Coffee & Crepes. It was delicious and set me up for a bumper Sunday.

Moving over towards the Village Green I stopped off in the Artists and Makers tent to see what was on offer and finding a treasure trove of creative, handmade pieces from Emily Laura Designs, Tinkermade and Delilah and The Moon – as well as making classes where you could make your own mini lampshade fairy lights with Jen from All Agog or even a floral crown with Kelly from Perfect Petals.

A circus workshop from Solo Circus welcomed attendees at The Mountainside with a knowing “Hello bedraggled parents of Wychwood!” before lauding them as the true hardcore owing to late nights and early mornings on the campsite. The ripple of chuckles/gentle sobbing from the assembled adults would suggest the nail was hit squarely on the head with the observation.

Next up on the main stage were another of the Apply to Play bands, Big Sky Orchestra. Originally from Birmingham, the band are scattered around the country but as a self-identified Jam Band, the group come together to tour and record new music – with a studio session upcoming.

Despite frontman James claiming not to have brought the weather with them the wind did its bit, giving the folicularly gifted group the wind tunnel effect you’d have to pay extra for normally – and adding more than a shred of rock god to lead guitarist Benedict’s solos. The effortlessly cool looking five-piece delivered a half hour set of Americana influenced, 60’s and 70’s twinged songs – transporting you from a windy field in Gloucestershire to a sun kissed Californian coastal trail and leaving a lot of people very impressed.

The music came thick and fast and next up it was Wychwood mainstays Thrill Collins. They’ve probably played the festival more times than the festival has run, but it wouldn’t be Wychwood without them. Scamps that they are, a brief flirtation with the idea of starting beef with the UK garage scene was swiftly dismissed by frontman Robbie as they “look quite strong”. Their infectious energy and giddy genre-hopping mash ups were the perfect accompaniment to the now sun-soaked festival.

Wandering around the site in fetching, brightly coloured tank tops, The Barsteward Sons of Val Doonican were drumming up interest ahead of their set. With the voice of X Factor Peter Dickson announcing their entry to stage, claiming to be “bigger than Fleetwood Flippin’ Mac” and threatening to “Butcher all your favourite songs in tank tops” while keeping the legacy of their father (Val) alive the group had a lot to live up to.

Thankfully the main threat came from the potential for an errant spark or ember to land on stage, igniting the polyester knit and causing a catastrophe – but mercifully we were spared disaster and the set filled with comedy interpretations of much loved went unimpeded. The sheer variety of patterns on show sent me reeling towards The Garden stage in need of something to steady the ship.

That duty fell to punk rockers iDestroy who duly delivered with a set of chaotic, energetic, party-punk songs including standouts ‘Petting Zoo’, ‘100 Sounds’ and ‘Headphones’ giving fans of the heavier sound a much-needed fix. I hadn’t managed to see them at 2000 Trees last year, so made it a mission of mine to enjoy them in the more genteel setting of Wychwood and they didn’t disappoint.

One band I did see at Trees was festival highlight Skinny Lister. Their foot stomping show treated a crowd packed with Skinny Lister merch wearers to 45-minutes of shanty-punk that was brimming with energy and good times. ‘Trouble on Oxford Street’ gave even the uninitiated chance to join in with a “ba ba ba ba badaba” as did ‘Rollin’ Over’ and ‘Wanted’. Band members Lorna and Max’s dad ‘Party George’ took a moment away from Grandad duties to join on stage for his song ‘William Harker’ and looked like he was having the time of his life.

As the band Introduced ‘Arm Wrestling in Dresden’ Lorna announced it was time to take on audience members in an arm-wrestling competition. Jumping down from the stage in her brightly coloured leotard she took on men and women alike, crushing all comers and leaving us in no doubt who the champ was!

New album ‘Songs from The Yonder’ has just landed in the Top 5 of the Official Folk Albums Chart and with a UK/Europe tour this November and December there’s a lot more fun to be had for all involved!

Backstage the group caught up with the next main stage act, Fisherman’s Friends for a rendition of ‘John Kanaka’ – a traditional sea shanty dating back to the 19th Century. The wafting scent of fish and chips from the repurposed London Bus caught on the wind and you could well be forgiven for thinking you were by the seaside.

The internationally renowned, multi award winning, multiple film inspiring collective arrived to rapturous applause from a crowd now fully into their stride. The Breton shirt-clad nontet (had to look that up) have been touring hard to mark 30 years in the biz with a monster 34-date voyage across the country – including back to Cheltenham in October.

Closing out their set with ‘What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor?” I was inspired to make another visit to the bar before intrigue lured me towards Howlin’ Pete’s for Feminem.

Not sure what to expect I was met with the cape wearing force of nature that is comedian Tracey Collins and her alter-ego Feminem. She was soon joined by a group of backing dancers plucked from the audience including the sequinned M.C. Oldboy. The recruitment criteria appeared to be a combination of aesthetic and the quality of their Tesco meal deal order but whatever credentials were needed the crew delivered.

The whole set was hilarious from start to finish and the “peroxide prophet with the fastest lips in the North” more than justified the curious and their decision to visit the tent – genuinely brilliant.

For the second year on the bounce, Thomas Bradley Project from Liverpool played The Garden stage with frontman Thomas Bradley’s traditional folk/rock sound following perfectly on from Big Sky Orchestra’s slot earlier in the day.

On the main stage it was Lucy Spraggan’s turn. Arriving on stage in a pale blue suit Spraggan was ready to put on a show and with several albums worth of material behind her since her audition on X-Factor in 2012 as a 20-year-old, she has plenty to pluck from. The anthem to hangovers ‘Last Night (Beer Fear)’ probably touched a nerve with a few of the more fragile audience members, but you can’t deny it’s a banger – but there’s a lot more to Spraggan’s back catalogue than just knowing, wit-laden songs.

The heartstring tugging ‘Tea & Toast’ caused more than a few tissues to come out while reflective ballad ‘Balance’ from the album of the same name shows the emotional sensitivity in Spraggan’s writing. At the same time 2024’s uplifting ‘Run’ and its lyric ‘I wanna feel invincible’ and epic new song ‘Unsinkable’ showcase an artist feeling (and looking) strong and ready for what is to come. There’s a new album (‘Other Sides of The Moon’) out later this month, multiple summer festival slots and a tour in the autumn to come and judging by this performance Lucy is ready to seize the opportunities ahead and make the most of them. Good for her!

A food stop was next up and a portion of Raclette and smashed potatoes (£12) from The Melted Cheese Company which was frankly incredible and fulfilled everything I needed from food at that point.

The Zutons started the evening proceedings and gave us a brilliant set filled with songs from their debut album Who Killed The Zutons? including ‘Zuton Fever’, ‘Pressure Point’ and ‘You Will You Won’t’.

Even though the rain started to fall during ‘Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love?’ there was no dampening of the atmosphere, and saxophonist Abi Harding’s rendition of Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back to Black’ was another of the best covers from the weekend and led up to the original ‘Valerie’ which is still the best (fight me Mark Ronson!). I haven’t seen them since 2006 but they still put on a show and those hits stand the test of time.

Speaking of things that have stood the test of time, Goldie Lookin’ Chain travelled the short distance down the A48 from Newport to Wychwood and filled The Garden stage with their unique blend of comedy rap. The performance unlocked a part of my brain left hitherto untouched since the early noughties and lyrics from the rap collective’ debut record ‘Greatest Hits’ were soon pouring out of my mouth. ‘Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do’ live STILL goes off.

Sunday night headliners Doves close out the weekend starting at the earlier slot of 8:45pm to ensure compliance with licencing restrictions. The band is touring without frontman Jimi Goodwin who announced in November 2024 that he wouldn’t be taking part as he continues to focus on his wellbeing. All of us at Summer Festival Guide wish Jimi well in his recovery.

Founder members and twin brothers Jez and Andy Williams shared vocal duties during the performance, which included soul stirring anthems ‘Kingdom of Rust’, ‘Pounding’ and ‘Black and White Town’.

