Opting to use its platform for good, Scottish festival Knockengorroch has decided to directly address the current climate, arts, and community crises we are experiencing globally through its 2025 festival theme of SURVIVAL to draw attention to the survival of live music festivals, community, language, culture, and biodiversity. The festival will also embark on a new exciting international cultural exchange project The Long Song between Aotearoa (New Zealand), Sami Land (Sweden and Norway,) Alba (Scotland) and Cymru (Wales), funded by British Council Connections.
Committed to SURVIVAL in all aspects of its creative output, Knockengorroch 2025 will also continue to employ passionate environmental and community initiatives across the festival site.
As part of A Greener Festival and Music Declares Emergency, and to honour the prolific landscape and history the festival is built upon, Knockengorroch is single-use plastic free zone and has a dedicated waste recycling team. Printed materials use recycled paper, and the festival uses local suppliers and food traders wherever possible.
The festival reduces its carbon emissions by running a special shuttle bus (the ‘Knock bus’, for which tickets are now on sale) from Scotland’s central belt to the festival site, and public transport is encouraged by placing a higher percentage of the ticket price on vehicles rather than people.
Many of the festival’s permanent buildings were constructed using traditional environmentally-friendly technicles (such as the Longhouse venue, made by wattle and daub with lime, and the Open Air stage, made from local timber and green turf from the site). The Discee Polytunnel is an educational venue and a food growing space, year round; and Knockengorroch may also be one of the first festivals in the UK to have its own Environment and Land Statement.
Hosted every May in the beautiful hills and valleys of Scotland’s picturesque Dumfries and Galloway region, Knockengorroch annually brings an amazing international music lineup to audiences, alongside unparalleled workshops, art, and community ventures centred on encouraging creative collaboration, climate awareness, and eco-friendly initiatives. Exciting acts already announced include Mungo’s Hi-Fi, Omega Nebula, Kinnaris Quintet, General Levy, The Fontanas, Moxie, Euphonique, The Dub Pistols, Elephant Sessions, Rokia Koné, and Serial Killaz among others.
