Ask anyone who attended Woodstock Live this year, and it’s fair to say that they would say that it was incredible! The sun was out, the atmosphere was excellent, and the music was absolutely rocking! Unlike the wet weather we experienced last year, we could not have asked for better weather, and this paved the way for a beautiful weekend of music from start to finish!

 

Myself, Harry Moseley, & Jack Walker, as co­chairs, with Claudia Stephenson and Abigail Saks as bar manager and marketing manager came together harmoniously this year as an all new committee. We could not be more pleased with how well attended this year’s festival was ­ a sea of Woodstock society coming together to celebrate with a festival of music. Our team of volunteers were brilliant, from setting up to packing down and everything in between, these were the people that allowed the festival to run as smoothly as possible.

 

The festival kicked off from 4pm on the Friday with Matthew Jack in the Woodstock Arms, proceeding with Daniel Moseley in the Back Lane Tavern, Mandolirium at the King’s Arms Hotel, and Tom Rogers closing the Friday evening at the Crown. All venues were well attended, and a great start to the festival!

 

With the festival in full flow, the main event started on both days with family Entertainment provided by Jordan Bass, creating a fun atmosphere and family friendly vibes from the off. We also had the winners of this year’s Marlborough School Battle of the Bands to take the stage first at 1pm on Saturday, with exceptional performances from Chuck Louis who played rock and roll hits and the red kites playing two instrumental numbers.

 

We had a mix of traditional European and Native American folk tunes with originals from Alisa Apreleva. We then visited America with the Holy Fools doing what they do best on stage. Midair brought brilliant songwriting and harmonies in their original songs to the stage. Harry Quin and Danny Davies brought modern acoustic originals and covers with great guitar playing and harmonies. Steady Habits brought fresh queer country to Woodstock. We then had dancy balkan fun from the Balkan Wanderers.

 

On Sunday, Medowsuite opened with a mix of traditional and original folk music. Woodstock did some counting and dancing to One Trick Donkey's world music. Tim Friers and the Mercenaries brought fun and energy. We had a mix of neo soul and jazz from the master musicians in Small Claims and friends. Woodstock then sang along to some favorite songs with Hannah Speller and Jamie Felton. Bankside brought great originals whilst the crowd were bathed in sunlight during their fantastic set. Papa Nui then brought huge fun and dancing during a set which included songs about early birds & worms! What The Funk naturally got everyone up and dancing to their funky and dancy set.

 

Our Headliners: Marlia Rae brought her brand new band to the stage on Saturday and gave us a glimpse of what to expect of her magnificent new music. The band thrilled the crowd with fantastic funky tunes and a few old favourites. The Shakes closed Saturday night with songs by the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, ACDC and Paul Simon amongst others, thrilling the Woodstock Live crowd. On Sunday, we closed the festival with the fantastic Mambo Panthers bringing a latin flavour to Woodstock. Their addictive latin beat was the perfect way to finish a beautiful weekend of music!

 

A special Thank You has to also go to our sound engineers Spike and Stuart whose efforts throughout the weekend made our incredible 2025 lineup sound so amazing; as well as our videographer Andy Boyd, and photographers Cyrus Mower & Olivia Conner who provided excellent videography and photography to picture such a special weekend!

 

As in previous years, festival goers have been encouraged to bring or reuse their own pint cups, to reduce plastic waste. A great effort from all that were there, and once again proving that we are making a 7 difference with this initiative. I have to also mention seeing a family with a full dining table set up at one point, so hats off to whoever they were for their planning and dedication as they were there most of the Sunday!

 

As we know, Woodstock Live is volunteer­led and would not be the same without our festival bar, manned by our experienced and willing volunteers and captained by Bar Manager, Claudia Stephenson. We also re­introduced a Tombola and raffle this year, championed by our Marketing Manager, Abigail Saks. This proved to be a great hit with festival goers, who supported the festival by snapping up raffle tickets and exhausted the Tombola before Saturday finished! Prizes for the raffle were generously given from businesses around Woodstock, with over £2000 worth of prizes.

 

Support from our main event sponsors, Flowers Estate Agents, who provided significant financial support was generously pledged again this year. Without their involvement Woodstock Live would not be what it is today.

 

Alongside our main event sponsor, we have received a host of new sponsorship this year with QuickStart ­ Oxfordshire Motorcycle Training, Howling Productions, Wurzel, the Star Inn, Alfonso Gelateria and the Back Lane Tavern all supporting the festival, with Blenheim Palace, the Tipsy Palace, Alex Creperie, Woodstock Accountancy and Lewis Properties also continuing to support the festival for continuous years. Alex Creperie provided their amazing Crepes as always!

 

We are so lucky to have a community in Woodstock in which businesses give so freely to events like Woodstock Live, and we are so thankful for all your contributions and sponsorship. This combined with incredible volunteer support makes Woodstock Live, and the town of Woodstock so special to be a part of.

 

Lastly, but definitely not least, is a huge thank you to everyone who attended Woodstock Live this August bank holiday weekend. The great support from the entire community at large truly is what makes this event viable, and worth organising. Your enthusiastic and continued support year in, year out, allows us to confidently organise a fantastic weekend to suit such a fantastic community. This is mirrored with other community events like Night of 1000 Candles in November, as well as Old Woodstock Mock Mayor which of course will be returning in 2026!

 

Jack Walker and myself thoroughly enjoyed chairing Woodstock Live this year. We certainly will be continuing to organise this event for years to come, with next year rumoured to be the 20th year of Woodstock Live! So we will see you out on Market Place next year for another incredible weekend ­ See you in 2026!

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Harry Moseley