EppyFest, the eclectic music festival is back for its tenth year, and we’re very excited to be celebrating 10 years of this live music event in fine style and with a typically vibrant line-up. EppyFest 10 will be happening on the weekend of Saturday 29th July and Sunday 30th July in 2023. We will be returning to our venue, Smokey Joe’s Diner, at 16 Bennington St, Cheltenham, GL50 4ED. Buy tickets for EppyFest 10 here
Below are our current planned timings and line-up, though these may change.
On the Saturday doors will open at 6:30pm and we aim to finish by around 11:30pm.
Our big Saturday headliner announcement is The Utopia Strong, the psychedelic, electronic trio of Kavus Torabi, Michael J York, and Steve Davis, who will be bringing their Medical Grade Music to EppyFest 10. Kavus and Steve have been at EppyFest before – Kavus played with Gong at EppyFest 7, and Steve was in the audience for that performance, but we’re ecstatic to welcome them both back, along with Michael, for this triumvirate who create immense and evocative sound-worlds. You can hear their latest and brilliant album here.
Performing as the ‘middle act’ on the Saturday, we’ll be welcoming back Schnauser, a band that mix Canterbury prog, 60s psych and melodic pop. They’ve previously played at EppyFests 2 and 6, so we’ll be very keen to see them back in 2023. You can hear their latest and typically enjoyable album here.
And as for who will be kicking off the Saturday, well we’re very excited to welcome a new name to EppyFest, as part of our attempt to make the 10th EppyFest a little more international in flavour. Jerboah are an art-rock/improv-funk/post-pop/world beat/genre-bending quartet from Amsterdam. They are, in their own words, musical explorers. We’re very much looking forward to seeing them perform in the UK (we think for the first time). You can hear some of their older music via https://jerboah.bandcamp.com/ but they’ve been working on new stuff, which you’ll hopefully be able to hear at EppyFest.
Then, on the Sunday, doors should open at 4:30pm, and we aim to finish by around 9:30pm.
Opening the Sunday of EppyFest 10 will be Longstone, the experimental, electronic music collective formed in 1996 in Cheltenham, coalescing around the core duo of Mike Ward and Michael Cross. Longstone have played EppyFest before – they opened the 8th edition back in 2019 and were very well received – and people may remember their adventurous sound as well as their quirky visual elements. It’s always great to welcome back old friends to EppyFest, plus it’s great that we have a local band kicking things off on the Sunday. You can hear their latest and great album here.
The afternoon will continue with the duo of Richard Wileman and Amy Fry, who will be travelling over from Swindon to perform. Songwriter and composer Richard will be joined by long-term mercurial collaborator Amy for a selection of music perhaps best described as arcane acoustica. We’ve long been trying to get Richard and Amy on an EppyFest bill and fortunately the stars have finally aligned. You can get an idea of their sound by listening to the terrific album ‘Arcana’.
Our Sunday headliners are new to EppyFest but we’re overjoyed to welcome Mitsune, an all-female, folk fusion, shamisen trio based in Berlin, with members from Japan, Australia & Germany. For EppyFest they will be joined by a rhythm section of percussion and double bass. Mitsune mix Japanese folk songs with eastern blues, jazz, rock and cinematic music influences, to awesome effect. I can heartily recommend both their studio albums, including their latest, the brilliant ‘Hazama‘.
Advance tickets are available now for the whole weekend, as well as day tickets for just the Saturday or the Sunday, plus Sponsor tickets, for those of you willing to pay a little extra to support the festival this year & for the future. Sponsor tickets come with an EppyFest 10 poster & maybe something extra (TBC).
Buy tickets for EppyFest 10 here
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EppyFest is over for another year. Thanks to everyone who played at, attended or otherwise supported this year’s EppyFest 9 event. Plans are already afoot for the big EppyFest 10 in 2023, so be sure to spread the word about the festival to friends, family, any media outlets, etc., and also try to keep your diary free for Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th of July, 2023, when we will yet again be returning to Smokey Joe’s Coffee Bar & Prop Hire www.smokeyjoescheltenham.co.uk in Cheltenham. I’ll be posting more news as soon as I have it – we already have three acts lined up for next year, and I’m just trying to arrange the remaining three acts for that weekend. Until then, turn down life and turn up the Gibbon!
