Sessions & Contributors
Meet the people
around the fire.
The sessions, stories and gifts that make Campout what it is — brought by the community, for the community.
The sessions, stories and gifts that make Campout what it is — brought by the community, for the community.
More contributors will be announced as the programme takes shape. See the full programme →
Pete Lawrence, founder of Campfire, returns to lead a creative writing session and to offer a DJ set.
Pete Lawrence is the founder of Campout and its affiliated social network Campfire Convention. Previously, he founded the Cooking Vinyl label and started the pioneering Big Chill festival. He has been described as a conceptualist, firestarter, community social network obsessive, music nut, writer and naturist — and is enjoying digital nomad status when not to be found at home on Paros island, Greece or in the Welsh hills.
Pete has been an activist since student days, campaigning for peace, social justice and systemic social change. He believes passionately in the potential for personal change through connection and the self-organising potential of communities as the spark which can ignite wholesale social change. His current project — Campfire — places him at the forefront of a non-aligned emergent movement for societal transition which aims to trailblaze new ways of connecting, collaborating and doing ‘politics’ in its broadest sense.
Pete has been immersed in music all his life. He followed the footsteps of his father, a jazz drummer who fronted his own band at regular post-war Leamington Town Hall dances, by playing with a variety of bands from his mid-teens onwards, before setting up Cooking Vinyl — the ground-breaking roots label that enjoyed considerable success in the 80s with acts such as Michelle Shocked, Cowboy Junkies, Oysterband, Four Brothers and Edward II. Pete’s walkman field recording of Ms Shocked’s ‘Texas Campfire Tapes’ has become legendary and reportedly sold a million copies.
In 1993, the idea for the Big Chill multi-media Sunday chillout club and festival was born. Many magazines and broadsheets now recognise The Big Chill as one of the most influential festivals of its time. It worked with over 1,500 artists and was instrumental in breaking such names as Amy Winehouse, Talvin Singh, Coldcut, Hexstatic, Zero 7, Lemon Jelly, Kinobe and Fila Brazillia.
In the last decade Pete has been leading Campfire Convention and Campout, and is currently recording a new album of his own songs — the first in twenty years — campfire songs of protest, hope, love and connection which can also be sung in community.
Pete invites you into a shared creative space exploring healing through connection, creativity and collective imagination. Through gentle writing prompts, intuitive drawing, reflection or sharing, we can explore both the wounds and medicines we carry — as individuals, communities and as a culture in transition. This is not about fixing one another, but about remembering the power of attention, listening and presence. Together we will tend the fire, and ask what new stories, possibilities and ways of being might emerge from the circle.
A unique approach to allowing your natural voice — no experience needed, only your willingness to attune to yourself and others.
Jamila’s background with musical tuning came from the Chisti Sufi Tradition, where the essential focus is music. She developed these workshops over many years within the Sufi Way and has been offering them in venues around the South and West of England for over a decade. (Chisti Sufism is considered a western tradition in its universal approach and acceptance of all faiths, peoples and traditions.)
This workshop offers a guided sounding through the chakras to clear, ground, open and balance the whole system. When we tune to our own voice and sounds, we allow what wants to arise spontaneously from within us. Jamila offers guided visualisations and sound journeying into different landscapes, where we freely allow expressions of the sacred elements — Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Space — through our voices, with simple instruments and the collective sounds that arise naturally.
Old codger who has lived in several intentional communities and been involved in many direct-action campaigns. Experienced in holding safety for controversy and heated disagreement. Pleased to be surprised.
How do we each feel about immigration? How much do we interact with people from other backgrounds? If some of the controversy really is about Islam, what is a helpful response? What can ordinary citizens do to reduce the toxicity of ‘debate’ about immigration? Open to everybody — the concerned and curious as much as the convinced. This will be less about data and statistics and more about perceptions, feelings and reactions. There might be arguments along the way, but we seek an outcome of mutual understanding and creative action.
Yoga for all abilities — slow, mindful movement in time with the breath, catering for everyone whatever their experience.
Karen teaches an eclectic mix of yoga styles formed over many years of practice and teaching. Basically it’s slow movement in time with the breath whilst moving from one pose to another — catering for all abilities. Yoga works on the internal body, your nervous system and your mind, keeping you physically and mentally healthy whilst staying calm and stress free.
