Wychwood Festival 2015

Wychwood, the summer family festival, returns to Cheltenham Racecourse for its Tenth Birthday in 2015!

The legendary UB40 will headline the Saturday with reunited founding band members Ali Cambell, Astro and Mickey Virtue in what will undoubtedly be an incredible live performance. The reggae giants will perform the three day festival for the first time alongside esteemed acts The Proclaimers, Ghostpoet, Dreadzone, Electric Swing Circus, Rusty Shackle and more.

This year saw record numbers and a sellout Saturday and the festival is on course for more of the same next year with the last remaining early bird tickets available till the end of the year.

Wychwood Festival takes place 29th - 31st May at Cheltenham Racecourse.

0-9 year olds go free!

See www.wychwoodfestival.com/ for further details.

Headliners

UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell & Astro

UB40 are Britain's greatest reggae artists and have survived more than 30 years in the music business and have clocked up more than 40 million record sales worldwide with songs like Kingston Town and Red, Red Wine. The summer of 1978 saw the eight members of the Birmingham band, soon to become UB40, drawn together by their love of Jamaican reggae. Taking their name from a notorious British unemployment form, the band played their first local gig in Birmingham in 1979, and spent the rest of the year performing at pubs and clubs around the UK. British radio legend John Peel was so impressed with the group's first demo tape that he invited them to perform on his Radio One show in 1980. At the same time, the band were also asked to support The Pretenders on their triumphant national tour. They released a Top 5 single in the UK in February 1980 and, in 1981, released a brace of albums, 'Present Arms' and 'Present Arms In Dub'. Their breakthrough came with the hit single, 'Red, Red Wine'. The song topped the British singles charts in 1983 and, after renewed promotion following the 1988 Nelson Mandela Concert at Wembley, the single reached the number 1 spot in the US. Only with Ali Campbell, the legendary voice of UB40, reunited with Astro, can audiences get to experience the closest thing to the sound of the hugely successful original line-up of UB40 as all the hits are played. They can also get to hear these two founding members’ and UK reggae pioneers’ latest take on the genre.

See 6 tour dates featuring UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell & Astro

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Captivating Acappella harmonies from this world-renowned and highly evocative and uplifting all-male South African group, led and founded by Joseph Shabalal. They borrow heavily from a traditional music called Isicathamiya, which developed in the mines of South Africa. 2014 marks the 50th anniversary for the Grammy award-winning collective. Already successful by the 1970s, it was in the mid-80s when their sound became known worldwide, thanks to exposure on Paul Simon's 14 million selling 'Graceland' album. Even popular culture have taken them to their hearts, with mentions in TV's Family Guy and film Mean Girls.

See 19 tour dates featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Ghostpoet

Ghostpoet (aka Obaro Ejimiwe) is a softly-spoken vocalist with a gentle presence, muddling through the treacle of modern life. He has received widespread recognition from critics and playlists alike and his catalogue of work includes two Mercury nominated albums.

See 9 tour dates featuring Ghostpoet

Craig Charles

Legendary actor, host and broadcaster Craig Charles is one of UK’s most beloved Funk and Soul DJs. From Robot Wars to Red Dwarf, Craig has now grounded himself as a Funk & Soul icon after 10 years of broadcasting on BBC 6 Music with their primetime Saturday night show.

See 34 tour dates featuring Craig Charles

Michael Legge

Stand-up comedian with a cruel tongue that gets the rest of his body into trouble - definitely for the adults only! 'Often copied, but never matched' (Time Out) 'A hugely popular and enjoyable comic who we are thrilled to have back... (Red Card Comedy Club).

See Michael Legge tour dates

Keith Farnan

A former solicitor, Keith has the natural ability to delve into themes other comics may shy away from and it is this aptitude that is placing him in the lead of investigative comedians. He has been a regular guest on radio, both in Ireland and the UK, from BBC, RTE, Talk Sport, Today FM, Newstalk and all sorts of other warm and welcoming studios. Keith Farnan has performed as a stand-up all over the world, from Montreal, to Amsterdam, to Hong Kong. His television credits include BBC3's Most Annoying People, One Night Stand (BBC), Liffey Laughs (RTE) and Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow (BBC1). He has also written for and performed in The Insomniac Club for BBC Radio as well as appearing on Loose Ends and Colin Murphy's Great Unanswered Questions (BBCNI). '... If Eddie Izzard had been Irish, he'd surely have turned out a lot like Keith Farnan' (The Scotsman) 'Brilliant, thought-provoking and laugh out loud funny' (Time Out).

See 7 tour dates featuring Keith Farnan

Mitch Benn

Previous winner of the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year. Travels the UK with his guitar, creating laughter wherever he goes, and is also a writer, performer and the resident musician on Radio 4's 'The Now Show'. 'The country's leading musical satirist' (The Times) 'Well crafted, well sung, his songs are just plain funny' (The Guardian) 'Less of him could really turn out to be more than he ever was' (The Scotsman) 'Mitch is a highly intelligent comic who fires out funny material at the speed of a machine gun. You really do have to pay attention to him, but do so because the content does deserve to be heard and appreciated' (One4Review) 'Mitch Benn has the audience mesmerised. Song after song of ingenious satire hits the spot with pinpoint accuracy' (Three Weeks). Mitch Benn was named in Ents24's top 20 hardest-working comedians of 2016.

See Mitch Benn tour dates

Dick & Dom

The BAFTA winning stars of such memorable shows as Diddy TV, Absolute Genius with Dick & Dom, The Legend of Dick & Dom and of course Dick & Dom in Da Bungalow.

See Dick & Dom tour dates

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