An outstanding selection of live artists from near and far will be joining us for our 25th year in the hills of Galloway.

In our first line up announcement we reveal just a few of the live acts joining us, featuring some of our most beloved favourites from over the years as well as exciting brand new international acts who have never performed on these shores before! Drum roll please…

• Zentone (High Tone + Zenzile) is a collaboration of the two most legendary dub bands in France, Zenzile and High Tone. High Tone were scheduled to play our 2020 festival and we’re overjoyed to finally have them for this special show. Zentone Chapter 2 is the two epic bands’ second collaboration, but first together in the UK. Their enjoyment in each other promises to infect audiences… and confirm that in the face of the digital wave, live dub played on ‘traditional’ instruments maintains and paves the way for a bright future.
• Nine-piece Bristol band Cut Capers’ energetic live performance and infectious sound have won them a cult following in the British festival scene. Mixing a heavy four-piece brass section with funk, dance and hip-hop, they were originally due to play in 2020 and we are delighted to finally have them grace our Bo Airigh stage.
• Old Blind Dogs return to commemorate 25 years since opening the first edition of Knockengorroch back in June 1998! Now just a tad older but no less gritty, this band are Scottish salt of the earth and we absolutely love them!
• Eight-piece band Yiddish Twist Orchestra pay homage to the Jewish twist or ‘der Shvitz’, a delirious mix of West Indian Calypso, mambo, surf guitar, classic Yiddish songs and English beat rhythms.
• Young Palestinian-American violin master Akram Abdulfattah combines Middle Eastern and Indian music with modern jazz and even rock, playing for the first time ever in the UK, we are honoured to present him and his full band at Knockengorroch!
• Knockengorroch staples the massive, the mighty, the only Mungo’s Hi Fi will be back with a full sound system and their unique take on ska, reggae, dancehall and dubstep, joined by long-standing collaborators MC Marina P & Solo Banton.
• The Langan Band are back! Our favourite threesome has come a long way and will be in full force with progressive folk, jazz influences and world music combining to create a modern and exhilarating sound very much rooted in modern traditions.
• Dowdelin bring fragmented electronic sounds and jazz mixed with music from the French West-Indies: gwo-ka, biguine, quadrille and more. This exciting French/Creole act has more hooks that you can swing a lost property coat at.
• Another Knockengorroch favourite who we haven’t seen for a while, Sheelanagig, bring a well-stocked armoury of stringed instruments, the rhythmic energy of flute and drums and a bagful of joint-jumping tunes, putting the groove into traditional and original European Folk music from medieval times to today.
• The Drystones blend trad folk with electronic music – the fire and energy of their timeless fiddle and guitar integrated into a distinctly modern groove. Brand new, fresh and blasting the way.
• Chilean quintet Subhira Quintet blend Indigenous South American music with experimental and progressive sound, using elements from folk, jazz and art music. Another first for the UK, prepare to wig out with these crazy cats!

With many more acts to be announced for our 25th festival line-up, the full dance tent line-up will be revealed in the coming months and festival goers can expect cutting edge tunes from the length and breadth of these islands.

The festival will also feature environment and heritage workshops and activities, dancing, comedy, theatre shows, arts and crafts and lots for the kids.

Scotland’s longest running greenfield festival will take place Thursday 25 to Sunday 28 May 2023. Tickets are on sale NOW