The band are stalwarts of the indie music scene but were faced with a bit of a thin crowd to begin with as other acts slots overlapped – however by the time they played ‘Cold Dreaming’ from this year’s album ‘Constellations for the Lonely’ the crowd the band deserved had appeared.

As the wind whipped across the stage, said crowd attempted to get an inflatable beach ball bouncing around in what can only be described as something of an exercise in futility. Still, they persisted until the ball’s state of inflation became compromised and it cut a rather forlorn figure in the photographer pit.

Undeterred by the inflatable distraction Doves plated a show you would expect from such consummate pros with their enviable back catalogue, including a personal favourite in the phenomenal ‘There Goes the Fear’ to cap off another excellent Wychwood Festival weekend.

I’ve said it before – in fact here on this very website – but I’m sure as heck gonna say it again, Wychwood Festival is an absolute gem! Judging by the comments on social media it isn’t just me that thinks so. Everyone involved in the festival, from the set up crew, sound and lighting engineers, band bookers, back-office staff, volunteers and security teams should be proud of the event they delivered. Where snagging issues were reported they moved quickly to resolve them, and the feedback from last year was clearly taken on board and acted on.

Against a backdrop of spiralling costs in everyday life, the organisers are also intent on keeping prices affordable for those seeking escape and have frozen ticket prices for the fourth year in a row ahead of 2026’s edition. With a variety of payment options, including payment plans and a ticket for life option, plus free entry for under 10’s, there aren’t many festivals that deliver such value for money.

Sure the food can come up pricy, and if you’ve bairns in tow you’ll undoubtedly find yourself wincing as the activities, ice cream and other sugary treats start to add up, but Wychwood continues to shine as a genuinely family-friendly festival. There are loads of free activities, kid-centric content on multiple stages every day, and with an immaculate vibe there are much more expensive and less wholesome ways to spend your time and money.

In a year when so many festivals have been forced to cancel, we’re incredibly lucky to have Wychwood still going strong – here’s to next year!

Wychwood Festival 2024 – REVIEWED!

June 8, 2024 by Shôn Douglas

DAY ONE – FRIDAY

Wychwood Festival is one of the first of the season and this year marks the 24^th anniversary of the hugely popular event in Cheltenham. The event is regularly nominated for Best Family Friendly festival and proudly offers an eclectic mix of musical acts.

This is the second consecutive year that the festival site has been further into Cheltenham Racecourse, in between the very top end of the famous course and Hyde Brook, with Cleeve Hill overlooking the site. It’s a very pretty location for a festival and you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a lot further away from a large town when you’re there.

For anyone not driving to site, the local D bus service runs from the train station, through the town centre and out to the park and ride at the racecourse. From there it’s approximately 30 minutes-walking through the grounds up to the campsite entrance.

On day one the first bands start on Sam’s Stage at 2pm, which allowed time for a wander around the revamped festival site to get my bearings.

A word on Sam’s Stage (the main stage) before carrying on.

In November 2023, co-founder of Wychwood, Sam Shrouder sadly passed away. While he had been ill for some time, Sam still MC’d the event from the main stage last year – introducing acts as he had done for 20 years prior. His loss is keenly felt among the Wychwood family and renaming the stage in his honour is a fitting tribute to his legacy.

The site is well laid out, with the main stage at the far end of the arena. Most of the catering options, more of which later, are in the middle of the site, flanked by fair rides and with bars both sides – including a VIP area which guests can upgrade their tickets to access.

This year the Garden stage’s big top was positioned closer to the campsite entry at the opposite end of the site to Sam’s Stage making for a slightly longer walk between the two – albeit still very short by festival standards.

The six months or so of rain that we’ve had this year had definitely taken its toll on the site making the efforts of the set-up crews all the more impressive. Track marks from heavy machinery had caused some rutting in the ground which made for a slightly more “exciting” walk around site, but matting was soon put down to create more easy walking routes.

The weather was also not giving “festival” with a brisk wind whipping through site and slate grey sky making for a murky start to the weekend.

With the sights and smells of the food stalls wafting by and a rumbling stomach we went to sample toasties from Let’s Get Toastie only on their second ever outing at a festival and offering a range of delicious fillings as well as excellent coffee. We went for a classic Ham & Cheese and a Chicken & Pesto, both of which were dripping with gooey delicious mozzarella and cheddar cheese and definitely hit the spot. At £8 each it wasn’t cheap, but with a grey overcast day it was most welcome.

Even more welcome were the folks from Solo Stove who brought their smokeless fire pits to a corner of the festival site and provided some much-needed warmth and a chance to sit down. They offered free s’mores cooked over the pits which were a big hit as well as chance to win your own fire pit.

Wychwood again offered a multitude of workshops teaching all manner of new skills from playing the Ukulele, to wicker basket making and circus skills.

While having a look at the merch tent the series of new designs for the festival shirts featuring drawings of Tigers and Toucans on adult shirts and crocodile/stegosaurus on kid’s shirts really caught the eye. Adult shirts are £25 with childrens’ priced at £20. Hoodies (saving many ill-prepared festival goers) came in at £38 for adults and £28 for children sizes. The largest size of the official festival T-Shirt was XL which was the same case last year and put this heftier chap off altogether. Band merch was also available throughout the weekend.

Stomach and eyes sated it was time to feed my ears, and first up on Sam’s Stage to kick off the festival were The Standard. The ten-piece specialise in covers and launched into ‘Man! I Feel Like A Woman’ with gusto and soon had a music-hungry crowd dancing and grateful for the chance to warm up!

Wychwood was officially off and the next stop was The Garden stage to see Genevieve Miles play her dreamy, indie-pop. Genevieve was one of over 870 ‘Apply To Play’ entries and joined eight other lucky slot recipients to play the festival. Her infectious enthusiasm warmed the crowd’s cockles and meant at least this reviewer didn’t need to make another visit to the fire pits (until much later on anyway…).

Due to the assembly of the tent there was a large structural pillar in front of the stage, right slap bang in the middle. I can only assume the months of rain led to changes being needed to the layout because otherwise it was a bit bizarre having bands split either side of the column or all standing to one side (numbers depending).

Across the festival site to the Mountainside Workshops and Neemus Presents Open Mic Session was giving budding performers a chance to woo the crowd. They hosted three sessions across the weekend and had musicians of all ages gracing the stage, including a little lad called Charlie who got a rapturous response from the audience who loved his rock covers.

Back to Sam’s Stage and Scottish rockers Big Country who welcomed Tommie Paxton of Restless Natives into the lead singer role following the surprise announcement of Simon Hough to leave the band a fortnight ago. You wouldn’t tell the band was reeling from the shock though, as they romped through their set – getting the crowd bouncing. Lead guitarist and longest serving member Bruce Watson (joined on stage by son Jamie) gave it his all, having the time of his life while chiding some of the members of the band including “the greatest bass player in this band at this moment in time”.

I left before the end of their set to catch Jo Hill leading a singalong of “All my girls are Tom Boys” on The Garden stage. Joined onstage by two bandmates all playing guitar and singing, the melodies blended beautifully with harmonies capable of melting even the most flint-like of hearts.

Mid-thousands chart botherers The Hoosiers were next up and immediately brought high energy and fine tailored suits to Sam’s Stage but were also very aware (thanks to their powers of group mind reading) that the notion of playing any new material would be met with outrage.

Even with a back catalogue of bangers, The Hoosiers threw in big cover versions of Backstreet Boys and Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ before ending on ‘Goodbye Mr A’ and literally saying goodbye for the afternoon.

One of the perils of the wind blowing through the site, aside from the chill, was the wafting scent of Raclette from stage left! Despite the allegations, I am only human and so I caved and treated myself to a traditional Raclette with added bacon which came in at a very reasonable £11. The gooey, unctuous melted cheese waterfall combined with perfectly cooked potatoes was a treat and set me up for the rest of the day – which is just as well as there was lots more to come!

