Seth Lakeman, Robin Ince and more

We are delighted to welcome Seth Lakeman, to our Sunday headline spot. Seth has been credited with bringing folk music to a new audience; Mercury nominee and winner of ‘Singer of the Year’ and ‘Best Album’ awards at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Seth blends elements of traditional folk and story-telling with modern indie-folk to produce live performances which exhibit a raw, rhythmic energy. Seth joins a list of acts already confirmed on Sunday including The South (Formerly The Beautiful South), Adrian Edmondson & The Bad Shepherds, Dreadzone, King Creosote & Justin Fletcher, with yet more to come.

We also welcome cult hero John Otway to our Big Top on Saturday. John is renowned for his surreal sense of humour and the manic energy he puts in to his live performances. In 1999 the BBC ran a poll to find the greatest lyrics of the millennium, and Otway was a surprise entry at number 7 with his song ‘Beware of the Flowers’, and in 2002 John’s single Bunsen Burner reached number 9 in the singles chart. Opening up the mainstage on Saturday will be melodic Liverpool rockers Sleeping with the Fishes, who join artists already announced including Happy Mondays, Pauline Black of the Selector, Toumani Diabaté with many more still to come.

“Crunk Folk” stars The Travelling Band, will be opening up our mainstage on Friday- one of the hottest emerging talents in the country, having won the Glastonbury New Talent title, they join the mainstage line up of already announced Levellers and Leisure Society, with one more name to come. Los Angeles based Tunnelmental Experimental Assembly , will be flying in to play their experimental electronic rock in the Big Top on Friday- their lead singer hails from Cheltenham and in former years was a steeplechase jockey who won there, so this will be a momentous return for him!

Robin Ince and Comedy

We are delighted to welcome back comedian, actor and writer Robin Ince to our headline comedy slot on Saturday night. Robin started his career as a comedy writer, working on V Graham Norton and Alistair McGowan’s Big Impression and won the Time Out Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy. In 2010 Robin will also host Nerdstock: 9 Lessons and Carols for Godless People for BBC Four.

Your MC for Saturday night will be Rob Broderick- one of the most exciting comics on the circuit, Broderick’s explosive energy will illuminate the stage and raise the roof of any venue. He improvised his way into the final of the prestigious So You Think You’re Funny competition at the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe and in 2008 appeared in three shows each day! “Very funny, fresh and endlessly creative… A star-of-the-future”, Time Out.

On Sunday, the very talented Pete Johansson will be taking to the stage. Hailing all the way from Canada, Pete has burst on to the UK comedy scene with some gusto. His Debut show “Naked Pictures of My life” was nominated for the highest award of Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2009. There is much more to come from Pete in the world of comedy, and you have the chance to see him perform at Wychwood.

More Authors

For our kids literature festival, and joining the already announced Ian Whybrow, we welcome back the wonderful Philip Ardagh, the award-winning author of the Eddie Dickens adventures, currently available in over 30 languages. He wrote BBC Radio’s first truly interactive radio drama, collaborated with Sir Paul McCartney on his first children’s book and is a ‘regularly irregular’ reviewer of children’s books for the Guardian. Married with a son, he divides his time between Tunbridge Wells and Grubtown, where he cultivates his impressive beard!

We also welcome Linda Chapman, author of the phenomenally successful My Secret Unicorn series, the Stardust series, the Not Quite a Mermaid series and two novels for Puffin- Bright Lights and Centre Stage. More than 1.5 million of Linda’s titles have been sold to date! Linda will be bringing her brand new series, the very sparkly “Skating School” to Wychwood this year.

Also joining us this year will be the Cheltenham-based author and illustrator Sally Grindley. Sally has always been involved with children’s literature, first as editor and then as an award winning author. Her 2004 novel Spilled Water won the Smarties Book Prize Gold Award and was considered for the Carnegie Medal. Sally’s latest novel Bitter Chocolate is out in June 2010. Bitter Chocolate is a story of friendship and survival, set in the cocoa plantations of West Africa.

Ticket Information

Weekend tickets are selling phenomenally well at the moment. We are also now on sale with day tickets. Please visit our Ticket Page for information, prices and ways to purchase.

http://www.wychwoodfestival.com/tickets.html