Festival longevity is always good to see. While cases of festivals being cancelled or altogether canned due to financial difficulties or low ticket sales have unfortunately been on the rise in recent years, others have gritted their metaphorical teeth and stood their ground. One such gathering is entering its third decade this year – Nozstock: The Hidden Valley.
Taking place this year from Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd July 2018 at Rowden Paddocks in Herefordshire, it offers a mix of live music and DJ sets with its first lineup announcement. Goldfrapp headline the main Orchard stage, and they will be joined by the likes of Dub Pistols, The Selecter, Electric Swing Circus, the Lovely Eggs, Oh My God! It’s the Church!, Catholic Action and Mad Apple Circus. That’s two different ‘circus’ bands. In terms of DJ sets, the big names this year are undoubtedly Chase & Status. In addition, Nozstock has landed Grandmaster Flash, Chali 2na & Krafty Cuts, S.P.Y., Black Sun Empire, Fliptrix, Pengshui, Dillinja and AMOSS. More names will be announced on both fronts in due time.
Commenting on the 20th anniversary celebrations, founder Ella Nosworthy came over all, well, Nozstalgic (which, as it happens, ties into the theme of this year’s edition): “No-one is more surprised than us that we’ve made it to our 20th birthday! We’re planning our biggest show ever to make it a real celebration, and we’re sure that anyone who has been to the festival will not want to miss this summer! We’ve bought back some of our favourite and most memorable artists from the past 20 years. Our Nozstalgia theme is whatever you feel fond about from the past. There’s lots of inspiration to get really creative!” Have a look at the festival bill below, and head over to nozstock.com for tickets; adult tickets are £120 for the three-day event, under 16s tickets are £95, and under 12s get in free.