A music festival near Bristol has just added London DJs Groove Armada to its huge roster of acts. Valley Fest is returning to Chew Valley Lake on the outskirts of the city on the first weekend of August 2023.
Groove Armada will be performing a DJ set and join The Kooks, Bananarama and Scouting for Girls for the award-winning music and food festival, which celebrates its ninth year in 2023. The duo - which has been making music since 1996 - has nine studio albums and saw chart success with their singles 'At the River', 'I See You Baby' and 'Superstylin''.
Andy Cato, one-half of Groove Armada, will share his own journey from pop star to farmer in a panel discussion. He sold his rights to the Groove Armada songs and bought a farm in France and began a life-changing journey, slowly revolutionising farming.
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They join DJ Flight, Ibibio Sound Machine, Bibi Tanga & The Selenites, Honeyfeet and Bristol's Ishmael Ensemble on the bill. Other DJ sets will be from Altern 8, Crazy P, Norman Jay MBE, Krafty Kuts, Soul ll Soul, The Legends of Goldie Lookin Chain plus the Plump DJs.
Arcadia’s Alchemist Playground will be returning to the Mendip Hills on August 3-6, designed for the amusement of all ages. The Woodland Tribe will be on hand to help build a playground out of reclaimed materials as well as reprising the welding workshops and craft activities to keep busy in between the music.
This year at Valley Fest, there is a new 'wild spa' area offering massages, meditation and movement. From sacred sound to yoga flow, reiki to reflexology, it will all be there. Not to mention hot tubs and a sauna set against the beautiful wilderness.
At Valley Fest, the food is just as important as the music. Bristol's food scene is well and truly represented this year with the Pony Chew Valley's Josh Eggleton at the helm of the food programme.
The menu includes feasts, cooking over fire and plenty of demonstrations from much-loved regional chefs including Peter Sanchez-Iglesias, of Michelin-starred Paco Tapas and newly-opened Casa, Mark McCabe of green-Michelin-starred The Ethicurean Restaurant, Elliott Lidstone of Bib-Gourmand-awarded Box-E and Pegs Quinn from Sonny Stores.
New for this year is the Sunday Regen Roast. Organisers say you can expect the tastiest meal and be safe in the knowledge that you’re eating in a way that cools the planet, prepared by Ali Pumfrey from Yeo Valley and Rob Howell from Bib-Gourmand-awarded Root are in the kitchen. The feasts are selling out quickly so act fast if you want to secure your slot.
There is also plenty of poetry, panel discussions and wildlife walks around the site. The programme has been carefully curated so that it caters for everyone – including food lovers, activists, gardeners, parents, farmers and children - with the full line-up available online.
Weekend tickets are £175 (plus booking fee) and can be bought in instalments to spread the cost from the official Valley Fest website.
Valley Fest is at Chew Valley Lake from August 3-6, 2023. View ticket options on SeeTickets
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