HOME Fri June 22 & Sat June 23 2012-A festival with acoustic music at its heart Dartington Hall, Devon 

Charlotte Church a surprise addition to HOME’s stellar line-up

Dartington the first English festival to hear Welsh star’s new sound 

Charlotte Church will unveil a bold and striking new sound at Dartington’s HOME world music festival in Devon this month. 

The Cardiff-based singer, as you’ve never heard her before, is a surprise addition to the line up of the 2012 festival to be staged at scenic Dartington Hall, near Totnes, and will appear with her band on the main stage on Saturday evening (June 23). 

HOME will be the first English music festival to witness Charlotte’s latest “reincarnation” as she performs an exciting set of previously unheard material. The fresh sound has been described as “a mix between Kate Bush and Florence Welch”, showcasing the vocal range and power of the woman who has sold more than 10 million records.

Talking about her new direction recently on BBC Radio Wales, 26 year-old Charlotte said: “After 14 years I’d got a bit disenchanted with the music industry but then I started writing and recording again and built a band of mostly Cardiff musicians. It’s great to be creating something new and exciting and performing songs that stretch my voice. It’s quite intricate with different textures and layers and I’m properly using my voice as an instrument, so you become one big musical unit with the band. It’s been an amazing experience and I’m really excited about my music for the first time in ages.”

Charlotte has sung for popes and presidents, after first getting public recognition when she sang Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Pie Jesu over the phone on TV’s This Morning.

Her debut album Voice of an Angel was released in 1998, selling millions of copies worldwide and has duetted with some of the biggest names in music.

In 2005 she embarked on a new pop direction with the album Tissues and Issues enjoying UK chart success with two singles. After taking a break from showbiz to have a family Charlotte landed her own Channel 4 show in 2006 and went on to appear on TV’s Heartbeat, Have I Got News For You and was a judge on Lloyd Webber’s 2010 TV talent show Over the Rainbow. In 2010 she also released her first album in five years, Back To Scratch.

HOME’s artistic director Thomas Brooman, co-founder of WOMAD, said: “HOME is unique in that it’s predominantly a festival of acoustic music showcasing global artists in the intimate and unusual setting of Dartington’s Great Hall and gardens.

Our outdoor stage also features amplified music and Charlotte’s soaring voice and new sound will fill this perfectly.”

Festival camping has also been announced and will be based at the Old Foxhole site, a 10 minute walk from the main site. The site of the former Dartington Hall School, it will offer campers indoor toilet and shower facilities, pop-up stalls selling essential items and a breakfast stall selling coffee and sandwiches. There is also a quiet camping area for families and limited hard standing for campervans and caravans. All camping is at a flat rate of £7 per person for adults and children and can be booked on (01803) 847070 or HERE

Headlining the inspirational and cosmopolitan festival will be West Country favourites Show of Hands (Saturday) and Tibet’s exiled Tashi Lhunpo monks (Friday). Show of Hands, celebrating their incredible 20^th year in 2012, will be back on home turf after their fourth sell-out of the Royal Albert Hall at Easter.

One of the many highlights of last year’s festival was the “secret garden” gig performed by BBC award-winning Jackie Oates and this year she will return to Dartington with her band on the Saturday. Hailed as one of the finest young fiddle singers to emerge onto the UK folk scene, Jackie scooped the Horizon (Best Newcomer) title at the 2009 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Johnny Kalsi

Other artists will include Johnny Kalsi’s dynamic Dhol Foundation, with their thundering Dhol drum sound. They will be heard at Dartington on the Friday showing just why their bhangra music has gone down a storm with audiences around the world.  

Further enriching the line-up will be The Krar Collective (Ethiopia), the sensational West African music and dance troupe Ballet Nimba and the quartet SANS whose music ranges from subtle Finnish runo-song to English, Scottish and Armenian trad melodies. Patrick Duff - one of the UK’s finest singer-songwriters - returns to HOME and from Poland come Romany Diamonds whilst the Bristol Reggae Orchestra is sure to get the joint jumping. 

The festival also features “on the doorstep” Devon artists including Totnes band Matthew and Me, the young female percussion duo Malleticious (right), singer-songwriter Nicky Swann and musicians from the South West Music School including exciting boundary-pushing Solarference (Nick Janaway and Sarah Owen). 

The three stages include a main outdoor stage in the medieval Dartington courtyard and the exquisite performance space of Dartington’s Great Hall where all performances are unplugged.

The family-friendly festival will also feature food, films, workshops, craft and market stalls and children’s activities including a popular discovery trail in Dartington’s glorious gardens. 

Great value tickets for Friday/Saturday are now on sale price £58.50. (Concessions apply for over 60s, unwaged and full time students). Friday tickets are just £20 and Saturday tickets £45.An exceptional offer will provide one free Under 16 ticket with any adult ticket purchase. Under 5s go free but must be booked in. 

One of the most beautiful festival sites in the country, Dartington is just two miles from Totnes in South Devon and has been described as “a bit of English magic”, with its magnificent gardens, 14^th century medieval hall and courtyard, rolling farmland and ancient deer park.