22–25 Jul 2027
Family-friendlyLatitude Festival
Henham Park, Suffolk, UK
Arts, culture and music in Suffolk parkland: thoughtful, family-friendly and genuinely diverse.
Loxwood Meadow, West Sussex — Indie/Alternative — 2027 dates TBC (usually August)
The Wake! 2027
One day, three stages, a West Sussex meadow on the fringes of the South Downs, built by the people who built Green Man. The 2026 edition ran on 29 August with Badly Drawn Boy headlining; the festival says news on 2027 is coming soon.
- 1Day
- 3Stages
- 3Editions so far
- £402026 ticket
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Festival Networks · Guides
The Wake! 2027: date & ticket alert
Small, independent, well-curated UK festivals like The Wake! — sent before the big ones sell out.
A one-day festival with Green Man's DNA — explained
The Wake! is a one-day independent music festival at Loxwood Meadow, a stretch of countryside near Billingshurst in West Sussex, on the fringes of the South Downs National Park. It ran for the third time in 2026, having launched in 2024, and it was created by Jo Bartlett and Danny Hagan — the same pair who founded Green Man Festival in Wales. That pedigree is the whole story here: the same instinct for thoughtful, independent-minded programming and a genuinely warm crowd, compressed into a single day at a fraction of Green Man's scale and cost.
The 2026 edition ran on Saturday 29 August, gates at noon, across three named stages — Woodland, Meadow and Crooked Hut — with Mercury Prize winner Badly Drawn Boy headlining, alongside The Tubs, Radhika, and DJ Justin Robertson among others on a 17-act bill. It's often searched for as "Wake Festival Brighton" because Brighton is the nearest city most people recognise the area by — the site itself sits about 40 minutes' drive from Brighton, closer to Billingshurst and Horsham than the coast.
Tickets were about £40 in 2026, deliberately kept low so the event stays accessible, and on-site camping turned the one day into a weekend in the meadow for anyone who wanted it. The 2027 date and prices haven't been announced yet: the festival says news is coming soon.
What Makes It Different
Why a one-day festival from Green Man's founders is worth knowing about
Most UK festivals that carry a serious independent pedigree ask for a three- or four-day commitment and £150–£300. The Wake! takes the opposite approach: same editorial instinct, single day, £40.
Green Man has spent two decades building a reputation as one of the UK's most trusted independent festivals — thoughtful booking, a warm and unpretentious crowd, genuine care for the site and the people on it. The Wake! is Jo Bartlett and Danny Hagan applying that same approach at a completely different scale: instead of four days and 25,000 people in the Brecon Beacons, it's one day and a genuinely small crowd in a West Sussex meadow.
That compression changes what the day feels like. There's no need to pace yourself across a long weekend, no need to plan a full camping kit list, and no need to book time off work beyond a Saturday. It functions as a genuine taster of what a boutique, independently-run festival feels like — useful if you've never been to one and want to find out before committing to a full weekend event, and just as useful if you have and want a lower-commitment top-up to your summer.
The three stages — Woodland, Meadow and Crooked Hut — are named for where they actually sit on the site, which tells you something about the scale: this isn't a festival where you need a site map and a 20-minute walk between stages. Everything is close together, which matters if you're bringing children or simply don't want the day to become a logistics exercise.
- Built by the Green Man foundersJo Bartlett and Danny Hagan bring the same editorial instinct that built one of the UK's most trusted independent festivals — at a fraction of the scale.
- One Day, Not a WeekendNo multi-day commitment, no full camping kit required. Gates open at noon on the Saturday.
- £40 TicketPriced deliberately low to stay accessible — a fraction of what a comparable independent festival weekend costs.
- Children's AreaA dedicated children's area makes this a genuinely low-friction first festival for families.
- On-Site Camping, OptionalCamp if you want to make a weekend of it; the one-day ticket doesn't require it.
- Solo & LGBTQ+ FriendlySmall enough to feel welcoming rather than anonymous — a good option for a solo day out.
The Music
The 2026 lineup and the three stages
The 2026 bill ran to 17 acts across the day, headlined by Mercury Prize winner Badly Drawn Boy, with The Tubs, Radhika, Hero Fisher, Elizabeth Alker, Studio Electrophonique and Joe Wilkes, alongside DJ sets from Justin Robertson. It gives a good idea of the booking: indie and alternative, with DJ sets threaded through the day rather than confined to a late-night slot.
Woodland Stage
Main Stage · Headline Sets
The main stage, set among trees at the edge of the meadow. This is where Badly Drawn Boy headlines and where the day's biggest names play — close enough that there's no need to stake out a spot hours in advance.
