Cloudspotting Festival returns to Lancashire's Forest of Bowland with music headliners from Leeds based Leaf Label

The three day, 600 capacity family festival will take place between July 23 and 25 within the stunning surroundings of Gisburn Forest.
Cloudspotting takes place in Gisburn Forest in July.Cloudspotting takes place in Gisburn Forest in July.
Cloudspotting takes place in Gisburn Forest in July.

The award winning music and arts festival also celebrates its 10th birthday under the skies of the Forest of Bowland AONB, an accredited ‘dark sky’ explorer site.

Due to its intimate size, Cloudspotting looks well set to go ahead this summer, given the absence of insurance difficulties that has beset the larger festival circuit.

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It was postponed last year when the original dates fell in the depth of the first phase of the covid-19 pandemic.

Cloudspotting 2019. Photo by Matt Collinge.Cloudspotting 2019. Photo by Matt Collinge.
Cloudspotting 2019. Photo by Matt Collinge.

Its co-director Matt Evans is looking forward optimistically.

He said: “We are doing everything we can to deliver a safe, covid free festival in our beautiful forest location.

"Running a festival at our level can be challenging budget and resources wise, but the advantages in the current climate is that we are pretty much an entirely outdoor event, with plenty of space to camp and without too many bottlenecks.

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“We are also quite self-sufficient, having developed our site with the help of Forestry England over a number of years.

Henge at Cloudspotting 2019. Photo by Matt Collinge.Henge at Cloudspotting 2019. Photo by Matt Collinge.
Henge at Cloudspotting 2019. Photo by Matt Collinge.

"Not being reliant on an extensive supply chain means we can be quite light on our feet.

"In the event of a further postponement, we would be able to refund our customers, but we are confident that all the measures are in place to give our attendees the great weekend they have long been waiting for.”

Cloudspotting’s unique mix of high-quality family entertainment and creative music curation that spans an array of genres led to accreditation from the Lancashire Tourism Awards in 2017.

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This year’s event promises to deliver on the formula that has steadily built a growing audience to this remote pocket of rural north east Lancashire.

The family friendly festival features music, theatre, poetry and workshops. Photo by Matt Collinge.The family friendly festival features music, theatre, poetry and workshops. Photo by Matt Collinge.
The family friendly festival features music, theatre, poetry and workshops. Photo by Matt Collinge.

“We’re packing plenty into this weekend with a really full family programme and the music flow will celebrate the great diversity of the UK music scene,” adds Matt.

The innovative Leaf Label – based in Leeds – provide three of the Saturday night acts, including East London synth modernists Snapped Ankles, British-Asian artist Sarathy Korwar

and Lancashire’s own singer-songwriter Keeley Forsyth.

“It’s a privilege to have the Leaf Label with us, they have been one of the UK’s most adventurous music labels since forming in 1994, as well as the bands we have Tony and Thea from the label playing a DJ set.”

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Other acts included are Chloe Foy, Soccer96 and Mesadorm, who all have new albums in the offing this summer.

Aside from the music, Cloudspotting welcomes a wealth of theatrical family entertainment.

The Grand Cavalcade presents three seasoned showmen – Gary “Gacko” Bridgens, Ian Douglas and Professor Pumpernickel – bringing ukulele workshops, great storytelling and slapstick exhibitionism to proceedings.

There are also bespoke theatre performances from The Fabularium: ‘The Hare and the Moon’ and Spot on Lancashire’s commission from Eye of New Theatre ‘The Cabinet of Curiosity’.

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An immersive art installation ‘Celestial Sound Cloud’ presented by Pif Paf Theatre promises to enchant audiences throughout the weekend.

There are also poetry, song-writing, and bushcraft workshops for attendees to try, and a great variety of food and drink.

“We’re pulling all the stops out,” adds Matt “It’s been such a difficult time for communities across the north west and we want to bring some light to the end of a very long and tedious

tunnel.”

For more information visit www.cloudspotting-festival.co.uk, and to buy tickets visit HERE.The Cloudspotting team is also organising a camp-out music and activity session on June 19, at Gisburn Forest, in preparation of the Festival.

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‘A Midsummer Night’s Drum’ features poetry, song-writing, drumming and a basic bushcraft workshop, and the opportunity to camp over for the night.

More information is available on the Cloudspotting website and tickets are on sale from www.eventbrite.co.uk.

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