The Big Chill Festival will celebrate multi-media music, entertainment, literature, arts and comedy at a magical summer weekend in one of the most idyllic settings in the UK.

The festival sees a unique combination of The Mighty Boosh, Leonard Cohen, Thievery Corporation, Hot 8 Brass Band, Orchestra Baobab, Bill Bailey, Cornelius, African Head Charge and Trentemøller Live among the many performers at the beautiful Eastnor Castle site.

In its 14th year, The Big Chill has broken new boundaries to bring a festival programme brimming with diversity, creativity – and some of the most incredible experiences from any art form. Groundbreaking partnerships co-curated with The ICA, Roundhouse, BFI Southbank and Underbelly continue The Big Chill’s tradition of innovative, eclectic programming – and a commitment to showcasing the finest artistic talent at the festival.

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry & Adrian Sherwood will be headlining ‘ICA Presents’ at the Big Chill with a heady mixture of bass and paint exclusive to the festival. Sherwood delivers he dub soundtrack 'On U' whilst Perry creates a stunning visual interpretation – live to canvas. The resulting work will be auctioned with all proceeds going to Amnesty International.

Highlights of the BFI’s multi-media programme includes the screening of Sigur Ros’s ‘Heima’ - documenting the Icelandic band’s epic tour across their homeland; with incredible landscapes and an awe-inspiring soundtrack. Comedy gets a new home for 2008 with Underbelly parading the best of Edinburgh’s talent – including TV stars Simon Day (The Fast Show) and Adam Buxton (Adam and Joe. The Roundhouse will bring their ‘Big Round Tent’ to Eastnor – offering a youth programme of creative activities for aspiring musicians, artists and media producers.

The finest poets, authors and purveyors of the spoken word will be showcased in the expanded Words in Motion area with Ty, Lemn Sissay, Neil Boorman, Robin Ince, and Ben Goldacre among the confirmed orators. Equally adorned with eminent creatives is the magical Arts Trail where award-winning artists such as Gavin Turk, Deborah Curtis, and Simon Faithfull will produce works to illuminate the festival throughout day and night.

Bomb the Bass are another act appearing exclusively at The Big Chill and alongside Cornelius are part of the audiovisual extravaganza in the Media Mix tent, whilst the Club Tent welcomes live performances by Drum Lessons, Alabama 3 & Very Be Careful and DJ sets by DJ Krush, Nitin Sawhney & Joaquin 'Joe' Clausell.

There’s the return of the Big Chill Nights, spiritual healing and treatments in the Body and Soul area; entertainment for children of all ages in the Kids Area, cocktail bars, bonfires, story telling and song, three 24 hour cafés, an on-site FM and internet radio station - and a lot more besides.

“This year’s Big Chill feels like embarking upon a new journey of discovery whilst keeping a familiar sense of magic!” commented The Big Chill founder Katrina Larkin. “Working with partners such as the ICA and BFI Southbank has added a new dimension to the festival; and I get a quiver of excitement even thinking about August.”

Festival Music Programmer Guy Morley added that “We’re massively excited about this year’s line-up – we’ve brought together a wide variety of contrasting artists, tastes and styles under the Big Chill banner. Leonard Cohen in particular is a fantastic coup, and his Sunday night finale will be an incredible moment for the festival.”

Stages

The Big Chill’s two open-air stages will play host to performances and collaborations that take in the avant garde, popular culture and the simply breathtaking.

The Mighty Boosh’s special appearance will bring the comedy phenomenon of the twenty first century alive in a magical setting. Their nonchalantly chaotic stage show sits perfectly with The Big Chill’s reputation for unpredictably and intrigue – and there will be special surprises in store before the weekend is out…

Songwriter, artist, poet and author – the incomparable Leonard Cohen will be welcomed as one of the most influential figures in music history – for a spine-tingling set of classics both old and new.

A UK festival-exclusive will bring the hugely influential Thievery Corporation to Eastnor – an audio melting-pot of Brazilian bossa nova, Jamaican dub reggae, vintage film soundtracks, and psychedelic rock.

Ex-Moloko singer-turned-solo-star Róisín Murphy returns to The Big Chill with a canon of addictive, swirling electropop – and a flamboyant stage attire to rival any modern diva.

The Big Chill’s tradition of innovation and collaboration is continued with the uniting of Plaid’s and Wayne MacGregor’s Random Dance Theatre – an audio-visual epiphany that brings together pioneers of contemporary dance and mind-blowing electronica.

