The 54th Towersey Festival (Friday 24 to Monday 27 August 2018) saw a sell-out weekend of great performances and standing ovations.
Highlights over the August Bank Holiday included appearances from Scottish brothers The Proclaimers (Sat 25 Aug) and UK country stars The Shires (Mon 27 Aug), both making their debuts at the famed Oxfordshire festival, and guitarist/ songwriter Richard Thompson (Fri 24 Aug), returning with his Electric Trio.
Crowds were also wowed by five-piece Daphne’s Flight, who earned a standing ovation, and Cornish shanty singers Fisherman’s Friends, whose Jon Cleave also made an appearance for the festival’s Sunday morning newspaper review.
While away from the music, a switch to re-usable cups at bars was warmly welcomed by festival-goers, and was one of several changes introduced this year as part of a longstanding, and ongoing, commitment to reducing the environmental impact of the event.
The festival concluded with its traditional Lantern Parade, featuring inventive constructions designed and created by visitors, and a sing-a-long of The Beatles’ Hey Jude, led by folk rock band Blackbeard’s Tea Party.
In the region of 9,000 revellers flocked to the event, one of the oldest independent music festival’s in the country.
Towersey Festival Director Joe Heap said: “We’ve seen such an eclectic mix of artists this year, from the country pop of The Shires, to the UK’s number one brass band, Brighouse and Rastrick, to an acclaimed teaming of Peter Knight and John Spiers.
"We’ve also welcomed appearances by such established folk artists as the 82-year-old Roy Bailey, our Festival Patron who appeared at the very first Towersey back in 1965, to rising stars of the genre such as harpist Mera Royale, who won the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award this year, and Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne.”
The 55th Towersey Festival will run from Friday 23 to Monday 26 August 2019. Tier One tickets are on sale now, priced £119. The full 2019 line-up will be announced in the New Year. For details and tickets, see: www.towerseyfestival.com
