ALSO Festival Adds Over 100 New Events For ALSO24 – Preview

Putting the ‘IQ’ in ‘boutique festival’ since 2014, ALSO is the UKs most inspirational summer festival combining ideas, music and comedy alongside adventures in food, nature and wellness. Today over 100 events have been added to the lineup for ALSO Festival’s upcoming 11th edition: ALSO24, taking place 12th – 14th July 2024 at Park Farm, Compton Verney, Warwickshire.

Curious, clever and creative, ALSO Festival collaborates with celebrated best-selling authors, revolutionary scientists and impassioned experts, allowing ideas to run wild. ALSO24 promises to be nothing short of celestial as we dive into the theme of Heavenly Bodies creating a magical, immersive festival experience akin to heaven on earth. Set lakeside in 50 acres of Capability Brown landscaped surroundings in Warwickshire, ALSO Festival offers a unique opportunity to reconnect with yourself and the world around you with hundreds of transformative events across 15 specially designed venues.

With so much to learn, do and explore, ALSO festival guests can curate their own unique festival adventure – whether you’re looking to learn about the people and universe around you, try new activities, fill your weekend with relaxation, wellness and fantastic food, discover your new favourite comedian, dance until the early hours or a mixture of all of the above – ALSO has you covered. Explore the full programme of events at https://www.also-festival.com/events/also-2024/feed

IDEAS: Joining the incredible lineup of inspirational speakers including Philippa Perry, Tim Marshall, Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Natalie Haynes, Professor David Tong, Nels Abbey, ALSO are proud to announce Robin Ince Asks David Tong About Life, the Universe and Everything, a second event with Charles Foster on being at one with the universe, and founding director of Cornell University’s Carl Sagan Institute, astrophysicist Lisa Kaltenegger who takes us on an eye-opening journey to the most unusual exoplanets that have shaken our worldview and bring us up to date on the best contenders for planets containing actual alien life forms.

Also joining the programme are renowned and altogether brilliant bibliotherapist Ella Berthoud offering her Fiction Prescriptions and The Art of Mindful Reading and award-winning author Irenosen Okojie with ‘Curandera’ – her thrilling, experimental new novel exploring the darker elements of shamanism, desire, betrayal and friendship – across time and dimensions. Psychologist and long-time ALSO collaborator neuroscientist, Professor Catherine Loveday will be exploring love and memory as well as introducing Jessica Hepburn, the first and only woman on the planet to have completed the ‘Sea, Street, Summit Challenge’ and award-winning poet Salena Godden and international DJ Smokin Jo will discuss their incredible memoirs.

Giving ALSO guests the opportunity to delve deeper into the subjects that excite them, ALSO are pleased to announce the return of their more intimate ‘Double Talk’ sessions, designed to really get to grips with these huge ideas and allowing time for questions and discussion with ALSO’s headline speakers. 2024’s Double Talk sessions will include David Robson on ace-ing friendships and lifelong relationships, incredible linguist, lexicographer, writer, and technologist Sarah Ogilvie on the art of living in the digital age, behavioural and data scientist, activist and writer Pragya Agarwal on the way our implicit or ‘unintentional’ biases affect the way we communicate and perceive the world, as well as relaxed Q&A and book signing sessions with Philippa Perry, Tim Marshall, Natalie Haynes and Roman Krznaric.

COMEDY & CABARET: Joining comedy headliners Sara Pascoe and Adam Kay, ALSO now welcomes celebrated comedy writer Joel Morris discussing his new book ‘Be Funny or Die’, star of cult-hit ‘An Evening Without Kate Bush’ Sarah Louise Young who presents her new choose your own adventure cabaret ‘I am your tribute’ and rising Welsh- Indian comedian Priya Hall with her new show ‘Is This Okay?’. Also making his only Festival appearance of 2024 (having performed at Glastonbury in 2023), it’s the only fish to ever forget appearing on Britain’s Got Talent: Bobby Goldfinn will be introducing the ALSO All Stars Talent show.

