Ethno has a long history in England. Imported by the musician Sam Pirth in 2003, the project ran until 2008 as England’s only international youth folk music camp. After a break of 6 years, Ethno is coming back in England! And not just anywhere: the summer camp will be held at Tandem Festival in Oxfordshire! This fantastic folk festival takes place at the amazing Hill End, just outside Oxford city centre – and this year, will be hosting 20 young and curious musicians for a week before the festival to create some international music to perform!
Participants will play music in the Barn during the days, camp on the hills at night, and perform together at the Festival’s opening night on Friday. If you’d like to apply to play at the festival with your own band as well, they would be happy to hear from you – just include some information about your group in your Ethno application.
Dates (13 June – 21 June)
Saturday 13th June – Arrivals in the afternoon
Sunday 14th to Friday 19th – Music-making!
Friday 19th at lunchtime – Ethno officially ends and Tandem Festival begins (Ethno perform in the evening)
Friday 19th to Sunday 21st – Tandem Festival, Ethno participants are artists at the festival, which means free camping and one free meal over the weekend.
Accommodation
The participants will be camping on the hills at the beautiful Hill End Outdoor Activity Centre. Please bring you own tent if you can, but if that’s not possible, just get in touch and they will see what they can do for you. Don’t forget your sleeping bags and mats.
And don’t worry – they will have a safe and dry instrument store!
Travel
Tandem believes in sustainable living, and wants to share this ethos with its audience. Last year, people cycled to the festival from all over the UK and as far as Belgium – this year they want to see more cyclists from further afield, including Ethno participants! They are offering travel discounts to encourage you to think about the environment when travelling to Ethno. If you avoid aeroplanes, and come by train, bus, or car-share, you’ll get 10% off you Ethno fee. If you cycle, you’ll get 35% off! The discount will be reimbursed to you on your arrival, you just need to show a proof of your transport.
Tandem Festival
Ethno will be happening on the same site as Tandem Festival. During the week there will also be festival volunteers on site, setting up for the weekend and running free workshops in site set-up. Ethno participants can join in these workshops during the week if they choose to.
When the festival begins on Friday afternoon, Ethno will officially finish, but participants will stay for the festival as artists, with free camping and one free meal for the concert on Friday night. Existing groups coming to the Ethno camp will be offered a limited number of performance slots at the festival – please mention on your application if you are interested in this.
Terms and conditions
- Applications close on Monday 18th May 2015.
- We have 20 spaces on this year’s Ethno England, and reserve the right to choose amongst applicants to get a good balance of instruments and experiences.
- Your place is only guaranteed once you have paid the participation fee.
- Fees (includes festival ticket worth £75, camping, tuition, and all meals):
- £200 (€270) International participants
- £250 (€340) UK participants
- **10% discount for green travel (bus, train, car share), 35% discount for cycling more than 100 miles!** (Reimbursed on arrival.)
- If you cancel before 18th May 2015, you will receive a full refund. Cancellations up to 1st June 2015 will receive a partial refund of 50%. After 1st June, cancellations will not be refunded.
Please note that Ethno officially finishes at lunchtime on Friday 19th June – after this, participants will be artists at the festival, and responsible for their own fun and welfare!