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Also on the bill on the Saturday will be The Curator, effectively the solo project for British songwriter, record producer and musician Alistair Murphy, who has worked with the likes of Tim Bowness and the late, great Judy Dyble. Alistair will be performing as part of a quartet and you can expect tracks from the 2021 album ‘All Lombard Street to a China Orange’, described in a Prog Magazine review as “thoughtful and assured work from a genuinely talented artist”.
And kicking off the Saturday will be Garden of Live Flowers, the psychedelic rock/pop band formed by Leopold and Allyson Blue-Sky. Leopold previously performed at the fourth EppyFest as a member of the band Unto Us. You can expect to hear tracks from last year’s excellent debut album, ‘Sticky, Sweet and Dirty’.
Then, on the Sunday, doors should open at 4:30pm, and we aim to finish by around 9pm.
The Sunday will start with a performance by EppyFest favourite Neil Campbell, who has previously performed solo sets at EppyFests 6 and 7. This time, though, his solo guitar work will intermingle with duets with singer, composer and musician Una Quinn. Neil, a Liverpool composer and multi-instrumentalist has been described as, “one of the best acoustic guitar players of our time” – Jon Neudorf, Sea of Tranquility, and as “one of the U.K.’s shamefully undiscovered contemporary composers” – Bob Mulvey, The Progressive Aspect. Una’s debut album, ‘Inside Out’, which features Neil, has been described as, “a modern reinvention of classic folk brought to life through many diverse, coloured textures” – Derval McCloat, BBC 6 Fresh on the Net.
The afternoon will continue with Psychedelicat, the duo consisting of Rebsie Fairholm and Marvin B. Naylor. Marvin’s unique style of 60s-marinaded psych-pop and Rebsie’s dark chocolate psych-folk combine to create new dimensions in jangle. This performance follows their well-received live debut at EppyFest 8 in 2019 and they will be performing songs mainly from their soon to be released debut album, ‘Like a Delicate Psychedelicat’.
Our Sunday headliners are new to EppyFest but we’re overjoyed to welcome Hands of the Heron, an alt-folk project from Bristol, instantly recognisable for their vocal harmonies and mercurial sound. They move effortlessly between sparse choral folk and spellbinding chamber pop, richly layered with multiple instruments. Their second album, ’13 Moons’ was released in 2021, and has been gathering widespread praise from fans and critics alike. For example, Joyzine described it as, “a wondrous collection of curious story-songs, choral singing and carefully layered instrumentation”. They will be performing as a trio, with some tracks from ’13 Moons’, but mostly new material that they’re keen to share!
Advance tickets are available now via https://buytickets.at/eppyfest/337812 for the whole weekend, as well as day tickets for just the Saturday or the Sunday. Our advance Sponsor tickets, for those of you willing to pay a little extra to support the festival this year & for the future, have already sold out, so thank you to all our very generous sponsors.
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EppyFest is over for another year. Thanks to everyone who played at, attended or otherwise supported this year’s event. Plans are already afoot for EppyFest 9 in 2020 so be sure to spread the word about the festival to friends, family, any media outlets, etc., and also try to keep your diaries free for late July 2020. I’ll be posting news as soon as I have it. Until then, turn down life and turn up the Gibbon!
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Approximate Timings and other important information for EppyFest 8 on Saturday 20th July
Our EppyFest venue, Smokey Joe’s, will be open as usual during the day for food and drink, so you’re free to pop in, but from 6pm it will only be open to people with tickets or those intending to buy tickets.
From 6pm to 6:45 you will be able to order and eat food in the front area of Smokey Joe’s but the back area, where the bands will be playing, will be off-limits.
