- “Towersey is a little village in the Oxfordshire countryside that hosts one of the most bravely adventurous festivals in the folk and world music calendar.” – Robin Denselow, The Guardian, 4-stars (26/8/13)
- “A Towersey triumph. … it’s always a great day out, especially when you have children. It may just be the cuddliest, most child-friendly festival…” – Tracey Blake, Mail Online/ Daily Mail (26/8/13)
Over 7,000 people flocked to Towersey Festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend, to enjoy a packed programme featuring over 200 acts.
Kicking off on Thursday night (Aug 22) with a performance from The Blockheads, the 49th annual event concluded on Monday night (Aug 26) with two shows from Bellowhead’s Spiers and Boden, and a spectacular lantern procession through the picturesque Oxfordshire village.
In between were notable appearances from The Unthanks, who played to a packed Big Tent while the jazz-flavoured Orkestra del Sol had audiences on their feet at Venue 65 (Aug 23), and an enthusiastically welcomed Show Of Hands (Aug 24).
Swiss Cajun punk trio Mama Rosin (Aug 25) were nearly forced to cancel their headline slot after a personal emergency prevented accordionist Cyril Yeterian from flying to the UK. But the show went ahead thanks to band fan John Spiers, who learned their entire set in just a few short hours, delivering a seamless performance!
Great weather on Bank Holiday Monday brought large crowds of day-trippers to The Showground, prompting the opening of an overflow car park and, by the afternoon, a seriously depleted main bar as 30 real ales dropped to half-a-dozen.
“We had one of the best Showground days for four or five years,” reported Festival Director Joe Heap. “And we’d made the Showground bigger by thirty per cent – increasing the food court and bar, and introducing a new music stage and local produce fair.”
Discussing the entertainment on offer, Joe said: “We had more bands than ever this year and more stages than ever too, including the new Bar Stage in the Showground. That was a roaring success and one of the comments I’ve repeatedly heard is that we’ve introduced lots of people to lots of great new music.”
Among the acts appearing on the Bar Stage were Oxford’s Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band and The August List.
Next year sees Towersey celebrate half-a-century – making it the longest running festival of its kind in the UK.
“We’ve been talking to lots of people about projects for next year, and there’s already a real buzz,” says Joe. “People are very excited, and we’re confident that our Golden Jubilee will be a sell-out.”
Early Bird Tickets for the 50th anniversary Towersey Festival, which runs from Thursday 21 to Monday 25 August 2014, are on sale now via the festival website: www.towerseyfestival.com.
Says Joe: “We have held this year’s Early Bird rate for these early sales, so get in fast!”
For more information, contact us:
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