Add Never Mind the Buzzcocks comedic-icon, Bill Bailey, the (actual) Buzzcocks, Fujiya & Miyagi, and worldmusic majesty from trailblazers such as Orchestra Baobab and African Head Charge – and the feeling is that the open-air stages are looking in extremely rude health…

Media Mix Tent

An audio-visual rollercoaster for the senses, the Media Mix Tent brings together some of the finest exponents of the genre – with some extra-special festival exclusives.

Legendary dance pioneer Bomb the Bass – the instigator of the original big-beat movement – will be performing 1980s classics as well as cuts from his eagerly-anticipated new album as he performs live for the first time in over a decade.

Japanese maestro Cornelius’ ‘Synchronised Sensuous Show’ will be a exhilarating experience – expect a rollercoaster ride through the heart of electronica, quirky samples and the sounds of nature.

The BFI’s Media Mix programme – co-curated with The Big Chill will offer a whole host of special treats for Friday night.

Comedian genius Adam Buxton – co-writer of the comedy series The Adam and Joe Show – will premier BUG, an inspiring and hilarious selection of specially selected music video gems.

Award winning photographer Ben Osbourne presents an audio-visual collision of archive film and electronic music in Noise of Art – with British electronic artists Vector Loves and Nathan Fake. Experimental, ambitious and impossible to categorize – The Light Surgeons’ pioneering work has helped define club-culture as we know it, alongside them will be award-winning audio-visual collective Exceeda – returning to The Big Chill with a fresh production.

Joining Sunday’s line-up will be The ICA’s Live AV Media Mix programme – co-curated with The Big Chill. Lustfaust will be making their first festival appearance in over 25 years - showcasing further evidence as to why they are worthy of both their near seminal Dadaist status and audio cassette activism.

Alt-folk originator, comic book hero, pop-culture poet Jeffrey Lewis will be displaying slides of his penmanship alongside an inimitable musical accompaniment. Words slung fast and lovingly over sweet lullaby melodies – Jeffrey has cultivated a dedicated and huge fanbase through releases on Rough Trade Records.

Voted one of the Future Greats of the art world in the annual Art Review survey in 2007, Douglas Fishbone will take part at the Big Chill in as yet unclassified activity – along with emerging contemporary artist Aileen Campbell.

Big Chill Nights

The Big Chill Nights tent will titillate, amuse, intrigue and entertain. Expect the unexpected. Club de Fromage’s sports night and Perverse Universe’s Victorian Freakshow is a very welcome music hall mishmash of freaks and geeks, circus feats and Victorian treats – a Victorian band with tap dancers and a five piece stiltband tell only half of the tale.

Festival partners Underbelly bring the cream of Edinburgh comedy to Eastnor as co-curators of a line-up of comedic talent old and new. The bill includes Channel 4’s Rob Rouse, BBC 6 Music’s Adam Buxton, celebrated comedian, actor, and musician Bill Bailey, the distinguished Simon Day, satarical Liverpudlian Mitch Benn, London’s East End legend Jeff Innocent, acclaimed Kiwi rising stars Jarred Christmas and Al Pitcher, and many more… Club Tent The Big Chill’s Club Tent will house a musical geography lesson, featuring everything from Colombian street fiestas to the Hoxton warehouse scene – via India, Japan and Los Angeles. The festival has handpicked the finest promoters from clubland to programme six different incredible sessions that draw upon a huge range of genres… Soundcrash Productions is a band of vagabonds, miscreants, musicians and writers who spend their time putting on the best live shows and club nights they can imagine. Specialising in Hip Hop, Electronic and Dance music from around the world, they will present a headline set from DJ Krush, Memory 9 (live) and a MC set by Mercury nominated UK hip-hop legend Roots Manuva.

House music record-label and club Need2Soul will take over the club tent on Saturday night, where they will feature a healthy mix of the legends that have shaped contemporary house music – and the new generation of DJs and producers who will drive it forward.

DJ Joe Claussell from New York’s legendary Body & Soul club tops a world class bill that includes Âme, BBC1xtra's Benji B and Ron Trent straight from the Chicago house scene. Responsible for some of London's finest clubs and a fierce champion of Global Beats from the Balkans to Brasil, DJ Russ Jones lives up to his Hackney GlobeTrotter moniker by bringing us an incredible line up of current Urban Latin & Afro beats.