If you bought tickets in advance you will be given a wristband and you can also pick up any extra goodies if you bought a Sponsor ticket. If you have not bought an advance ticket then you will need to buy one for £15 – there are cash only sales at the venue. You can still buy advance tickets (which are also cheaper at £12.50) via http://www.eppyfest.co.uk up until midnight on Friday 19th – after that you will only be able to buy them at the venue.
From around 6:45pm we’re hoping to let people into the back area. You can still order food and drink from either the front or back areas throughout the evening.
We’re looking to start the live music from 7pm, with a strict cut-off of 11pm, so all acts will be playing during this four hour period only.
Approximate start times are as follows:
Longstone on at 7pm
Marvin B Naylor and Rebsie Fairholm on at 8pm
Sanguine Hum on at 9pm
Tim Burness and band on at 10pm
Although there will be no live music after 11pm, alcohol will be available until midnight and you can also stay to chat with the musicians and buy their merchandise (or even an EppyFest t-shirt). Merchandise will be available all evening, though it’s probably best to buy in between the bands playing their sets or after the last band has finished. Again, sales are strictly cash only.
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A further announcement about this year’s upcoming EppyFest 8, happening on Saturday 20th July in Cheltenham at Smokey Joe’s. www.smokeyjoescheltenham.co.uk
Our headliner is Tim Burness and his band – Tim is a Brighton-based UK musician who has been recording & performing since the early 1980s. “Interconnected”, his latest album, was released on 12th November, 2018. As with Tim’s previous work, the album features a wide range of musical styles – from progressive rock to pop with touches of ambient electronica. The lyrics cover a range of interconnected themes – from the personal to the political to the spiritual. www.timburness.com/
Before Tim, we warmly welcome back Sanguine Hum (acoustic), the duo version of the band, consisting of Matt Baber and Joff Winks. If you were at EppyFest last year you’ll know they wowed everyone with a sensational performance. This year they’ll be playing more new material. www.sanguinehum.com
We’re also very happy to be welcoming back gifted singer, songwriter & guitarist Marvin B Naylor to EppyFest. Last time he played EppyFest he was performing on his own but we’re thrilled to announce that this time he’ll be joined by Rebsie Fairholm, who specialises in dark haunting psych-folk, inspired by the English landscape. Their duo performance will combine material from both their back catalogues. marvinbnaylor.com/ & rebsiefairholm.co.uk
And we’re also excited to announce Longstone on the bill, an experimental, electronic music collective formed in 1996 in Cheltenham, coalescing around the core duo of Mike Ward and Mike Cross. With influences ranging from Kraftwerk to My Bloody Valentine, & from Aphex Twin to Jethro Tull, you know you can expect the unexpected. longstone.bandcamp.com
You will be able to order tickets in advance and I’ll provide more information about that soon.
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It’s 2019 and I’m glad to announce that there will be an EppyFest 8 later this year. It’ll again be happening in Cheltenham, on the evening of Saturday 20th July at our new venue, Smokey Joe’s (16, Bennington St, Charlotte, Cheltenham, GL50 4ED). I can’t give you all the details now – this is mainly so you can put the date in your diary – but details about the very exciting line-up & the tickets will be coming soon. Keep checking back here, listen to the Eppy Gibbon show and go to the Facebook group for all the latest news…
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EppyFest is over for another year. Thanks to everyone who played at, attended or otherwise supported this year’s event. If you’d like there to be an EppyFest 8 in 2019 then be sure to spread the word about the festival to friends, family, any media outlets, etc., and also try to keep your diaries free for late July 2019. I’ll be posting news as soon as I have it. Until then, turn down life and turn up the Gibbon!
