Concert News

Wilderness announces new wave of programming for 2022

• 7th Apr 2022

The incandescent Wilderness Festival announce a host of additional artists to an already bristling line-up. The breadth of the Wilderness programme is famed, and its fresh, progressive multi-arts identity sees new additions across all pillars.

Rich with vibrant new artists and electrifying performers, Wilderness 2022 is guaranteed to be culture-crammed and laughter-laden, life-enhancing, dancefloor-driven and decadently delicious. Explore a community where genres are redefined, identity is turned on its head and arts from across the spectrum sit side by flamboyant side.

This year, The Saturday Night Spectacle will return in all its vast and awesome glory. The entire festival will unite to witness a surprise spectacular after sunset on Saturday night, kicking off a magnificent party.

Music

The Main Stage is an eclectic beast, home to the legendary and the leftfield. Performing in  newly-established slot ‘Spectacular Main Stage Openings’ are disco queen Sophie Ellis-Bextor, magnetic former Maccabees frontman Orlando Weeks and the soul-lifting House Gospel Choir.

They join three stellar headliners: dance titans Underworld, Mercury-nominated Jungle and chart-toppers Years & Years. Continuing this year’s electric line-up is renowned DJ superstar and record producer Peggy Gou, Queen of Disco Róisín Murphy and multi-instrumentalist and singer Jordan Rakei. The joyous soul trio Gabriels will be bringing the authentic sounds of gospel music to this year’s festival, as legendary broadcaster and DJ Craig Charles drops his classic funk and soul vibes with a special live set.

Further genre-smashing artists include sax and drums duo Binker and Moses, electronic afro-funk band Ibibio Sound Machine, Oxfordshire born, homegrown musician Willie J Healey, acoustic singer-songwriter Billie Marten, emerging indie-pop musician Azure Ryder and many more.

Late Night Dancing

The beating heart of Wilderness comes alive after sundown. A wealth of electrifying new names will perform across many stages and venues – joining Valley headliners DJ David Morales, underground house veteran Derrick Carter and Irish-born producer Krystal Klear. 

Dutty Moonshine Big Band are the adored high energy 14-piece ensemble fusing UK bass with jazz. They’re joined by Leeds collective TC & The Groove Family – a 10-piece band whose music celebrates a unity of cultures, exploring grooves and genres from the UK and around the world, including afrobeat, breakbeat, jungle, jazz and highlife. Ronnie Scott’s infamous and atmospheric Late Late Show returns, transporting jazz figureheads from the London institution to play late night shows.

Elsewhere, providing the upbeat vibes for your late night dancing needs: Intergalactic Brasstronauts – the 12-piece dealing in transglobal rhythms and beefy dual bass with a sci-fi theme, charismatic chanteuse from London via Lagos Sister Cookie and blues-country-funk trio My Baby all perform at The Jumpyard. Much-loved venue The Folk Barn returns for 2022, programmed as ever by folk stalwarts Woodburner, Under The Apple Tree, Cut-A-Shine and Front Room Songs. Newly added are folk-pop duo Memorial, Americana and bluegrass outfit 1000 Mile Highway, folk singer Lisa O’Neil, jewish Iraqi-Belarusian folk singer Flo Perlin, singer and harpist Rachel Newton, traditional Scottish folk musician Ross Ainslie, Glasgow-based pianist, keyboardist, and jazz-funk composer Josef Akin, vocalist and folk songwriter Alasdair Roberts and effervescent neo-folk trio The Magpies. Woodburner Music presents announce upbeat ska-pop-dance outfit Will and The People, Fela Kuti-associated afrobeat maestro Dele Sosimi, Portuguese soul-jazz musician Raquel Martins, multi-talented jazz musician Hohnen Ford, Woodburner head honcho Theo Bard and soul, blues and jazz folk songwriter Olive Jones.

Performance and Arts

The world class arts and performance programming is a cornerstone of the Wilderness experience. The Atrium is the HQ for alternative musical experiences, arts, participation and performance. This year, festival favourites and scene-leaders: the dance institution Sadler’s Wells return with a new show: Boy Blue: The Get Down. Performing on The Atrium as part of the Women In Jazz showcase is English rapper, singer and songwriter ENNY and KOKOROKO – the London-based 8-piece fusing jazz and afrobeat.

Elsewhere, in the newly established Makers Quarter, transform your tee, slash off your sleeves, dip-dye your dungarees… Join V&A  Academy’s expert makers for a day of hands-on fashion workshops and empowering activities. Fashion curators and obsessives Adventures In Apparel host an upcycling workshop and Alice Hume teaches the art of macrame at a masterclass. 

Fresh and Flamboyant

Discover your divine at The House of Sublime – the venue channeling the flamboyant, celebrating transformation, self expression and gender politic. Joining the already risque party is Haus of Dons, Queefy Cabaret – a cabaret celebrating queerness in all its intangible glory and Cocoa Butter Late: created to celebrate performers of colour and showcasing burlesque, circus, drag (Kings and Queens) aerial, hoops, spoken word, vocals and SO much more.

