Tucked away in fields past the small village of North Nibley sits one of the most wonderful music festivals in Gloucestershire that you may not have known existed!

A fairly big, but not too big site, Nibley Festival has so much to offer – this festival is for everyone! If you want to bring the family then there is no place safer for the kids to roam free, for the teenagers to run off and explore – all whilst parents can sit, relax and enjoy some good music!

The entertainment for kids on offer at the festival is generous with a Ferris Wheel, The Flying Seagull Project (who bring circus shows, workshops, magic, fun, games and all round silliness), Savage Skills BMX Display Team, Silly Science, a craft area, World Jungle, Wild Willows Forest School, The Woolly Circus, A Balloon Show and more!

The generosity doesn’t end there as the folk at Nibley not only provide children with a climbing wall and a bouncy castle but both of those activities are absolutely free! Something that is quite unheard of at festivals (we often pay a few pounds for a five minute session on a bouncy castle) this is just the Nibley way! A non-profit event that wants to provide a loving community spirit focused weekend that will encourage festival goers to make Nibley their annual festival and many many do!

This is only our second Nibley and the first time I brought along the kids (and husband). As a seasoned festival goer, Nibley really felt like the most easygoing festival for children where they really could be carefree and ‘just be’. The site is big enough to have a blast but not so big that you lose them!

The kids played in the sandpit, went on the ferris wheel and more! We even took part in the glassblowing!

The glassblowing was with Salamander Glassblowing. This was mostly a pre-booked experience which we had booked prior to attending! You could choose between making Baubles or Pumpkins. We chose to make pumpkins as felt it was more value for money and something quite unique! The cost was £20 per person for Pumpkins and £15 per person for Baubles.

The only role you take part in is the blowing into the tube to make the glass bigger into the size the pumpkin needs to be. The actual shaping, stalk of the pumpkin, melting and setting is done by the experts but it is worth doing and a great experience. You can buy the baubles ready made at £10 each and presumably the pumpkins at £15 each so for an extra £5 per person to have some involvement, it is definitely worth it! You choose the colours you want. My 7 year old chose an orange base and a green stalk (traditional pumpkin colours) and I chose a gold base with a pink stalk. The orange base however makes for a heavier result so definitely worth thought if want a nice sturdier pumpkin.

We had so much fun taking part and I highly recommend it. We hope they are back next year but remember, book in advance to avoid disappointment!!!!

Of course, for those who don’t want to bring the kids or don’t want to relax, there is plenty for you too!

With a variety of live music on various stages, there are also live DJ’s throughout the day and evening blasting out the likes of Drum ‘n’ Bass, Dance, Ska, Silent Disco’s and more.

Live dance acts and DJ’s included Stereo MC’s, Kosheen, The Beatles Dub Club, Fidget & The Twitchers, Junior Jungle, Thrill Collins, Dub Pistols, Freestylers, Plump DJ’s, Nicky Blackmarket, Dr Meaker and more!

We had friends raving at one of the DJ sets till the early hours of the morning!

This year saw the return of Bristol based Dr Meaker who completely tore the place apart with their blasting tunes and exceptional musicians and vocalists. This set was absolutely insane!!! The level of talent on stage was second to none and the crowd were wild! If you felt like relaxing, Dr Meaker soon changed your mind as almost everyone found themselves at the very least bopping along!

Dr Meaker are the kind of live act that should be either headlining events or doing the after parties as they were certainly a tough act to follow! The amount of energy in their set was madness and they were incredibly infectious ! I was transported back to my younger years of drum ‘n’ bass nights and festivals!

On the more country/folk/Americana vibe, we managed to catch a few acts on the Saturday (the only day we were in attendance). We caught the lovely Robyn Wallis Johnson and her acoustic set on The Cheshire Cat stage. Entertaining and playing beautifully lyrical songs, Robyn was certainly a great find! We also caught a stunning set from Joanna Cooke, a more motown, blues/soul singer!

We heard snippets of the clearly popular covers band Arkansas Jukebox Collective (who play covers of artists such as The Sex Pistols, Radiohead and more but Bluegrass style) as we were attending a session from the Salamander Glassblowing company! (more on that below)

Described as a wild West Country band with ambition, energy and killer tracks’ Mother Vulture, rocked the joint on the Renishaw Stage on Saturday bringing a whole new edge to country music!

The act that we were mostly eager to see and were certainly not let down by were The Magic Numbers! Whilst I said above that Dr Meaker were a tough act to follow, The Magic Numbers absolutely pulled it off! Hardcore fans in the crowd, The Magic Numbers are the perfect festival band and were definitely at home with the Stroud festival goers. The Stodarts in particular are not strangers to Stroud as play in Gloucestershire often. In fact, Michele Stodart will be showcasing her solo material on January 29th 2024 at The Prince Albert. Look out for her upcoming new solo album soon too!

The Magic Numbers performed an aray of hits from their 20 year plus career including Love Me Like You, I See You, You See Me, Forever Lost, Morning’s Eleven and Sweet Divide (which had a fantastic live Saxophonist ) and delivered a flawless performance throughout! A band made up of two pairs of siblings, the harmonies and instrumental talents on stage were sensational and they are without a doubt one of the most homely bands which is exactly what Nibley Festival is about!

Kosheen were one of the more atmospheric artists of the evening! They were perfect for the early evening to night setting going from bright sunshine to a moonlit sky! So happy to be there, Kosheen were a crowd favourite for sure!

Tom Meighan (former lead vocalist of Kasabian) went down a storm with his headling set with fans citing him as the best frontman of all time! Meighan was the perfect close of what has been an absolutely amazing festival and we were only there for the Saturday! Hopefully we can experience a full weekend next year!

If you are a local or not, I urge you to support this festival if you have the means. Nibley is the perfect spot to meet up with friends. Bring the kids a long and let them run from dawn until dusk (under supervision of course) whilst you pull up a camper chair and soak up all of the Nibley goodness!

There’s something different to experience every year and we always leave wishing we had done more, seen more and so on! So with that in mind, we will definitely be returning in 2024!

The tickets are always a fair price and you can camp should you wish or stay in a live in vehicle!

Buying a Nibley ticket isn’t just about a weekend of festival fun – it’s about supporting fantastic charities and organisations and helping raise much needed funds. It’s been Nibley Festivals mission from the start with over £368,000 donated to great causes so far.

Nibley Festival supports many local organisations and charities.

This year Nibley Festival have also joined forces with the James Hopkins Trust.

Working across Gloucestershire the Trust provides nursing respite care to life limited and life threatened young children. These children can have many complex needs and very sadly parents don’t know how long they will have left with their child.

The professional nursing team supports 104 families with regular home care and over night stays in a home-from-home style atmosphere where magical, precious and lasting memories are made. They do all this with minimal government support so their own proactive fundraising is vital.

The costs to run a children’s hospice is staggering – more than £700,000 is needed each year to keep running.

Nibley Festival are thrilled to be able to work with them this year and promote the truly amazing support they offer families. You can find out more at http://www.jameshopkinstrust.org.uk and follow on Facebook and Instagram.

Every donation they receive really counts, so please, be generous and Give Here.

Nibley were also delighted to welcome https://www.tonicmusic.co.uk who provided backstage support for artists and crew.