Back at Sam’s Stage it was another mid 00’s pop machine in the guise of The Feeling. This year marks 18 years since the band’s triple-platinum debut album ‘Twelve Stops And Home’ landed and they kicked things off with UK top 10 hit ‘Fill My Little World’.

Over their 45-minute slot the band played through the album, throwing in an excellent cover of The Buggles’ ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ and the titular song from West End smash hit ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ which lead singer Dan Gillespie-Sells wrote. The group ended on ‘Love It When You Call’ which has been stuck in my head ever since and then it was time for one of the highlights of the weekend…Barrioke!

Shaun Williamson aka Barry from Eastenders has carved a niche for himself with this fan favourite. Howlin’ Pete’s was overflowing with fans craning their necks to catch the man himself in action as he welcomed festival goers on stage to join him in a karaoke sing-along. Bedecked in a shiny gold jacket, Shaun/Barry claimed to enjoy playing Wychwood as it was the only time he left the racecourse with any money in his pocket – a nod to Cheltenham races which he promotes for a well-known bookie.

Heading over to The Garden stage once more and time for Dutch indie band Pip Blom who were excellent! Led by front woman Pip Blom the band played tracks from most recent album Bobbie, including Tiger, ‘Kiss Me By Candlelight’ and ‘Where’d You Get My Number?’. The slinky, sexy, sinister sound was perfect preparation for Corrine Bailey Rae’s performance on Sam’s Stage.

Speaking to Summer Festival Guide after her set, Bailey Rae told us that she didn’t want to be regarded as “just a “heritage act” when you’re sort of playing cover versions of your old music” and immediately dispelled any doubts about that statement by kicking off proceedings with the ‘A Spell, A Prayer’ – the opening track from her latest record, ‘Black Rainbows’.

Black Rainbows was inspired by an exhibition on Black history by artist Theaster Gates at the Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago. In between songs from the album, Bailey Rae explained the inspiration behind each track before picking up her Gibson SG and rocking the hell out – nowhere more so than on the frankly epic ‘Erasure’. The sound is heavier than expected and a nod to the Leeds native’s background in indie band Helen which cited L7 and Veruca Salt as influences.

Those members of the audience reeling from the sonic assault, expecting radio friendly pop tunes were placated later on as ‘Put Your Records On’ and ‘Like a Star’ closed out the set – much to the excitement of a woman on the barrier wearing a star covered raincoat!

From stars to sequins and there is no doubt that Disco is one of the great musical unifiers. Even if members of the crowd claimed not to know much of Friday night headliner Sister Sledge’s music before the show began, once they started there was no-one standing still!

Kicking off with Lost in Music, the line-up consisting of Debbie Sledge, Camille Sledge, Tanya Ti-et, Thaddeus Sledge and David Sledge brought disco BACK! A monster set list made up of bonafide hits followed, featuring ‘Frankie’, ‘He’s the Greatest Dancer’ and ‘Thinking of You’. They even threw in two Chic covers with ‘Everybody Dance’ and ‘Good Times’ before bringing day one to a close with an epic ‘We Are Family’ that sent punters off into the night with faces beaming like discoballs!

With the night drawing to a close and despite having shaken my booty throughout Sister Sledge’s set the urge to dance on was as mighty as their vocals, so the Silent Disco was calling!

For those unfamiliar with the Silent Disco concept you get a pair of headphones which have channel options to switch between allowing you to listen to different DJs vying for your aural adulation. To a passer by you hear folks singing along to different songs leading to a bizarre mash up as genre hopping occurs and strained voice fill the night air.

There’s a £10 deposit for the headphones which struck fear into this reviewer’s heart realising an overreliance on digital payments seemed set to scupper a much-anticipated dance. Thankfully, the bar in the tent did cashback meaning dancing was very much on the cards.

After a solid couple of hours bouncing between indie hits, 90’s dance classics and an EMO set (it’s NOT a phase!) it was time to head back for the night to see what Saturday would deliver…

DAY TWO – SATURDAY

WAKEY WAKEY! Saturday morning sleepy heads were roused from their beds by one man positivity machine Mr Motivator who led the crowd through a 45 minute workout to kickstart the day. Speaking to Summer Festival Guide after his slot, the main man told us that movement is a wonderful medicine and “moving the mood” can help improve our mental and physical health – setting us up to feel good “not just for when you’re doing it, but for hours and days afterwards.”

Saturday saw a definite increase in numbers on site as day ticket holders descended on the racecourse for a packed day.

Aside from the music, there are activities galore at Wychwood – especially for kids. The Storybox tent returned, hosting readings from much-loved children’s authors as well as books available to buy and all manner of fun board games to keep the young and older alike entertained.

Speaking of board games, next door Firey Jack’s Games of Days Gone By tent was brimming with ye olde activities including Viking Chess and medieval Jenga, which proved hugely popular throughout the weekend and a fair amount of head scratching on our part trying to work out the rules.

Over at Howlin’ Pete’s with my ears still ringing from the Silent Disco the night before Taskmaster Education had taken over and were putting children through their paces at the whim of the Taskmaster’s assistant, Little Alex Horne.

The busier site meant decision making on food was based more on length of queues than any particular preference, with the Souvlaki, Pizza and Fish and Chip vendors proving particularly popular. Spying a short line at Himalayan Dumplings & Lunchboxes I opted for an Enlighten Your Tastebuds lunchbox consisting of 24-hour marinated beef mince on a bed of steamed rice with three beef dumplings. This came in at a pretty punchy £14 but was very filling and tasted great.

Onto the music and the first performer of the day I caught was Dolly Mavies on Sam’s Stage. Dolly hails from just over the border in Oxfordshire and has supported previous Wychwood performers Mel C and Sophie Ellis-Bextor on their tours. Along with her very talented band, including drummer who was metronomic throughout, Dolly and band filled their half hour slot with polished indie pop and definitely left the stage with some new fans.

The first act on stage at The Garden was Supalung, aka singer-songwriter Sam Brookes. His voice filled the tent up as he worked through songs written under the Supalung moniker as well as those he’s performed under his own name, including ‘Wreck My Body’ a song about being in love.

While wandering across the site I spied a group of men dressed as jockeys in the VIP area. Suspecting a stag do, I then spied a horse spinning around on one of the fair ground rides on site – one of the more surreal images from the weekend but not the most surreal (more on that later). Local Samba group Ola Samba offered drumming workshops and performances over the weekend, bringing a welcome splash of colour to another grey day.

Over in The Garden, Gloucester-based collective Dub Catalyst filled the stage with their ten members and the tent with an audience seeking a good time – and the group delivered. They could easily have played the main stage and had another half an hour in the eyes of this reviewer and more than a few of the audience who were skanking away throughout the band’s set.

On Sam’s Stage, Scottish singer songwriter Callum Beattie brought his uplifting indie rock to a busy crowd with more than a few Scots out in the audience – hardly a surprise with Texas headlining. Beattie has similarities with the likes of Sam Fender, Bruce Springsteen and The Gaslight Anthem – bringing together rousing anthems with a storyteller’s patter. He introduces song ‘Daddy’s Eyes’ about his father returning home from the pub at 8am and taking him to school at 8:30am. There’s nothing new in what he’s doing, but he’s doing it well and Beattie thanks the audience for turning up to watch an act that was unknown to them beforehand. There’ll definitely be some converts after this performance.

Nottingham natives Stereo MCs take to the stage next with a plan to make the crowd dance. With a 45-minute set and over 30 years of music to work through, the group led by frontman Rob Birch waste no time in getting stuck into proceedings and deliver with anthems ‘Connected’ and ‘Step It Up’. Some of the crowd seemed to be saving themselves for the rest of the evening’s entertainment, but those that were dancing did so with gusto.

With a lot of the day left and the Silent Disco’s excesses creeping in I decide it’s time for a caffeine hit and grab a Flat White for £4 which isn’t much more expensive than one of Cheltenham’s many coffee shops are charging.

