If the Nozstockers can’t come to the farm, then the farm will come to the Nozstockers…
What can we say, guys: when we chose the theme Into the Great Unknown for 2020’s festival, we had no idea quite how prescient it would be. Since we last saw you on the farm, a whole lot has changed in the festival landscape. Making the decision to postpone the fun and hijinks we’d planned for you until 2021 was a difficult one, but it was one we had to make to keep Nozzers and Nozzees safe and ensure we can welcome you all into a renewed and rejuvenated Hidden Valley next year.
Looking ahead at a summer full of Facetime, Zoom pub quizzes and not getting out of our pyjamas for 4 days in a row, we realised we had the solution to lockdown fatigue at our very fingertips. Taking a slice of each of our ten stages, combined with a squeeze of Nozstalgia, peppered with the top-notch programming we had planned for you all this year, shaken up in a syrup of surprises and surrealness, we’ve created a digital dose of pure Nozstock glory that we’ll be pouring out of our front room straight into yours on Saturday 25th July. After all, we’ve been hosting you in our back garden for the last 21 years. It’s about the time you returned the favour.
Venturing into bold new territory, we’re going to be streaming the creme de la creme de la Nozstock from our shiny new Twitch account and on the Nozstock website, with some very special Zoom workshops besides.
Throughout the afternoon, our fabulous Little Wonderland crew and the Yeleni team will be running all manner of creative sessions for kids, big and little alike; from dancing, crafts, to relaxing yoga: everything you need to keep brains and bodies entertained and exercised. In the evening, there’ll be cabaret and quizzes for those of us who’ll be sorely missing the Department of Cultural Affairs’ cabaret stylings.
Meanwhile, we’ll be streaming sets from acts who have graced our stages throughout the years. To wake you up, you’ll be treated to a musical smorgasbord of styles running the gamut from SUBWORK’s reggae, jungle and footwork, to funky rock ‘n’ roll from Happy Daggers, to Bryony Siers’ whimsical folk-pop.
As the afternoon draws on, antifolk antihero Beans on Toast will bring us his trademark brand of blistering protest songs and the ‘ska army’ Stiff Joints will get us all riled up before sets from ultimate partybringer DJ SHOSH of 24hr Garage Girls, veteran of the rave scene Uncle Dugs, and drum ‘n’ bass champion Tony Colman aka London Elektricity.
When night falls, Dutty Moonshine Big Band will take the virtual stage to tantalize your eardrums with their incredible reworkings of classic big band hits. We’ll be doing our best to recreate that sensation of sprinting from the Orchard Stage to the Garden Stage to catch the evening’s most energetic sets, with performances from Nozstock stalwarts Dub Pistols (DJ set), Bristolian bad boy Gardna and the inimitable Krafty Kuts, to name but a few. And for those out there who like to spend the wee small hours down in the coppice with the UV butterflies, our friends from the Tribe of Frog will be on hand after dark to cater to all your psytrance needs.
We’ve got plenty more tricks up our sleeve, including an appearance from Bromyard burgermeisters, the Beefy Boys, who’ll be showing you how to cook up a storm, the legendary Oh My God! It’s The Church presents OMGITV, who will be cleansing us all of our sins through music, as well as a very special guest host to oversee proceedings.
All of that without leaving your sofa? Not too shabby.
Stay safe, stay at home, and stay up all night with us as we celebrate Nozstock: The Hidden Valley at Home. Make sure to subscribe to our brand new Twitch channel or head over to www.nozstock.com/live for all the fun of the farm in a brand new format. Full line-up and timings to be announced very soon, so keep those eyes peeled…
Lots of lockdown love from NozHQ x