Ticket Prices Held - Weekend from £87, Day from £30

2 Months to go till the Biggest Acoustic Line-Up of the Year

Big Session Festival will soon be here and we think we may have the biggest (or at least the best) line-up of acoustic artists this side of Christmas (or Birmingham anyway!).

From massive Folk favourites like Show of Hands, Chris Wood, Jon Boden, Martin Simpson, Kris Drever and June Tabor to the great songwriters like Scott Matthews (Ivor Novello winner), ex Idlewild front man Roddy Woomble and songwriting machine Boo Herwerdine. 

More mainstream acoustic sounds come from big hitters The Lesiure Society, whose major fans include Brian Eno and Ray Davies, BBC 6 music favourite Jake Morley and artists making serious waves right now like Boat to Row, Blue Rose Code, Sam Brookes and John Wean.

The simply "perfect" (sorry) voice of Eddi Reader leads of list of stunning female vocalists such as Jesca Hoop (championed by Elbow's Guy Garvey), daughter of Richard, Kami Thompson, the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winning Lucy Ward and Radio 2 favourite Megan Henwood.

Then move slightly left field for acoustic driven hip hop with Dizraeli & the Small Gods, political satire with Chumbawamba, Irish improvised Rap from Abandoman, comic pathos with Gavin Osborn and acoustic Drum & Bass/Falmenco from More Like Trees.

World sounds come from all over with Denmark's Haberdekuk, the Gypsy fuelled sound of The Magic Tombolinos, Eastern European swing from Maniere Des Bohemiens and chilled DJ sets from legendary Big Chill founder Pete Lawrence.And that's just the start...
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Want a Top 10 Festival?

Well look no further. As voted for by the rather great (we would say that) and very knowlegable Songlines Magazine, we are officially one of the top 10 festivals for summer 2012. So if you were in any doubt about which festival to try then trust them, trust us and become part of the Big Session family.

Keeping it Regional

Big Session has always had an eye on where it takes place and we put serious effort into bringing the best from the region to our stages. We want to provide a platform for local talent (without compromising quality) and really become part of the community we work in. So look out for...

Maniere Des Bohemiens, Hhymn, Matt Boulter, Lucy Ward, Richard Warren, Anna Elias, Chris Tye, Dan Whitehouse, Alexa Hawksworth, Sam Beeton, Boat to Row, Nimming Ned, Julie Collings.....

and of course Burton Upon Trent's own The Leisure Society

Making the Oysterband Connections

Founders of the Festival and still at the helm, Oysterband will not only be playing twice but will also be out and about all weekend dropping in on sessions and generally getting stuck in. Their opening night is a fans request set (only to be seen at BS) and then they play Sunday with June Tabor. But look at some of the other connections the guys have coming along...

How many drummers? Well we think there might be at least 3 Oysterband drummers past and present at the Festival.....see if you can spot them.

The Alister Atkin Band plays on the Bar Stage and you might recognise at least one member of the band....don't miss that.

And we have our own Festival Ale (more on this soon) and it's being brewed by an old friend of the band who produced one of the early albums and will be at the Festival to tell you all about the Ale and do some mixing for one of our headline bands!?

Kirtsy Martin who leads our BIG sing workshops is the leader of a great community choir Hullabaloo who just happen to have collaborated with Oysterband before....let's hope for some Festival collaborational sing songs!

And finally (although we are sure there will be more) the boys will be joining Show of Hands for a very special Festival Finale on Sunday night. BE there.

Beyond the music....what makes a great Festival?

Huge Family Programme. We have that by the bucketful at our family venue The Orchard run by the good people who deliver Towersey Festival's legendary Children's Festival. Creating, playing, watching, laughing. Do as much or as little as you like.

A PROPER Real Ale & Cider Festival. Yep. Got that. FestivAles will deliver over 20 real ales and ciders across 3 bars, including a specially brewed Festival Ale "Ragged Kingdom".

Community Singing. Why not. Everyone should have a sing each day and you can at Big Session. No presssure, just good fun no matter how you sound.

Daily Yoga. Start the day with a great stretch to invigorate the senses.

Living Sculpture Village - kenetic sculptures, a working forge and chainsaw carving. You won't be able to miss it.

Just a few of the extras that will make Big Session a great Festival.

Location, Location, Location

Nestled between woodland and river on the edge of the National Forest, the Catton Hall site is an idyllic piece of English countyside. The beautiful and historic River Trent flows past and the stunning Catton Hall sits on the horizon of the campsite for all to see. It's bowling green flat and simply stunning. Why would you want to be anywhere else?