Wickham Festival is a four-day music event that takes place in the village of Wickham,

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. Wickham hosts live music and comedy across four stages, as well as food stalls, craft stalls, real ale and cider bars and children's entertainers. It has been 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 'Family Friendly Boutique Festival'. The 2015 Wickham Festival was named Best Festival (under 15,000 capacity) at the Live UK Music Business Awards, and the 2018 event won Best Festival at The Guide Awards, with the 2019 event taking the title of Best Live Event. Although the history of the festival can be traced to the 2003 Eastleigh Festival, the first Wickham Festival was held from 3–6 August 2006 in and around the village community centre, with a line-up rooted in folk and traditional music. Since then the festival has expanded (moving to its current site in 2013) to become a venue for both well established artists and those just breaking through, across many musical genres, and has previously hosted talks from

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. ...

and

Bill Oddie William Edgar Oddie (born 7 July 1941) is an English writer, comedian, songwriter, musician, artist, birder, conservationist, television presenter and actor. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies. A birder since his childhood in Quinto ...

. Recent years have seen high profile performances from rock and pop artists, including

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

James Blunt James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After l ...

Kiefer Sutherland Kiefer William Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a British-Canadian actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox drama series '' 24'' (2001–2010, 2014), for which he won an Emmy Award, a Golden Glo ...

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 ...

Wilko Johnson John Andrew Wilkinson (12 July 1947 – 21 November 2022), better known by the stage name Wilko Johnson, was an English guitarist, singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He was a member of the pub rock/rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood in t ...

and

Lightning Seeds The Lightning Seeds (also known as Lightning Seeds) are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1989 by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer), formerly of the bands Big in Japan, Care, and Original Mirrors. Originally a studio-based so ...

. The festival has not lost touch with its roots, continuing to promote folk music, world music and such festival stalwarts as Richard Thompson,

Bellowhead Bellowhead is an English contemporary folk band, active from 2004 to 2016, reforming in 2020. The eleven-piece act played traditional dance tunes, folk songs and shanties, with arrangements drawing inspiration from a wide range of musical style ...

and

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music g ...

. Wickham Festival has also introduced British audiences to international musicians, including

Carlos Núñez Muñoz Carlos Núñez Muñoz (born 1971) is a Spanish musician and multi-instrumentalist who plays the gaita, the traditional Galician bagpipe, Galician flute, ocarina, Irish flute, whistle and low whistle. Life and career Nuñez was born in 1971 i ...

The Spooky Men's Chorale The Spooky Men's Chorale is a group of Australian male singers. Most reside in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, but some are from Western Australia. Their repertoire consists largely of songs either written or arranged by their dire ...

and Le Vent du Nord.

History

The origins of Wickham Festival can be found in the original

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

Festival of the early 1990s, and the

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

Music Festival. Both these events were organised by local councillor and music promoter Peter Chegwyn.

Gosport Festival

The original Gosport Festival organised by Chegwyn, Robin Fegan & Pam Pullen ran from 1991 to 1995 on Walpole Park, Gosport, Hampshire. Concerts were held in a 1000 capacity 'Big Top' and an Open Stage. Artists to perform at the festival included

Roger Taylor Roger Taylor may refer to: *Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) (born 1949), drummer for Queen *Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) (born 1960), drummer for Duran Duran *Roger Taylor (author), author of epic fantasy Hawklan series *Roger Taylor (college pr ...

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

B B King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimm ...

The Saw Doctors The Saw Doctors are an Irish rock band. Formed in 1986 in Tuam, County Galway, they have achieved eighteen Top 30 singles in the Republic of Ireland including three number ones. Their first number one, "I Useta Lover," topped the Irish charts fo ...

The Manfreds The Manfreds is a British pop group, formed in 1991 as a reunion of former members of the 1960s pop group Manfred Mann, however without their eponymous founder Manfred Mann. History The original members of Manfred Mann, minus keyboard player Ma ...

and

The Bootleg Beatles The Bootleg Beatles are a Beatles tribute band. They have performed over 4,000 times since their establishment in March 1980. History The Bootleg Beatles were formed by Andre Barreau, Neil Harrison and David Catlin-Birch, fellow London cast m ...

