11 December 2021
Newsdesk
Friday 1 – Sunday 3 July 2022, Feanedock woodland, the National Forest. Tickets at www.timberfestival.org.uk
Including Penguin Cafe, The Turbans, Josienne Clarke, Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, writer Max Porter, beatboxer Testament, films from Kendal Mountain Festival, circus, dance, theatre, and more!
Timber Festival will return to the National Forest next summer for three spectacular days of music, forests, art and ideas, and organisers have announced the first additions to the festival programme. Taking place in the glades of Feanedock woodland near Ashby de la Zouch from Friday 1 – Sunday 3 July 2022, Timber is all about celebrating nature and re-examining our relationship with the natural world in the inspiring setting of the forest.
The first act to be announced in the music line-up is the genre-defying band Penguin Cafe. Initially founded by Arthur Jeffes to perform the world-renowned music of his late father Simon Jeffes’ Penguin Cafe Orchestra, the group of talented and disparate musicians have quickly become trailblazers in their own right.
Also joining the music bill are international music collective The Turbans, singer-songwriter Josienne Clarke, some of the very best folk music around, and a whole host of sounds from across the globe from Ghana to New Orleans by way of Rajasthan and São Paulo.
Timber is known for its varied and ambitious programme of author talks and lively debates, and next year’s festival is no different. Poet Laureate Simon Armitage will read from his new book The Owl and the Nightingale and also hit the decks for a throwback DJ set under the trees, and beloved author Max Porter of Grief is The Thing with Feathers will give a very special performance; more details to be announced soon. There will also be debates and discussions about what it means to live more sustainably and how we can all play our part in the fight against climate change.
MC and beatboxer Testament will share his top nature-related music picks in Wilderness Tracks with BBC Radio 4’s Geoff Bird, Kendal Mountain Festival will host an evening of films about human endurance, and audiences can reel the night away at the Timber Ceilidh. Slow Food in the UK return to Timber with Food is the Solution, a mix of talks and practical demos from leading chefs, giving an insight into how we can make positive changes in the food industry. And audiences looking to unwind will be spoilt for choice with wellbeing activities, including meditation, yoga, tai chi, gong baths, all in the tranquillity of the forest.
Further programming will be announced in the new year and will include the very best in music and dance, theatre and live performance, art and installations, comedy and cabaret, film screenings and workshops, and much, much more.
Tickets are on sale now at www.timberfestival.org.uk, from £17.50 for a child day ticket to £120 for an adult three-day camping ticket. Residents of the National Forest get a huge 25% off all tickets. And for every weekend ticket purchased from now until 24th December, Timber Festival will plant a tree in the National Forest. Festivalgoers looking for a luxurious weekend can opt for boutique camping in spacious bell tents, and those after an adventure can cycle to Timber on a guided bike ride from Birmingham with Red Fox Cycling.
Timber Festival is created by award-winning festival and event producers Wild Rumpus, in partnership with the National Forest Company.
Sarah Bird, Co-Director of Timber Festival, says:
‘Today’s programme announcement for Timber Festival 2022 is just a taster of what’s to come next year. Timber is all about having unforgettable moments in the forest and creating memories that last a lifetime, and one of my favourite parts is our programme of talks in the Field Notes tent. I’m really looking forward to hearing Simon Armitage read from his new book, and I can’t wait for Max Porter’s special performance. I’m so excited to be able to announce more details about it in the new year.’
Rowan Cannon, Co-Director of Timber Festival, says:
‘I'm really excited to be launching the first phase of programming for next year’s Timber Festival. There’s such a diverse mix of incredibly talented musicians in our line-up, with sounds from all over the world from Rajasthan to São Paulo. Watching musicians perform in the natural beauty of the forest is so incredibly special; I’m really excited to see Penguin Cafe, and The Turbans. I can’t wait to be dancing with our audiences beneath the trees next summer.’
FULL FIRST PHASE ANNOUNCEMENT
Spectacular live music under the trees
Penguin Cafe lead the music line-up, crafting panoramic sonic landscapes with their genre-defying sound. Formed in 2009 by musician Arthur Jeffes, Penguin Cafe is a continuation of his father Simon Jeffes’ Penguin Cafe Orchestra – the ambitious work inspired by a fever dream of the near future, soundtracked by an orchestra playing at the Penguin Cafe.
International music collective The Turbans bind together sounds from ‘manywhere’ with an interstellar live show to ignite the crowd. Sonically huge and visually arresting, they are a powerhouse of talent, bringing their vibrant and unique sound to audiences who can do nothing more than smile, dance and shout for joy.
Singer-songwriter Josienne Clarke also joins the line-up, described by BBC Radio 6 Music’s Cerys Matthews as having a voice that can ‘trickle back over centuries’. She’ll delight the Timber audience with her beautifully-crafted, dreamlike songs and sounds.
Trio Haiku Salut bring their mix of dream pop and electronica, with instruments ranging from the accordion and piano to the trumpet, guitar and ukulele, with a little glockenspiel in between.
