The Hamswell Family has been attending and organising Hamswell Festival since 2005. Comprising a diverse collection of individuals, the Hamswell Family is brought together by their undying enthusiasm for a festival experience far removed from the commercialised behemoths multiplying across Britain faster than Hamswellian rabbits. Each member makes their own unique contribution to the cause, united in their aim to create a constantly developing entity without succumbing to the temptations of expansion or sponsorship and the constraints that they entail.

From humble beginnings the Hamswell Family has gradually been assimilating more into its ranks to enable us to bring an ever expanding range of arts to into its canon. 2011 will see graffiti artists, circus performers, poetry and workshops among the many attractions sitting alongside a vastly eclectic lineup.

The inaugural Hamswell Festival was brought into existence by a few intrepid souls, with the spark of life struck by Rich Tugwell - on the flint of a willing Jonny Wharton - in the epiphanous early hours of a morning after at Hamswell. On proposing this nebulous vision to Hamswell residents, the Wharton family, he was met with a miraculously positive response and preparations were begun.

Pete Williams was enlisted to design and build the stage around which the festival was built. This monument to Hamswellian ingenuity still provides the arena for our performances to this day. As its role has changed, so its superfluous limbs have been absorbed into the heart of the event, forging the bar like Eve from Adam's rib.

The location of the site at the bottom of a valley had seemed like a great idea at its conception but the bullet of transporting a entire festival down a rain slicked hill had to be bitten at some time. This challenge was met by original Hamswell resident Jonny Wharton ("The Mayor of Hamswell"), who, with the help of a quad and trailer (later updated to a fully-fledged 4x4), tirelessly ran all manner of necessary (and unnecessary) paraphernelia down the treacherous hills. Not least of this paraphernelia was the sound system itself, manned by a Hamswellian warrior in the form of Dave the Sound Man, who would become a fixture behind the desk at subsequent festivals, seemingly forgoing the need for sleep for the duration of the event.

As the years rolled by the  happy chaos of the first festival gradually gave way to a more coherent event, with additional members of the family adding new dimensions to proceedings. Alex Horder played an important role in regularly securing graffiti artists and circus performers; Steve  Boatman began taking on the task of booking bands and was joined by Ant Frisby in the role of Stage Manager, where they managed and coordinated a staggering forty-three bands over one weekend; and Shaun Doyle has had the important and arduous task of running the gate for several years. Simon Mole ("The voice of Hamswell") has been presenting the festival since its early days - at times pulling marathon stints on the mic for 18 hours at a time - and is now joined by a supporting cast of masters of ceremony. Our in house designer, Izzy Wharton (another original Hamswell resident) has been providing the graphics for the festival for the past few years giving it a consistency  and direction, and is joined by Emma Kemp in directing the on and off-site artwork. The rest of the Wharton clan have become increasingly involved over the years with Teresa providing staff catering (largely consisting of produce from the farm) GP Richard providing medical support and Bex sourcing local producers and bands. The catering brings in neighbouring farmer Paul Robinson whose organic burger van peddles wares raised less than a mile from the festival site. The Baaar is now managed by Maeve O'Neill along with Hamswell faithful Alex Horder and the Berditch Brothers of Concrete Disco fame, bringing you ales and ciders from the local Box Steam Brewery.

Having  been stung by the British weather one too many times the crew decided in Hamswell's 5th year to house the entire main arena in a beautiful Indian marquee, ensuring the dryness of Hamswellians since 2009, and crystallising the hub of the festival into its current format.

Also since 2009, Steve Boatman has become a key player in the Hamswell team, taking on a large range of tasks ranging from booking the artists and managing them on stage, to resourcing and acquiring valuable site materials and managing their construction on site. Thanks to Steve the music itself has grown massively in stature, and whilst Hamswell still retains an in-house core of regular performers - including founders Rich Tugwell (Trolley Boy) and Jonny Wharton (Concrete Disco) - the lineup now encompasses such luminaries as Radioactive Man, Nicky Blackmarket and Dr Syntax. Past highlights Shades of Rhythm, King Charles, The Common Moral Cause, Fiona Bevan, Eat More Cake, and Deadwax only scratch the surface of the myriad acts that have graced the pastures of the Croft field.

Now making its 7th appearance, Hamswell is still moving forward. This year Ant Frisby's technical expertise has been invaluable in managing online communication and marketing, and solar powered showers are featured for the first time among many other developments, including our best lineup to date. Jonny Wharton is still in place as Mayor of Hamswell bringing all the diverse elements of the festival together and performing a vast variety of tasks for the festival - from logistics and infrastructure to finance and e-tickets, from flyering and toilet cleaning to local relations and licensing - all ensuring that the wheels of Hamswell remain well oiled (and in budget).

Amidst all these progressions, and too many other contributors to mention we still maintain our original philosophy of "better not bigger", and keep a unique homespun charm among the labyrinth of commercialised modern festivals. Above all Hamswell generates a sense of collective collaboration greater than any individual involved that spans both organisers and audience and it is those few hundred people constituting the Hamswell Family that make it what it is today.