The Band Stand 2016 line-up announced
The Band Stand which can be found in Redwoods near The Theatre Tent will play host to live music, comedy and chat from Alexander McKay, Brian Stone, Calling All Astronauts, Chris Eccleshall, CUD Acoustic, Drumscapes, the 2016 Fancy Dress Competition, Flipron, Geoff Lakeman, Greenman Rising, Jack of All, John Robb in conversation with CUD, The Frank and Walters and Tony Wright (Terrorvision), Josephine and the Artizans, Medicine Hat, Neck, Open Mic Sessions throughout the weekend, Paul Coultas, Rews, The Frank and Walters, The Steve Eggs Band, The Sweetchunks Band...
read more2016 line-up announced
Headlining Beautiful Days 2016 on the Friday night are Leftfield – one of Britain’s most influential electronic dance acts. Their debut Leftism, remains one of the defining statements of 90s dance music. Headlining on Saturday night we welcome back Manchester legends James who release their fourteenth new studio album ‘Girl at the End of the World’ this month. Sunday night headliners are festival founders Levellers who will close the weekend with a spectacular show including a firework finale. Joining them on the Main Stage bill are Simon Emmerson’s Afro Celt Sound System who release their first album in 10 years ‘The Source’ in April, plus Mercury Prize nominated folk-rock band The Coral, Charlie & Craig Reid aka The Proclaimers, plus Mariachi El Bronx – the mariachi side project of Los Angeles hardcore punk band The Bronx, dub/ska band Gentleman’s Dub Club and West Country rockers Reef. We also welcome very special guests, American Grammy nominated funk/soul band Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, plus the brilliant and exciting solo artist Ezra Furman, festival favourites Dreadzone, rock band Terrorvision, punk legends The Damned and The Selecter led by their iconic frontwoman Pauline Black. The Main Stage bill also features Hollie Cook, Lanterns on the Lake, UK Feds, Flight Brigade and The Church. Headlining on the festival’s Big Top stage are singer-songwriter and activist Billy Bragg, Senegalese singer and guitarist Baaba Maal – one of Africa’s best known musicians with a career spanning over 25 years and Scottish folk big band Treacherous Orchestra. Joining them on the bill are West Country folk singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Seth Lakeman, The Damned playing a second set, this time playing Damned, Damned, Damned in its entirety, plus Fotheringay featuring original members Jerry Donahue, Gerry Conway and Pat Donaldson plus special guests, BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominees The Unthanks, Canadian folk music group La Vent Du Nord and country rock act Ethan Johns & The Black Eyed Dogs. The Big Top will also play host to folk legend Martin Carthy, award-winning acoustic folk act Show of Hands, melodic, semi-acoustic band Wildflowers, critically acclaimed singer and songwriter Foy Vance, London based high energy folk trio Stick in the Wheel, Exeter singing duo Sound of the Sirens plus Mag Dog McRea and The Lounge Kittens. The Little Big Top will play host to headliners Toddla T, DJ Hype and Dele Sosimi plus sets from Mungo’s Hi-Fi featuring Solo Banton, The Harry Shotta Show, Max Pashm Soundsystem, North Base, Too Many T’s, Mr Nice, Phantasy, Subgiant, Skata Tones, Invisible Opera Company of Tibet, Rapha Ghetti, AAA Badboy and Reeps One. The Little Big Top also hosts The Silent Disco for two nights and family rave Big Fish Little Fish on Friday afternoon. The THEME FOR 2016 IS STARS……..sparkling cosmic related attire or simply star-shaped accessories. The focus of the day on the Sunday will be stars, with site art and other elements of the festival reflecting the theme. The final acts and line-ups for the other three stages – The Theatre Tent, The Bimble Inn and The Band Stand – will be announced in the coming...
read moreHelping to raise funds for refugees in Northern France
We’ve teamed up with 21 other independent UK festivals to help raise funds and awareness for France’s refugee camps. The Ultimate Festival Prize Draw is offering 22 lucky entrants the chance to win a pair of tickets to one of the festivals for a donation towards the cause. 44 tickets – 22 Festivals – 1 Great Cause More info & Donate here – www.fundsurfer.com/project/festival-draw Closing date: 1st March 2016 The bulk of the funds raised will go towards Aid Box Convoy: Bristol – refugees in Grand Synthe project. Where the team have been supporting Medicine Sans Frontiers and other volunteers to help keep thousands of refugees alive through the winter months in one of the worst camps in the region due to restrictions placed on them by the authorities, many are struggling to meet even the most basic needs. Aid Box Convoy was started by a passionate group of people from Bristol, many of whom have ties to the festival industry, ABC have been on the ground delivering and co-ordinating aid to get to the people who need it the very most in the smaller camps in Northern France since Early October. ABC’s work has been instrumental in keeping many of the now 3,000 displaced refugees alive in the camps they operate in throughout the winter. Appealing to the local councils and politicians to support the camp, as well as providing a consistent presence of volunteers at the camp who respond to the refugee’s basic needs and co-ordinate vital supplies such as arctic sleeping bags, wood, building supplies, fuel for the generator and many other sources to help provide basic levels of human...
