Shindig Festival will go ahead as planned for 2026
The event is held between (21st–24th May 2026) at Charlton Park Estate, Wiltshire.
Last month, an application to review Shindig Festival’s premises licence was submitted to the Wiltshire Council. The public consultation ended on 6th May with an overwhelming number of supporters. None of the relevant authorities have engaged with the review application.
It had been made “on the grounds of the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety”. However the event has a strong 12-year track record as a safe, professionally run independent festival. And the team is confident the festival will be delivered responsibly and in line with the high standards that have always been maintained.
Simon Clarke, Festival Director says:
“We are facing censorship and standing our ground. We don’t want a precedent to be set whereby influential political lobbying groups can dictate who performs at our event or in the wider music industry.
Safety has always been our absolute priority, and we are working closely with our production teams, advisers, the artist and relevant authorities to ensure robust measures are in place.
We want to thank everyone who continues to support independent festivals and the Shindig community - it’s a lifeline in times like this.”
Bob Vylan says:
“We’re incredibly excited to be at Shindig this year and we look forward to sharing the same love, truth and energy that our live shows are known for.
The threat to the festival’s licence is unwarranted and shameful but we are proud to take part in a festival with morals and ethics that places art, and freedom to express that art, at its forefront.”
This issue comes on top of an already difficult climate. Rising fuel prices due to the current instability in the world means operational costs continue to increase - without a rise in ticket prices. Independent festivals face increasing challenges each year - such as sales, cashflow and forecasting and, for some, those challenges have been insurmountable.
Shindig had announced it was its last in 2024. But due to the hard work of the team and support from its community, it was able to return in 2025. The ticket sales remain strong and only two hundred remain for the 2026 event taking place next week.
Recommended by Emily Eavis, Glastonbury organiser, the festival has been dubbed “a pint-sized version of Glastonbury”. Not only that, it’s also the only UK music and arts festival held in an arboretum with a 4 am licence.
Along with Bob Vylan, the line up includes Fat Dog, Snapped Ankles, WAR and Jurassic 5’s Chali 2NA. A DJ set from Ishmael Ensemble, Mungo’s HiFi, My Baby, Coleen Cosmo Murphy, Joshua Idehen, Aroop Roy and many others.
Shindig Festival stands strong and encourages its audience to get behind them and show support. This is a David and Goliath situation.
Weekend adult tickets are on sale, priced at £195 plus booking fee for a limited time.
Line up and ticket info: www.shindigfestival.co.uk
The Guardian listed Shindig as the Best Boutique Festival in 2019.