About Sugarhill

Named after the hill upon which the main stage will be sited, Sugarhill Festival is the brainchild of local arable farmer, Dennis Ford, a keen music fan and a musician himself. He commented: “I try to get to as many gigs as my farming schedule will allow, but it's never enough. It suddenly struck me that living on a farm, actually gave me enormous potential to organise something really special right on my own doorstep that could be enjoyed by a wide range of people.”

Through family connections, Dennis teamed up with Event Management Services (EMS), whose pedigree includes the Greenbelt, Wychwood and Cheltenham Jazz Festivals. But setting up events takes time and money and it soon became clear that if Sugarhill Festival was going to become a reality, it would need to be organised differently.

EMS achieved this by persuading some of the most skilled and experienced individuals and companies in outdoor event production to come on board and commit to the project, without quite knowing what they might get out of it. Slowly but surely, an enthusiastic group of people was assembled with skills in bars and catering, artist liaison, event organisation, marketing, water and electricity supply, stewarding, tents, fencing, health and safety and more. It may seem a busman’s holiday to some, but as the team behind the event, we very much hope that everyone gets as much out of attending Sugarhill as we have in creating and staging it!