Mexican mix-master DJ Toy Selectah pioneered a new hybrid by mixing Mexican soundscapes with contemporary urban riddims – working with the likes of Eminem, Cypress Hill and Manu Chao.

LA-based Very Be Careful play Cumbia - traditional street music from the Caribbean coast of Colombia, currently the buzz soundtrack of Latin American barrios - to the green fields of Eastnor.

Oxford’s The Mules established Pick Your Own as a live residency at London’s Big Chill House in 2007 – showcasing a new wave of the finest British talent. Their line-up for The Big Chill encompasses a cult-Blues icon in Son of Dave, achingly-cool 1950s warblers Vincent Vincent and the Villains – and a special acoustic set by the inimitable Alabama 3.

The club tent will play host to Shaanti on Sunday – a collective of live performers, producers and turntable visionaries creating a blueprint for Electronic, Eastern and Fusion Breaks and Bass. As well as an award-winning soundsystem, they will be bringing along UK Apache, the Asian Dub Foundation Soundsystem – and a future ‘I was there’ moment with a DJ set from the majestic Nitin Sawhney…

The Friends & Family crew will stir up a typically-eclectic melting pot on the Sunday night of the festival. Their goodtimes finale will feature Flying Lotus live, dub-step from Caspa & Rusko, Charlie Dark’s UK soul/funk/afro collective – and a very special hip hop set from Joe from Hot Chip featuring MC Dels on the mic.

Words in Motion

Words in Motion is The Big Chill’s traditional home to poetry, literature, words and debate – bringing a rich line up of verse, storytelling and talks from world renowned artists. The hugely diverse line-up includes Words in Motion collaborators Apples and Snakes – celebrating their 25th anniversary with performances from some of the most iconic figures in contemporary poetry and Southbank poet in resident Lemn Sissay. Words in Motion has expanded both its programming and location for 2008 – moving to a fresh, 800 - capacity tent near the idyllic second lake on the Eastnor Castle site. Another new feature is ‘The Big Warm’, which will encourage adult festival goers to participate in storytelling and tales around a huge bonfire.

Running alongside the poetry commissions is a programme of readings, performances and debates from cutting-edge authors and expert executioners of the spoken word. Paul Kingsnorth and Joe Dunthorne will present their latest tomes – whilst Toby Litt and his steel guitar will tell the story of a Canadian rock band’s descent into oblivion.

Art Trail

The enchanting Art Trail returns to Eastnor with The Big Chill’s natural canvas providing the backdrop for art installations and performances that illuminate the lush site.

Gavin Turk and Deborah Curtis, Lucienne Cole, Simon Faithfull and many more are among the UK’s leading contemporary artists showcased on the Art Trail.

Inspired by Eastnor’s animal inhabitants and landscape, the Trail will combine video, performance, interactive games, photography and theatre.

The specially commissioned projects include the ‘House of Fairytales’ in association with Gavin Turk and Deborah Curtis - an enchanting space in the heart of The Big Chill peopled by fairytale characters; Simon Faithfull’s ‘False moon’ – an airstar light that echoes the moon’s path across the sky; Juneau Projects’ interactive nature computer game; Lucienne Cole’s theatrical woodland performance and Paul Gittin’s shadow ighting installation.

The Big Chill’s Art Trail has a unique position in the realm of public artworks in that many of the works are site specific and reference nature and the environment.

Unconventionally, the works are set in one of the largest music and arts festivals in the UK over a period of three days – inspiring audiences through the themes of communal living.

The Big Chill will celebrate film and storytelling through a wide-ranging cinema programme both indoors and out. The Moonlit Picture House takes film to the great outdoors while the Media Mix Tent offers a weather proof and daytime cinematic experience – presenting films that span various genres, decades and themes – in association with partners The ICA and BFI.

Highlights of the BFI’s programme include Albert Lamorisse’s ‘The White Main’ and ‘The Red Balloon ‘– two short films that tenderly explore themes of companionship, identity and cruelty.

To provide a illuminative contemporary context, Hou Hsiao Hsien’s critically acclaimed ‘Flight of the Red Balloon’ will also be shown. Inspired by Lamorisse’s 1950s classic; the picture opened the ‘Un Certain Regard’ section at Cannes 2007.

The film programme also has a special screening of ‘Man on a Wire’ - the story of Phillipe Petit’s daring attempt to walk the high-wire between New York’s twin towers in 1974. The picture was the first British film to achieve the prestigious ‘Winner of Sundance Festival 2008 Audience Award’ – as well as Jury Prize in the World Cinema Documentary section.

