Show of Hands Festival

Aim: Join the movement! Back a new experimental festival of Jazz, ideas, choice, and hot air balloons.

We are the team behind Show of Hands; an independent music & arts festival built on community and the power of choice, and we need your help to realise our new vision.

Between us we have 4 decades of experience in programming, production & marketing at the UK’s most loved immersive organisations (including Glastonbury, Bestival, Green Man, WOMAD, Valley Fest , Punchdrunk, and Block9)...

We’ve seen what makes festivals great and what kills the magic. Show of Hands is the antidote, where we will put people over profit, intuition over algorithms, where collaboration- by design- comes first. The result is a festival fundamentally shaped by its attendees, with creativity, connection, and participation at its heart.

With your help, we will create a new independent music & arts festival launching the second May Bank Holiday next year - Friday 22nd - Monday 25th May 2026 - built around 4 things:

• Radical governance: Every person at the festival (including the audience, artists, and crew) has the power to propose ideas, and vote on others’, with the results of each vote being binding
• Nature: Through inspiring talks on nature, sustainability, and social responsibility, we aim to spark ideas and drive change far beyond the weekend
• Spectacle: Experience stunning artistry, unique performances, breathtaking set designs, and hot air balloons
• Music: a celebration of the Worlds of Jazz and Electronica, with live performances in London Jazz, Nü, and Experimental Jazz by day, and DJ sets by night

Artists who fit this bill:

Ezra Collective • Thundercat • The Comet Is Coming

Kamashi Washington • Steam Down • Nubiyan Twist 

TC & The Groove Family

Flying Lotus • Square Pusher • Leon Vynehall 

Aphex Twin • Four Tet • Bonobo

We will create SAFE, INCLUSIVE, AND ENGAGING SPACES. Play areas for kids, creative hubs for teens, and immersive experiences for all.

Show Of Hands Festival will feature live performances, storytelling, interactive workshops, and local food & drink.

This is your opportunity to build a World that is only restricted by the limit of your imagination.

You can read more about our mission statement on our Show of Hands Website

WE NEED YOUR HELP BECAUSE 

We’d like to remain fiercely independent, we can’t do that without being championed by the community and you can help us keep it independent by contributing and being a part of it.

Together we can create an alternative to commercialised, formula driven festivals.

Keep us completely independent by contributing and being part of the community. Support Independence!

CHALLENGES

There are funding challenges we will face as independence means relying on community support and financial transparency. We refuse to sell out your experience to the highest bidder, so naturally our costs are higher in putting on the best show possible. We are fully committed to being as transparent in the process as we can and,by contributing, you become part of the team.

From hot air ballooning to accessibility, meticulous planning ensures a smooth festival. We are experienced and driven to deliver a safe well planned event for all ages

WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT?

This is a community driven project, where you shape the festival’s future through a vote, influencing everything from its creative direction to the rules the World operates by

At Show of Hands, the more you put in, the more you shape its future. It's a festival that belongs to its community.

WHAT DO YOU GET RETURN

It's easy to get involved! Pre-order your ticket, contribute to the campaign, and be the first to receive bonus material exclusive to contributors.

For contributing early and making this project become reality we have some exciting rewards on offer including:

• Heavily discounted festival tickets 
• Hot air balloon experiences
• Limited edition merch
• Your name in the programme, on a plaque, and some other very, very secret items…

We want to do this ourselves and with you, as it's you guys who keep independent festivals alive. This is incredibly important as this way we get complete creative  freedom to build the event that is inspired by our experiences together.

With your support we can create a festival we are all proud of!

Any support you can offer us will be much appreciated:

• Contribute  as generously as you can
• Share the campaign
• Let people know what's going on!

THANK YOU!

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 9th July 2025 at 11:00pm