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Eppyfest 7 Itinerary
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Eppyfest 7 Announces full line up, venue and ticket information
www.eppyfest.co.uk
www.facebook.com/groups/eppygibbongroupmembers
EppyFest – the eclectic music festival run by Ian Fairholm of the Epileptic Gibbon Podcast, now in conjunction with Stephen Lambe and Huw Lloyd-Jones of Sonicbond Promotions – is happy to announce full details of its 7th edition. The festival will begin on the evening of Friday 27th July 2018 and continue on Saturday 28th beginning at around 1pm at its new home St. Margaret’s Hall, Coniston Road, Hatherley, Cheltenham GL51 3NU
Festival organiser Ian Fairholm talks about the new-look festival:
“I am delighted that my collaboration with Stephen and Huw has allowed the festival to spread its wings, by bringing in headliners of greater stature, so I am thrilled to have booked the legendary international psychedelic and progressive rock band Gong and the hugely popular English contemporary music ensemble – the North Sea Radio Orchestra. I am also excited to be able to bring back some familiar names in Sanguine Hum (acoustic), Neil Campbell and Thumpermonkey, while making their first appearances will be Fractal Mirror (stripped down), Bristol-based band Lord of Worms and our Saturday special guest Doris Brendel, who has been described as a modern day Janis Joplin.”
Sponsor ticket (including an EppyFest 2018 T-shirt) at £60 and standard Friday / Saturday joint tickets priced £40 are on sale now. Day tickets (for just the Friday evening or all-day Saturday) are now also available.
Stephen Lambe discusses the new venue:
” After quite a search, we settled on St. Margaret’s Hall in Cheltenham as the new home of the festival. It’s a superb space, with room to grow and great on-site parking. It’s also nicely positioned so that it’s close to Cheltenham train station, 5 minutes from the M5 and not far from Cheltenham Town Centre with its wealth of accommodation.”
The line up:
Friday 27th July
Gong planetgong.co.uk
Neil Campbell neilcampbell.org.uk
Saturday 28th July
Evening
North Sea Radio Orchestra nsro.co.uk
Doris Brendel dorisbrendel.com
Sanguine Hum (acoustic) sanguinehum.com
Afternoon
Thumpermonkey thumpermonkey.com/
Lord of Worms facebook.com/lordofwormsmusic/
Fractal Mirror (stripped down) fractalmirror.net
More details to follow very soon!
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EPPYFEST JOINS FORCES WITH THE SUMMER’S END FESTIVAL
EppyFest – the eclectic music festival run by Ian Fairholm of the Epileptic Gibbon Podcast – will join together with the Summer’s End Festival organisation for its 2018 edition.
The Gloucestershire-based festival has run every year since 2012, and past performers have included The William D. Drake band, Judy Dyble, The Korgis vs. Stackridge, Firefly Burning, Flutatious, Henry Fool, The Fierce and the Dead, Sanguine Hum, Sheelanagig, Schnauser, Thumpermonkey and Trojan Horse.
Stephen Lambe – co-promoter of the Summer’s End and Winter’s End Progressive Rock Festivals with Huw Lloyd-Jones, explains why they felt so compelled to add Eppyfest to their roster of events:
“Eppyfest is unique. No other festival in the UK combines rock, folk, jazz and contemporary classical music in such a fantastic way. As fans of the festival -and I’ve been to all but one – our intention is to give Eppyfest the budget and the organisational back up to secure its future and help it reach a wider audience, while freeing up Ian to concentrate on what he loves most – pulling the line up together.”
Ian Fairholm comments:
“Putting EppyFest together over the past six years has been immense fun but also immensely challenging. I’ve had a strong desire to keep the festival going and allow it to grow, and with the help of Stephen and Huw, who have made the Summer’s End Festival such a success, I now see that as a definite reality. EppyFest will maintain its own distinctive character but this new partnership will help it to flourish in 2018.”
Eppyfest 2018 is already in the planning stage, and will take place as usual in late July, expanding to a Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and evening. It will move from its previous home in Stroud to a new venue in the Cheltenham area.
Advance “Superstar” tickets, for anyone wanting to provide extra financial support with this new expanded EppyFest experience, will be available soon, as will full details of the new venue and date.
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We’re not doing a full-on EppyFest this year (2017) BUT very importantly we are doing an EppyFest Mini on the evening of Saturday July 29th, though as with previous years we’re likely to be having social events over the whole weekend. Our fabulous line-up has been finalised:
Bristol-based band Schnauser will headline with their mixture of Canterbury prog, 60s psych and modern pop, including tracks from their brand new album, ‘Irritant’.
