Pete WiseYou may not be aware that you now have a whole new panoply of reasons to snap up some tickets for this year’s Forest of Galtres Festival. If so, then it is with a gentle gravity that I must inform you that your ignorance will not survive the duration of this article. Formed seven years ago as a beer festival (and now boasting over 150 Yorkshire-brewed beers and ciders), this event has grown into a multi-faceted cultural extravaganza hosting five stages and a sprawling site which offer music, cabaret, film, family-friendly camping and more green credentials that can shake a responsibly-sourced stick at. But you probably knew all of that already. What you could not possibly have known until a few days ago upon the announcement of a major wave of lineup additions is quite how impressive the bill for this year’s festival actually is, and what major names it’s managed to attract.
It has now rather excitingly been announced that punk legends The Buzzcocks are to be the Friday night’s headliners and that on Sunday night 1980s sensation Adam Ant & The Good The Mad And The Lovely Posse will be tying things up with buckets of new romantic flair. Saturday night’s headliner is yet to be announced, but I can confirm that they are pretty massive and will represent a major coup for the festival’s organizers. Given that Guillemots are set to be main support, you know it’s got to be someone huge. Also set to play over the weekend are Simon & Oscar from Ocean Colour Scene, Hope & Social, Ellen & The Escapades, Billy Bragg(!), Seth Lakeman, The Men They Couldn’t Hang, The Traveling Band, Chris Helme and a whole host of local acts largely sourced from the acoustic and ska scenes.
So there you have it. Massive things for one of the region’s biggest cultural weekends. Weekend tickets range in price from £50 to £90 and all proceeds go to charity. With a growing lineup of genuinely big-name acts and activities to satisfy a wide range of audiences from children to adults, face-stroking drunkards to beard-stroking real ale aficionados (if indeed there is a difference), the Forest of Galtres Festival 2012 is shaping up to be an essential Summer fixture for a great many. If you think that includes you then keep the weekend of Friday 24th – Sunday 26th August well and truly free.
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