Energised I head to catch the end of Abbie Ozard’s performance in The Garden tent. Her soaring, sweet vocals have the crowd engaged and she treats them to new song ‘Monster’ before ending with recent single ‘Anything for You’ which is inspired by the compromises made for “them that you love”. She releases her debut album in July and is definitely one to watch.

On the absolute opposite end of new and emerging talent are The Bootleg Beatles. The world’s premiere The Beatles cover band has been entertaining crowds for over 40 years and with such a breadth of incredible material to work through, there was no doubt they’d be bringing a hell of a show with them and boy did they deliver!

Kicking off with an energetic version of ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ and followed up with ‘She Loves You’, ‘All My Loving’ and ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ the Fab Four immediately had the Wychwood crowd singing and dancing along. Speaking with Summer Festival Guide before the performance the band spoke about the challenge of condensing a theatre show down into a festival slot and the limitations it places on them, but a solo performance of ‘Yesterday’ by ‘Paul’ aka Steve White allowed the remaining three Beatles chance to change outfits for the second era of the show. Sadly for this reviewer, a performance of ‘Here Comes The Sun’ didn’t quote force the sun to make an appearance, but in their defence it did show the next day. A singalong of ‘Hey Jude’ closed out the show and drove the feel-good factor up tenfold.

Welsh sextet CVC aka Church Village Collective were on next in The Garden bringing their psychedelic rock and disco basslines to this corner of Gloucestershire. CVC are DEEPLY cool, from the look to their music and multi-instrumentalism – they owned the stage and were a definite highlight of the weekend. ‘Good Morning Vietnam’ from the band’s 2023 Get Real album is an absolute powerhouse of a song, with a pulsing bassline throughout the chorus and layered vocals asking the crowd “Is it okay if I’m yours for the night?”. I think there’ll be more than a few investing more than just the night in CVC from here on.

Psychedelia was back on the menu on Sam’s Stage next with The Coral. It’s22 years since the band’s self-titled debut and since then they’ve released 11 studio albums with their sound progressing along the way. Frontman James Skelly said prior to going on stage that they wanted to “play your best stuff over the years really” and what followed was a greatest hits of The Coral show, covering the last two decades.

Starting off with ‘Bill McCai’ the group went through 16 songs in total, playing hits such as ‘Pass It On’, ‘Lover Undiscovered’, ‘In The Morning’ and ‘Jacqueline’ as well as a cover of The Doors’ ‘People Are Strange’ from one of the band’s favourite films Lost Boys before closing out the evening with ‘Dreaming of You’ as the sun started to set behind the Malvern Hills in the distance.

Before Texas came to stage I went on a mission to find a gluten-free/vegan option to see how people with dietary requirements are catered to at the festival and found Oh Babu to the right of the main stage where I got a delicious Punjabi Meal Box with spiced chickpea curry, saffron pilau rice and salad for £11. It wasn’t the easiest to eat with a fork, but thankfully a spoon was on hand to help and avoid any unwanted spillages (least of all because I was very hungry!).

I took another lap of the festival site to catch a packed tent enjoying The Amy Winehouse Band in action at Howlin’ Pete’s, while The Garden was overflowing with fans trying to watch Peter Hook and The Light. The amount of Joy Division t-shirts on show throughout the day should have been a fair indication that Hooky’s set was going to be popular, and sure enough it was!

With his trademark low slung bass guitar, Hook ran through a mix of Joy Division and New Order tracks including ‘She’s Lost Control’, ‘Transmission’ and ‘Shadowplay’ by the former and ‘Blue Monday’, ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ and ‘True Faith’ before closing the evening with ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ and fulfilling everyone’s bingo card of hits for the evening.

The final act of the day is Saturday headliners Texas. The band is well and truly amongst the legends of pop music in the UK, with a career spanning almost 40 years and a massive amount of material at their disposal. Tonight felt more like a Texas show than a festival, with a massed crowd gathered to see the Scottish band in action.

Kicking off with ‘I Don’t Want a Lover”, front woman Sharleen Spiteri went on to tell the crow that “We’re gonna give you a little bit of everything” and being on stage is their happy place – and on the basis of tonight’s show it was hard to argue!

The front woman’s energy and crowd engagement elevated the performance to a whole other level. Acknowledging that she had “far too much to say for myself”, Spiteri chided one reveller for wearing a gilet – assuring the crowd that “no-one in a gilet can dance!”. This led to the woman removing the gilet, drawing a cackle from Spiteri as she gleefully exclaimed “she took it off!”. In an act of solidarity, the singer removed her own jacket before urging the crowd to get down and dirty and playing ‘Let’s Work It Out’ before segueing into Orange Juice’s ‘Rip It Up’.

From here on out the band was hurtling toward escape velocity with the crowd waiting on Spiteri’s every word. During an acoustic version of “In Demand” she asked the audience to hold up their phone torches, making her feel like she was “in Avatar!” and then it was into the final throes of the show – with a triple whammy of ‘Black Eyed Boy’, ‘Say What You Want’ and ‘Inner Smile’ bringing down the curtain on another brilliant night at Wychwood.

Spitteri and co put on one of THE great Wychwood headline performances and thrown down the gauntlet to next year’s headliners for what will be the festival’s 25^th anniversary. Absolutely 10/10!

DAY THREE – SUNDAY

Finally! The sun has decided to make an appearance and brought with it a riot of colour as festival goers dispense with the practical hoodies and layers and bring out the sparkles, fancy dress, countless football shirts, bucket hats and ice creams.

My day started with a bacon roll from Jolly Hog, who had moved their pitch overnight to be closer to the main arena. It wasn’t cheap at £8, but the bacon was good quality and well cooked and at that point in the morning with nought but coffee for sustenance it was much needed.

This morning’s main stage starters were CBBC’s Hacker T Dog and Kate Thistleton delivering a high energy DJ set which kicked off with a remix of the iconic “We’re just normal men…” line that seems to have been viral since Louis Pasteur’s days! A chaotic three quarters of an hour consisting of dog related songs and chart bangers ensued, but also remixed versions of children’s TV theme songs – the latter of which teed up one of the more bizarre sights of the weekend.

Ahead of their set in The Garden later that day, Dexy’s frontman and all-round music icon Kevin Rowland was warming up with a Qi Gong session, a form of tai chi. The gentle flowing movement of Kevin’s workout coincided with a dance version of the Fireman Sam theme tune, which one wouldn’t normally associate with the meditative act. It may well have been Kevin had headphones in and couldn’t hear what was going on, or alternatively there may be a new Qi Gong anthem on the block!

Crispin was next up on Sam’s Stage. The local lad from “just round the corner” is a former Gloucester Cathedral chorister and despite the band’s sound being somewhat less choral, his sincere ballads and indie rock songs were catchy and set the day up for a guitar band heavy line up of music to come.

In Howlin’ Pete’s tent John Leather’s Swiftie Disco offered a pop tonic to the rock, playing the pop queen’s records for an impressive two and a half hours. It definitely kept restless kids entertained as they danced through eras of Swift’s music, stopping only for a restorative ice cream on the way.

The Garden had a great line-up for the final day, and first up was Thomas Bradley Project. Hailing from Liverpool, the band brought a traditional folk/rock sound with elements of Led Zeppelin in their 70’s influenced sound.

Next up were Scottish band Brògeal from Falkirk. The band brought frantic energy to the stage, a lazy comparison would be like The Pogues but with a Scottish accent – but there were elements more like a Scottish spaghetti western at times, and raucous foot stompers throughout. About three quarters of the way through a breathless set and in between swigs of white wine from the bottle, front man Daniel Harkins – wearing Kappa popper tracksuit bottoms (a throwback to my own youth!) proclaimed “We’re gonna kick it up a notch” which left me wondering how many notches there were!

It wouldn’t be Wychwood without mainstays and local legends Thrill Collins who brought the vibes to a busy Sam’s Stage. Their infectious energy and breathless pop mash ups were the perfect accompaniment to the now sun-soaked festival. Not only are the band supremely talented and fun as all heck, but they’re also modest too – claiming to have written ‘Barbie Girl’ at the end of the summer last year. Sadly no sign of Ryan Gosling joining them on stage – but who knows, the 25^th anniversary may well bring a dose of Hollywood with it.