You can also see amazing guitarist Neil Campbell, psych/folk/pop singer-songwriter Candythief who appeared at the very first EppyFest & makes her welcome return, Matt Baber (keyboardist with the mighty Sanguine Hum) who will be delivering a solo set, & whimsical prog popster Mister Pongle.
This year’s smaller event takes place at the Frog and Fiddle in Cheltenham. The main EppyFest website eppyfest.co.uk/ will be updated soon BUT tickets are already available to pre-order (see below for details).
Advance tickets cost £8 each for standard tickets (£10 on the door, on the day) & it’s £20 for an advance ticket for those of you wanting to pay a little extra to support EppyFest (you’ll also get an EppyFest Mini poster). You can buy advance tickets (for either £8 or £20) now via: paypal.me/EppyFest
Please spread the word and let’s make EppyFest Mini a great success!
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EppyFest is happening again this year (2016) and will be taking place on Saturday July 16th, though as with previous years we’re likely to be having social events over the whole weekend. Our fabulous line-up has been announced: William D. Drake & band will headline, plus you’ll be able to see Judy Dyble & her band of Perfect Strangers, the Sirkis/Bialas International Quartet, Darkroom, Tom Slatter & Marvin B Naylor. The event again takes place at the Lansdown Hall in Stroud. The main EppyFest website eppyfest.co.uk/ has been updated and tickets are now available to pre-order from there. Please spread the word and let’s make this the best EppyFest yet!
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Following three successful EppyFests in 2012, 2013 and 2014 I’m very happy to announce that there will be a fourth EppyFest in 2015, taking place on Saturday 11th July 2015 at The Lansdown Hall in Stroud, Gloucestershire. You can listen to the EppyFest 4 promo trailer here.
Our headliners will be The Korgis vs. Stackridge, which will see Andy Davis, James Warren and their band performing songs from both back catalogues.
The penultimate act will be duo Arch Garrison (featuring Craig Fortnam, of North Sea Radio Orchestra, & James Larcombe, of Stars in Battledress).
Before them and after the dinner break will be Unto Us, the UK rock band who fuse prog, jazz, metal & HobNobs.
Before the dinner break it’s Trojan Horse who drag 70s prog rock kicking and screaming through the subsequent decades & sculpt their mass of noise into beautiful shapes.
Before them will be Firefly Burning who draw on Javanese gamelan, guitars, cello, violin, voice, gongs & piano, to produce a cross between folk-pop & classical music, a bit like North Sea Radio Orchestra meets Kate Bush.
And piano-led progressive pop/jazz/trip-hop/rock outfit Death In Texas will open the event.
More details about tickets to come here over the next few weeks and months, and on http://www.eppyfest.co.uk/ which is now the main site for the festival itself. Below is the poster for last year’s event.
The first EppyFest happened on the evening of Saturday, 23 June 2012 and featured the poppy psych folk of Candythief, the loop guitar wizardry of Matt Stevens, and William D Drake & his band headlined with their neo-classical art rock and that dash of Cardiacs magic.
The second EppyFest happened on Saturday 6th July, 2013 and was headlined by Sheelanagig, with other performances from Sanguine Hum, Schnauser, She Makes War, Tinkerscuss and Becky Rose.
EppyFest 2, July 6th, 2013, Lansdown Hall in Stroud. Tickets ARE NOW AVAILABLE to buy!!! If you’d rather wait until the afternoon/evening of the event itself you can buy on the door at the Lansdown Hall but they will cost £25. Either way it’s still a bargain for six wonderful acts. Please buy and/or spread the word. I look forward to seeing lots of you there! Here’s the full six-act line-up:
Opener – Becky Rose – highly talented young singer/songwriter/musician with an incredible voice.
2nd on bill – Tinkerscuss – Gloucestershire-based duo Erin & Bryony Holden play a mixture of both traditional & Celtic-based folk music. Erin’s Celtic guitar tuning mixes with Bryony’s rich, resonant vocals & expressive performance to create an atmosphere of melody & rhythmic beauty.
