Blissfields is an annual music festival in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

founded by Paul and Mel Bliss in 2001 at Bradley Farm, Bradley, near Alresford. In 2011 the festival moved to a new site in Vicarage Farm, Woodmancott near Winchester. The festival is currently 2,500 ticket capacity and has previously seen appearances from

Mumford and Sons Mumford may refer to: *Amazing Mumford, a Muppet character on ''Sesame Street'' * ''Mumford'' (film), a 1999 American comedy-drama film *Mumford procedure, also called distal clavicle excision or distal clavicle resection, an orthopedic surgical pro ...

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was sto ...

Laura Marling Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990) is a British folk singer-songwriter. She won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards and was nominated for the same award at the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 Brit A ...

Super Furry Animals Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band formed in Cardiff in 1993. For the duration of their professional career, the band consisted of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunford (lead guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass guitar), Cian Ciaran ...

, Tricky,

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. Dizze ...

Years & Years Years & Years is the solo project of British singer Olly Alexander. Originally formed as a band in 2010, Years & Years' music has been described as electropop, mixing R&B and 1990s house elements. The band's debut studio album, '' Communion'', ...

, and

Wolf Alice Wolf Alice are an English rock band from London, England. Formed in 2010 as an acoustic duo comprising singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, Wolf Alice have also featured bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey since 2012. Wolf Alice ...

. It's a winner of the "Best Small Festival" award at the 2007 UK Festival Award

and a winner of the "Most Unique Arena" Award at the 2015 Association Of Independent Festivals (AIF) Congres

The festival is primarily pop, folk, indie, rock, and dance orientated and is attended by families as well as younger music fans.

History

The first Blissfields event was in 2001 when Paul and Mel Bliss invited a few bands to play at Bradley Farm, near Alresford. Starting with just approximately 70 attendees, Blissfields was held again in subsequent years, slowly increasing in size. In 2005, with increased health and safety concerns and licence demands, there was a charge to camp.

2007

In 2007, the festival won the "Best Small Festival" award at the UK Festival Award

Scouting for Girls Scouting for Girls are an English pop rock band. Their name is a play on the title of the 1908 Scouting handbook ''Scouting for Boys''. The band was formed in 2005 by three childhood friends from London, Roy Stride on piano and lead guitar/voc ...

headlined and a second stage called the Stage Bus was added. Restrictions at Bradley Farm meant that no more than 1,000 people could attend.

2008

Blissfields was to move to th
Matterley Bowl
near

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

in 2008, resulting in an increase in the capacity of the festival to 4,000. On 2 June it was announced that the festival would be cancelled. There were going to be four stages, with

The Wonder Stuff The Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock band. Originally based in Stourbridge in the West Midlands, England, the band's first lineup released four albums and nearly 20 singles and EPs, enjoying considerable chart and live success in the ...

, The Whip and

Roni Size Ryan Owen Granville Williams (born 29 October 1969), better known by his stage name Roni Size, is an English DJ and record producer. He came to prominence in 1997 as the founder and frontman of Roni Size & Reprazent, a drum and bass collective. ...

Reprazent Roni Size & Reprazent (stylised as Roni Size / Reprazent) are a British drum and bass group fronted by Roni Size. Their debut album ''New Forms'' won the Mercury Music Prize in 1997. Their follow-up album ''In the Møde'' featured artists inclu ...

headlining the Punch Bowl, the open air main stage, between 4 and 6 July.

2009

In 2009, the festival moved back to its original home in Bradley. Headliners were

and

with

Ben Howard Benjamin John Howard (born 24 April 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and composer. His self-released debut EP ''Games in the Dark'' (2008) was followed by two more EPs, '' These Waters'' (2009) and '' Old Pine'' (2010). Signed t ...

also performing. Mumford and Sons performed as then backing band to Laura Marling for the last time following years of performing live together. The ticket capacity that year was 1,250.

2010

The event celebrated its 10th birthday. as

Stereo MC's Stereo MC's are an English Hip hop music, hip hop/electronic dance music, electronic dance group which formed in Nottingham, England, in 1985. They had an international Top 40, top 20 hit with their single "Connected (Stereo MCs song), Connected ...

were the main headliners, whilst other acts playing that year included

Band of Skulls Band of Skulls are an English rock band from Southampton, consisting of Russell Marsden (guitar, vocals) and Emma Richardson ( bass, vocals); Matt Hayward (drums; 2002–2016) was previously a member. The group formed after meeting in college, ...

, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool,

Dub Pistols Dub Pistols is an English electronic music band founded in 1996 by Barry Ashworth and Jason O'Bryan. Career The band's first singles were "There's Gonna Be a Riot" and "Best Got Better" in 1998. Their first album, ''Point Blank'', came out t ...