It’s really important to keep your body moving in all directions so the spine becomes and stays supple, supporting us through our lives. Come along and join Karen for a session whilst enjoying Campout. If you don’t have a mat, bring a towel.
A shamanic practitioner and artist, struck by lightning as a young woman — a mark of initiation recognised across cultures.
Jessica is a shamanic practitioner and artist whose work bridges the visible and invisible worlds. Her initiation by lightning has shaped a lifelong commitment to ceremony, healing and collective dreaming.
We gather as community, open sacred space, and offer to the flames what we’re ready to release — the patterns, stories and wounds that hold us back. Then we dream a new world into being for our children’s children.
Founder of the Spirit of the Inca School of Energy Medicine — a path of healing and personal transformation inspired by the ancient wisdom traditions of the indigenous Inca shamans of the High Andes.
Chris Waters is the founder of the Spirit of the Inca School of Energy Medicine. Trained by renowned medical anthropologist Alberto Villoldo in the early 2000s, Chris has spent many years helping people discover their authentic selves, heal old patterns, and step into lives of greater purpose and meaning.
We are living in extraordinary times. The wisdom of the Andes teaches that we are not here merely to react to the world — we are here to become conscious creators of a new story. A story rooted not in fear, division and limitation, but in courage, connection and possibility. Chris will share timeless teachings that help us remain centred, balanced and grounded amidst change. As the old stories fall away, what new story is waiting to emerge through you?
Musician, author, research fellow at the Open University’s systems thinking group — and designer of systems of governing. He likes camping too.
Ed is a musician, author, research fellow at the Open University’s systems thinking group, former chair of Relate and think tank Demos, adviser to ministers and civil servants, and designer of systems of governing. He was a veteran of the corporate world as a partner in PwC.
Join Ed to dissect the nature and capabilities of those who have come to rule us, how they got there, and why they will continue to muddle and fail. But just how elite are they — and do we need an elite at all? Ed argues ‘no’ if we the people, with all our collective capability, become our own ‘elite’.
Jodie is ecstatic to lead the singing circle at Campout — rooted in a childhood of musical theatre, now reconnected to the sacred power of communal voice.
Jodie explored pop and blues bands before realising that organic, communal singing from the soul resonates far more deeply. Now reconnected to the sacred power of singing, she invites you to connect with your voice. Her mission is to offer spaces and full permission to be heard, be seen, and beautifully human.
Singing songs from Pete Lawrence’s forthcoming album ‘This Is The Fire’. No experience is required — we will naturally harmonise and create beautiful sounds together. Come awaken your spirit, release inhibition, and let your soul sing!
Instrumental Folk · Live Looping · Multi-Instrumentalist. Somerset-based musician creating immersive ensemble-style performances in real time.
Jon Maybey is a Somerset-based musician and composer creating instrumental folk music through live looping and multi-instrument performance. Blending organic folk melodies with hypnotic rhythms, he builds immersive ensemble-style performances in real time. He released his third solo album “Time Will Tell” in 2025, having previously worked with Grammy award-winning singer Eddie Reader and electro-folk band Elephant Talk. He has written music for circus, theatre and dance productions, and is currently working on regular single releases throughout 2026 from his solar-powered self-built studio in Somerset.
Also known as Circling Ravens
A space to practise listening to each other even when it is difficult — and to “try on” other opinions to gain insight and empathy.
Mike Harris and Naomi Rosenberg have spent many years working in social movements, including the free software and copyleft movements. Naomi studied philosophy at university, and Mike is studying to be a psychotherapist. Having lived through the technological revolution of the late 80s alongside the rise of individualism and the breakdown of community, they are both keen advocates of restoring person-to-person interaction and mutual respect through dialogue.
The world seems to be getting more and more polarised, with echo chambers both online and in real life. If minds are to change, it will happen inside a secure, mutually respectful friendship — and this starts with listening; with genuine curiosity. This workshop is a space for people to practise listening to each other even when it is difficult, and to “try on” other opinions so as to gain insight and empathy into how it feels to hold different points of view.
A Person-Centred Psychotherapist and Focusing Teacher — guiding you to the step beyond the story.