Music Futures is the brand new stage championing leftfield and alternative indie. The muscular line-up includes blizzard of indie-punk energy Brighton’s seven-strong KEG, nostalgic Bristol band Home Counties, British/Korean avant-garde pop duo Wooze, joyful Dutch four piece Opus Kink, Irish folk group The Mary Wallopers, Swedish-born and London-raised musician Oliver Malcolm, surrealist vaudevillian Alberto García – aka Alien Tango – an artist from Spain who lives in London, psychedelic instrumentalists Platypus Complex and psych-pop band Moreish Idols.

Feasting and Dining

Wilderness are famed for their unwavering delivery of unique, mouth-watering dining experiences and stellar line-up of headline chefs. This year’s programming is as ambitious as ever. Joining the already announced Robin Gill, is Jeremy Lee of renowned members club Quo Vadis, Tom Barnes (L’Enclume) and Sam Buckley (Where The Light Gets In) bring their mastery to bear on the Long Table Banquet form.

Woodfired and Friends – the collective headed up by Cornish chef Ben Quinn – has this year been programmed by food journalist and author of ‘The Female Chef’; Clare Finney. Programmed to be a feminist kitchen, the chefs at the helm cooking on live fire are Margot Henderson – New Zealand chef and patron of Rochelle Canteen. Sally Abé – founder of The Pem – her restaurant in Westminster which boasts a largely female staff and is named after suffragette Emily Wilding Davison. Samantha Evans and Shauna Guinn are restaurateurs, writers, TV presenters and outdoor cooking specialists that fuse elements of Southern US cooking with British ingredients, and Bettina Campolucci Bordi is a celebrated vegan chef, author and founder of the plant-based Bettina’s Kitchen.

Harriet Mansell is the founder of Lyme Regis pop-up Robin Wylde, where cuisine is based around the seasons, local produce and foraging. Harriet will host Sunday’s vegan and vegetarian feast at The Wilderness Kitchen.

They join the already announced talents of one of Britain’s most acclaimed leading female chef’s Skye Gyngell – who’ll be bringing her seasonal-focused approach from her restaurant Spring, Michelin-starred chef Adam Handling will be putting on a zero-waste feast matching the ethos of his sustainably-run pubs and restaurants, and Swedish chef Niklas Ekstedt who is widely regarded for his luxury approach to ‘living off the land’ with foraged ingredients and wood-fired cooked dishes. Lastly, one of the UK’s first Michelin Green Star winners, Will Devlin of The Small Holding will showcase a home-reared and home-grown menu, working closely with local producers.

Eagerly returning for a second year, The Social Pantry will take over The Wilderness Kitchen offering the UK’s only Vegetarian & Vegan Feast within a festival setting. With plans to become the UK’s first zero-waste caterer, Alex Head’s female-run Social Pantry will host some of the country’s most exciting female chefs for an exciting eco-friendly banquet. Hosting a day each, Ottolenghi’s right-hand woman Noor Murad will be bringing flavours and aromas inspired by her upbringing in Bahrain to the Kitchen, joined by Bubala Head Chef Helen Graves whose Middle Eastern-flavoured vegetarian dishes have taken London’s restaurant critics by storm.

Presented by American Express® Experiences, The Dining Room will host an array of delicious menus, workshops, tastings and talks side-by-side with some of the industry’s most exciting talents.

Talks, Ideas and Spoken Word

A festival within a festival, the Wilderness Talks & Debates programme has been a core pillar from the start. From the deeply serious to the highly irreverent, this year award-winning comedian and star of Edinburgh Festival Suzi Ruffell joins Russell Kane and Michelle De Swarte on the comedy bill. Comedian Dane Baptiste brings his podcast to Question Everything live at Wilderness. Tempering the laughs with some reality, ClientEarth present 5 Ways To Save The Planet and rising star Dizraeli performs his musical beat poetry. 

Wilderness has teamed up with The Conduit, a collaborative community committed to creating a prosperous and sustainable future, who will host a series of talks and panels.

The Sanctuary, Wellbeing and Lakeside Spa

The place to drop in and ground, to learn, to practice and to take some exercise, The Sanctuary has become so much more. Breathpod lead workshops to harness the power of the breath for better health and wellbeing. IO Project deliver sound meditations and immersive holistic experiences. The Goddess Space create magical and enchanting Women’s Events, Midnight Runners are the cult London running group who’ll be taking you out on runs through the rolling parkland. Levitate Meditation offer breathwork, meditation and coaching sessions. A range of yoga and movement specialists have been added to the bill, providing yoga masterclasses for all levels: Ruben DeMonte, Kage Douglas, Zoe Rowe, Eryck Brahmania, James Cassidy, Tiffany Hamilton-Atkins.

The Great Outdoors and Family Field

Fun, games and outdoor pursuits abound across the park with The Family Field providing the centerpiece for all manner of performance, story-tellling, puppetry and more. Joining the family fun this year will be The Magical Musical Bubble Bike: a bike full of surprises.   

Finale

The experiences to be found in the Wilderness continue to be unrivaled. 2022 marks another unmissable celebratory and flamboyant multi-arts explosion set in an eye-popping nature reserve with soul-nourishing outdoor pursuits abound, world class chefs plus a healthy side of dancefloor highjinx.

Tickets are now on sale HERE

With a range of beautiful accommodation to choose from and exclusive perks including luxury showers and loos, pamper parlour, restaurant and bar, parking, trolley service, and a 24-hour reception, the Boutique Campsite is a stunning place to call home for four days.