James Yuill James Yuill (born 1981) is an English folktronica musician from London, currently signed to the Moshi Moshi record label. Biography Yuill released his first album, ''The Vanilla Disc'', on his own Happy Biscuit Club label in 2005. After relea ...

, and

Kill It Kid Kill It Kid are an English alternative rock band fronted by Chris Turpin (guitars & vocals). Members also include Stephanie Ward (Keys & vocals), Marc Jones (drums) and Dom Kozubik (bass guitar). The band was widely recognised as one of the ...

. It was attended by 1,500 ticket buyers.

2011

The festival moved to a new site with a larger capacity at

Vicarage Farm A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

Woodmancott Woodmancott is a village in the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Winchester, which lies approximately south-west from the hamlet, just of the M3. The village is notable for Blissfields Festival, hosted ea ...

near

. It was attended by 1,800 ticket buyers. Main acts included

Frank Turner Francis Edward Turner (born 28 December 1981), is an English Punk rock, punk and Folk music, folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire. He began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primar ...

, Tricky,

and

Subgiant (band) Subgiant is a UK electro trio founded in London, consisting of Olly Maw, Dan Hayes, and Tushar Joshi, formed in 2004. Subgiant have made appearances at festivals such as Glastonbury, Bestival, Blissfields and Glade Festival as well as various ...

. Along with the Shakey Ape Comedy Stage featuring Stevie Gray, Larry Dean and

Freddy Quinne Freddy or Freddie may refer to: Entertainment *Freddy (comic strip), a newspaper comic strip which ran from 1955 to 1980 *Freddie (Cromartie), a character from the Japanese manga series''Cromartie High School'' *Freddie (dance), a short-lived 1960 ...

2012

This year's main acts were

Noisettes Noisettes are an English indie rock band from London, currently composed of singer and bassist Shingai Shoniwa and guitarist Dan Smith. The band first achieved commercial success and nationwide recognition with the second single of their seco ...

and

Patrick Wolf Patrick Wolf (born Patrick Denis Apps; 30 June 1983) is an English singer-songwriter from South London. Wolf uses a wide variety of instruments in his music, most commonly the ukulele, piano, and viola. He is known for combining electronic samp ...

as well as

Jake Bugg Jake Bugg (born Jake Edwin Charles Kennedy on 28 February 1994) is an English singer-songwriter. His self-titled debut album, ''Jake Bugg'', some of which was co-written with songwriter Iain Archer, was released in October 2012 and reached numb ...

, King Charles and Guillemots. A week before the festival it was announced that

Charlotte Church Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and political activist from Cardiff. Church rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching i ...

would also join the line-up as a surprise mid-afternoon guest on the second stage previewing new material. The event was attended by 2,000 ticket buyers. The festival appeared at part of Summer Daze, a television program made for the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

network, being shown on E4,

4Music 4Music is a British music television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. The original incarnation was launched on 15 August 2008, and until 29 June 2022, showed a mix of music and entertainment programming. It ...

and Channel 4 itself during its T4 programming. It was also listed in

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

"top 50 music festivals" for that year.

2013

The 2013 festival was held between 5 and 7 July. Headline acts included

Mystery Jets Mystery Jets are an English indie rock band, formerly based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The band consists of Blaine Harrison (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Jack Flanagan (bass and vocals), Kapil Trivedi (drums) and Henry Harriso ...

and

returning after the previous year, as well as

Fenech-Soler Fenech-Soler were an English electropop band from King's Cliffe, Northamptonshire, England, that formed in 2006 and consists of two members: Ross Duffy and Ben Duffy. Founding members Daniel Fenech-Soler and Andrew Lindsay left the band in 2016 ...

(whom played at the 2011 festival), Mike Skinner performing with Rob Harvey as The D.O.T.,

Theme Park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

, and

Marika Hackman Marika Louise Hackman (born 17 February 1992) is an English vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. She is considered to fall within the alternative and English-folk genres, and is noted for her dark, melancholic lyrics. Hackman has re ...

. The event was attended by 2,500 ticket buyers, with a total capacity of 4,000 people, and was listed by

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

as a "top 50 boutique music festival", and

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

in their "top 100 festivals" for that year.

2014

The theme in 2014 was "Walk On The Wild Side" with many attendees wearing animal print during the weekend. The event also partnered with

Born Free Foundation The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals in ...