Indie icons The Futureheads were next up on Sam’s Stage. Having burst onto the scene in the mid 00’s with hits such as ‘Decent Days and Nights’ and ‘Beginning of the Twist’ the Sunderland quartet brought their energetic best to the main stage, rattling through their hits seamlessly before summoning the power of the crowd for their imperious cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds of Love’. Ending with a mighty version of ‘Man Ray’ the ‘heads added headed off to a festival near you!

Across site to The Garden and Welsh group Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard were the heaviest act of the weekend. Matching every member of the audience’s devil horns with his own, shaven headed frontman Tom Rees was the very epitome of rock god and delivered the deepest split I have ever seen a shredding guitarist deploy during one mighty riff. The heat was playing a part, driving some into the welcome shade, but Rees was having none of the pollen count – claiming “pure nasal domination” over nature’s best efforts and leaving this antihistamine powered reviewer feeling a touch emasculated.

For lunch the ever-trusty Souvlaki option was top of my list, with a tasty chicken skewer and fresh salad going down a treat for a reasonable £11. My companion went for a savoury crepe from one of the two crepe stands, opting for ham and swiss cheese which came in at £10. We left suitably sated.

Seth Lakeman and band rocked up to Sam’s Stage next. Lakeman has played the festival a number of times in recent years, and the multi-instrumentalist is clearly at home here having spent the weekend on site with his family.

Lakeman’s band is very tight and delivers the first festival appearance of a mouth harp, which in my humble opinion is a much under appreciated instrument. The highlight of the set was without a doubt ‘Kitty Jay’ which has an almost mid 90’s dance banger vibe to it as Seth plays the violin with seemingly ever-increasing pace.

The next offering from across the border in Wales was Melin Melyn in The Garden. Bizarrely they’re one of the only bands to acknowledge the large pillar in the middle of the stage, even naming it ‘Lucy’, serenading it with a Saxophone solo and hugging it. Charismatic frontman Gruff Glyn greets the crowd by exclaiming that “It’s a pleasure to be here. I wish I was a horse – I think I’d win” before a set full of psychedelic, surfer pop, folk that enchants the audience – that or the band’s synchronised dance moves have hypnotised them…Glyn offered to give members of the audience Welsh lessons for £20 an hour, before haggling himself down to free and dedicated the song ‘I Paint Dogs’ to artists. The set was over in a flash, but the performance was something special.

The sea of England shirts at the festival began flocking towards Sam’s Stage, I’m 99% sure not as a result of Melin Melyn’s presence in The Garden and all became clear when The Lightning Seeds began their set.

As a festival with more than one eye on nostalgia, The Lightning Seeds proved a big draw for the crowd seeking sugar sweet, summery pop tunes in the sunshine. Kicking things off with ‘Change’ from 1994’s Jollification Ian Broudie and band rolled back the years delivering huge hit after huge hit, including ‘Sugar Coated Iceberg’, ‘Lucky You’, ‘Pure’ and ‘The Life of Riley’ before closing the show with a genuinely stirring singalong to 1996’s anthem to perpetual disappointment, ‘Three Lions’. Who knows, perhaps 2024 is England’s year? With a new greatest hits album coming out later in the year it’ll definitely be a big one for The Lightning Seeds – win or lose!

Howlin’ Pete’s was calling and the sound of guitars playing through hits of the 90’s kept the nostalgic feelings coming as The In-Here Brothers from Derbyshire tested every memory bank and sinew of the, shall we say, more mature audience with a riotous performance. It turns out, even 30 plus years after learning the dance to ‘Saturday Night’ at a holiday camp in Dorset, I still know every move. Hooray for muscle memory! The duo apologised for the lack of budget, restricting them to a bottle of Radox versus a full foam party – but I’ll be honest, after an hour of dancing a soak in a muscle easing bath sounded heavenly.

Seasick Steve is a festival stalwart and came on to a sunlit Sam’s Stage, announcing “I’m old now, I’m gonna savour this”. His trademark beard blew gently in a breeze bringing some respite from the baking heat. His story telling rhythm and blues sound is always at home on a festival stage and a large crowd had formed to watch him play.

With a new album coming out, Seasick Steve took his chance to make a sales pitch. He compelled the audience to buy the record, saying “If half of you buy it you’re gonna throw the whole music industry into chaos! Even if it’s just one week and then Taylor Swift will be back at number one!”. For the majority of the set Steve played the more traditional instruments, until the last portion where the DIY instruments came out. Firstly a 2×4 piece of wood with a guitar string attached to it, followed by a hub cap, garden hose, can of beer and burger flipper and ending with a guitar made from a “genuine Mississippi licence plate” to close the show with ‘You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks’ and ‘Bring It On’ before thanking the audience for having him and leaving stage to fulsome applause.

Hunger struck and I have to admit I once again caved to the Raclette stand. This time a portion of fries laden with melted cheese, pickled gherkins and cabbage which was genuinely excellent.

Recovered from his Fireman Sam interrupted Qi Gong session, Kevin Rowland and Dexy’s welcomed the crowd into The Garden for the last set in the tent of the weekend and brought a party atmosphere to Wychwood.

Rowland shows no signs of slowing down for a man in his 70’s and the audience were lapping it up. Dresed in a colourful outfit and trademark hat, Rowland led the band through covers of The Bee Gees’ ‘To Love Somebody’ and Van Morrison’s ‘Jackie Wilson Said’ interspersed the set full of Dexy’s hits including ‘Geno’ and ‘Come On Eileen’.

Darkness has fallen on the festival site and it’s another chance for the 90’s to shine on Sam’s Stage as Ocean Colour Scene close out the weekend. The Birmingham band’s Moseley Shoals album chartered at number two in the UK when it came out in 1996 – 28 years ago – and was packed with iconic Britpop anthems.

One of these being ‘The Riverboat Song’ which the band started their just over an hour long set with. The song’s iconic riff, most associated with TGI Friday, started and the audience was taken back to that warm summer back in ’96 and nostalgia was rife once more. Simon Fowler’s instantly recognisable vocal filled the night’s sky as Steve Craddock dutifully unleashed iconic riff after iconic riff onto the Wychwood crowd – however the line-up was slightly different for this evening as drummer Oscar Harrison had sustained a “Strange grass injury” according to Fowler and was replaced on stage by Harrison’s son.

The family affair continued with Steve Craddock’s son Cassius also joining the line up to give Sister Sledge a run for their money!

With an earlier start and finish to the last show of the weekend OCS knew a singalong was needed to complete the weekend for people and after a 100 mile an hour version of ‘Hundred Mile High City’ from the band’s third album Marchin’ Already they duly delivered. ‘The Day We Caught the Train’ reached number four in the charts but is definitely number one in the hearts of those singing along with the “Oh-oh la-la” chorus long into the night and after the lights had gone out.

And that was that! Wychwood 2024 was over and it was time for the revellers to make their ways home to bed.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Wychwood Festival is a belter! There were some changes this year, not all of which were universally popular, but the site was heavily affected by the record-breaking rainfall over the last six months and the crews managed to put on a brilliant show on despite that hurdle. The festival has an authentically family friendly focus, with plenty on offer to keep the kids entertained while allowing parents a bit of a break and some fantastic bands. With so many festivals already cancelling this year, we’re lucky to have an event like Wychwood.

Next year will be Wychwood’s 25^th anniversary which is a testament to the vision of the team behind the festival and it wouldn’t surprise me if they bring out the big guns with the line-up. Summer Festival Guide will be all over the announcements as they come, so watch this space!

Wychwood Festival 2023 – REVIEWED!

June 6, 2023 by Shôn Douglas

DAY ONE – FRIDAY

Cheltenham is renowned for the annual Cheltenham Festival which takes place in the Cotswold town every March, but for one weekend in June Wychwood Festival brings in the crowds for an altogether equine-free event but that won’t stop this reviewer from shoehorning in references to horse racing with gusto!

