The Shambala Festival is a four-day music festival that takes place in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, England, since 2000. In addition to contemporary music, the festival hosts rock, pop, folk, world music, and other arts. Leading pop and rock artists have headlined, alongside hundreds of others appearing on smaller stages and performance areas. Between 2010 and 2019 attendance at Shambala remained constant at about 15,000 people. It features a variety of music, including rock, pop, folk and world music. There are also independent films, workshops, talks and debates, comedy, a fresh organic market,

fair trade coffee Fair trade coffee is coffee that is certified as having been produced to fair trade standards by fair trade organizations, which create trading partnerships that are based on dialogue, transparency and respect, with the goal of achieving greate ...

, practical demonstrations, a

speakers' corner A Speakers' Corner is an area where open-air public speaking, debate, and discussion are allowed. The original and best known is in the northeast corner of Hyde Park in London, England. Historically there were a number of other areas desig ...

, site art (a new art trail and a range of get-involved sculpture) and "music with a mission". Permaculturists from across the UK create a welcoming garden/ workshop space incorporating art, crafts and sounds. On Saturday night, there are usually 7000 people in

costumes Costume is the distinctive style of dress or cosmetic of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. In short costume is a cultural visual of the people. The term also was tradition ...

. DJs and speakers headline a green venue. During the 2023 festival Nigerian-British poet Gboyega Odubanjo was reported missing after failing to turn up for his scheduled performance. His body was discovered a few days later after a specialised search.

Northamptonshire Police Northamptonshire Police (colloquially known as Northants Police) is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Northamptonshire in the East Midlands of England, in the United Kingdom. The Northampton Police area includ ...

said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

Alternative venues

The Green Venue hosts conversations about world issues, an anti- GM opera, workshops and independent films.

Activism

Many activities address cultural awareness,

the environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses t ...

and rights. Children are able to add their messages to the Rights Tree, to be posted on the website for the world to see. Kids' activities include a full and diverse program of activities for all ages, such as creative workshops (e.g. shadow dancing),

trampolines A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame using many coiled springs. Not all trampolines have springs, as the Springfree Trampoline uses glass-reinforced plastic rods. People bounce on ...

, circus fun, games, music, and a samba procession on Sunday.

Location

Though it has been held at Kelmarsh Hall for years, venue details are not provided to attendees until they buy a ticket. The event is kept secret unless you have a ticket, this helps stop gate-crashers. Shambala Festival 2010
The 2010 event was held on 26–30 August and featured

Fool's Gold The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue giv ...

Rodney P Rodney Panton, also known as Rodney P (born in Balham, London, 12 December 1969) is an English MC, as well as a radio and television personality who first gained attention via the UK hip hop scene in the 1980s. A former member of UK hip-hop gro ...

The Nextmen The Nextmen is a UK production/songwriting/DJ duo consisting of Dom Search (a.k.a. Dominic Betmead) and Brad Baloo (a.k.a. Brad Ellis). Often incorporating hip hop, drum & bass, dub, pop, soul and various other eclectic electronic and ind ...

and

The Gaslamp Killer William Benjamin Bensussen (born November 7, 1982), better known by his stage name The Gaslamp Killer, is an American alternative hip hop producer and DJ based in Los Angeles, California. Career He grew up in San Diego, California, where he bec ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shambala Festival Festivals in Northamptonshire