‘From small acorns do mighty oaks grow’ – that’s a saying that sums up the Nibley Festival quite nicely.

It’s been 12 years since the inaugural Nibley Festival took place, and a lot has changed since that weekend back in 2006. This year a host of hugely successful musicians will be gracing the main stage at Nibley, which is quite a difference to the first festival that took place in a solitary tent in a field. “We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved,” said Tom de Pass, one of the volunteers who works in the communications team at the Nibley Festival.

“When we look back at the first couple of years and look where we’re at now, there’s a huge difference. Nowadays, thanks to all the hard work of the organising committee and the support of everyone who attends, we’ve managed to grow the festival and attendances are fantastic. A lot of the people involved in the first festival are still helping out all these years later. We’ve stayed true to the ethos that we set out with, which was to create a friendly festival that everyone can enjoy,” added Tom.

The festival, which gets underway on 6th July, will welcome Example & DJ Wire who will be headlining the main stage on the Saturday. The Pigeon Detectives and Space, who sold five million records in the 1980s and 1990s, will also be playing their biggest tracks in what promises to be a great weekend of music. Tom continued: “We’re particularly pleased with this year’s line-up. Looking for headline acts can be quite tricky, you need them to appeal to everyone. We were delighted when Example confirmed his attendance, he’s got a big fan base and is sure to put on a great show. The Pigeon Detectives and Space are two bands that have sold millions of records and played at some of the biggest festivals in the country so to welcome them to Nibley is great.”

It’s not just about the big names though, the organising committee at the Nibley Festival work hard to book a number of acts who haven’t yet made the big time. Tom continued: “To give opportunities to local artists and bands is a huge part of what we’re about. The headline acts play the main stage then we’ve got two smaller stages which the up-and-coming artists play. We’ve also got the ‘busk stop’ where anyone can come along and perform, that’s always worth checking out.”

The Nibley Festival has helped raise over £200,000 for charities in the last twelve years. Tom explained: “The primary aim when we first began was to raise money for the local PTA. We’re still very committed to raising as much as we can for local causes in the community. We have a main charity partner every year, this year it’s the Flying Seagull Project who are an amazing organisation that goes into hospitals, refugee camps and orphanages and provide entertainment to children who are suffering. We’ve managed to raise £220,000 since the festival began, which is testament to everyone involved.”

When it comes to the future Tom says the ambitions of the volunteers who organise the festival are the same as a decade ago. Tom said: “Our aims are to just carry on what we’re doing really. We’ve made huge strides in just over a decade and have attracted some great artists. We want to remain committed to sticking loyal to our values and raising as much as we can for so many great causes.”