MUSIC & AUDIO ADVENTURES: ALSO24 is the perfect place to discover new music, providing the stellar soundtrack to your summer. Now joining Stornoway, Jessica Winter, The Fontanas, Edie Bens, Oscar Browne and Yoshika Colwell for 2024 are award-winning DJ Smokin Jo headlining The Bunker and jazz-electronic quartet Respair. Join Juliet Russell’s vocal jam, a singing session with London City Voices, learn how to play the authentic afro Brazilian rhythms in Tribo’s Samba drumming workshop or immerse yourself in the ethereal sounds of Conch shell music with musician Steve Pretty (Hackney Colliery Band).

WELLNESS: ALSO24 caters for your heavenly bodies just as much as your mind with our extensive and varied wellness programme. As well as our restorative wild swimming, paddleboarding, SUP yoga & meditation and SAUNA, ALSO has yoga sessions to suit every body and every schedule from Rasa Fire Yoga with Claire Saunders, Acro Yoga with Kosara Yankova, Scented yoga and meditation with Sarah McCartney to Dynamic Vinyasa Flow with Smokin Jo. Restorative Soundbaths will take place throughout the weekend from The Soundbath Collective and NUMINITY who also present their Cacao Ceremony deep in the forest where chocolate is paired with meditation. For a moment of calm at night join our Space Meditation and perhaps start your Journaling journey with Abbie Macfarlane.

EXPERIENCES: Dive into our Heavenly Bodies theme with a guided Scent walk with the leading perfumer Sarah McCartney of indie Perfume House 4160 Tuesdays, Space Walk with cosmologist Roberto Trotta in our custom build woodland Orrery, join a Space Meditation session or sign up for a masterclass in Galactic art with Isabella Mitchell. Get exploring on our Planetary Scavenger Hunt or challenge your mates in our first ever Space Hopper Championships. With our many dance floors across the stunning festival site, ALSO is the perfect place to dance, dance, dance – but before you show off your best freestyle moves to our fantastic DJ sessions, why not join a dance workshop – there’s plenty to choose from with Alpha Dancers’ Ballroom Blitz and Fiona Ring’s The Prodigy Dance workshop and Charleston sessions.

FOOD: Joining ALSO’s executive chef in residence James Whetlor (renowned James Beard award-winning chef, formerly at River Cottage, and founder of the ethical, sustainably conscious business Cabrito), there will also be a sustainable seafood long table lunch from Winkle Picker, Pirate Rum and Pasty tasting with loveable Cornishman Dan Abbots. Get your Sunday off to a bubbly start at Bingo Brunch – expect brunch baps, banging tunes, bucks fizz and big prizes or join wine expert Jane Rakison for tastings and exploration of sustainable wines and women of the vine.

FAMILY: With fantastic adventures for all ages, wannabe knights can join the McLeod Brothers for their The Knights and Wizards Comic Workshop, leading children’s author Andy Stanton welcomes you to The Crazy World of Mr Gum with surreal wordplay, wildly inventive mayhem and very, very bad singing or everyone’s favourite pantomime dame at Storytime with Mama G. The fantastic Playbox Theatre are back with a variety of musical theatre experiences (The Lion King for ages 5-7, The Little Mermaid 8-10 and The Greatest Showman 11-14) as well as the best bedtime stories around in their Magic Carpet Storytelling and Marcel Lucont returns with his smash hit family show Les Enfants Terribles – A Gameshow For Awful Children. There’s Yoga for Teens taught by 18 year old yoga teacher Olivia Saunders from YogaBright and we’re so excited to announce Wasted with DJ Sam Seven, – the UK’s first under 18’s sustainable club night, aiming to ‘recycle rave culture’ while advocating for actionable measures in response to climate change is coming to ALSO24’s Bunker. And for the first time at ALSO, leading nanny service Mortimer Nannies are on hand so you can enjoy a meal while it’s still hot or hit the late night dance floors in childfree style.

TICKETS: Tier 2 Weekend Tickets (priced £150 for adults, £70 for children) and Day Tickets (from £22-£70) are available at ALSO 2024 (also-festival.com). Under 5s go free.
There are also opportunities to volunteer for the weekend or buy a volunteer ticket and do just one shift.
Parking is free but there are also a limited number of car passes available which allow vehicle access to the campsite. Campervan passes, Glamping options and private toilets are also available to book.
All talks, performances and hundreds of fitness sessions and workshops are included in the ticket price.
Bookable experiences with limited capacity such as long table meals, tastings, guided swims and paddleboarding will be available to book from 11th May.