Meadow Stage
Open Air · Daytime Programme
The open meadow stage running through the afternoon — the natural place to post up on a blanket with a drink and let the day's discoveries come to you between the bigger names.
Crooked Hut
Intimate · Smaller, Closer
The smallest of the three, and the one for artists you're less likely to already know. Named for the structure it's staged in — the kind of stage where a festival's actual character usually shows itself.
One-Day Strategy
With three stages and one day, clashes are inevitable but manageable — this isn't a site where you'll lose 30 minutes walking between them. Anchor your day around the Woodland Stage headline slot and use the gaps to drift to Meadow and Crooked Hut. Gates opened at noon in 2026, so a full day is there if you arrive early.
Planning
Planning your day — tickets, travel, camping
The Wake! is about as low-friction as a UK festival gets to plan for — one day, one gate time, a small site.
Tickets
- PriceAbout £40 per person for the day in 2026, priced deliberately low rather than at a weekend-festival rate. 2027 prices come with the date.
- CampingOn-site camping is available if you'd like to arrive the night before or stay after — entirely optional against the one-day ticket.
- GatesNoon in 2026. The 2027 date, times and booking will be at thewake.uk.
Getting There
- By TrainBillingshurst railway station is the nearest stop, on the Arun Valley line between Horsham and Bognor Regis/Littlehampton — connections from London Victoria via Horsham.
- By CarLoxwood sits on the West Sussex/Surrey border, easily reached from the A281 and A272. Check thewake.uk for on-site parking details closer to the date.
- From BrightonApproximately 40 minutes by car. If you've seen this searched as "Wake Festival Brighton," this is why — Brighton is the nearest city most people navigate by, even though the site is inland in West Sussex.
- By AirLondon Gatwick (LGW) is the nearest airport, roughly 30–40 minutes away by car.
Family Note
The Wake! runs a dedicated children's area, and the one-day format means there's no need to manage a young child's sleep schedule around a multi-day campsite. Combined with the small scale and short travel times from London and Brighton, it's a genuinely practical first festival for a family that isn't ready for a full weekend commitment.
While you wait for 2027
Five festivals like The Wake!
Independent, well-booked and friendly, like The Wake! itself. Dates come from our festival database and update as each festival announces.
July 2027Exact dates TBC
Indie on a farmTruck Festival
Steventon, Oxfordshire, UK
A long-running indie and alternative festival on a working Oxfordshire farm: intimate by design, with a loyal crowd and no corporate scale.
19–22 Aug 2027
Same foundersGreen Man Festival
Brecon Beacons, Wales, UK
The festival Jo Bartlett and Danny Hagan built before The Wake!: four days in Wales's Black Mountains, one of the UK's most loved indie and folk festivals.
September 2027Exact dates TBC
Small and curatedEnd of the Road
Dorset, England, UK
Larmer Tree Gardens on the Dorset–Wiltshire border: small, with brilliant curation. 2026 sold out, and 2027 tickets are already on sale.
September 2027Exact dates TBC
Summer closerMoseley Folk & Arts Festival
Moseley, Birmingham, UK
A summertime closer in south Birmingham: folk, comedy, dance and activities for all ages.
Questions
The Wake! 2027: what people ask
When is The Wake! 2027?
The 2027 date hasn't been announced yet: the festival's site says news on 2027 is coming soon. The 2026 edition was on Saturday 29 August, the third since the festival launched in 2024.
Where is The Wake! festival held?
Loxwood Meadow, near Loxwood and Billingshurst in West Sussex, on the fringes of the South Downs National Park. It's often searched for as "Wake Festival Brighton", but the site is about 40 minutes' drive from Brighton: a West Sussex countryside event, not a Brighton one. Billingshurst railway station is nearest; London Gatwick is the nearest airport.
How much do The Wake! tickets cost?
A day ticket was about £40 in 2026, deliberately priced to stay accessible rather than at weekend-festival rates, with on-site camping available for anyone staying over. 2027 prices will be announced with the date.
Is The Wake! family-friendly?
Yes. There's a dedicated children's area, and the compact one-day, three-stage site makes it easy to get around with kids. It's also solo-friendly and LGBTQ+ friendly.
Who runs The Wake!?
Jo Bartlett and Danny Hagan, the pair who founded Green Man Festival in Wales. The Wake! is their one-day festival: the same independent-minded booking at a fraction of Green Man's scale and price.
Ask the concierge
Questions about The Wake!?
Getting there from London or Brighton, whether it suits your family, what else is on that weekend — the concierge knows the festival.
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