Wychwood Festival is regularly nominated for Best Family Friendly festival and the difference between the punters that descend on the town for race week and Wychwood couldn’t be more marked…especially in the fashion stakes as the flat caps and tweed suits were replaced with bucket hats and Hawaiian shirts.

The festival had a new home within the racecourse this year, bringing the camp site closer to the arena, making the walk between tent and stage much shorter. As a Cheltenham native and yet to my shame a Wychwood first-timer, I decided to walk to site. This turned out to be a LOT further than I’d anticipated, taking about an hour from town to the northern edge of the racecourse!

For anyone not driving to site, the local D bus service runs from the train station, through the town centre and out to the park and ride at the racecourse. From there its approximately 30 minutes-canter through the grounds up to the campsite entrance. On arrival there were plenty of volunteers pointing the way and greeting with smiling faces so you’re never far from help.

With the first acts to the post not scheduled until 2pm, I went for a wander around the festival site to get my bearings and find out what Wychwood has in store. First things first, the setting is pretty stunning. Cleeve Hill, the highest point of the Cotswold Hills, makes an amazing backdrop to the festival and in the other direction, the Malvern Hills stretched out in the distance. As locations for festivals go, this is top notch!

Aside from the music, there are activities galore at Wychwood. Workshops teaching visitors all manner of new skills from playing the Ukulele, to circus skills and magic – as well as the Makers tent full of artists selling handmade items as well as giving pottery lessons and the chance to make art using fabric cut offs with local maker Jen from All Agog.

While having a look at the merch tent it became clear there’d been a bit of a mix up as Saturday night headliners Travis’ merch was on sale ahead of Friday’s closing act The Happy Mondays. This was soon fixed though. Disappointingly the largest size of the official festival T-Shirt was XL, but the bright yellow shirts were proving popular with a lot of guests as were the lanyards with set times on which were definitely useful with such a busy schedule.

It wasn’t just the festival merch on show though, as festival goers strutted their stuff in butterfly wings, capes, bandanas, silver cowboy boots, stripy leotards, glitter and sequins as far as the eye could see. Sunscreen was also very much the order of the day, with 20 degree heat and bright sun all weekend while shaded spots were greeted like old friends or an oasis in the desert.

Friday’s main stage music kicked off with local family act, The Pop Tarts, whose set of popular covers and sweet harmonies launched the festival into the weekend, playing a set later in the evening too.

On The Garden Stage, indie band China Bears brought their melancholic sound to the tent. Citing influences such as The National and Frightened Rabbit, the frenetic drumming and energetic front man caught the crowd’s attention playing songs from 2022 release ‘All That Distance’. Oxford’s Still Pigeon followed on the main stage playing a clean sounding electro pop, including a sweet version of Blink 182’s ‘Miss You’

By now my tummy was rumbling and I set to finding some lunch. With something for everyone the food options were pretty excellent. Obviously festival prices were in play, but that’s to be expected and the quality of the food was really good. I settled on a Tempura Crab Burger with homemade slaw from The Crab Shack which was delicious. Seating at the festival was a bit limited though, with most people bringing their own chairs on site, so I ate on the go.

© Shôn Douglas for SFG – Do not use without permission.

With my tastebuds and stomach sated I headed back to the mainstage for The Beat’s set. Their up-tempo ska sound perfectly soundtracking the bright sunny afternoon Cheltenham was putting on for us. The band had people dancing from the off and with their vast repertoire they kept the Wychwood crowd moving for the duration of their slot.

Back on The Garden Stage, London-based duo Berne brought dreamy electro songs to the shade seeking audience. During eco-anthem ‘Stay’ Deborah Borg Brincat’s dramatic, soaring vocal fills the tent as she explains the song is about “asking the planet to stay around for a bit longer”.

The first Brit Pop icons of the festival, Republica, were next up on the main stage and ripped through an energetic set fronted by the irrepressible Saffron. Mixing in the massive singles ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’, ‘From Rush Hour with Love’ and anthemic ‘Ready to Go’ the group played some new material, including ‘New York’ with a Nile Rogers-like riff underpinning the funky return to form.

At 6:30 and with the sun bathing the stage, reggae act The Dualers came out to keep the good times going and announcing that “There is no water that can put out this fire”. Thankfully there were plenty of water points on site to refill bottles and stay hydrated in the heat!

Over at Howlin’ Pete’s, RuPaul royalty Vinegar Strokes took to the stage with The Morning Afters to bring their fun, upbeat and all kinds of sassy sounds to the packed-out tent. Closing with a huge cover of Lizzo’s Juice, Vinegar Strokes served up the party vibes to prepare for the next act in the tent…Barry from EastEnders aka Shaun Williamson with Barrioke!

Credit: Wychwood Festival – Joshua Atkins

The tent was absolutely rammed with fans joining in the karaoke session, including a deafening rendition of ‘Sweet Caroline’ to close out the slot.

Main stage action continued with Northern Ireland’s punk rockers Ash who managed to blow up a bass amp with their set list of classic after classic, including ‘Girl From Mars’, ‘Burn Baby Burn’ and ‘Shining Light’. On the subject of light, with the sun now at eye level to frontman Tim Wheeler, he remarked that when he’s asked for a review of the festival he’ll reply “It was blinding!”.

A huge crowd formed for Friday night’s headliners The Happy Mondays as they brought day one to a close. Rowetta’s incredible vocals filled up the evening air as the sun went down behind the Malverns. Shaun Ryder was an honest frontman, stating “I’ve come on stage needing a wee so, if I leave, you know where I’ve gone!” after arriving a little later than anticipated. Rattling through their extensive back catalogue including ‘Kinky Afro’, ’24 Hour Party People’ and ‘Step On’ the group gave the people what they wanted with their Madchester anthems to make for a perfect finish to day one.

Credit: Wychwood Festival – Gobhinder Jhitta

As I retire for the night, the sound of the Silent Disco (oxymoronic I know but IYKYK) fades into the distance and day one is complete.

DAY TWO – SATURDAY

Saturday morning arrives and living legend Mr Motivator is leading an assembled throng through a mid-morning work out routine to get the blood pumping ahead of a bumper day. Credit where it’s due to the more than a few bleary-eyed participants regretting that last visit to the bar the night before! Not content with getting people moving, Mr Motivator ended his set with a, well, motivational speech and encouraging the crowd to love themselves and to keep moving before taking pictures and chatting with fans still assembled at the front, including one man in a leotard harking back to the main man’s GMTV days!

The festival site was much busier today as Saturday day ticket holders descended on the racecourse. The vendors around the site enjoyed queues for ice creams, food, drinks and even hats with the sun continuing to beat down making the going at the racecourse firm if anything.

Maella followed Mr. Motivator on the main stage next with their atmospheric rock. Front woman Maella from Prague prowled the stage all charisma and incredible cowboy boots, singing with her sultry tone and encouraging the crowd to check out her music on streaming services with a handy spelling tip “It’s like Paella but with an M!”.

Back to The Garden Stage and the intriguing Syren Belly Dancers who dance to alternative hits covering bands as diverse as Korn and Massive Attack in their performance. The tent is packed and more than a few metal heads got their fill of the heavier music from their captivating performance.

Indie act Dancehall kicked off with an energetic early afternoon slot, but the fatigue from dancing to Mr Motivator had clearly kicked in and attempts to get the crowd to get more involved fell flat. They left the stage with a few minutes left of their slot, I assume to find something tasty for lunch.

Which is what I did next and went all in on a delicious sushi tapas style dish which I upgraded to a meat option for an additional £2. At £17 in total it was pretty steep, but very tasty and definitely drew some envious glances from friends. It was nice to have so many options to choose from, beyond burgers and so on, and there had been a real commitment to meeting people’s dietary requirements too with vegan and gluten free options widely available.