Paula is a Person-Centred Psychotherapist and Focusing Teacher who works with couples and individuals in her practice in Leek, UK, and online. In her twenties she relocated to Amsterdam; fifteen years in, she sensed that something was missing and immersed herself in Yoga, becoming a Shiatsu Practitioner. On returning to the UK, she gained an MSc in Counselling Psychotherapy and took her Focusing to professional level, supported by the British Focusing Association.
Focusing is a non-invasive technique developed from the Philosophy of Gendlin and the Psychotherapy of Rogers. Life throws us big challenges resulting in emotions that can render us powerless if we don’t have ways to process them. By sensing the whole of the story in our body — the Felt Sense — we invite insight which our conscious mind simply wouldn’t have come up with. We can use Focusing to process trauma, anxiety, loss, conflict and more.
A psychotherapist, coach and transpersonal facilitator who supports men and women toward a courageous meeting with the grief and fear that quietly shapes their lives.
Tim is a psychotherapist, coach, and transpersonal facilitator of Embodied Masculine (CEMF-2). Drawing on psychotherapy, somatic practice, coaching and ritual, Tim offers a grounded relational space where people can step into their own authority and develop an inward relating that transforms how they meet the world around them.
A grounded and transformative men’s gathering — a non-performative space to reconnect to the wisdom of the body and be held in authentic brotherhood. Through a guided journey of somatics, breathwork, meditation and embodiment practices, we’ll quiet the thinking mind and align with the deeper currents of the heart. All men are welcome. No previous experience needed.
A trauma-informed Integrative Somatic Practitioner — Wake, Shake, Unwind, Dance, Breathe. Wake up your body and heart, get energy moving from the Inside Out.
Yael is a trauma-informed Integrative Somatic Practitioner with extensive experience guiding embodied and therapeutic transformation. A longstanding Breathwork Practitioner (Conscious Connected) and Somatic Dance Practitioner, she supports individuals and groups in releasing tension, restoring natural breath, and reconnecting with the body’s innate intelligence. Originally trained as a ballet dancer and concert pianist, Yael is currently one of less than a handful of fully certified Myofascial Energetic Release (MER) Bodywork Practitioners and Group Facilitators in the UK.
Set yourself up for the day with awareness, pleasure, somatic movement, expressive dance and the gentle coherent breath. Yael’s approach is grounded, relational and trauma-aware — guiding participants to soften long-held armour, reconnect with their breath, and explore embodied aliveness with curiosity, presence and safety.
Cardiff-based five-piece indie rock band — nostalgic, fresh and cosy, with storytelling drawn from The Cure, Oasis, The Beatles and The Last Dinner Party.
Floras formed through Cardiff University and took inspiration from the small venues scattered around the city. With a passion for melodic beats, lead singer Heera and rhythm guitarist Owen draw on their shared musical heritage to create something that feels both timeless and vital.
Predominantly indie rock with a nostalgic, fresh and cosy vibe. Through storytelling from two ends of the band, Floras bring an energy that’s hard to pin down and impossible to ignore.
Returning for her third Campout, Poppy brings Family Constellation work that creates a new relationship with our bodies, releasing unconscious trauma and stress held for our family system.
Family Constellations is an embodiment practice. It takes courage, the desire to show up, and a willingness to allow the body to take the lead. You are not required to deeply analyse things or even talk much at all, beyond describing your issue and some of your ancestral history if you know it. Working together in a group, we use exercises to create a living map of our issues, helping us see things from a wider perspective — including the systems we are born into.
These stresses can show up in our work and day-to-day relationships, as well as our health, finances and ability to succeed. In a constellations group, you have the opportunity to look at your own issues specifically, but also to experience being a representative or a member of the holding circle — which can be a profoundly healing experience in itself.
Founder of Nature Connection World and author of Natural Mindfulness — blending modern science, ancient wisdom and personal experience to inspire a more conscious, nature-connected life.
Ian’s work, developed over the last ten years, explores how communing with nature through the senses (body), emotions (heart), thoughts (head), and intuition (soul) can deepen self-awareness, calm the nervous system, and awaken a profound sense of inner peace. Nature becomes both the setting and the teacher, guiding you back to the authentic you, beneath society’s noise.
