They’ve played pretty much everywhere from Top of the Pops and Glastonbury to pubs and barns across Somerset, Bristol and Gloucestershire, but now the legends that are The Wurzels have one of their biggest and strangest bookings yet – alongside famous names like Azealia Banks, Sean Paul and The Sex Pistols, at Boomtown Festival.
The festival, which takes place every near Winchester in Hampshire every August, is renowned for being a bit eclectic, but this year’s line-up has caused something of a viral sensation on social media, with the breadth and the acts booked to play over the four day event.
As well as dance music duo Maribou State, drum and bass DJ Nia Archives, The Wailers, and Kurupt FM, the actors from the hit BBC Three comedy series People Just Do Nothing, Somerset’s finest Scrumpy and Western legends have been been booked to play the festival too.
Boomtown has its origins in Bristol – it started off with the Bristol-based Arcadia Spider as its main stage and a location across the bridge in the Forest of Dean, before settling to a site near Winchester to become a different kind of music festival which bills itself as the ‘largest interactive theatre in the world’.
“The rule of the land is to start anywhere and follow everywhere,” said a spokesperson. “Boomtown is set in a parallel world divided into themed districts, each with a unique design, stages, characters and experiences. Together our districts create a city where attendees, our Boomtown citizens, can explore different worlds and ways of living.
“You can expect a line-up that dances across musical genres, including reggae, punk, electronic, folk, and more. Catering to all tastes; playing host to thousands of performers and over 500 musical acts from 24 countries. We emphasise storytelling and participation by encouraging citizens to become part of the narrative, engaging characters and set pieces that bring the festival’s fictional world to life,” he added.
And into that parallel world in the first week of August will step The Wurzels, who will almost certainly be the oldest band to ever play there. The Wurzels are currently approaching the end of their Christmas tour, having played a sold-out show at The Fleece in Bristol last weekend, and another at Komedia in Bath on Sunday night, before heading to the Garage at Highbury in London next week.
Boomtown will take place in August just days after longest-serving Wurzel, accordion player Tommy Banner turns 86, with lead singer and guitarist Pete Budd not far behind – he’ll be 85 by the time they take the stage at Boomtown.