The Wychwood Music Festival was launched in 2005 by a group of festival enthusiasts wanting to create an intimate and thrilling weekend festival experience, delivering not only the best acts of the day, but up and coming music, and some other specialties you might not ordinarily come across!
 
The Wychwood Music Festival quickly gained a national audience and reputation thanks to its eclectic mix of music and creative programming. Time Out described the Festival as 'an excellent hybrid of the Big Chill, WOMAD and The Cambridge Folk Festival'.
 
The 2005 Festival saw performances from Steve Earle, Alabama 3, Show of Hands, Allison Moorer, Eliza Carthy in collaboration with Varttina, Mory Kante, The Earlies, Aberfeldy, Jim Moray, Mercan Dede, Radio Tarifa, Omar Sosa, Susanna and the Magical Orchestra, The Angel Brothers, Baka Beyond, Damien Dempsey, Gilles Peterson, Jaga Jazzist, Matthew Herbert, Warsaw Village Band and many many more. Radio 4's Loose Ends and Radio 3's Late Junction both recorded at the festival, and entertainment included The Groovy Movie Solar Powered Cinema, Club Wychwood with some of the best world beats around, and workshops for all ages.
 
It was a very positive first year, the festival made it into the Sunday Times Top 7 Festivals of the summer and nominated for Best New and Best Family Festival at the UK Festival Awards and the organisers quickly moved on to planning the second year.
 
Artists at the 2006 Festival included, Billy Bragg, Seth Lakeman, Dreadzone, Saw Doctors, Martha Wainwright, Mr Scruff, Amadou & Mariam, Handsome Family, Peatbog Faeries, Polar Bear, Eliza Carthy in collaboration with Salsa Celtica, Banco de Gaia, The Bays, Tunng, Broken Family Band, Sophie Solomon, Chris Difford, DJ Shantel, Ed Motta, Field Music, Ralfe Band, Gilles Peterson and many, many more. The festival also featured the first ever festival performances from The Feeling and Guillemots, plus the debut of Tim Van Eyken's new project starring Nancy Kerr, Pete Flood (Bellowhead), Olly Knight and Colin Fletcher.
 
Comedy was added to the programme and included a very special intimate performance from Mark Thomas. Late night entertainment was provided by the Silent Disco from The Netherlands, starting their tour of summer festivals that included Guilfest and Reading.

The Festival received three nominations at the 2006 UK Festival Awards including Best Family Festival for the second time and The Oxford Mail said 'Wychwood has wasted no time in establishing itself as one of the coolest weekends of the summer'

2007 got off to a flying start with Levellers, Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 and Ian Hunter on the Friday. A star studded Saturday saw Rodrigo y Gabriela, Badly Drawn Boy and Fun Lovin' Criminals on the Main Stage with rhythms from Shooglenifty, Go Lem System, Transglobal Underground and sunny vocals from Camera Obscura and Martha Tilston. Sunday went out with a folk and world music bang with Afro Celt Sound System, Ba Cissoko, Zion Train, Eliza Carthy, Country Joe Macdonald and Ralfe Band.

The Independent described it as 'a bijou Glastonbury' and it was nominated for Best Family Festival at the UK Festival Awards for the third time in a row!

Right from the start The Wychwood Music Festival has had strong links with various NGOs, with Friends of the Earth, Oxfam and Greenpeace all having a presence at the Festival in the past and in the future.

The festival's name comes from the ancient forest that once covered large parts of Oxfordshire, but the festival has found its own home over in Gloucestershire and is steadily becoming that county's largest music festival.
 
Find out what people are saying about the festival here.