Head into the woods for pageant with a distinction that gave us ‘Ed Sheeran’s favorite gig’

Have you ever gone for a stroll through the woods and thought ‘what this place needs is an amazing sound system?’ Forest Live has you covered

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Deep in the tranquil heart of England’s forests, something is stirring. A bunny, perhaps? A majestic roebuck? Could that be… Fatboy Slim?

The superstar DJ is just one of the acts going down to the woods this summer for the 25 ^th anniversary of Forest Live. Here Meg Jorsh hears from Rhodri Jones, of Forestry England, how the pioneering concert series is helping protect our trees…

There must be a million ways to listen to music outdoors. From camping at a festival to cranking up your headphones on the way to the train station, that mix of feel-good chemicals is more available than ever.

But there’s still something special about Forest Live – the annual event that brings headline stars to some of Britain’s most beautiful green spaces. It’s hosted everyone from Tom Jones to Pulp, with nothing to distract from the music but trees.

Now in its 25 ^th year, the festival will welcome a packed lineup this summer. Fatboy Slim, UB40, Rick Astley and Richard Ashcroft are among the acts performing between June 17 and 28.

And according to Rhodri Jones, events programme manager at Forestry England, the shows are as popular with bands as with music-lovers. He recalls a young Ed Sheeran performing at Thetford Forest, Suffolk, in 2012.

“I found a quote the other day where he said it was apparently the best gig he’d ever played. We haven’t heard any different since, so I’m assuming that’s still the case,” he laughs.

This year’s shows will be split between Thetford, Delamere Forest in Cheshire, Cannock Chase Forest in Staffordshire and Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire. The stages are set up in natural clearings, to minimise disruption to the environment.

“When we say we’re custodians of 1,500 forests, people are like ‘oh, you must have so many different options for concert sites,’” says Rhodri. “But as soon as you have to fit 10,000 audience members into a space, the list of eligible sites comes down pretty quickly.

“Cannock Chase is a really beautiful natural amphitheatre. Delamere is a sort of sloped arena, like a massive green Brixton Academy. At Westonbirt you’re surrounded by amazing amounts of rare and unique trees – and Thetford is just a stage, then nothing but trees as far as you can see.”

For lovers of nature and music, he adds, the venues can make the performances all the more powerful.

“It’s an absolutely amazing place to have a completely disconnected experience, away from all the noise of everyday life. It’s just you connected with that music, connected with that artist. It’s an incredible space to be in.”

It’s obviously quite a change of pace for the normally quiet woodlands. But Forestry England, part of the government-backed Forestry Commission, makes sure everything is set up with conservation in mind.

That includes working with in-house experts to minimise the impact on wildlife and plants. Rhodri adds: “It’s quite a big undertaking, but we’re getting pretty good at it now. We’re basically converting a clearing in a forest to become an arena-level concert space.”

Once the last shows are over, the cleanup operation is completed as quickly as possible. Within just a few days, there is very little evidence a festival ever took place.

Rhodri says: “The forests have visitors all year round, whether it’s from dog walking through mountain biking through whatever. So it’s important that we leave them exactly as they are and as people love them.

“But we find we have really responsible audiences. People come because they love the forests. They respect their spaces. So, individuals are really good at helping us, so it’s not too big a clean-up at the end of each show.”

Like everything Forestry England does, the events are designed to help future-proof our woodlands. The group is our largest supplier of sustainable timber, planting millions of trees every year.

It also runs research programmes planning the forests of the future, that will thrive even in the event of major climate change.

Rhodri says: “One of our main aims is to raise awareness and funds for the nation’s forests, and to generate income for them so that they can be enjoyed for generations to come.

“These concerts are a first step for people to come and start a lifelong relationship with the forests themselves.”

• This year’s Forest Live concerts will feature Becky Hill, Billy Ocean, Deacon Blue, Fatboy Slim, Garbage, McFly, Richard Ashcroft, Rick Astley, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Skunk Anansie, Snow Patrol, The Kooks and UB40 featuring Ali Campbell.
• For more information and tickets, head to forestlive.com