, with founder

Virginia McKenna Dame Virginia Anne McKenna, (born 7 June 1931) is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films ''A Town Like Alice'' (1956), '' Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958), ''Born Free'' (1966), and ...

giving a speech at the event on the main stage. Live acts included

2manydjs Soulwax are an electronic band from Ghent, Belgium. Centred around brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, other current members include Igor Cavalera and Stefaan Van Leuven. They were first noticed after the release of their album ''Much Against Eve ...

the live side project of producers

Soulwax Soulwax are an electronic band from Ghent, Belgium. Centred around brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, other current members include Igor Cavalera and Stefaan Van Leuven. They were first noticed after the release of their album ''Much Against Eve ...

, Sleigh Bells,

, Snakehips, tUne-yArDs,

, Laurel, Dub Pistols, Hercules And Love Affair, Spector,

Bipolar Sunshine Adio Marchant (born 24 September 1987), known professionally as Bipolar Sunshine, is an English singer and songwriter from Manchester, England. Previously the co-vocalist with the band Kid British, he embarked on a solo career in 2013. Career M ...

, Chloe Howl, Dan Croll, Luke Sital-Singh, Nick Mulvey, Gentleman's Dub Club, Melt Yourself Down, Monki, Gypsy Disco, Ry X, Famy, Subgiant, Cosmo Sheldrake, Flyte, Gypsy Disco, TCTS, Chris T-T, Electric Swing Circus, Beans on Toast, Kyan,

Johnny Flynn John Patrick Vivian Flynn (born 14 March 1983) is a British actor and singer-songwriter. He has starred as Dylan Witter in the Channel 4 and Netflix television sitcom '' Lovesick'', and portrayed David Bowie in the film '' Stardust''. Flynn i ...

, Kidnap Kid, and Thumpers. The event was included in The Guardian, Telegraph, The Mirror, Big Issue, Notion and NME's festival print coverage.

2015

The 2015 theme was "Somewhere In Time". The festival line-up included

The Horrors The Horrors are an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea in 2005, consisting of lead vocalist Faris Badwan, guitarist Joshua Hayward, keyboardist and synthesizer player Tom Furse, bassist Rhys Webb, and drummer and percussionist Joe Spurg ...

Simian Mobile Disco Simian Mobile Disco are an English electronic music duo and production team, formed in 2003 by James Ford and Jas Shaw of the band Simian. Musically, they are known for their analogue production. Ford is also known for his production work. ...

, John Grant,

Glass Animals Glass Animals are an English indie pop band formed in Oxford in 2010. Founded and led by singer, songwriter, and producer Dave Bayley, the group also features his childhood friends Joe Seaward, Ed Irwin-Singer and Drew MacFarlane. Bayley wrote ...

Public Service Broadcasting Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

Grandmaster Flash Joseph Saddler (born January 1, 1958), popularly known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is an American DJ and rapper. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Hip Hop DJing, cutting, scratching and mixing. Grandmaster Flash and the Fur ...

Ibibio Sound Machine Ibibio Sound Machine is an English electronic afro-funk band from London. Formed in 2013, the band currently consists of vocalist Eno Williams, guitarist Alfred Kari Bannerman, percussionist Afla Sackey , drummer Joseph Amoako, bassist Philip PK ...

Songhoy Blues Songhoy Blues is a desert blues music group from Timbuktu, Mali. The band was formed in Bamako after being forced to leave their homes during the civil conflict and the imposition of Sharia law. The band released its debut album, ''Music in Exile ...

, Mele, The Correspondents, Novelist,

Ghostpoet Obaro Ejimiwe (born 18 January 1983) is a British singer, songwriter and musician better known by his stage name Ghostpoet. His first album, ''Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam'', was shortlisted for the 2011 Mercury Prize. His 2015 album ''S ...

DJ Yoda Duncan Beiny (born 1977 in London, England), better known as DJ Yoda, is a hip hop turntablist who uses samples to create an animated musical style. He is known for several awards and media industry achievements. Early life and career Aft ...

, Akala, Rhodes, Beans on Toast, Madam X, Tambour Battant, Missill, Cosmo Sheldrake, Gengahr,

Loyle Carner Benjamin Gerard Coyle-Larner (born 6 October 1994), known professionally as Loyle Carner, is an English hip hop musician. After supporting various rappers during their tours, he released his debut album, '' Yesterday's Gone'', in 2017, which g ...

, Kiko Bun, We Have Band, Dub Pistols, Alex Adair, Eton Messy DJs, Subgiant, The Mispers, Flo Morrissey, Palace, Spring King. The Angel Gardens family area, in 2015 given a political angle with workshops on how to form protests, was ranked second on The Guardian's "Summer Checklist" article, below seeing

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

. The Hidden Hedge area of Blissfields won the "Most Unique Arena" award at the 2015 Association Of Independent Festivals Congress and Awards.

