Christopher BarrettBen Street, the promoter behind Norfolk’s Wild Paths and Wild Fields festivals, has joined the programming team at Shambala Festival (cap. 15,000).
Shambala directors Sidharth Sharma, Oli Grassi, Dan Raffety and Chris Johnson celebrated the 25th anniversary of Northamptonshire event this year with the launch of three new performance areas, bringing the total number of independently programmed venues at the festival to around 40.
“I’m really excited to be joining the programming team at Shambala Festival and build on an event that has already established itself as one of the most eclectic and progressive independent festivals in the UK,” says Street.
“Having had a few preliminary meetings with the team, it already feels like there’s a lot of room and creative freedom here to shape a really stand-out and entertaining line-up that doesn’t feel homogeneous or rely on just three big commercial names. People come to Shambala year on year to experience something out of the ordinary and see acts that inspire, bewilder and entertain.
“The music line-up is an important part of that and with almost 40 venues covering a whole range of art forms, programming this event is no small task. Hopefully I can support in key areas and bring some amazing contemporary acts from dance, electro post-punk and psych to progressive jazz and neo-soul. Keep your eyes peeled for this year’s line-up it’s going to be huge.”