Ian will freely share how he reconnects with nature to develop a deeper relationship with his true nature — and will include a therapeutic walk. A practical, embodied session guiding you back toward yourself through the natural world all around us.
Philosopher, Guide and Life Coach — channelling a decade of transformational work into a larger vision for planetary restoration and human sovereignty.
James’s purpose is to awaken and support souls seeking freedom, truth, and a life beyond slavery and oppression. Working closely with clients, he has helped them move through challenging experiences to find deep-rooted empowerment within, and to live lives of meaning and purpose.
He is now channelling that work into a larger vision: The Great Global Garden, a movement which began six years ago to provide millions of families with 2.5 acres of land each, in perpetuity, to grow their own Edible Forest Garden — restoring soil, ecosystems, wildlife, the quality of food, our sovereignty and a future for our children.
A mission to restore our soil, ecosystems, wildlife and the quality of food on our plate — and to reclaim our sovereignty and freedom and a future for our children. James will share the vision and invite us to explore what it means to be truly free.
A Shiatsu Practitioner and teacher with decades of experience — running Sweat Lodges and other gatherings for over 35 years.
Geoff Greentree’s extensive travels and knowledge of ritual and its importance in this time enables him to bring us into deepening awareness of our predicament, empowering us both as individuals and in the wider community. At Campout he will be facilitating embodied movement based on Gabrielle Roth’s work, and offering Qi Gong in the mornings (optional).
Visit the Glade throughout the weekend for practitioner session times. A space of rest, restoration and embodied practice woven through the four days of Campout.
Infectious indie-folk-pop straight from the Isle of Man — Manx Gaelic for “Broken Biscuit”, fronted by singer-songwriter Ruby Biscoe-Taylor.
The band layers ukulele with accordion, brass, guitar and strings to create big, hook-laden songs built for singing along under open skies. Formed in 2017, they won the Arrane Son Mannin (Song for Mann) competition two years running, representing the Isle of Man at the Pan Celtic Festival in Ireland. True to their island roots, Biskee Brisht write and perform in both English and Manx Gaelic, and love teaching audiences a few lines to take home with them.
Expect colourful performances, heartfelt love songs and a genuinely warm welcome — Biskee Brisht are known for squeezing big sound into small spaces, so don’t be surprised if your tent feels a little more crowded (and joyful) than usual.
Two decades as a yoga teacher and shiatsu practitioner, now holding space as a 5Rhythms DJ and facilitator based between Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
Having found in 5Rhythms the missing link for her own exploration, meditation and healing, Miranda now holds space for others to move through the practice’s five rhythms — flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical and stillness. As a DJ, she curates music that invites dancers to drop into themselves while staying connected to the wider group, believing ecstatic dance offers a rare chance to relate to ourselves and others without needing words.
She runs regular 5Rhythms sessions and nature-based dance gatherings around the Malvern and Hereford area, and is currently training toward full 5Rhythms teacher certification. Those who heard her dynamic set at Campout last year will know what to expect — a warm, open space, feel-good music, and an invitation to move exactly as you are.
Deeply embodied in her own path, Lizi stands as a guide for those ready to awaken, reclaim their power, and live in deeper alignment with their truth.
Her work weaves together ritual, sound, nature and energy to activate the remembrance of our innate wisdom and life force. She believes we are here not simply to exist, but to embody our fullest expression — powerful, connected and unapologetically alive.
A deep immersive experience using the resonance of gongs and elemental sound to guide you into stillness, release and renewal. Come ready to lie down, let go and be held by the sound.
Actor, poet and storyteller — a one-woman performance transforming personal grief into a powerful meditation on healing, memory and our profound relationship with water.
A graduate of the E15 Acting School, where she now teaches, Nix is also a poet, tarot reader and host of The Sown Podcast. Bodies of Water has partnered with the Voices of Water Foundation, which champions the rights and voices of rivers.
Drawing on her own experience of miscarriage, this is not a story of trauma but of transformation. Weaving together poetry, myth, autobiography, spirituality and ancient wisdom, Nix invites us into an intimate space where water becomes healer, guide and witness. Minimal in staging yet rich in atmosphere — voice, light, sound and symbolism creating a spellbinding experience. Tender, profound and beautifully crafted: storytelling as ceremony, reflection and quiet celebration.
