Towersey Festival announces line-up for special 60th anniversary event

Towersey Festival has announced its line-up for 2024 for what will be the summer event’s 60th birthday.

Headlining the festival this year is the ever-popular singer-songwriter Billy Bragg alongside other highly-respected stars of the folk world.

In 2022 the festival relocated, from the village in Oxfordshire it shares its name with, to the Claydon Estate. But it remains one of the oldest continually running independent music festivals in the country.

This year’s extravaganza takes place between 23 – 26 August 2024, and includes displays of music, arts and culture.

Over the four-day festival Seth Lakeman, female rock trio The Staves, Scottish folk rockers Tide Lines, and American singer-songwriter, Pokey LaFarge, will all take to the main stage.

Other highlights of the eclectic line-up include a career-spanning set from the Oysterband, and BBC 6 Music favourites The Hawkmen, and a reimagining of Paul Simon’s Graceland from London African Gospel Choir. There are more than 40 other musical acts across four days and organisers say there will be more opportunities for buskers and open mic artists to perform.

Festival co-director Joe Heap said: “We’re so excited, we’re just delighted with this line-up. The fact that we’re able to announce such a huge programme so early in the year shows just how keen these big names in the music world are to support and appear at Towersey. We’re really going back to our roots and bringing you some incredible musical discoveries – bands you’ll know, acts you won’t know yet but everything that we know you’ll love!”

Also on-site, guests can check out festival choirs, dance classes, silent discos, childrens’ entertainment and crafts stalls. Ticketing information can be found on the festival’s website here, it is a free-to-attend event for children under five.

Co-director Mary Hodson, granddaughter of the original Towersey founder Denis Manners, added: “We’ve been so privileged to be supported for so long by the local and national music communities and families. It’s really something to celebrate while we also look forward to the next 60 years, and ensuring that Towersey remains something everyone can enjoy, love and nurture for future generations.”