The ICA will present twenty first century classics ‘Blame it on Fidel’ and Gypsy Caravan – a compelling insight into the story of gypsy music across Spain, Macedonia and Europe. Upon arriving at The Big Chill site, festival-goers will be able to settle down with Cinema Thursday – as The Moonlit Picture House, Media Mix tent and Castle Stage runs a full film programme with family-orientated showings at the Castle Stage.

Kid’s Area

Kids at The Big Chill will be captivated by entertainment that pours scorn on the notion that children should be seen and not heard – instead inviting them to enjoy and explore worlds of music, fantasy and…. .clay.

One of the most talented violinists of his generation, Ara Malikian presents ‘My First Four Seasons’, a musical show based on Vivaldi´s Four Seasons. Using a wide range of characters, it is a light-hearted, humorous exploration of the different natural and human events which occur during each season of the year. Poet, comedian and playwright and musician; John Hegley will be performing ‘Creatures’ - a unique show for The Big Chill that will enchant both young and old. Steve Liplady and the Scamp Theatre present ‘Claytime’ – a play with clay in all senses of the word. Tactile clay – meets with children’s imaginations: amazing animals and morphing monsters!

James Campbell’s ‘Comedy Club 4 Kids’ brings a taste of award-winning comedy to younger minds. The live comedy club for kids sees top-class comedians performing for children and their families without a hint of bad language or (heckling). Body and Soul

Pleasure with a conscience, the Big Chill’s Body and Soul area will return with a mixture of relaxing and inspiring experiences designed to pamper the senses. The Enchanted Garden will play host to an energising mix of holistic and healing therapies in dedicated rooms – with full details to be announced.

Essential Information

Camping

Camping can either make or break a festival experience, and it is with this in mind that the Big Chill has teamed up with Tangerine Fields and Podpads to offer the highest possible comfort.

Pitching up in the stunning Malvern Hills is made simple with the tent and teepee hire from Tangerine Fields. For those who book ahead, the team will prepare the accommodation and provide all the cosy kit necessary. This can be arranged for single people and groups alike with prices starting at £55 for the weekend. Taking things to the next level in camping comfort, the Podpads team will build little hobbit-houses from weatherproof plywood. The hideaways come decorated and carpeted with shelving and lighting – and equipped with single, double or twin beds (with airbeds). There’s additional power, a mirror and a lock on the door. The units, all of which are solar-powered, provide a base camp for up to four people with prices starting at £345 for the while festival.

www.tangerinefields.co.uk

www.podpads.com

Travel

The Big Chill has again linked-up with National Express coaches to offer exclusive weekend camping plus travel packages – as well as special coach services to Eastnor Castle from over 25 cities and towns across the country.

The initiative will encourage festival-goers to travel in the most environmentally-friendly manner as possible – significantly reducing carbon emissions and traffic around the festival-site.

Coaches will depart on Thursday 31 July and Friday 1 August from cities including Leicester, Leeds, Bristol, Liverpool, London, Brighton and Portsmouth - stopping at various towns en route to the Big Chill.

Return journeys will operate on Monday 4 August with return fares starting from as little as £22. Festival admission and travel packages cost only £150, with no booking or transaction fees.

www.nationalexpress.com/bigchill

Train travel is via Great Malvern station. A free shuttle bus will operate between the station and the festival site.

The Big Chill is easily accessible by car, with car-parking available for £5 per car. Cyclists will have access to free, secure storage. Ticket Information

Adult: £129 -Admits one adult

Student: £110 - For full-time students only. Valid student ID (NUS or ISIC only) required at the box office. Student tickets include one year's membership to Amnesty International.

Teen: £60 - The ticket for 13-15 year olds. Teens must be accompanied by an adult ticket holder. Under 13s do not need a ticket, they are admitted free of charge with an accompanying adult ticketholder.

Disabled: £129 - Admits one. A complimentary carer ticket is available subject to conditions. Accessible camping is also available.

All festival tickets are inclusive of entertainment and camping.

Vehicle

Car Parking: £5
Small live-in vehicle (eg campervan): £40
Large live-in vehicle: £80

All prices are exclusive of booking fees which may be added by the ticket agents.

Ticket Booking:

www.bigchill.net
www.ticketline.co.uk

Location: Eastnor, Castle Deer Park, Great Malvern, Herefordshire