Swansea four-piece French Alps Tiger were next up in The Garden stage tent. Playing through songs from their debut EP ‘Switch Off All the Time’ the group were the most current sounding band of the weekend yet. Tight, relentless guitars and a pulsing drumbeat that would probably be diagnosed as tachycardic if found in a human were the order of the day and it went down well with the audience.

A palpable buzz was building around the Main Stage for the late afternoon slot featuring Scouting for Girls. Masses of people turned out for them as they emerged to an adoring crowd with the James Bond theme playing over the PA. Dab hands on the live scene, Roy Stride got the crowd going immediately, leading them in jumping, clapping, singing and ticking all the boxes you’d expect from crowd participation bingo. One that would have definitely not come up on the bingo card is Stride’s wife calling him during the set. He called her back and explained that he was on stage before the frontman’s daughter took over the phone and the crowd hollered “Hi Rosie!” to greet her.

Playing all the hits including ‘Posh Girls’, ‘Heartbeat’ and ‘She’s So Lovely’ they also covered Busted’s ‘Year 3000’ and ‘Stacy’s Mom’. The ‘James Bond’ stars definitely have a licence to thrill!

The Wychwood dial was now turned up to relentless and next on stage was Heather Small of M.People. Her huge disco songs and absolutely incredible voice lifted the crowd further still, with hits including ‘One Night in Heaven’, ‘Sight for Sore Eyes’, ‘Movin’ On Up” and ‘Search for the Hero’ A seriously impressive performance from a total pro.

In the welcome shade of Howlin’ Pete’s something epic was lurking – Sambaoke. The premise is simple, a samba band plays along to a karaoke track and the crowd performs. The execution was anything but simple…the crowd absolutely loved them and danced along to samba versions of songs such as Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’, Toto’s ‘Africa’ and John Farnham’s ‘You’re the Voice’ while belting out the words with much gusto.

Brit Pop survivors Sleeper returned to the festival circuit on the main stage playing to an excitable crowd filled with fans from the band’s 90’s heyday. Frontwoman Louise Wener cut about the stage in her bright green ‘Rock Hag’ t-shirt, a nod to her ‘Another Female Fronted Band’ tee from back in the day while checking in to see if people had got their sunblock on and then playing ‘Factor 41’ (for the record it was definitely a Factor 30 and up kind of weekend!). The band then performed their excellent cover of Atomic’s ‘Blondie’ and mashing it up with ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ and closing their set with a euphoric version of ‘Sale of the Century’.

Back onto the horse racing parlance and one band that definitely has staying power is The Proclaimers. With over 30 years of performing behind them, twins Craig and Charlie Reid were almost certainly pleased that Cheltenham is only 323 miles from Leith, leaving plenty enough in the tank to give a rip-roaring performance.

Kicking off with recent release ‘Dentures Out’, the Scottish band flew through a 20-song set that was chock full of anthems. A particularly beautiful version of ‘Sunshine on Leith’ fitted the setting perfectly as day shifted towards night, with couples dancing, people swaying and even the odd tear on show – it was a performance heavy on feelings. The main feeling for set closer ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’ was that of giddy joy as the audience bellowed back the band’s most famous number and set the tone for the night’s headliners Travis.

Fellow Scots Travis headlined Saturday night and brought along an arsenal of hits as well as Fran Healy’s stories of growing up watching horse racing at Cheltenham on the TV with his Granddad and so having his mind blown that the racecourse had a hill in it.

Last year marked the 20^th Anniversary of the band’s The Invisible Band release and they kicked off proceedings with ‘Sing’ before effortlessly switching between their impressive back catalogue covering all eras of the band. Fran explained that his physics teacher at school had inspired the song ‘Side’ and while he didn’t learn much in the class, that influence has served him well since…even if he forgot to turn his guitar on to start the song much to bassist Dougie Payne’s enjoyment “That’s Physics” he suggested, “Touche” replied Healy.

The last song on the setlist for the night was ‘Why Does It Always Rain On Me?’ and thankfully the weather held off adding any sort of poetic addition and the night sky was clear with a huge full moon and Venus on show. Encouraging the audience to join in with “Total audience participation” to jump along to the song, Healy did request that no lawsuits were submitted should anyone get injured but it looked like the main cause of pain would have been in people’s cheeks from smiling so hard through the banger of a set.

Eking out the last of Saturday night and huddling for warmth in The Garden stage, revellers were given a treat by comedian Mark Watson who had the assembled audience in stitches with his own unique brand of frantic beffudlement. Watson was appalled that people were still around, with the temperature dropping he said “No-one should be on this site right now, it’s not fun anymore” and that he didn’t blame people for leaving. His hilarious set covered subjects from the pandemic (clapping for hauliers), how left handers’ plackards at protests are all smudged and checking on his son’s internet search history before threatening to enter people’s tents using the codeword ‘Bacon’ later in the evening.

By this point I realised I hadn’t eaten since much earlier in the day and sought out sustenance. Enter ‘Oh Babu’ Indian street food and a frankly amazing wrap (with extra spice to warm up) which was only £12 and very filling.

The silent disco in Howlin’ Pete’s once again drew in the crowds for the last of the evening before they made their way home, whether the short walk to the campsite or a slightly longer walk out to the drop off points, but either way full to the brim with festival good vibes.

DAY THREE – SUNDAY

The final day started much the same as the others, with searing heat and the scent of suncream in the air.

The heat didn’t put off Sambistas, the Bristol-based samba collective, as they took guests through a samba workshop. Not content with filling their tent with dancing and music, the group paraded around the festival site to serenade the crowds with their up tempo beats to fill the Mr Motivator shaped hole in the day’s schedule.

Over in the cinema tent ‘Lyle, Lyle Crocodile’ was keeping the kids entertained, as were readings from authors in the Storybox tent. The tent had books available to buy, some signed by the authors, and all manner of fun board games to keep the young and older alike entertained.

Kicking off the music at 11:30am was Newcastle’s Lauren Amour, performing at her first festival of the summer. The up and coming popstar has over 380,000 followers on TikTok and her chart friendly pop music was a great start to the day with unrequited love bop ‘Friendzone’ a stand out.

Beware of Leopards followed next and had a QR code on stage for the audience to scan. My phone wouldn’t work so I couldn’t tell you what the link led to but I like to think it was a tutorial on how to avoid being a victim of a Leopard attack…or their music, either or. Despite an initial tech issue the band got stuck into their ear-friendly indie rock. At one point they covered The Killers’ ‘When You Were Young’ causing one confused punter to ask if they could check my lanyard to see who was playing as he was sure he hadn’t seen Brandon Flowers et al on the bill. Suitably reassured we went our separate ways.

The Mountainside tent featured a rap workshop hosted by local performers Robin Hood-Shaw and JPDL and encouraged children to try their hand at rap music. If Cheltenham emerges as a rap heartland in the future then Wychwood started it.

On to lunch and today the Schnitzel wagon caught my eye with their buffalo wings and goodness me did they deliver! For a mere £7 I was handed a tray brimming with delicious wings in a spicy sauce. What I did realise was that eating wings was not the most festival friendly decision I made over the weekend and had to repeatedly wash my hands to remove all that delicious, sticky sauce.

Feeling fresh and clean I went over to The Garden stage to see Wurlitzer. The Birmingham-based sextuplet bounced on stage in brightly coloured jumpsuits (which were hastily removed at the end of the set) and tunes to match the look. Wurlitzer were a personal highlight for me, playing their first festival they didn’t look in the slightest bit unnerved and zipped through an upbeat set including the super energetic ‘Origami’, lo-sodium lament ‘Sodium’, the vegetable saluting ‘Eat Your Greens’ and the entirely danceable ‘Sumbody’. The band also unleashed the first public sighting of a cowbell of the weekend, which is always a thrill. You could hear elements of Architecture in Helsinki and Los Campesinos! in their sound, along with a perfectly interwoven bassline from The Knack’s ‘My Sharona’ at one point. First festival this may have been, it won’t be their last so if you get the chance to see them do!

