DANCE acts Faithless and Bicep, singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka, singer Ware and comedian Bill Bailey will top the bill at West Oxfordshire's Wilderness festival this summer.
Event organisers have unveiled the eclectic line-up for its 13th event at Cornbury Park, near Charlbury.
Also appearing are hip-hop icons De La Soul, electro-pop artist Alison Goldfrapp, dance producer Barry Can’t Swim, Red Dwarf star turned party DJ Craig Charles, and blues-rockers The Teskey Brothers.
The four-day event, from August 1-4, will also feature sets by Abba tribute act Bjorn Again, and comics Joel Dommett and Rosie Jones.
There will also be appearances by presenter Claudia Winkleman, art historian Katy Hessell and Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller – who will each perform in the festival’s popular Letters Live sessions which see celebrities reading out poignant and often humorous letters.
Many other bands, artists, DJs, comedians and performers will join the fun at the festival, which is notable for its rolling wooded setting which encompasses a deer park, formal lawns, lakes and a deep hidden valley festooned with lights which is home to late night parties. Among the big name DJs and producers playing the rustic valley venue this summer will be Barry Can’t Swim, Ewan McVicar, Special Request (techno producer Paul Woolford), BBC Radio One’s Future Dance host Sarah Story, Saint Ludo, and global turntable star Eats Everything.
There will also be jazz, blues, folk, soul, brass, disco, global music and classical sounds alongside everything from acoustic sessions to raucous burlesque shows.
By contrast, a line-up of Michelin-starred and acclaimed chefs – including Claude Bosi, Asma Khan, Richard Corrigan, Andi Oliver and Rohit Ghai – will hold large banquets and intimate chef’s table fine-dining feasts.
Lovers of the great outdoors, meanwhile, can take part in country pursuits and learn new skills or try their hand at crafts.
Sporting activities include swimming and rowing in the lakes, runnings through the woods, and the traditional fancy dress cricket match – frequently a highlight of the whole weekend.
The festival team said they were delighted with the line-up, with Mercury Prize winner Michael Kiwanuka, 'Wildest Moments' and 'Running' star Jessie Ware, multi-platinum-selling electronic dance act Faithless, and house duo Bicep presenting their audio visual Chroma show.
And the production crew said they were looking forward to return to Cornbury Park – a protected vestige of the ancient Wychwood Forest. An organiser said: “Wilderness is a party like no other. Unleashing stellar artists from around the globe to perform amid a magical nature reserve, it is an incandescent celebration in the most blissful of settings.
“As wholesome as it is hedonistic, the progressive multi-arts programme delivers something for everyone – gathering artists, musicians and creatives from every discipline; institutions and collectives at the top of their game, Michelin-starred chefs, performers, professors and practitioners.
“Stadium headliners meet backroom bar bands, and newly discovered acoustic talent sits beside mighty electronic virtuosos.
She added: “Designed to nourish, to thrill and to inspire, Wilderness has evolved, delivering a glittering, heady dose of glamour, excitement and escapism, with a generous side of the surreal. You’ll find performances across the most epic and intimate of dance floors.
“There’s a new and extended comedy programme, an increased focus on pursuits in the wild, a line-up of culinary experiences, parades, walkabout theatre, interactive artworks, micro-venues and glamorous dressing up themes.
“Be prepared for the most glorious Wilderness yet.”
- Wilderness is at Cornbury Park, Charlbury, from August 1-4. Tickets from wildernessfestival.com
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