. The Gosport Festival also saw one of the first shows from the

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

SAS Band Philip "Spike" Edney (born 11 December 1951) is an English musician who, since the 1960s, has performed with a number of bands, most notably with Queen (band), Queen in their live concerts, where his participation started in 1984 during Queen ...

Gosport and Fareham Easter Festival

Mr Chegwyn also organised the popular Gosport &

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufact ...

Easter Folk Festival, which ran from 2001 to 2011, Based out of Fernham Hall, Fareham (the festival also utilised the

Ashcroft Arts Centre Ashcroft Arts Centre is a performing arts venue in Fareham, Hampshire. It is named after Dame Peggy Ashcroft, and opened by her in 1989, after being refurbished from its original use as a school. Since 2014, the arts centre has been operated by ...

and Wallington Village Hall), attendees would be treated to four days of folk music, workshops, dance displays, craft fairs, and a

Cèilidh A cèilidh ( , ) or céilí () is a traditional Scottish or Irish social gathering. In its most basic form, it simply means a social visit. In contemporary usage, it usually involves dancing and playing Gaelic folk music, either at a house p ...

. The festival was set to move to Wickham in 2012, however it was decided to incorporate it into Wickham Festival instead.

Eastleigh 'Big Top' Music Festival

The current festival began as the Eastleigh 'Big Top' Music festival in 2003:

The history of Eastleigh’s Music Festival can be traced back to 2002 with the involvement of Keith House, Eastleigh’s council leader with his fellow Liberal Democrat and county council colleague Peter Chegwyn who was also a music promoter. Mr Chegwyn had been organising a highly successful music festival in Gosport which had featured artistes like the international blues superstar and guitar legend B.B King. The intention was to try and replicate the success in Eastleigh.

Location(s)

Previous locations

Since the first Eastleigh Music Festival in 2003, the site changed a number of times before settling in its current location.

Eastleigh

Between 2003 and 2005, the festival took place at Eastleigh Park,

. The Eastleigh Music Festival was a six day event featuring live music and entertainment, with free lunchtime world music concerts, free family entertainment every afternoon and ticketed evening concerts.

Stokes Bay

The festival moved to Wickham in 2006, however due to issues with Winchester Council, it was relocated for 2008 and 2009. For these two years, Wickham was incorporated in to the Stokes Bay Festival at

Stokes Bay Stokes Bay ( grid ref.:)) (50.782982, -1.163868) is an area of the Solent that lies just south of Gosport, between Portsmouth and Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire. There is a shingle beach with views of Ryde and East Cowes on the Isle of Wight to the ...

. The festival returned to Wickham in 2010.

Wickham

Wickham is a village located in Hampshire, just north of

. The historic village square is home to a number of bars, restaurants, boutique shops and hotels. Wickham is also home to the historic

Chesapeake Mill The Chesapeake Mill is a watermill in Wickham, Hampshire, England. The flour mill was constructed in 1820 using the timbers of HMS ''Chesapeake'', which had previously been the United States Navy frigate . The ''Chesapeake'' was attacked and bo ...

, built from the timbers of HMS ''Chesapeake''. Apart from 2008/2009, the festival has taken place in Wickham since 2006. The first Wickham Festival included performances from Daby Blade from Senegal,

Spiers and Boden Spiers and Boden are an English folk duo. John Spiers plays melodeon and concertina, while Jon Boden sings and plays fiddle and guitar while stamping the rhythm on a stomp box. Spiers and Boden were founding members of the folk band Bellow ...

Los Pacaminos Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...

, Richard Thompson,

Shooglenifty Shooglenifty are a Scottish, Edinburgh-based six-piece Celtic fusion band that tours internationally. The band blends Scottish traditional music with influences ranging from electronica to alternative rock. They contributed to Afro Celt Sound S ...

, Sparks,

Oysterband Oysterband (originally The Oyster Band) is a British folk rock and folk punk band formed in Canterbury around 1976. History Early history The band formed in parallel to Fiddler's Dram, and under the name "Oyster Ceilidh Band" played purely as ...

