Pint-Sized Towersey Festival

Sad news - Pint-Sized Towersey cancelled.

We are heart broken to have had to, once again, cancel Towersey Festival this year.

With just 1 month to go we have had to make this hardest of decisions.  

NOW is the time that we have to start laying out large sums in upfront payments.  And with no insurance these, should the worse happen over the next 4 weeks, would bankrupt the festival.

 NOW is the time we have to make final Health & Safety plans with the local authority, plans around how we deal with the potentially increasing levels of COVID, new variants and outbreaks at the event.

NOW is the time we have to decide if what we can deliver will be anything close to what Towersey needs to be to make sure we are not under-delivering on our promises to you and the promises to ourselves that Towersey will always punch above its weight.

And NOW is the time to think about your health and safety, our health and the long-term health of this precious event of ours. 

 So we have had to weigh up what was best for the long-term future of the event, yours and our health, the health of the artists and stage crews and the festivals financial security and reputation.  

Yes, cancelling puts a HUGE financial strain on the organisation but not as big as being forced to cancel just before the event.  And the risk of running an “unsuccessful”, by our standards, event would have a much bigger impact on the future of Towersey in its new home.

That’s the why.  

But now, how can YOU help the festival and how can WE help you re-build your summer?

We are refunding tickets….in full!  For ticket holders who can and want to support the future of the festival by donating then please do so.

Any amount you can donate will help.  

And we are now busy planning things for the August weekend this year.  We haven’t quite worked it all out yet but as a thanks for the support, anyone who donates to this Crowdfunder, will get an exclusive invite to our planned online gathering, whatever that might be.

We will also still have some wonderful T’shirts and Hoodies. We are just amending the design to mark the missed years - for those that need their Towersey merch fix for the collection.

These will now be sent out to homes – orders will be taken until the end of August and then printed and dispatched so should arrive mid-September. 

We are not defeated…… just regrouping. We hope you will join us this August for something special online and for a bumper return of Towersey Festival  26-29 August 2022. More information and tickets for this coming soon.

Thank-you as always for the love and support xx

The festival was started back in 1965 by Denis Manners (The Granddad of the Current Director, Joe) in his back garden in the Oxfordshire village of Towersey. It is the oldest independent festival in the UK. We support music, community and sustainability. 

Towersey is an authentic independent festival with an amazing community spirit. It’s an exciting, inspiring, relaxing and homely place where you can see a line-up of top musicians and artists as well as discover new music, learn new skills and experience new things. It’s a festival for everyone, from small kids to grandparents, a place you can create family memories together. And from the moment you arrive you will feel part of the bigger Towersey family.

Towersey will always be a folk and roots festival with one foot firmly in our proud history and foundations and one excitedly in the future of festivals and music.

We aim to bring you an experience which will live with you forever, provide you with life-long friends and ensure there is nowhere else in the world you would rather be on the August Bank Holiday!

The Economics:

• To date, Towersey Festival has paid over £2 million in fees to Artists.
• We employ over 120 artists and bands every year
• Every year over a quarter of our overall expenditure is dedicated to artists, performers and workshop leaders
• Towersey Festival has raised (or helped to raise) over half a million pounds for charities, artists organisations and local community groups.
• We have spent over £4 million with event industry suppliers and spend around half of our expenditure on production
• UK Music Festivals contribute over £2.5 Billion to the UK economy
• Towersey alone contributes around £2.5 Million through customer and festival spending
• Towersey 2020 operating costs to date are over £120’000 (this is the minimum that one cancelled year will cost) This includes marketing spend, deposits, overheads and staff.

Most important of all… Towersey Festival has introduced music, art and culture to over 5000 people annually for 55 years.  Spreading happiness, well-being and the importance of tradition and art.