The rest of the eclectic line-up includes music from all over the world. Kakatsitsi, one of Africa’s leading traditional drumming groups, bring their richly entertaining performance of Ghanian rhythms to Timber's glades, and they will also run a drumming workshop over the weekend. The vibrant Guacamaya Latin Band play some of the very best South American rhythms of salsa and bossa nova to get your hips moving, whilst New Orleans-inspired Around About Dusk offer up their adventurous blend of jazz and old time.
Manchester group Kabantu celebrate the collaboration of sounds from different cultures, The Rajasthan Heritage Brass Band reflect the beauty of the north Indian region through their hypnotic blend of music and dance, and winners of the best street music band in São Paulo 2018, Theo Mizú & Banda, promise the Timber audience a trip around the world through their infectious beats.
Timber always has a raft of the best folk music around. Global folk collective Mishra weave their tight web of intricate, Indian-influenced sounds, A Different Thread bring their blend of 70s folk revival, country and blues, Lunatraktors strip folk down to its bare bones with their ‘broken folk’, indie folk trio Ivan Campo, named after the Spanish international footballer, bring their distinct sound, and celebrated Yorkshire-based cellist Sarah Smout enchants with her evocative songs.
Ceitidh Mac blends her soaring vocals with warming tones of the cello to create a transformative sound that puts a progressive twist on the alt folk genre. She won this year’s Tune Into Nature Music Prize, a competition from The Oak Project at Yorkshire Sculpture Park for young musicians whose work has a strong relationship with nature, which gives the winner the chance to perform at Timber.
Gather round the campfire as the night draws in and get your toes ready for tapping as our Bonfire Bands play, the fire crackles, and we dance in the moonlit woods. Or venture into the canopy for a whole host of Woodland DJs, spinning soul, house and disco from all corners of the world.
Thought-provoking talks, author readings and workshops
Timber Festival is known for its ambitious programme of talks, author readings and workshops. Poet Laureate Simon Armitage returns to Timber to read from his new book, The Owl and the Nightingale. He’ll also hit the decks for a throwback DJ set on The Eyrie Stage. Max Porter, author of Grief is the Thing with Feathers, Lanny, and The Death of Francis Bacon, is widely regarded as one of the most exciting British writers to emerge in the last decade. He will be joining Timber 2022 for a very special performance. Watch this space for details…
Writer Lia Leendertz is coming to Timber to read from her book, The Almanac, as part of the podcast series by perfumers Ffern. The Almanac reinvents the tradition of the rural almanac for a new audience with features on each month's unique nature, such as the meteor shower of the month, beehive behaviour, folklore, seasonal recipes and charts tracking moon phases and tides.
Helen Mort, writer of the beautiful poetry collections Division Street and No Map Could Show Them, also joins the programme. Writer, editor and environmentalist Anita Roy will read from her book Gifts of Gravity and Light. And Keisha Thompson, a Manchester-based performance artist and writer known for her award-winning solo show Man on the Moon, will take to the stage.
Following on from their packed-out sessions in 2021, Slow Food in the UK return to Timber 2022 with their Food is the Solution programme. Expect a mixture of exciting talks from leading chefs and speakers, as well as practical demos and Q&A sessions, and insight into how we can make positive change in our food systems for both people and planet. And it goes without saying that there’ll be plenty of edible treats to inspire you and get you thinking about new ways of preparing and eating food.
The National School of Forestry, part of the University of Cumbria, is the largest provider of undergraduate forest management and woodland conservation courses in England. They will be running a series of hands-on workshops at Timber 2022 - details to be announced soon.
Top guests discuss their favourite nature-inspired music in Wilderness Tracks
BBC Radio 4’s Geoff Bird will host the fourth series of Wilderness Tracks, in which he welcomes a range of guests from the worlds of music, literature and art for a chat about their favourite nature-inspired pieces of music. Hip-Hop MC, writer, theatre maker and world record breaking human beatboxer Testament is the first guest to be announced for 2022. More guests will be announced in the new year.
Previous Wilderness Guests tracks guests include Julie Hesmondhalgh, Phill Jupitus, Gavin Esler, Simon Armitage, Robert Macfarlane, Erland Cooper and Dame Evelyn Glennie. You can listen back to every series of the Wilderness Tracks podcast on the Timber website, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Spellbinding dance, theatre, circus and film
Timber organisers have announced just a taster of what audiences can expect from dance, film, theatre and circus over the festival weekend. The glamour of Bollywood comes to the National Forest in a performance from leading Bhangra dancer Sohan Kailey, you can sort your reels from your jigs at the Timber Ceilidh, and learn all the skills you’d need to run away with the circus in Timber’s Circus Skills workshops. And a bunch of bedraggled book enthusiasts are on a mission to recruit new readers in Tit for Tat’s circus-inspired show Books!, full of acrobatics and juggling spectacle. Even more theatre, circus and dance will be announced soon.
And Kendal Mountain Festival present A Night of Adventure, a stunning collection of short films on the big screen all about human endurance and breath-taking environments. Plus hear from a special guest, who’ll take to the stage to share tales from their explorations.
www.timberfestival.org.uk
