HISTORY
OneFest was born in Wiltshire out of a desire to provide support to the Barge Inn Community Project – a Big Lottery Fund supported rural community enterprise and pub. The pub, run by the community, was part of a BBC television series, Village SOS. OneFest was set up to generate a modest financial return to help the local community to sustain and develop their community hub.
The festival sold out and was a resounding success. It brought the community together and provided a platform for local talent supporting headline acts Damien Rice, Laura Marling, The Magic Numbers and Dry the River with a project endorsement from Seasick Steve.
The second OneFest followed. It too, was a festival with a social conscience, supporting the local economy, providing voluntary and work experience placements along with helping break new Wiltshire talent in conjunction with BBC Introducing. Damon Albarn headlined the festival bringing his critically acclaimed Dr Dee just ahead of his Hyde Park performance with Blur.
In May 2017, OneFest collaborated with Frank Turner’s ‘Lost Evenings’ to deliver four days and nights of live music and industry education at The Roundhouse, London that won the AIM ‘Best Independent Festival’ award.
Gallery
Volunteer Quotes
“Being part of OneFest was an exciting and rewarding experience. Working with the festival gave me exposure to industries, which I would have been unable to get involved with otherwise. I met amazing people and was challenged by the various different tasks I had to complete. The work I got to undertake was varied and I gained numerous new skills as a result. The experience helped me to clarify what I wanted to do in the next stages of my career and I believe that having this experience on my CV heavily contributed to me gaining interviews during my graduate job hunt as it made me stand out to potential employers.”
Lucy Byrne 21, Volunteer
“I worked as a volunteer on OneFest during my gap year. It was an amazing experience! It was absolutely invaluable to my CV, and as a young student gave me some amazing inside info on the industries of events and entertainment. But it was also so much more than that. Getting to put together anl event centred on soulful music in a beautiful location, surrounded by community was truly inspiring and unforgettable!”
Anneka Brooke 25, Volunteer
Press
“A festival that was small but perfectly formed and which can attempt something equally special again”
MTV Review
“OneFest feels like an easy-going secret event because it’s so small, and because the music is so good.”
The Guardian
“None could have boasted a better line-up”
The Sunday Times
“Kudos to OneFest for giving us the chance to see this, for having the imagination and faith that it could work.”
This is Fake DIY
“Its not everyday you find the best folk singers in Britain hanging out in a field in the middle of nowhere”
For Folks Sake
“If OneFest ever has grandkids, it’ll have quite a strange tale to tell them about its birth. Founded with a grant from the Big Lottery Fund after they appeared on Sarah Beeny’s show Village SOS, as part of a project to support musical talent in Wiltshire and boost the local economy. What makes it even more unique is they attract big famous people to play at a festival far smaller than they’d normally play.”
Holy Moly