Shamble Festival has become the first music festival in the UK to be owned by its employees. For 26 years the festival has been independently owned by its founders, Kambe Events, but on Tuesday 21 April made the choice to hand ownership to their employees in a choice they are calling an “ethical, people-first alternative to the creeping, corporate consolidation of the festival industry by major conglomerates.”
Shambala is an annual, family-friendly festival held over the August bank holiday in Northamptonshire. This year, the festival will run August 27-31. Performers include Bob Vylan, BCUC, Los Bitchos and many more.
The employees of the festival will own Shambala via an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). This is a decision the official press release states will make certain “that [Shambala’s] founding ethos – creativity, sustainability, independence and community – remains protected for years to come.”
Chris Johnson, co-founder and MD says, “All of us at Shambala have an emotional stake in what we have built over 25 years; now everyone has an ownership stake. We would be nothing without our people, and they deserve to carry on the Shambala legacy as beneficiaries.” He also spoke to how the decision was intended to protect the festival from increased commercialization: “we simply could not sell to venture capitalists or the big promotion companies.” He said the founders “fell in love” with the EOT model while exploring options for the sell.
Dan Rafferty, co-founder and Head of Music said the choice to transition to employee-ownership reflected the festival’s core values: “As a society, we must explore alternative models of ownership as a way through which the massive power and potential of capitalism can be focused on serving humanity and the planet at large. Employee Ownership is just the next, natural step in Kambe’s adventures towards a utopia.”
Shambala has consistently shown a commitment to this “uptoia” thinking. The festival has been 100% renewably powered for its entire lifetime and last year’s 25th Anniversary festival was the first UK festival to be heated entirely on biogas.
Incoming chair of the EOT, Tom Berry says, “Employee ownership is the very best long-term option for people-focused businesses looking to protect their culture and reward their people. Kambe is a hugely creative group of people who have worked together to create one of the most culturally significant and unique festivals in the UK. The Kambe founders want a lasting legacy and employee ownership means everyone wins. I’m incredibly proud to be the team’s first EOT Chair.”
Shambala festival hosts around 15,000 adults each year, making it one of the UK’s smaller festivals. But it is rich with “poetry, puppetry, politics and permaculture” in its 40 venues hosting a motley of events sure to please any festival-goer. And they are proud to host “one of the most unique” musical line ups, spanning from punk to soul and from techno to folk.
Any remaining tickets for the festival can be found here.
