THE LITTLE ORCHARD CIDER AND MUSIC FESTIVAL 2024 TAKES PLACE FROM FRIDAY 13 TO SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2024. DUB PISTOLS AND THE LEVELLERS ARE HEADLINING ALONGSIDE CYDERFEX, LAND OF THE GIANTS AND THE WURZELS…
Family-friendly live music festivals that feature massive bands and artists are few and far between in Cornwall. So it’s refreshing that one of the star family fests of the year is down on a cider farm. Healey’s Cornish Cyder Farm in Penhallow near Truro, to be exact.
The Little Orchard Festival of Cider and Music 2024 may sound like a total knees-up for the adults – which, in part, it most certainly is – but this extravaganza between Friday 13 and Sunday 15 September 2024 has got tons going on for kids of all ages too, from a fab funfair to engaging outdoor bushcraft and survival workshops.
Top of the bill at Little Orchard 2024, though, is, of course, the bands. And they won’t let you down. The headliners are the Dub Pistols, also known as a ‘reggae-breaks-jungle mashup’ outfit, and the Levellers, who don’t really need an introduction at all. The folk-rock-punk band ruled the airwaves in the 90s.
Who else is playing the 2024 Little Orchard Festival in Cornwall? Cyderfex, Land of the Giants and, of course, Little Orchard stalwarts The Wurzels. It’s a cider and music festival at a cider farm. The most famous cider drinkers of them all simply have top be there.
The 2023 edition saw 90s indie-rock icons Ocean Colour Scene and Republica headlining the show. Other great acts included The Wurzels, Tankus the Henge and Wille and the Bandits.
It’s actually the festival’s 11th year in 2024, showing how successful it has become. And it’s not just about the music over the weekend. Other highlights of the fest include Grandma’s Funky Wardrobe, where grannies serve up tunes and gin in a late night secret venue in the woods, and The Zen Den, which detoxes the mind and soul.
Also expect The Rattler Olympics, in which everyone can take part in events like welly wanging and apple bobbing. Plus, as in previous editions, there’s loads of stuff for the kids, like a fairground and bushcraft, survival, obstacle crossing and combat workshops.
Camping is recommended but not essential and, of course, there’s a huge range of ciders from across the UK on sale throughout the weekend alongside plenty of other beverages. And some of the best local food is on sale in food trucks peppered across the site.
We at Proper Cornwall are big fans of this festival and we can never keep our hands off the buttery fried chicken stalls and the kebabs in between top bands and fairground rides.
There are also glamping and caravan options at the fest, as well as, of course, cider tasting and a silent disco to boot. All in all, this is a music and cider-fuelled family-friendly festival that has no equal in Cornwall. As The Wurzels would say: “I am a cider drinker, I drinks it all of the day and in September 2024, I’m goin’ to Little Orchard to soothe all me troubles away.” Probably.