From Fields to Fairground, Farming and Music Festival Finds a New Home

The Great British Farm Fest is heading to Berkshire for its second edition, with organiser announcing that the farming and music festival will take place at Newbury Showground from 29 to 31 May 2027. The event, fronted by former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson, aims to blend the atmosphere of a traditional country fair with the energy of a modern music festival. Its move to Newbury follows the inaugural festival at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire earlier this year. The first Farm Fest featured more than 400 stalls and 12 arenas spread across 300 acres, attracting more than 50,000 visitors. Alongside farming and countryside attractions, the event included live performances from bands including Blur and 10cc, celebrity appearances and hundreds of animals. Several familiar faces from Clarkson Farm also appeared at the debut, including Kaleb Cooper, Charlie Ireland and Lisa Hogan, Clarkson's partner. The series is filmed around Chadlington in Oxfordshire and has helped bring farming and rural life to a much wider television audience. Organisers say the festival is intended to be about more than celebrity appearances. Festival director Chris Hughes previously said the event would put the spotlight on ordinary farmers, reflecting the agricultural side of the festival alongside its entertainment programme. However, the first event was not without criticism. Some traders reportedly said they left early after failing to recover their costs, raising questions about the commercial experience for exhibitors and smaller businesses attending the festival. The move to Newbury Showground therefore represents a significant second chapter for Farm Fest. With tens of thousands of visitors attending its first edition, the 2027 event will give organisers an opportunity to build on its initial popularity while addressing some of the concerns raised by trader. With farming, live music, animals, celebrity appearances and rural entertainment all forming part of its offering, the Berkshire event is set to bring a distinctly agricultural twist to the festival calendar next May.