Chagstock Festival 2018 – Hunter & The Bear, The Hot Sprockets to headline Marquee Stage

Hotly-tipped British rockers, Hunter & The Bear will close Chagstock’s marquee stage on Friday, with Dublin ‘blood brothers’ The Hot Sprockets bringing proceedings to an end on Saturday.

Also announced for 2018 are, as always, a diverse mixture of fabulous acts including Martin Harley, The Wood Burning Savages, Xylaroo, The Luck, Huw Eddy & The Carnival, and Dessie Magee.

Described succinctly by the Huffington Post as “The Heroes British Rock Needs Right Now“, Hunter & The Bear have spent the last few years loudly reinvigorating the UK’s live music scene, picking up scores of new fans (including Radio 2’s Bob Harris) after incredible performances at festivals including Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds and T In The Park, alongside supporting the likes of Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and Simple Minds on tour.

Led by Jimmy Hunter (Hunter) and Will Irvine (the Bear), the London-based 4 piece have one simple stated aim, “to be the best live band on the planet”, and they are making headway fast! They released their debut album ‘Paper Hearts and Holograms’ last year to critical acclaim, with Classic Rock awarding it 4 Stars, lauding the British guitar-driven quartet’s stirring rock as “the perfect tonic for jaded palates….Their controlled power and intensity hits all the right spots”

The Hot Sprockets are five blood brothers from Dublin City drawn together by their mutual love of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Take some good-time revolutionary spirit, add a pinch of psychedelic flavour, simmer it down with some indie soul and you are now somewhere close! Performing live, the Sprockets’ white-hot, maximum intensity approach is lighting a fire under men and women of all tastes and flavours.  With their third studio album ‘Dream Mover’ being unleashed in 2018, you better get ready for the ride because they are more than a band, they are a force of nature…!

There are also some new additions to the Main Stage line up. Sisters Holly and Coco Chant aka Xylaroo will bring their harmony-drenched bucolic modern folk to enchant all those who assemble to see them on Friday. Supremely talented acoustic roots and blues slide guitarist, singer and songwriter Martin Harley “One of the UK’s finest contemporary roots musicians” – Total Guitar, will also take to the main stage, returning to Chagstock for the first time in five years.

The Marquee stage will also welcome even more exceptional talent across both days! Irish born, Brighton based singer-songwriter Dessie Magee, will bring his heartfelt melodies with folk, blues and rock influences, The Wood Burning Savages will get the marquee well and truly rocking on Saturday night, with The Luck and Huw Eddy & The Carnival helping to get the party started earlier in the day!

As previously announced, two exceptional acts will headline CHAGSTOCK FESTIVAL 2018.

Saturday main stage headliner Imelda May began her professional career in 2003, releasing No Turning Back. In 2007 she signed with Ambassador Records and recorded her second album. Love Tattoo, which reached No. 1 in Ireland and received wide critical acclaim. It caught the attention of Jools Holland, who she later supported on tour, leading to a critically acclaimed performance on his BBC2 show Later…

Imelda has recorded with a huge variety of world-class artists, including Lou Reed, Jeff Beck, Smokey Robinson, Tom Jones, and Sharon Shannon; she performed at the Grammy’s with Jeff Beck in tribute to Les Paul; performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and recently performed the Irish anthem in Las Vegas before the Floyd Mayweather/Conor McGregor fight.

Buzzcocks will headline the main stage on Friday. Formed by Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto in February 1976, the band were completed by the addition of Steve Diggle and John Maher.

In August 1977, Buzzcocks released the landmark ‘Orgasm Addict’ single. This was swiftly followed by ‘What Do I Get?’, the band’s first entry into the UK top 40 singles chart and the first of a string of chart singles. Over the next three years, Buzzcocks toured extensively and released a trilogy of outstanding albums: Another Music in a Different Kitchen, Love Bites and A Different Kind of Tension, as well as the hugely influential and popular Singles Going Steady compilation.

The Correspondents consist of singer Mr Bruce and producer, Chucks. Formed in 2007, within two years they went from house parties to festival main stages with a show that quickly established the duo as one of the best live acts in the UK..

Alyssa and Doug Graham have spent most of their lives exploring music together. Friends since she was 7 and he was 9, they became a couple in their teens, then husband and wife. Somewhere along the way, they also became The Grahams, a dynamic Americana duo who’ve married their love of adventure with a desire to build on foundations laid by their musical predecessors.

Show of Hands return for their third performance at Chagstock, including a magical headline set back in 2011. One of the UK’s most successful acoustic acts (and local heroes to boot!) the talents of Steve Knightley and Phil Beer will be celebrating 25 years of magical music making.

Warming up for the main stage headliner on Friday night will be King King. If this is your first time discovering them…they are simply the living, breathing, here and now of Classic Rock music.

Taking place on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st July 2018, Chagstock will once again showcase the very finest music, food and entertainment from the Westcountry and beyond.

Set in 70 acres of farmland on the edge of Dartmoor, Chagstock is renowned for its stunning location, diverse line-up of artists and non-corporate, family friendly atmosphere. Chagstock showcases the very best music, food and entertainment that the Westcountry and the UK have to offer. Starting life as a small private party, Chagstock has now grown into a major fixture on the Westcountry festival circuit, selling out for the last five years in succession.

Simon Ford Chagstock Festival organiser says, “We can’t wait to welcome friends new and old to Higher Fields in Whiddon Down for Chagstock 2018! Adding the likes of Hunter & The Bear, The Hot Sprockets and Martin Harley to a line up that already includes incredible acts like Buzzcocks, Imelda May, The Correspondents and The Grahams shows we are pulling out all the stops for 2018! Do keep an eye on our website or social media for the most up to date news and announcements ”

£95 (Adults), £65 (Under 18’s)

Under 12’s are free (ticket is still required).

A Family Ticket for 2 Adults & 2 Under 18s is £275.