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Cornbury Music Festival to make swift return after 2017 finale edition

By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 12 October 2017

The Cornbury Music Festival will return next summer, which may come as something of a surprise to anyone who attended the final ever edition of the event in July. Having planned to have a quieter life, festival director Hugh Phillimore has said he can’t let the event go.

Speaking a year ago, Phillimore said: “We’ve had a really, really lovely time but it does overwhelm my life. I think it’s probably about time we had a huge party at the end, and I was allowed to have a bit of a quieter time… I just won’t be taking a huge risk in the middle of an Oxfordshire field. Everyone thinks there’s a lot of money in festivals but actually there isn’t. It’s a very difficult show to do really – a real juggling act”.

However, after the finale in July – headlined by Kaiser Chiefs, Bryan Adams and The Pretenders – he says that the correspondence he’s had with fans of the event since then has convinced him to keep going.

“Yes… we’re coming back”, Phillimore said in a statement yesterday. “Many many people have sent me messages since July – literally hundreds of our supporters together with musicians, music business types, local schools and local charities telling me I couldn’t let such a jewel in the festival calendar end”.

He continued: “The message that finally convinced me to keep going simply pointed out that the festival was not mine but belongs to its audience who have supported the event over the fourteen years. I’ve been humbled by the strength of feeling for Cornbury and I’ve realised that I should keep it going as a worthwhile community gathering because it seems to spread quite a lot of joy. I hope you’ll forgive my change of heart and I look forward to seeing you next summer”.

And so, the 2018 edition of the Cornbury Music Festival will take place at Great Tew Park in Oxfordshire on 13-15 Jul.