Back to the Main Stage and Electric Swing Circus took to the stage with their lively swing sound and causing a mass outbreak of swing dancing couples in the audience. While swing isn’t my cup of tea it never fails to please festival crowds and was met with rapturous applause and out of breath cheers.

Nipping to The Garden Stage for a bit more shade and this reviewer appointed ‘Most Stylish Band at Wychwood’ London-based Preen came onto the stage starting with a song called ‘English Sun’. Their gorgeous, layered harmonies worked beautifully and stand out ‘The Last Act (Goodbye)’ was a real treat. Most interesting inspiration for a song of the weekend was an as yet untitled song about Jane Barber who was the voice behind voicemails, leading to a spoken word tribute “please hang up and try again” in the middle of the song.

Next up were Toploader and long gone were frontman Joseph Washbourn’s curly locks, replaced with a slick looking blonde do. What remained was their ability to command a crowd and a huge amount of self-awareness when announcing the next song was about a moon “No not that one, obviously. We’ve seen what happens when we play it early!”. It was in fact a joyous cover (unless you’re under 30 and Joe “definitely wrote it…”) of The Waterboys’ ‘Whole of the Moon’. The band’s set was full of upbeat, soulful songs and encouraged crowd participation. Ahead of a raucous ‘Just Hold On’ the singer called it a “Song of hope” and remarking that it a Sunday at a festival “doesn’t get better than this”. Bringing the set to a close the band brought out their biggest hit to date with ‘Dancing In The Moonlight’ and had the whole of Wychwood singing along.

Unluckily for Wings of Desire they were scheduled at the same time as Cheltenham favourites and 13-time Wychwooders Thrill Collins and the numbers in the tent didn’t do justice to their synth and bass heavy indie. There are elements of all sorts of great bands from the early 2000’s, including LCD Soundsystem, Secret Machines and The Teenagers in their tracks and with single ‘Choose A Life’ featuring on EA Sports’ FIFA 2023 official soundtrack they’re bound for big things.

Speaking of Thrill Collins…wow! While they are a covers band they aren’t just ANY covers band. The Cheltenham-based trio plough through hit after hit with their own inimitable style which has made them such a crowd favourite over the years. Despite a very tongue in cheek claim to have written ‘Barbie Girl’ over two afternoons, frontman Andrew Lansley, Cajon player Peter Harper and Andrew Lansley on double bass make the songs their own throughout the set – this despite a bloodied knee for Lansley. The band’s patter is well rehearsed and well received, from denying any legal responsibility for anyone falling over attempting the lift from Dirty Dancing’s ‘Time of My Life’ to thanking fellow nerds for recognising the Cantina Band theme from Star Wars. They’re a slick act and end with a UK garage mash up and the rebellious scream of “Don’t go home until they make you!”.

A quick refuel was needed and the wafting scent of Raclette cheese finally lured me in for the most amazing macaroni cheese. Thankfully there was no time for the highly plausible carb-coma and it was time for total, certified legends Soul II Soul to take to the stage.

Counting 11 microphones on the stage it was clear we were in for a performance and sure enough they came, they saw and they conquered. Jazzie B took the assembled audience on a trip down memory lane, revisiting the late 80’s through an incredible cover of Prince’s (or Sinead O’Connor) ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ followed by ‘Keep On Movin’’. Closing out their set with the absolutely iconic track ‘Back to Life’, Soul II Soul reaffirmed their legendary status with a crowd pleasing show.

Coming into the final straight of the festival and with the golden hour delivering Melanie C emerged on stage in a blue and white tracksuit. This lasted all of one song before she was down to her signature look with sports bra and abs that made more than few in the audience green with envy.

Her setlist was littered with hits, some of which I’d forgotten all about, but had members of the crowd singing along and shouting “We love you” throughout the show. The artist formerly known as Sporty Spice dedicated Northern Star to all the mothers in the audience, and a rip-roaring rendition of her duet with Bryan Adams ‘When You’re Gone’ to the dads. So as to avoid missing anyone out, the last half of the set was punctuated with Spice Girls classics ‘Spice Up Your Life’, ‘2 Become 1’ and ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ before closing out with her number one hit from 2000, ‘I Turn To You’. Mel C left the stage leaving the crowd hoping for the rumoured Spice Girls reunion to happen but safe in the knowledge that even if it doesn’t, she’s still got star appeal.

The temperature began to drop as the sun slowly faded on the last day of this wonderful festival but not before the Sunday night headline capped off the weekend.

Entering the final furlong was the suitably hirsute Sam Ryder with his luxurious mane. Bedecked in a white jumpsuit with silver sequins covering it, Ryder looked every inch the rock star and launched into proceedings, promising to give the crowd the “best possible show in the cosmos tonight” at his first ever festival headline slot.

It’s fair to say the last couple of years have been a whirlwind for Sam but he doesn’t show any signs of letting up as he encourages the crowd to join in with his vocal gymnastics, harking back to Freddie Mercury at Wembley, waving at fans, giving peace signs and giving the whole crowd his undivided attention.

It’s also worth noting the sheer number of children in the audience. While much of the bill was tinged with nostalgia, Sam Ryder is very much in the here and now and seeing kids singing along to his songs shows that he’s going to be around for some time yet.

Highlights of the action-packed set included a medley of massive songs featuring Candi Staton’s ‘You Got the Love’, Taylor Swift’s ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ and Paramore’s ‘Misery Business’. For the penultimate song Ryder performed ‘Fought and Lost’, the first live performance of the song, which he proudly announced as having been in an episode of Ted Lasso. The pretty ballad features Brian May on the recorded version and has echoes of Queen hit ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ giving the singer chance to show off his full, and incredibly impressive, range. By way of some cosmic serendipity, an incredible pink Strawberry Moon rose into in the sky behind the stage cueing Ryder to deliver a triumphant ‘Spaceman’ to end proceedings and bring to a close a truly excellent weekend.

With the festival staff packing up around me I picked up pizzas from Pan De Mania wood fired pizzas and delighted in crispy slices of delicious spicy meat offering but also a vegan version with vegetables and dairy-free cheese on it. Suitably stuffed both with pizza and joy I made my way to the exit, passing the last remaining tents and my taxi home.

Looking back over the past few days I can honestly say Wychwood Festival is a belter! From the setting to the breadth of entertainment on offer and the entirely reasonable ticket price you’ve got a brilliant festival that caters to everyone. There were only good vibes on show throughout the weekend and with a family friendly focus there was enough to keep the kids entertained while allowing parents a bit of a break and some fantastic bands. It’s a relatively small festival and that suits it to the ground. It feels like a private secret between friends, but it looks like the secret is out! See you all next year!

Truck Festival 2022

August 4, 2022 by Kimberley-Anne Simmons

After three years the amazing Truck Festival came back too Hill Farm in Steventon, Oxfordshire. The past 3 years had been affected by COVID which meant the event could not take place. This year also celebrated its 25th Anniversary so the organisers had to make sure it was the best!! The three and a half day event had a huge lineup with Blossoms headlining the Thursday night. Bombay Bicycle Club on Friday, Sam Fender and The Kooks co-headlining on the Saturday and the weekend ended with Kasabian and a firework display on the Sunday night. Bands, Artists, Comedians etc all performed on several stages across the site. There was the Main Stage, Market Stage hosted by So Young Magazine, Thie Feeling, The Nest, Virgins and Veterans, The Rockin Chair and The Tap Room.

Across the site had a wide variety of all cuisines for everyone. The local community also have a big food tent with their homecooked food which they have served there for several years and all profits got to charity.

There was plenty for everyone to do. Familys with young children could go to the childrens area which had activities and shows on for them all to enjoy. There were stalls with makeup, clothes, accessories and more for everyone to dress up in their proper festival gear.

Our photographer Kane Howie was at the festival to document the weekend. You can check out his photos below.

Tickets for next years event are available at https://truckfestival.com/ the festival will take place at the same location on July 21st-23rd.