Wilderness Festival: review and photo galleries by Magda Campagne

I keep trying to find words to describe Wilderness Festival succinctly and it’s impossible. The first thing that comes to my head after spending a long weekend in the stunning grounds of Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire is a play on my favourite SNL sketch: Stefon, the New York City nightlife correspondent. ‘This place has EVERYTHING: people dressed like woodland creatures, circus performers, outdoor banquets, aerial yoga, creche and nanny services, philosophy slams, streaking during morning cricket, champagne bars, Faithless playing Fred again.. and Morris Dancers’. And that isn’t even close to an exhaustive list!

You might have heard that Wilderness is posh, or debauched, or it’s the place where parents can drop their kids off with a nanny while they go rave in The Valley. To me, as a human containing multitudes, Wilderness became a place where you can be all of the versions of yourself at once, or each of them one by one, because Wilderness also contains multitudes. You can make it as posh as you like and feast on long tables catered by celebrity chefs, sip from magnums of Veuve Clicquot and stay in a boutique accommodation – but if you come to general camping you can have just as great of a time eating from amazing food trucks, having a hot shower every day and sneaking in a glass of Veuve because why the hell not. On one of the days I overheard a barista chat to a fellow punter while I was queueing for my oat flat white and the barista said ‘this is like a Waitrose of festivals, isn’t it?’ – and in the best possible way it genuinely is.

In terms of wholesomeness, you can make it your own private Saltburn and rave to your heart’s content in differently themed (heavily sequinned and glittered) outfits until 3am each night, however if you’d rather make it a wellness retreat – you can start a day with a smoothie and a jog around the site or a take dip in the lake followed by a fitness session or a spa treatment. You can also mix and match all those options and create your own blend: start the day with yoga, see some great bands, swing by a mindful talk, eat great food, finish off with a rave or a dominatrix performance. It is also the perfect festival to come to if you have kids: there is a whole kids mini-stage packed with daily activities, there are nanny services available should you wish to have a boogie without the little ones in tow and the family campsite is on the opposite side of the field from The Valley (aka rave central), guaranteeing a good night of sleep.

Some say that music is secondary at Wilderness, and on the scale of festivals where on one end we have music nerd havens with back to back to back bands from 11am with no alternative activities, Wilderness definitely sits on the opposite end of that spectrum. Bands / DJs start from mid-day-ish in the smaller venues and the main Wilderness stage kicks off on Friday in the afternoon, giving everyone plenty of time to get familiar with the grounds before heading over there. However for someone like me, a music nerd with a taste that’s been expanding with every passing year, and who’s been equally obsessed with Jessie Ware, Bicep, Michael Kiwanuka and Alison Golfdrapp at some point in my life – the line up was simply perfect and I don’t think I could get such an eclectic mix anywhere else. At every headline set I was the photographer in the pit belting out every song lyric or dancing to every beat.

The headliners were absolutely spot on – after a slow-ish start to the day on Friday easing everyone into the festivities we had an electronic night in store with Barry Can’t Swim getting everyone primed and ready for Faithless. Faithless completely owned the crowd, and they hit the sweet spot both for parents who were initially clubbing to ‘Insomnia’ when it came out nearly 20 years ago, as well as with the new generation of clubbers. Their set had a great mix of their original hits (‘God Is A DJ’ came on just as we were leaving the photo pit) as well as some incredible covers, notably Fred again..’s ‘Marea (we’ve lost dancing)’ and ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’. I have seen many parents partying with their kids, proving that music really unites generations.

Saturday at Wilderness Stage was for dance, disco and soul vibes and Craig Charles, with his incredible DJ set full of Motown, funk and soul warmed the crowd up perfectly for Alison Goldfrapp. She commanded the audience from the moment she stepped onto the stage and delivered a set full of hits – both from the Golfrapp era as well as her eponymous debut The Love Invention. Yet again it was a feast both for the ‘parents’ in the crowd, who initially clubbed to ‘Ooh La La’ back in 2005 (me) as well as the younger generation: the audience erupted to the sounds of ‘Rocket’ and “Ride A White Horse’. Michael Kiwanuka probably doesn’t fall under dance or disco, but his incredibly unique blend of rock and soul was the perfect close to the night. His stunning visuals gave a thought-provoking backdrop to his lyrics, and his set was full of my personal favourites (‘You Ain’t The Problem’ and ‘Black Man In A White World’ to name a few).