Singer, songwriter and shamanic healer based in Devon — spine-tingling vocals, live loops and a genuine gift for melody, blended with ancient healing wisdom.
Singing from the age of dot, Marnie has spent over two decades on Southwest stages, bringing soulful songwriting with acoustic guitar and live vocal looping to create rich, immersive soundscapes. Her style has drawn comparisons with Stevie Nicks, Alanis Morissette and Florence Welch, while remaining unmistakably her own. Alongside her music, Marnie is a fully qualified shamanic healer, offering natural energy medicine rooted in an ancient lineage.
Marnie will also be offering 1:1 Shamanic Energy Healing treatments throughout the gathering.
marnieshamanhealer.com · Listen: Marnie Duo Band · The Secret Notes Band
A highly experienced homeopath, holistic health coach and educator with more than 20 years supporting women through every stage of hormonal change.
Caroline’s work combines homeopathy, flower essences, nutrition, lifestyle guidance and practical self-care, helping women better understand their bodies and navigate change with greater confidence. Rather than seeing menopause simply as something to endure, she views it as a profound life transition — an opportunity to reconnect with ourselves, deepen our wisdom and embrace a new phase of life.
Hormonal change is one of life’s great transitions, yet it’s often surrounded by confusion, conflicting advice and unnecessary silence. This informative and empowering session explores menopause and hormonal health from a natural, holistic perspective. Expect practical insights, thoughtful discussion and plenty of opportunity to ask questions in a warm, supportive environment — whether you’re approaching menopause, in the midst of it, or supporting someone who is.
Social theatre pioneer, counsellor, educator and creative facilitator with more than 35 years’ experience unlocking imagination as a force for confidence, connection and change.
Andy is the founder of Actionwork®, an internationally respected organisation using theatre and creative action to tackle bullying, mental health, discrimination and conflict. A theatre director, author, researcher and former Professor and Dean of Arts and Communication, he has worked with communities, schools, universities and organisations across the world, helping people discover their own capacity for resilience, empathy and creative leadership.
How do we rediscover our creativity when life has taught us to play safe? How can imagination become a force for confidence, connection and positive change? Highly interactive and filled with playful, experiential techniques — expect creativity, laughter and fresh perspectives. Whether you’re an artist, facilitator, teacher or simply curious about living more creatively, you’ll leave with practical tools and renewed inspiration.
A Campout regular and Big Chill DJ through and through — signature downtempo, chill-out sets that let you sink into a hammock, close your eyes, and drift.
Deeply rooted in the Big Chill tradition of laid-back, richly textured electronica, Ulf has a gift for reading the mood of a crowd and gently shaping it, track by track, into something meditative and warm. This year he’s also bringing spectacular projected illuminations — transforming the garden at The Bridge into an immersive visual world after dark. Expect flowing light, colour and pattern woven seamlessly into the landscape, a perfect visual companion to his sound.
Come for the music, stay for the glow.
Eclectic, genre-hopping sets back at Campout for the third year running — sliding between styles and eras with playful, “justified and ancient” energy.
Based in Swansea, Serious Jones has built a reputation for sets that refuse to sit still. A true digital creator at heart, he treats every set as a journey rather than a formula, weaving together unexpected combinations that somehow always land. Having become a firm fixture at Campout over the last two years, he knows exactly how to read the crowd and match the mood of the festival.
Expect the unexpected, and don’t try to guess what’s coming next.
A Campout regular who’s played every single edition of the festival — crafting music as alucidnation since the early 1990s.
Classically trained on piano, Bruce cut his teeth as a studio engineer before alucidnation became a defining sound of the Big Chill festival, where he performed and DJ’d almost every year between 2000 and 2010, taking his music everywhere from Greece to Japan. He has released acclaimed albums on Big Chill Recordings, Interchill and Six Degrees, and remixed artists including Tom Middleton, Banco de Gaia and Hexstatic. His sound favours warm analogue synths and live takes over plugins and studio trickery, giving it a timeless, melody-first quality. He also hosts Eclectronica, his weekly radio show.
Expect immersive, elegant electronica — and a very warm Campout welcome-back.