read moreGrass Roots Festival Award Winners
Beautiful Days won ‘The Grass Roots Festival Award’ last night at the 2015 UK Festival Awards. Huey Morgan from BBC 6 Music / Fun Lovin’ Criminals presented the Awards to a packed audience of nominees and festival industry guests at London’s Roundhouse. Beautiful Days had also been shortlisted for Best Family Festival and Best Medium Festival. The UK Festival Awards has been celebrating the efforts of the nation’s festival industry since 2004 and Beautiful Days has been shortlisted every year for a number of awards and has previously won the Best Family Festival Award in 2011 and the Grass Roots Festival Award in 2006. The Award winners are decided through a combination of online fan votes and music industry experts. Other winners on the night included Isle of Wight Festival, Bestival and Kendal Calling. Peter Gabriel was presented with the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Festivals Award’ by special guest Eddie...
read moreNominated for 4 UK Festival Awards
We’ve been nominated for Best Medium Sized Festival, Grass Roots Award, Best Family Festival and Best Toilets at the 2015 Festival Awards. Voting is live now and will run until Sunday 25th October. If you’ve got 2 mins please vote for us! Shortlists will be announced on 29 October and then the final winners are announced at a ceremony in London on 26 November VOTE NOW – http://www.festivalawards.com/vote-now/...
read moreTickets nearly sold out and more acts
American hip hop trio HOUSE OF PAIN featuring rapper Everlast, Danny Boy and DJ Lethal, famous for hits including the impossibly infectious single ‘Jump Around’, will play the Main Stage on Friday night at Beautiful Days. Urban/world collective NAHKO AND MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE will play their first ever UK show on the festival’s Big Top Stage. The socially-conscious group are fronted by Nahko – an Oregon-native born a mix of Apache, Puerto Rican and Filipino cultures. We’re also delighted to welcome back festival favourites and folk legends OYSTERBAND for The Big Top Stage plus BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards nominees WILDWOOD KIN. Acts playing on the outdoor The Band Stand stage this year include Athene Roberts & Tim Ashton (from 3 Daft Monkeys), The Bar Steward Sons of Val Doonican, No Limit Street Band, Steve Pottinger, Luke Daniels, , Gilli Bloodaxe, Phat Bollard, O’Shea & O’Gaukroger, Stevie One Bloke One Mandolin, Natalie Shay, Drumscapes, Hyde & Beast and King Size Slim. Plus Maelor Hughes, Glenn Hodge Banned, Under a Banner, Parsons Lot, Sweet Chunks Band, Open Mic Sessions, John Robb in conversation with Special Guests and the 2015 Fancy Dress Competition. They join acts already announced for the 2015 garden-themed festival including headliners DROPKICK MURPHYS, HAPPY MONDAYS and LEVELLERS plus Gogol Bordello, Idlewild, The Dhol Foundation, Katzenjammer, The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Jack Savoretti, Wilko Johnson, Eddi Reader, Rich Hall’s Hoedown, Mistajam and loads...
read more2015 LINE-UP & THEME ANNOUNCED
BEAUTIFUL DAYS 2015 ANNOUNCE DROPKICK MURPHYS, HAPPY MONDAYS, LEVELLERS, GOGOL BORDELLO, IDLEWILD, FREEBORN JOHN, JACK SAVORETTI, WILKO JOHNSON, RICH HALL’S HOEDOWN, THE UKELELE ORCHESTRA OF GREAT BRITAIN, KATZENJAMMER, HOFFMAESTRO, EDDI READER, THE CIRCUS OF HORRORS, ‘THIS GARDEN’ THEME and MANY MORE! Headlining Beautiful Days 2015 are Boston celtic-punk powerhouse Dropkick Murphys playing their only UK festival date this year, plus seminal Manchester legends Happy Mondays celebrating the 25th anniversary of their 1990 record ‘Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches’ and festival founders Levellers who will close the show on the Sunday night. They will be joined on the main stage bill over the weekend by festival favourites and gypsy-punk troupe Gogol Bordello, plus Scottish indie rock band Idlewild, the global rhythms of The Dhol Foundation, all-girl Norweigan multi-instrumentalists Katzenjammer, Swedish ska-punk outfit Hoffmaestro, folk pop duo Hudson Taylor, audio-visual dance collective Slamboree and the folk hip-hop collective Coco and the Butterfields. The festival also welcomes back 2-Tone veterans The Beat, plus Dizraeli & The Small Gods, Californian ska-punk band Mad Caddies, Australian multi-instrumentalist Kim Churchill, psych-rock quartet Syd Arthur, reggae-dub band The Skints, Birth of Joy, The Sundowners and CC Smugglers. Headlining on the festival’s Big Top stage are former Dr Feelgood guitarist and Wilko Johnson, plus the irresistible entertainment juggernaut that is The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain and an exclusive performance 10 years on from its premiere at Beautiful