, Fiddlers' Bid,

Osibisa Osibisa are a Ghanaian-British Afro-Rock band founded in London in the late 1960s by four expatriate West African and three London based Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were the most successful and longest lived of the African-heritage bands in ...

, Flook,

Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and we ...

and The Larry Love Showband. These shows primarily took place in and around the Village community centre. In the years since 2006, the festival site has moved slightly to the fields either side of Blind Lane, north of the village square. The festival settled on its current site in 2013, where it has expanded to include three music stages, a dance stage, food and craft fayres and real ale and cider bars. The festival also features family entertainment, including a Digital Funfair and the Groovy Movie Solar Powered Picture House. Camping facilities have also grown to include glamping fields and spaces for motorhomes.

Present day

The Second Stage at Wickham Festival 2015

2010s

The 2014 festival started with one of Wickham's biggest audiences, when 7,000 people saw

perform in the Big Top. Other acts to appear that year included

, The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain and

Hugh Cornwell Hugh Alan Cornwell (born 28 August 1949) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and writer, best known for being the lead vocalist and lead guitarist for the punk rock and new wave band the Stranglers from 1974 to 1990. Since leaving the ...

. The festival was also treated to a rare UK appearance from

& the Dukes. 2014 also saw the introduction of the Acoustic Stage, and the first editions of the Wickham Festival podcast. The 2015 festival saw the introduction of an open mic stage and a late night Festival Club, a new viewing platform for the use of disabled festival-goers, and other improved facilities. Artists appearing at the festival included:

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...

Seth Lakeman Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. Ac ...

, Eliza Carthy Big Band,

10cc 10cc are an English rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The group featured t ...

The Proclaimers ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

, Moulettes,

Show of Hands Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots/folk duo formed in 1986 by singer-songwriter Steve Knightley (guitars, mandolin, mandocello, cuatro) and composer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer (vocals, guitars, violin, viola, mandolin, mandoc ...

Martin Carthy Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as ...

Andy Fairweather-Low Andrew Fairweather Low (born 2 August 1948) is a Welsh guitarist and singer. He was a founding member and lead singer of 1960s pop band Amen Corner, and in recent years has toured extensively with Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman' ...

Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...

, De Temps Antan,

, Askew Sisters, The South, Lisbee Stainton,

Luka Bloom Luka Bloom (born Kevin Barry Moore; 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer-songwriter. He is the younger brother of folk singer Christy Moore. Early life Kevin Barry Moore was born on 23 May 1955 in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland. His par ...

, Tankus the Henge,

Les Barker Les Barker (30 January 1947 – 14 January 2023) was an English poet, who was famous for his comedy, comedic poetry and parody, parodies of popular songs, but he also produced some very serious thought-provoking written works. Work Barker ...

and Roy Bailey. Wickham Festival 2015 was awarded the 'Best Festival (Cap. under 15,000)' at the 2015 Live Music Awards, and was shortlisted for 'Best Event' at the Portsmouth WOW247 Awards. The number of stages at the Festival increased for 2016. The site included three covered stages and one open air stage, as well as a performance stage for dancers. All Time Grates sponsored the main stage at the festival, with Sam FM and The Breeze joining the festival to support the second stage. In 2017 the camping capacity was increased with three added fields, and a free concert at Wickham Community Centre was scheduled to entertain early arrivals on the Wednesday evening. After its successful launch at the 2017 festival, it was announced that

Jonathan Pie Jonathan Pie is a fictional comedic character portrayed by British comedian Tom Walker. Written by Walker and Irish comedian Andrew Doyle, Pie is a political correspondent who rants angrily about British, American, and Australian politics, gi ...

would be returning in 2018 to headline the comedy stage. The festival ultimately included five fully programmed stages of music, as well as the late night comedy and the return of a free concert in the Wickham Centre. Wickham Festival 2018 won the 'Best Festival' award at The News Guide Awards 2019.