2016

The 2016 theme was "House Party". Under the theme, the festival built a two-story open-fronted house in the centre of the festival. The festival line-up included

Everything Everything Everything Everything are an English art rock band from Manchester that formed in late 2007. Noted for their eclectic sound and complex, sociopolitical lyrics, the band have released six albums to date – 2010's '' Man Alive'', 2013's '' Arc'' ...

Swim Deep Swim Deep are a British indie pop band formed in Birmingham, England. The band currently consists of Austin Williams (vocals), Cavan McCarthy (bass), James Balmont (keyboards), Robbie Wood (guitar), and Thomas Fiquet (drums). Swim Deep were fo ...

, Honne, Melt Yourself Down,

Norman Jay Norman Jay MBE (born Norman Bernard Joseph on 6 November 1957) is a British club, radio and sound system DJ. He first came to prominence playing unlicensed "warehouse" parties in the early 1980s, and through his involvement with the then-pira ...

Sundara Karma Sundara Karma are an English rock band formed in 2011 in Reading, England. The band consists of lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Oscar Pollock, lead guitarist Ally Baty, bassist Dom Cordell and drummer Haydn Evans. The band's name is deri ...

, Beans on Toast,

Shy FX Andre Williams, better known as Shy FX, is a British DJ and producer from London. He specialises in drum and bass and jungle music. Biography Shy FX's debut record was "Jungle Love", released in 1992 on the Permission to Dance label. Soon after ...

Drones Club The Drones Club is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British humorist P. G. Wodehouse. It is a gentlemen's club in London. Many of Wodehouse's Jeeves and Blandings Castle stories feature the club or its members. Various members ...

Blaenavon Blaenavon ( cy, Blaenafon) is a town and community (Wales), community in Torfaen county borough, Wales, high on a hillside on the source of the Afon Lwyd. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshi ...

, Frances, Billie Marten, Rationale, Spring King, Barely Legal, Isaac Gracie, Mary Miss Fairy, Mini Da Minx, and Molotov Jukebox. Blissfields was included in MTV's "Best Of The Fests" coverage, was ranked second on The Guardian's list of "Bang For Your Buck" where the ticket price was divided by the quantity of live acts and on-site activities, also featuring in the newspaper's "Top 10 Family Festivals" list, The Independent's "Top 20 Boutique Festivals", Radio Times "Top 10 Festivals", and was included in The Standard's "Top 5 Essential Festivals".

2017

It was announced in December 2016 that the theme for 2017 would be "The Bizarre", using imagery and wording from popular culture including ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Prod ...

'' and ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cance ...

''. In an announcement video in January 2017, it was revealed that

Metronomy Metronomy are an English electronic music group formed in 1999. As of 2021, the band consists of Joseph Mount (vocals, keyboards and guitar), Oscar Cash (keyboards, backing vocals, guitar and saxophone), Anna Prior (drums and vocals), Olugbenga ...

would be headlining the Saturday night, later confirming

The Cinematic Orchestra The Cinematic Orchestra is a British nu jazz and downtempo music group created in 1999 by Jason Swinscoe. The group is signed to independent record label Ninja Tune. The Cinematic Orchestra have produced four studio albums, ''Motion'' (1999), ...

and

performing his

mixtape would be the Friday and Thursday nights. Other acts due to perform include Sundara Karma,

Lady Leshurr Melesha Katrina O'Garro (born 15 December 1987), known professionally as Lady Leshurr (), is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and producer. She is known for her ''Queen's Speech'' series of freestyles, the fourth of which became popular i ...

Delta Heavy Delta Heavy (often stylised as DELTΔ HEΔVY) are an English drum and bass production duo consisting of Ben Hall and Simon James. They found fame with their 2012 single "Get By", which entered the UK Indie Chart at number 30. The duo's debut a ...

The Japanese House Amber Mary Bain (born 13 July 1995), known professionally as The Japanese House, is an English indie pop musician from Buckinghamshire. Bain contributes vocals and plays guitar, synthesizer and keyboard for her music. As a teenager, Bain decid ...

Tom Grennan Thomas Grennan (born 8 June 1995) is an English singer and songwriter from Bedford and is based in London. Grennan found fame as the guest vocalist on Chase & Status's "All Goes Wrong" in 2016. His debut album, ''Lighting Matches'', was releas ...

, Pumerosa, DJ Luck & MC Neat, and Bonzai. The festival will take place on 6-8 July at the Vicarage Farm site in Hampshire.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Blissfields WebsiteBBCBlissfields at mintsouth
Music festivals in Hampshire 2001 establishments in England Recurring events established in 2001