Shambala Festival will return to Kelmarsh Hall and Gardens from 26th to 29th August 2027, with pre-sale sign-ups now open, after thousands spent four days of music, circus, politics and gleeful chaos in the Northamptonshire countryside.
From the moment the gates opened, Shambalans filled the site with spectacular costumes, packed dancefloors and the creativity, silliness and sense of community that have become the festival’s trademarks. Music sat alongside political debate, puppetry, workshops and the gloriously chaotic Shambolympics, in a weekend organisers billed as revelry and radical joy.
Among the musical highlights was Bob Vylan’s return, back at Shambala two years after their last appearance and one of only two UK festival shows this year. Opening with their classic guided meditation, the duo launched into a ferocious set that saw frontman Bobby Vylan crowdsurfing across a sea of Shambalans.
Across the weekend, 717 artists and performers took to 35 venues, spanning hyperlocal groups and collectives from Northamptonshire and Sheffield to international headline acts from Sweden, Senegal, South Africa and beyond. Swedish masked collective Goat brought hypnotic psychedelic rock, Senegalese legends Orchestra Baobab delivered their blend of Afro-Cuban and West African sounds, and South Africa’s BCUC unleashed their explosive ancestral punk. The Selecter, Los Bitchos, Hollie Cook, Emma-Jean Thackray, Nubiyan Twist and Paranoid London were among the other standouts.
Music was only part of it. Festivalgoers could try African drumming, natural dyeing, blacksmithing, Power Ballad Yoga, a Whale Song Sound Bath and Extreme Musical Statues, while talks and panels explored racial justice, climate activism, anti-fascism, drug policy reform and the future of food and farming.
Political sessions drew packed crowds too. Green Party leader Zack Polanski was joined by Femi Oluwole for a live edition of the Bold Politics podcast, discussing Brexit, the death of Jason Arday and North Sea oil. Led By Donkeys packed the Talu tent with the stories behind some of their most impactful stunts, from Brexit billboards and guerrilla projections to enormous land art.
The performance programme turned the site into a playground of circus, cabaret, immersive work and puppetry. Compass Circus House Cabaret accompanied musical sets with aerial and acrobatic displays, Drag Syndrome brought artists with Down’s syndrome to the Next Stage, The Fashion Haus Catwalk hunted for Shambala’s next top model, and the Puppet Parlour hosted Nana Funk’s Variety Pack Cabaret. New for 2026, Compass was reborn inside a towering Spiegeltent, mixing aerial circus, kids’ cabaret, family raves, live bands and DJs with a theatrical, irreverent twist.
One of the weekend’s most spectacular sights came on Saturday, as thousands transformed themselves for the legendary Carnival. This year’s theme, Lyrical Genius, challenged Shambalans to turn lyrics into looks, with the sun appearing just in time to save dozens of papier mache creations taking on 99 Luftballons, Another Brick in the Wall, Dancing Queen and Umbrella, plus a 10 foot high bride puppet operated by newlyweds on a nice day for a White Wedding. The Shambolympics once again proved that sporting prowess is entirely optional.
The weekend capped a landmark year. In April, Shambala became the UK’s first festival owned by its employees, after the original five co-founders transferred majority ownership of Kambe Events to staff through an Employee Owned Trust. That followed last year’s sold-out 25th anniversary, and a 2025 awards run in which it was named Independent Festival of the Year and Medium Festival of the Year at the UK Festival Awards, also taking the Sarah Nulty Community Impact Award and Best Independent Festival at the Access All Areas awards. The festival still runs on 100% renewable power, serves no meat or fish, has removed disposable plastics, and continues to fund environmental repair.
Rainy spells did little to dampen the mood. After weeks of extremely dry weather put the famous closing fireworks in doubt, the change in conditions allowed Shambala to end as it has for so many years, with thousands gathered beneath a spectacular display. Founded 26 years ago by a group of friends and grown from a gathering of 100 people in a field, Shambala remains a fiercely independent, family-friendly celebration of creativity, community, curiosity and the wonderfully unexpected. It returns from 26th to 29th August 2027, and you can sign up for the 2027 pre-sale now.
Image credits: Jessie Myers, Ezekiel Arzac, Leora Bermeister
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