Days 2005 of the musical story of John Lilburne – Rev Hammer’s Freeborn John featuring Maddy Prior, Kathryn Roberts, Sean Lakeman, Rory McLeod, Phil Johnstone and members of the Levellers. Also appearing on The Big Top stage are Scottish singer-songwriter Eddi Reader, plus a mash-up of music and comedy with Rich Hall’s Hoedown, the spellbinding dreadlocked Irishman Duke Special, the critically acclaimed up and coming Jack Savoretti, high octane Celtic dance sensation Peatbog Faeries and alt-folk band The Moulettes. They are joined on The Big Top bill by Rory McLeod, plus the unique and joyful Keston Cobblers Club, skiffle favourites Hobo Jones & The Junkyard Dogs, folk duo Philip Henry & Hannah Martin, solo acoustic musician Gaz Brookfield, British blues/grunge band Kill It Kid, She Makes War, Levellers Acoustic and a screening of ‘A Curious Life’ – a film about the Levellers rise to fame in the 1990s. The Little Big Top will play host to Mistajam, The Mouse Outfit, Prince Fatty Soundsystem and Dub Colussus Soundsystem plus TC, Chris Tofu, Dutty Moonshine Big Band, Backbeat Soundsystem, Mr Nice, Ben & Lex, Astralasia, Lewah, Insomniax, Lionstar, Catalyst, Solar Wolf, DJ Ambiessence, DJ Farmer, Old Man’s Corner, N.U.M.B., Don Johnston, Sacred Geometry Band, DJ Shiny Beast, Glissando Guitar Orchestra, MCs Johnny G, Jay Tuns & Westman and the Silent Disco. The festival’s seated Theatre Tent welcomes the bizarre and sensational Circus of Horrors, plus L’Hotel performing ‘Circo Rum Ba Ba’, the absurdly comic and acrobatic Une Femme Exposee performed by Abigail Collins, Just4Funk‘s breaking BBoys dance show and Boppin Bunnies’ interactive music shows. Physical comedy theatre company Le Navet Bete return to perform ‘Napoleon’ and Entertainingly Different are back with their Rise n Shine workshops and Traditional Tales show. The Sunday theme for 2015 is THIS GARDEN…….think flowers, hedgehogs, butterflies, trees, bumblebees, weeds, birds, gnomes….full outfits or accessories, its up to you. The site art and other elements of the festival will...
read more2015 tickets on sale soon!
Tickets for the 2015 festival go on sale on Friday 06 February and then the full line-ups for the MAIN STAGE and THE BIG TOP and the SUNDAY THEME will be announced on Tuesday 24 March. To say we are excited here at HQ would be an understatement. We have confirmed some of our favourite acts to play this year including some acts we’ve wanted for over 10 years to join us at Escot Park! All information, prices, OTF discount and general terms & conditions are on the festival website and links to buy will be updated on the tickets page this week. If you have any queries about the festival, tickets or access then please don’t hesitate to ask. You can email us at [email protected] Hope to see you this Summer at Escot Park – its going to be a BEAUTIFUL...
read moreVOTE FOR US FOR 4 FESTIVAL AWARDS
We’ve been nominated for FOUR awards this year at the UK Festival Awards – if you fancy voting for us that would be lovely. Voting is open now until 27 October at www.festivalawards.com/vote and then shortlists are announced on 04 November. Winners will be announced on the 01 December at the awards ceremony in London. If you want to after you’ve voted you can also enter the Dream Summer prize draw for 2 VIP tickets to every festival that wins an award, as well as a new iPad mini. We’re up for Best Family Festival, Best Medium, Grass Roots Award and Best...
read moreLAST ACTS FOR 2014 & TICKETS IN THE POST
Tickets for Beautiful Days 2014 are being posted out from the 17 July onwards so if you have ordered tickets for the festival then look out for the postman! All tickets are being sent by registered post. Car parking passes are still available to buy from the TICKETS PAGE www.beautifuldays.org/tickets and will be until the week before the show if you already have tickets (they will not get you entry on their own). There are no weekend tickets available to buy for the festival and there will be no tickets available to buy on the gate. The last acts announced for the festival include Messenger and Land of the Giants who complete the bills for the Main Stage and The Big Top. Plus the comedy line-up in The Theatre Tent includes Phil Kay, James Redmond, Brian Higgins, Gerry K, Martin Davis and Paddy Lennox. And The Bimble Inn this year will play host to Hong Kong Ping Pong, John Fairhurst, Z Star, Ushti Baba, Dr. Bluegrass and the Illbilly 8, Annaca, Sam Walker, Steve One Bloke, Worry Dolls, Marc O’Reilly, Feral Mouth, Just a Couple of Mums, Felicity Groom, Slightly Offensive Steve, Ratbag, The Jamie Freeman Agreement, Scarlette Fever, Siren, Makeshift People, Small & Gold, John Maclean & The...
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