Queen of British soul joins Cullum at festival

Queen of British soul Beverley Knight will be a special guest performing witj Cornbury house band Staxs.

Widely acclaimed as one of the most important figures of the UK R&B scene, Beverley is also now a successful West End musical star.

Beverley will take to the stage at Great Tew on Sunday July 10 before heading back to London’s West End to reprieve her role as Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard.

Nashville Country star, Stella Parton, Dolly’s younger sister, has a big voice and a big following of her own and will be making a rare appearance on this side of the Atlantic on Friday July 8 along with young Scottish singer songwriter Kerri Watt.

Festival director Hugh Phillimore has also slipped in another act which he says he just couldn’t turn away: ‘Sometimes we come across something rather special while developing our international connections – world moving and shaking really. This year’s special newcomers are Aussie duo Pierce Brothers.’

Twin brothers Jack & Pat Pierce have rapidly moved from busking on the streets of Melbourne to impressing festival audiences across the world with their harmonious high energy live performances.

The duo will perform on Sunday July 10 on the Main stage following the not so harmonious Tuneless Choir from Nottingham, a community ensemble guaranteed to charm the audience with their passion and enthusiasm.

Stella Parton and Kerri Watt share Friday’s bill with the UK’s greatest jazzer Jamie Cullum, 80’s acid jazz pioneers Soul II Soul, R&B troubadour Lemar and rock ‘n’ roll survivor Wilko Johnson. Also appearing on Friday are Ska veterans The Beat, The Lottery Winners, newcomers Port Isla, The Dunwells and The Hummingbirds.

Top talent from the British comedy circuit including Dane Baptiste and Nish Kumar are among the stand out stand-ups heading for the Cornbury Music Festival.

Tickets and more details about the acts are available by visiting www.cornburymusicfestival.com.