3rd on bill – She Makes War – DIY solo project of Bristol based multi-instrumentalist, visual artist & digital polymath Laura Kidd, blending urgent, grungey guitars with processed beats, heady pop melodies and a liberal dusting of glitter.
4th on bill – Schnauser – Bristol based band that play Canterbury prog, 60s psych & melodic pop/rock, awash with unexpected chord changes, harmonies, black humour and odd time signatures.
5th on bill – Sanguine Hum – modern, forward-thinking prog rock four-piece band that combine complex ensemble work, profound song-writing, uniquely ambitious instrumental pieces & affecting sonic landscapes. Intriguing combination of influences & styles, from Frank Zappa to Porcupine Tree, from Robert Wyatt to Boards of Canada, & from Radiohead to Hatfield & the North.
Headliner – Sheelanagig – Bristol purveyors of the finest Balkan jazz-folk mayhem. Their live performances are an intense experience, encompassing street theatre, elements of storytelling & acrobatics, and the band remain dedicated to creating music that can delight listeners with intricate & rhythmically diverse arrangements of traditional & composed music.
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The Epileptic Gibbon podcast music show 
Wish I could join vous, but, at the very least, I shall be there in spiritus!
Merci, Veronique!
Splendid splendid evening, super job, and thank you loads for getting Mr Drake to headline!! I have a video of the final two tunes by Bill – let me know where I can share. Rob.
Cheers, Rob! So glad you enjoyed. It was a fabulous evening and Mr Drake and band were on top form (as were all the acts). Are you okay to put the video up somewhere (e.g. YouTube or similar) and I then I can spread the link around?
And thanks for the video, Rob. Here’s the link for others to view Mr Drake’s encore: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8XT4Yekgis&feature=youtu.be
Eh up folks… Bill told me the song title for the final song – so the above video has been amended.. Cheers, Rob
Hey…my name is Andy Eppy :-D
How about a free ticket?
Hi Andy! Nice try but every ticket sale counts (we’re on a very tight budget!) so you’d be more than welcome to attend EppyFest but no free tickets I’m afraid.
Hi, I keep getting a ‘number not recognised’ response each time I try to get tickets, is there any other number I can ring or a different way of booking? I live too far away to collect in person and don’t want to miss out or drive over on the day to find we can’t get in. Cheers.
Hi Dave,
Sorry to hear you’re getting a ‘number not recognised’ response each time you try to get EppyFest tickets. I’ve tried the number myself just now and I’m having the same problem. It’s the first I’ve heard of it so I’m hoping this a temporary technical fault and I’m looking into it.
There isn’t currently a different number but you could email Kane’s Records (their email address is sales@kanesrecords.com) and ask them to put tickets aside for you and then pick them up and pay for them on the day of the festival. Let me know if this works out for you and I’ll get back to you if I hear more about the phone problem.
Best wishes
Yay! Fab new poster. :-)
How do we apply to get involved in Eppyfest?
Sorry for the delay in me replying. We’re pretty much full up for next year’s EppyFest. If you’d like to send me music for inclusion on the podcast or for consideration for a future EppyFest then let me know. :-)
Hi there!
Who is the best person to contact in regards to artist application for the 2014 festival? This festival looks right up my alley!
Cheers
Tori
Hi Tori! Sorry for the delay in me replying. We’re pretty much full up for next year’s EppyFest. If you’d like to send me music for inclusion on the podcast or for consideration for a future EppyFest then let me know. :-)
Best wishes,
Ian
To whom it concerns,
Please consider Strange Folk for a slot at next years festival.
If you require a press pack please let me know.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
David Setterfield
http://www.strangefolk.co.uk
http://www.speegra.com/2012/10/strange-folk-2/
http://m.reverbnation.com/artist/strangefolk
Hi David! We’re pretty much full up for next year’s EppyFest. If you’d like to send me music for inclusion on the podcast or for consideration for a future EppyFest then let me know. :-)
Best wishes,
Ian