The Big Chill (music festival)
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| Location(s) | Ledbury, Herefordshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Years active | 1994 - present |
| Date(s) | Early August |
| Genre(s) | Indie, Dance music, World music, Trance, Reggae, Folk music, Dub music, Ambient, Chillout |
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The Big Chill is a UK festival of alternative and chillout music, started in 1994.
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[edit] History
Founded in 1994 by Pete Lawrence and Katrina Larkin it began as a club, but developed into an outdoor festival in 1995 with an event in the Black Mountains of Wales. In the early days the most prominent DJs were Matt Black of Coldcut, Tom Middleton of Global Communication and Mixmaster Morris of Irresistible Force.
  Map sources for The Big Chill (music festival) at grid reference SO711376
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The event (known as "The Enchanted Garden") later moved to Larmer Tree Gardens in England where it was held for 5 years. It was at this stage where it developed its hallmarks, such as high quality visuals, excellent range in food stalls, highly unusual line-ups and a Body & Soul field with many healers, masseurs and alternative therapists. In 2001 the event was also held at Lulworth Castle in Dorset.
The festival has continued to grow in popularity with attendance and ticket sales increasing each year. In 2002 the event moved to its current home at Eastnor Castle where it now takes place each summer at the beginning of August. Attendance at the early festivals was around 6-7000 people. In 2003 this had increased to 17,500. Additional space at the Eastnor site has permitted the festival to grow further to 27,000 (2004) and 30,000 (2005) people. In 2006 the event was licensed for 35,000 people, and the festival will be the same size in 2007.
[edit] Festival Site
The festival is situated in the grounds of Eastnor Castle near Ledbury in Herefordshire. The grounds are normally used as a reserve for deer. The organisers encourage a "Leave No Trace" policy to dissuade people from littering the site. There are several stages and large tents. These include: The Castle Stage, The Big Chill Stage, The Sanctuary Stage, Media Mix Tent, Dance Tent, The Village Green Tent, and several sponsored bars which have their own DJs and soundsystems. Away from all the tents and music there is an Art Trail, an exhibition of unusual, avant-garde art installments.
[edit] Other Projects
Big Chill has also spread internationally with events in Naxos Greece, Cairo in Egypt, Japan, Australia and now Prague in the Czech Republic. They have also released a series of compilation CDs, and recently started signing acts such as Alucidnation, AGK and Eva Abraham to their own label - Big Chill Recordings.
They broadcast two weekly radio shows on Chill (radio station) every Monday at 2000, and every Wednesday at 2200.
There is also a Big Chill Bar in London. The "Big Chill House" opened in London in August 2006.
[edit] Bands and Artists that have played at the festival
- Zero 7
- Adem
- The Memory Band
- Martin Carthy
- Amadou and Mariam
- The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
- Nouvelle Vague
- Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid
- Coldcut
- The Bays
- Jose Gonzalez
- Nouvelle Vague
- Urban Myth Club
- Lemonjelly
- Bent
- The Egg
- Mr Scruff
- Rodrigo y Gabriela
- Martha Wainwright
- Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players
- Blue Man Group
- Four Tet
- The Cinematic Orchestra
- Lily Allen
- Lambchop
- John Peel
- Ulrich Schnauss
- Rob da Bank
- Norman Jay
- Arrested Development
- Gilles Peterson
- Bugz in the Attic
- Tom Middleton
- Vashti Bunyan
- Max Richter