Sunday brought more dance vibes to Wilderness and when De La Soul took to The Wilderness stage, they summed up the festival beautifully. Posnduos riffed ‘Is it me or does it feel like it’s a festival full of parents and kids?’ When later the inimitable Jessie Ware brought her Pearl club to the stage and was escorted onto it flanked by two male dancers, she transformed Cornbury Park into a disco club in an instant. The lyrics to ‘Pearls’, the second song in the set, must have hit home with many Wilderness revellers:

…I’m so nine-to-five, I’m a lady
I’m a lover, a freak and a mother
Walking on the line, it’s in my human nature
I crave a little danger

She was the perfect headliner for Wilderness and delivered all the hits from That! Feels Good, throwing in a cover of Cher‘s ‘Believe’ and ending on my personal favourite ‘Free Yourself’. Bicep were the ultimate closing act of Wilderness, bringing their Chroma AV show to Wilderness. While their focus was on the new Chroma concept, they treated the audience to some crowd pleasers towards the end and we all went absolutely wild for ‘Apricots’ and ‘Glue’.

Outside of the Wilderness Stage, I found that The Barn was the perfect place to discover emerging artists in the most relaxed environment, and it had an impressive focus on female artists. When I walked to Aanya Martin‘s set, her slow, delicate yet powerful brand of jazz seemed to be a magnet for children who couldn’t stop running to the front of the stage – impressively captivating for someone with only one single out. Nell Mescal, who I was already aware of as a fan of Phoebe Bridgers, completely blew me away – and I overheard that she was a weekend highlight for quite a few other people at the festival as well. Her brand of ‘sad girl music’ is exactly what I love, and her voice is stunningly beautiful and delivers emotional lyrics with arresting sincerity. ‘Yellow Dresser’ was a particular highlight. I also really loved Ellie Harris‘s confessional and vulnerable lyrics. Elsewhere, The House Of Sublime delivered sensual burlesque / go-go dancers performances, but also housed the inimitable CHEWY SHE who left the audience speechless when she erupted onto the stage with her single ‘Mustard’ – and delivered on the promise of costume changes, clowns and chaos!

The beauty of Wilderness is that you can start your day slow, get a good lie in and once you venture out to the grounds, you never know what might take your interest. One morning I walked past The Atrium and heard piano music that moved me to tears – turns out it was a breath workshop and soon Chad Lawson was teaching the crowd the square breathing technique prompted by piano chords. The whole auditorium closed our eyes and breathed together. I also wandered into The Shala, usually a space for morning yoga and afternoon dance workshops, to experience a meditative performance from The London Ambient Orchestra. I sat and listened to political and social talks at The Forum, I practiced with my tent neighbours, The Red Bandits, on the kazoo before their performance, I sat down with a book under a tree by the lake, I made a zine with Lu Williams’s Grrrl Zine Fair and clutched my pearls when Olivia Colman and Daisy Ridley were reading out naughty letters at Letters Live. I also bumped into my Liftshare driver at The House of Sublime while she was dressed as a crab – naturally.

However what I will remember the most about Wilderness is the kindness of strangers. I made my journey there as a solo woman full of camping and photo kit with four fifths of a plan of getting there and back – including the aforementioned Liftshare with people staying at a different campsite – and I got unexpected lifts from random festival crew, cups of coffee from my tent neighbours, I formed a tribe with fellow photographers and felt embraced by the festival. It was my first time in the Wilderness and I sincerely hope this was a beginning of a beautiful friendship.

• Wilderness Festival will return to Cornbury Park on 31st July – 3rd August 2025, Early Bird tickets are on sale now: Wilderness website | Wilderness Instagram