2019

Following the conclusion of the 2018 festival, early bird tickets were made available for 2019. The dates for the festival are 1–4 August 2019. A strong line up was put together, featuring

Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...

, local boy

, Hollywood star

and Barnsley comedy-folk stalwarts

The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican are a British comedy folk and parody band from Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Formed in 2006, they claim to be the hardest working comedy band in the UK, having played over 1200 shows throughout the UK. They ...

. The second stage (Village Stage) has been expanded to give it equal billing with the bigtop (Valley Stage). The 2019 Wickham Festival won the award for 'Outstanding Street Food at a Music Festival' at the Hampshire Street Food Awards.

2020/21

The dates for the 2020 Wickham Festival have been announce as the 6-9 of August. In September 2019 it was announced

The Young'uns The Young'uns are an English folk group from Stockton, County Durham, England, who won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards "Best Group" award in 2015 and 2016 and “Best Album” for ''Strangers'' in 2018. They specialise in singing unaccompanied, an ...

will be playing Wickham Festival 2020.

Stanley Jordan Stanley Jordan (born July 31, 1959) is an American jazz guitarist noted for his playing technique, which involves tapping his fingers on the fretboard of the guitar with both hands. Music career Jordan was born in Chicago, Illinois, United St ...

will be returning to the festival, playing a set of

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

music inspired by his iconic

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early ...

appearance.

was announced as the Saturday night headliner. On 1 July 2020 it was announced that due to the ongoing OVID-19_pandemicWickham Festival 2020 was being postponed. Within the announcement it was revealed that the festival would return in 2021, with all 2020 tickets still valid and all booked artists returning. Following the postponement, a special 'drive-in' concert was arranged with

Show Of Hands Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots/folk duo formed in 1986 by singer-songwriter Steve Knightley (guitars, mandolin, mandocello, cuatro) and composer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer (vocals, guitars, violin, viola, mandolin, mandoc ...

. The 2021 festival took place on 5–8 August, with a majority of artists that were booked to appear at the postponed 2020 festival agreeing to appear in 2021.

Deacon Blue Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut album ...

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...

and

Moya Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

among those acts added to the line-up.

2022

At the conclusion of the 2021 event, the dates for Wickham Festival 2022 were announced as being 4 August to 7 August. Having had to withdraw from the previous festival

Waterboys The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained ...

were the first act confirmed for 2022.

Saw Doctors The Saw Doctors are an Irish rock band. Formed in 1986 in Tuam, County Galway, they have achieved eighteen Top 30 singles in the Republic of Ireland including three number ones. Their first number one, "I Useta Lover," topped the Irish charts ...

will headline in a UK festival exclusive, with

Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums. Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III a ...

, Rumer,

and

Gilbert O'Sullivan Raymond Edward "Gilbert" O'Sullivan (born 1 December 1946) is an Irish singer-songwriter who achieved his most significant success during the early 1970s with hits including "Alone Again (Naturally)", " Clair", and " Get Down". O'Sullivan's s ...

among the many other confirmed acts.

Lineups

James Blunt - On stage Wickham Festival 2014

This table shows the 'Main Stage' headliners and other notable performers from the all stages at Wickham Festival.

Charity

Wickham Festival works closely wit
Two Saints
a

-based charity that supports homeless and vulnerable young people across south Hampshire. Over £4,000 was raised for them over the 2014 festival weekend, with this figure being topped in 2015, with a total of £5,000 being raised. A similar amount continued to be raised at every festival since. For the 2016 festival, a partnership with The League Against Cruel Sports was announced. The League was established in 1924 and campaigns to end cruelty to animals in sport. The charity hosted a sanctuary tent at the Festival, where attendees could learn more about their campaigns and 'enjoy some tranquillity'. In 2021 a guitar signed by artists appearing at the festival was raffled, to raise money for the music therapy charity George's Rockstars. The raffle raised over £1,300 for the charity.

References

External links

Wickham Festival Official WebsiteWickham Festival InterviewsWickham Festival Podcast on iTunes
{{Music of the United Kingdom Music festivals in Hampshire Folk festivals in the United Kingdom Rock festivals in the United Kingdom English folk music