Set in the beautiful cotswolds village North Nibley (in Stroud, Gloucestershire), Nibley Festival is somewhat of a hidden gem that delivers fantastic live music, fun family activities, a silent disco and much more.

Extremely popular amongst locals and beyond, tickets often sell out fast and many families make Nibley their annual festival.

With so many festivities surrounding the cotswolds in the height of summer, what makes Nibley worth the ticket?

Well, we haven’t been ourselves just yet but we have been on their social media platforms for a number of years and have always seen nothing but praise for the event. Tickets can be like gold dust, especially kids tickets.

Nibley Festival is described as “….the friendly festival in a stunning Cotswold location.  The best music, free entertainment for the kids, stalls, local beer, food from around the world – it’s the recipe for a perfect day. Camp on Friday and Saturday to make a weekend of it.”

Nibley always offer a fantastic line up of live music every year. Catering for fans of all genres, Nibley have played host to some high calibre artists in the past such as Sugarhill Gang, Example, The Pigeon Detectives, The Fratellis, Dub Pistols, Scouting for Girls, Reverend and The Makers, 90’s favourites Cast, Sleeper, Space and some of our favourites Ward Thomas, Kerri Watt, Danny and The Champions of the World, Dan Owen, Foreign Affairs, Lucy Spraggan, Shootin’ The Crow and more.

This year, after a 2 year postponement and some financial losses due to the pandemic , Nibley have still managed to deliver a well worthy line up.

The line up includes;

Feeder, Dub Pistols, Spector, Dutty Moonshine Big Band, Wildwood Kin, William The Conqueror, Noble Jacks, Cut Capers, Grace Grundy, Tom A Smith, The Rosellys, Little Violet, Kate Lomas, Alex Lipinski & The Crown Electric, The Flyin’ A’s, Rainbreakers, Sam Eason, Arkansaw Jukebox Collective, Alex Taylor, Lucy Mayhew, 90’s Acoustic Mixtape, The Lasting Days and many more.

View the line up and get more information on the acts here

As well as live music, there’s lots of fun to be had for kids of all ages.

Family festival favourites such as a ferris wheel and inflatables will be there for kids to have fun on but there are also a whole range of varied activities that will keep the little and older ones entertained all weekend.

There will be

Friday night football skills

Wiltshire Astronomers

The Flying Seagull Project – circus shows, workshops, magic, kids comedy, fun games and more

Savage Skills BMX Display Team
– Some of the very best BMX riders in the country will be showcasing their amazing skills.

Warehouse Climbing Centre
– The Warehouse Climbing Centre will be bringing one of their mobile climbing rigs.

Junkfish – A craft tent bringing a mix of crafts and fun and a chance for the kids to get creative with painting, sticking, costume making and junk modelling. 

Silly science – Silly Science will be appearing on Saturday morning with their brilliant science show on one of the bigger stages. There will also be hands on workshops (expect rockets, explosions and lots of other amazing stuff! )

World Jungle – World Jungle will be setting up camp in the Orchard with hammocks, slacklines, bush craft and a themed play area.

The Woolly Circus – CLaN specialises in traditional crafts and ecology with the opportunity to try your hand at spinning and other crafts.  The tiny Nomadic Museum of Natural History also will be touring the site!  

Miss Popularity Balloon Show
– Miss Popularity is an International Balloon Artiste Extraordinaire! She spreads joy and smiles one balloon at a time. Using biodegradable latex balloons she entertains people of all ages and keeps them giggling while they watch with awe as she creates exciting balloon creations. Come find her for a bespoke balloon hat walking around the festival or catch her Balloon Make-Over Show where she transforms people into their most colourful, vibrant selves right before your very eyes.

Story telling tent – Mark Fraser will tell fantastic tales of adventure throughout the weekend.

Wild Forest School
– Setting up camp in the Orchard the Wild Forest School will be taking you back to nature over the weekend.

We are also told to expect more….

The festival site opens at 2pm on the Friday with entertainment starting at around 4pm.

Each night (Friday and Saturday) the entertainment goes on until 1am with a silent disco. (You don’t have to pay for your headsets either which is a nice bonus.)

Saturday music and entertainment starts from 11am throughout the day into 1am with the silent disco.

The festival closes at midday on Sunday with live music and entertainment until 11am.

Tickets are £85 an adult for the weekend

£65 for an accompanied teen (13-17) for the weekend

£35 for an accompanied child (4-12) for the weekend

Parking is £10

Live-in Vehicle (7m x 6m pitch): £75

Tickets can be bought here

Nibley Festival is a non-profiting making event, run by volunteers. They raise money for local charities every year and also choose one main charity partner which this year will be Allsorts

Allsorts offer a huge amount of extra-curricular activities for young people, tailored to suit different ages and abilities.  From youth clubs to sports clubs, nature walks, day trips, and ways to get creative, they operate a range of play sessions too. Support and participation is there for the wider family – whether that’s through advice surgeries, parent and carer or grandparents groups, or siblings hang-outs.  

In 2019 around £54,443 was raised at the festival – bringing the total raised since the festival began in 2007 to £324,728!

For more information visit the website here

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