IMAGINE A festival where you are the star of the show. Everything happening around you is so close you can touch it. You are not charged silly prices for your food and drink.
You do not have horrendous queues for toilets. Your children can run free in a secure environment. You can see and hear the headline acts from where you are camped.
This utopian festival dream can only happen when the audience is as much part of the event as the acts that play, the performer that perform and the vendors that sell things.
Participation is key and small is beautiful.
Cloudspotting Music and Arts Festival takes place between July 29th and 31st at the stunning and serene location of Gisburn Forest in the Ribble Valley.
It is the 6th edition of the festival and although a little less micro than it once was, intimacy is still the magic element of this 1,000-capacity family-friendly weekend.
This year, we will present the largest programme of interactive arts and performance to date, across three days and nights.
Cloudspotting has been hosted at Gisburn Forest since 2013. The Festival has really grown beautifully into its forest surroundings. This is thanks to a fantastic association with Forestry Commission England and continued support from Arts Council England. Cloudspotting has again been awarded a grant for 2016 to help develop new areas of performance and improve infrastructure and organisational development.
The festival this week made a third announcement of great music acts playing on its two principal stages – The Main Stage and the Lawn Stage. In addition, two new performance areas will embellish Cloudspotting site this year: The Enchanted Forest and the Cabin the Woods, which will host theatrical, acoustic, poetry and DJ performances across the weekend.
MUSIC
Across two stages from 4pm Friday and finishing 11.30pm on Sunday night. Each stage alternates so you don’t miss a beat. Diversionary performances – and a few surprises – will pop up over the weekend.
Friday
Main Stage: Kiran Leonard / Honeyfeet / The Drink / Stephen Hudson and the Fiat Pandas.
Lawn Stage: Henge / Good Foxy / The Things / Bad Cardigan.
Saturday
Main Stage: Resonators / Gene Dudley Group / Gideon Conn / BC Camplight / Cristobal and the Sea / Serious Sam Barrett /
Lawn Stage: Bossy Love / Jeramiah Ferrari / Laura J Martin / Jo Rose / Blanty / TBC
Sunday
Main Stage: King Creosote / Emma Pollock / Big Deal / Marc O’Reilly / Hannah Lou Clark / Kid Carpet
Lawn Stage: Jonnie Common / Throws / Michael Chapman / Songs For Walter / The Remedy
Published on 15 March 2016 by Ben Robinon