Shambala Festival

About Shambala Festival

Born from a 1999 field gathering of 100 friends, Shambala Festival 2027 returns to Kelmarsh Hall and Gardens, Northamptonshire as an arts festival with music, performance and workshops on the bill.

The event now runs at a capacity of 14,000–15,000 public adults, plus kids. It took 2006 off after attendance exceeded capacity in 2005, then restarted in 2007.

In 2017, Shambala became the first and only festival to achieve a five-star Creative Green certification. In 2026, ownership passed to the staff team through an Employee Ownership Trust, making it the UK’s first employee-owned festival.

Lineup and Programme

The programme takes in techno, dancehall, folk, disco, electronic, world music, drum and bass, jungle, cabaret, circus and dance. No headline acts are listed in the verified data.

Named stages and venues include Solasta, The Next Stage, The Enchanted Woods, Roots Corner, The Data Mine and Pink Flamingo Jazz Club. Around 40 venues and stages run across the site.

Beyond stage times, the programme includes live music and late-night DJ sets, workshops, dance classes, performance shows, family activities in dedicated kids’ areas, wellbeing sessions such as yoga and meditation, and participatory events including Shambolympics.

Who Is It For?

Shambala’s crowd is mixed-age and family-friendly, but not families-only. The festival describes itself as a community of thousands.

Ticket categories include Under 5s for ages 0–4, Child tickets for 5–12, Teen tickets for 13–17, Young Adult tickets for 18–25 and Elders tickets for 70+. Minors must attend with an adult guardian, and photo ID may be required.

The Venue and Site

Kelmarsh Hall and Gardens sits in Northamptonshire, with the festival site built around its camping fields and arena areas. General camping is included.

Camping options include dedicated family camping, Dragonfly Camping Fields with extra comfort facilities, live-in vehicle fields and an Accessible Camping Area for disabled, neurodivergent and d/Deaf attendees.

Facilities include free hot showers, compost loos, drinking water points and a 24-hour Campsite Hub. Medical and Welfare facilities run 24/7, with secure lockers, WiFi points, phone charging stalls, on-site ATMs and accessible toilets, showers and charging in the Accessible Camping Area.

Travel Information

Kelmarsh Hall and Gardens is in Northamptonshire, with rail shuttle buses linking the festival to two nearby stations. Road access uses the A14 and M1 routes listed by the festival.

• Nearest stations: Market Harborough and Long Buckby, both with rail shuttle buses to the site.
• Road access: A14 Junction 2 to Green Gate, and A14 Junction 1 to Pink Gate.
• From the M1: use M1 Junction 19 via the A14 east, then the A508 toward Market Harborough.
• Parking: car passes should be bought in advance. Car parking is limited, on-the-day sales are not guaranteed, Local Sunday Day Tickets need a separate Local Sunday Day Car Pass, and Dragonfly camping has its own designated car park.