EppyFest 11

EppyFest, the eclectic music festival is back for its eleventh year, and we're very excited to be celebrating the second decade of this live music event in fine style and with a typically vibrant line-up. EppyFest 11 will be happening on the weekend of Saturday 27th July and Sunday 28th July in 2024. We will be returning to our venue, Smokey Joe's Diner, at 16 Bennington St, Cheltenham, GL50 4ED. Below are our current planned timings and line-up, though these may change. Please note that unfortunately two of our original Sunday acts (Simon McCorry & Phil Mercy) have had to drop out and below you'll see the details of the acts who will be replacing them.

On the Saturday doors will open at 6:30pm and we aim to finish by around 11:30pm.

Our big Saturday headliner announcement is Tim Bowness and Butterfly Mind, Tim's new star-studded backing band that features Matt Stevens (The Fierce & The Dead), John Jowitt (IQ, Frost), Andy Edwards (IQ, Frost, Robert Plant), and Rob Groucutt (Rain). Tim and the band will be performing a mixture of Tim's solo material and songs from No-Man, the long-term project that Tim formed with Steven Wilson. Tim is not a new name to EppyFest - he previously performed with the band Henry Fool back at EppyFest 3 and many people will remember what a great set that was. In addition, it's great to also welcome back Matt Stevens - he previously did a solo set at the very first EppyFest and then returned with The Fierce & The Dead for EppyFest 3, so he was on the same bill as Tim then too, albeit in different bands. So it'll be great to welcome back Tim and Matt to EppyFest, as well as welcoming John, Andy and Rob for the first time. Tim has an astonishing voice and is a terrific songwriter and he has surrounded himself with something of a super group, so we're fully expecting to sell a lot of tickets.

Performing as the 'middle act' on the Saturday, we're very happy to welcome The Scaramanga Six, a UK four piece who describe themselves as an evil version of a pop group. They've released 10 studio albums and we've thought about getting them to play EppyFest before but the global pandemic slowed things down a bit. They play a tuneful and carefully arranged mixture of heavy rock, vocal pop, rockabilly, garage and crooner songs, described as "intense-yet-aloof rock operas" (Drowned in Sound). Influences cited by the band themselves include The Stranglers, Cardiacs, and Tony Bennett! They'll be quite unlike any band who have played EppyFest before, but then that's what EppyFest is all about, and we very much look forward to welcoming them on the 27th of July.  

And as for who will be kicking off the Saturday, well we're very excited to welcome another new name to EppyFest, Zopp, a British act whose music spans avant-garde, jazz, ambient, folk, psychedelic rock and endless heaps of prog, particularly of the Canterbury variety. If you're a fan of the fuzzed organ sound of bands like Hatfield & the North and National Health, you'll love the Zopp sound, but this is not a covers band - their music is full of original compositions, rooted in the sounds of the Canterbury scene but also inspired by modern psych bands such as King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Tame Impala. This exciting band have already released two albums and are starting to make a name for themselves on the live scene, so we're very happy to welcome them to EppyFest 11.

Then, on the Sunday, doors should open at 4:30pm, and we aim to finish by around 9:30pm.

Opening the Sunday of EppyFest 11 will be Malcolm Galloway (Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate solo set). Malcolm is a contemporary classical/minimalist composer and the frontman/multi-instrumentalist of award winning prog rock band Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate. As indicated by the information above in brackets, Malcolm will be delivering a set consisting of solo versions of tracks from the Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate catalogue. This will be Malcolm's first time appearing at EppyFest and we look forward to welcoming him as he brings his thought provoking musical storytelling to the event on Sunday 28th of July 2024.

The Sunday afternoon will continue with a return by one of EppyFest's much-loved recurring contributors, Craig Fortnam. Craig has performed at EppyFest many times before, twice with Arch Garrison and once as part of North Sea Radio Orchestra, plus he was also on the bill as a solo performer for our first Chrimbo Limbo gig back in 2022, so he's a very popular name amongst EppyFest circles. Craig will be joined this time by his pal Pete Aves on second guitar and they will be performing a mixture of Arch Garrison, North Sea Radio Orchestra and solo tunes. We very much look forward to welcoming him back!

For our Sunday headliners we're overjoyed to welcome back a trio who first headlined EppyFest 9, back in 2022. If you were there, you will be aware of the absolute magic and majesty of our headliners, Hands of the Heron, the psychedelic folk, choral folk, chamber pop trio from Bristol. I think everyone who attended (myself included) was absolutely blown away by their talent, their stunning harmonies, and by their hugely charming performance. Their 2021 album '13 Moons' is an utterly joyful listen, and hopefully by EppyFest 11, they will have their third album out, so hopefully we'll hear lots of music from that. We can't wait to welcome back Bec Garthwaite, Bethany M. Roberts and Claire Vine, with their divine vocal harmonies, terrific songwriting, and their wonderfully eclectic mixture of instrumentation. If you've seen them before, you'll definitely want to see them again, and some of you might have caught them at 2023's Summer's End Progressive Rock Festival where they went down a storm.  

Advance tickets are available now for the whole weekend, as well as day tickets for just the Saturday or the Sunday, plus Sponsor tickets, for those of you willing to pay a little extra to support the festival this year & for the future. Sponsor tickets come with an EppyFest 11 poster & maybe something extra (TBC).