The first wave of artists at this year’s Wilderness Festival has now been announced, with Grace Jones, Bonobo, Two Door Cinema Club, First Aid Kit and Michael Kiwanuka among them. Taking place at the beautiful Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire on Thursday 3rd until Sunday 6th August, Wilderness combines top quality musical bookings with a wealth of other attractions, from superb cuisine through to stunning theatre performances and more.

The Wilderness Main Stage will be a diverse affair, with the indie-pop of Friday headliners Two Door Cinema Club giving way to the arresting eccentricity of Grace Jones on Saturday and Bonobo’s hypnotic live set on Sunday. Run in association with 6 Music, the stage will also feature Swedish folk sisters First Aid Kit, BRIT nominee Michael Kiwanuka and Ray BLK, winner of the BBC Sound of 2017. Reggae icons Toots & The Maytals also appear, as does Aurora for a UK festival exclusive.

Wilderness will also be blessed by a good few DJs, with Jackmaster, Artwork, Nightmares On Wax, PBR Streetgang and more conducting parties in the forest. Culinary creatives will be runnings feasts across several different venues, whilst music, theatre and dance stages boast the likes of prepared pianist Hauschka, Ronnie Scott’s presenting Lucky Peterson and The Wilderness Orchestra’s tribute to Nina Simone.

Tickets are already on sale.

The First Announcement in full...

Live Music & Dancing...
The Wilderness Main Stage With BBC Music

Grace Jones
Two Door Cinema Club
Bonobo (Live)
First Aid Kit
Michael Kiwanuka  ~ Toots & The Maytals ~ Aurora Uk Exclusive
Ray Blk  ~ Hudson Taylor  ~ Louis Berry
The Correspondents  ~ The Turbans  ~ Sigrid  ~ The Ska Vengers
Brian Deady  ~ Ten Fe  ~ Tender Central ~  Catherine Mcgrath

Parties In The Forest...
The Valley

Jackmaster ~  Artwork
Nightmares On Wax Dj Set  
Crazy P ~  Pbr Streetgang ~  Mr Doris
Peak & Swift ~  Waifs & Strays And Itchy Rich
Futureboogie ~  Hot Blood

Banquets & Feasting...
Long-Table Banquets

Yotam Ottolenghi ~ Nuno Mendes ~ Thomasina Miers

Feasting Tents

Angela Hartnett’s Cafe Murano
Petersham Nurseries ~  The Pig ~  Patty & Bun

The Chef’s Table

Tommy Banks (Black Swan)
Robin Gill (The Dairy) ~  Hamish Brown (Roka)
Merlin Labron-Johnson (Portland, Clipstone)

The Dining Room

Berber & Q ~  Breddos  ~ Kricket  ~  Frenchie  ~ Bao  ~  Bubbledogs

World-Class Music, Theatre & Dance

An Evening With Ronnie Scott’s Presenting Lucky Peterson
Academy Award And Bafta 2017 Nominee Hauschka
A Sunday Of Nina Simone With The Wilderness Orchestra
Sadler’s Wells ~ Company Wayne Mcgregor
Breakin’ Convention
Alex Mendham And His Orchestra
Introducing Live Daft Punk Reimagined
Hip Hop Karaoke ~ Film Score Show
Age Of L.U.N.A ~ Honeyfeet
Camden People’s Theatre Presents ‘all The Right Notes’ & ‘the Big Bang’
Rogue Theatre Presents ‘rogue Tales From Wild Places’
‘all The Things I Lied About’ By Katie Bonna
‘undercover’ A Stealth Spy Mission

Daytime in the fields…
The Atrium Supported By Time Out

The Travelling Folk Barn
With Front Room Songs, Woodburner, Two For Joy & The Local

My Baby ~  The Breath ~  Lena Laki
Black Peaches ~ Josienne Clark And Ben Walker  
Nina Harries  ~  The Monster Ceilidh Band  ~  Richi Jones
The Anatomy Of Frank ~  Rainbrother  ~   Bayou Seco  
‘the Big Barn Dance’ With Cut A Shine  
We Singing Colours  ~  Nadine Khouri
Hot Rock Pilgrims ~  Faith I Branko ~   Mellah
James Riley  ~  The Cash Cows  
The Relatives ~   Fell
Yolanda Eyama & Afro World Groove

The Return Of Festival Favourites…

The Saturday Night Spectacular / The Wilderness Cricket Match
The Secret Post Office / The Playhouse / The Club House Championships

Explore The Night Realm…

Introducing…

The Love Hotel
Movimientos’ Tropical Dance Party
The Hustle

At The Carousel

The Shotgun Wedding Show ~ Voodoo Rising Party ~ The Sunday Stampede

Talks & Debates
Our Partners

Tate Britain - The School Of Life ~ Frontline Club ~ The Rsa
Pen International ~ Greenpeace Uk ~ Sunday Assembly
Sunday Papers Live
Salon London: Gigantic Ideas Of The Year
Round Table Debates
Wilderness Utopias: The Future Of The Democracy ~ State Of The Nation
Fake News Quiz ~ Conversations From The Edge

Seek Out Mass Gatherings…

Get Married With Shesus & The Sistas
The Big Swing Challenge With Swing Patrol
Daily Mass Yoga With Stretch

After Sundown…

The Club House ‘winners Party’ ~ Comedy Every Night At The Forum
Cabaret With Missy Fatale ~ Fireside Sing-A-Longs & Storytelling

Wellbeing...

The Lakeside Spa ~ The Sanctuary
Xtend Barre Studio ~ Fierce Grace  
The Life Centre ~ Sangye Yoga School~ Stretch
Yogi Ashokananda ~ G-Love ~ Pilates
Acroyoga ~ Hip Hop Yoga  ~ Yoga Rave
Neal’s Yard Remedies Massages & Facials

The Great Outdoors

Wild Swimming ~ Archery ~ Wild Medicine Walks
Foraging & Butchery With Hunter Gather Cook ~ Horse Riding ~ Fly Fishing
Boating ~ Forest Bike Adventures ~ Midnight Runners
Nature Walks With Wild Capital ~ Cotswold Natural Mindfulness Walks

Workshops

The Art Studio ~ Green Crafts Village ~ Haus Of Victorinox
Art Macabre ~ The Indytute
Taxidermy & Butterfly Setting With A Curious Invitation
Pimp My Pineapple With Christabel’s
Release Your Inner Cartoonist With Harry Venning
Rustic Carpentry / Jewellery Making / Chalk Sculpting
Leather Crafts / Metal Work / Stone Carving

Kids Area

Storystock ~ Polka Theatre ~ Pachamama Crafts
Flying Seagulls ~ Cabrito ~ Sharky & George
Green Caterpillar Overnight Camps ~
Mortimer Nannies ~ Curious Company

Gathering Places And Cocktail Spaces…

Veuve Clicquot Champagne Bar ~ The Peacock Bar
Orchard Pig Cider Barn ~ The Sipsmith Gin Distillery
The Meantime Tank Bar ~ Pimm’s Croquet Club

Words by Andrew Kemp
Photo courtesy of Wilderness Festival