History of the Forest Tour

 

The Forestry Commission's concert tours began in 2000, in order to attract new audiences into forests and encourage people to see their woodlands in new and exciting ways. They play an important role in bringing trees and woodlands into people's lives.

Woodlands make inspiring venues for concerts and the events are loved by audiences and artists alike. They have become well known in the music industry as a unique opportunity for artists to experience a forest arena in some of the country's most stunning locations, and to help raise awareness of the value of woodlands as part of our natural environment. Audiences have praised the relaxed and friendly atmosphere and the inspiring outdoor settings.

Bedgebury has been part of the Forest Tour since 2001, hosting such top acts as Travis, James Morrison, The Zutons, The Levellers, Pulp,  Status Quo, Jools Holland,  Paul Weller, Madness, The Beautiful South, UB40, Embrace, Keisha White, Mystery Jets and Morning Runner.

The tour now plays across seven sites - Bedgebury, Westonbirt, Delamere, Thetford, Cannock, Sherwood and Dalby; attracting more than 100,000 people each year. 

Email updates

Nearer to the 2009 concerts, you can sign up to receive email updates about Forest Tour.

Buy tickets online

You can now purchase tickets online through the Forestry Commission Online Box Office (opens our box office in a new window). Our online box office is powered by tickets.com.

Watch this space for news of the 2008 Forestry Commission concert programme. 

The benefits of the Forest Tour

The Forest Tour is self-sustaining, and provides valuable revenue to plough back into our management of woodlands in a variety of social and environmental projects. In recent years, revenue has enabled work on habitat creation for endangered butterfly species; health projects to encourage young and old alike to get out and about in the natural environment - from mountain biking to T'ai Chi; installing woodfuel heating systems to help us contribute towards (and demonstrate how everyone can get involved in) the fight against climate change; the regeneration of industrial sites and renewal of disused areas into community woodlands; and many more schemes.