The charity teamed up with Rhythms of the World to offer a limited number of free tickets to the festival on Sunday 21 June 2015.

This partnership means free tickets will be available to young people between the ages of six and 16 who live in Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire AND meet one or more of the following criteria:

• are registered disabled
• have special educational needs
• are young carers
• are homeless or living in a refuge environment

We are also offering one free adult ticket to allow a parent, carer or other responsible adult to accompany the young person.

Happy Days Children’s Charity, based in Luton, was established in 1992 to provide day trips and short breaks to some of the UK’s most vulnerable children, bringing happiness and hope to them and their families.

If you are, or know, a group or young person who qualifies for free tickets, please download and complete the relevant application form below and post it to the address provided to arrive no later than 12 June.

Happy Days and ROTW 2015 Ticket Giveaway – Individuals

Happy Days and ROTW 2015 Ticket Giveaway – Groups

Raghu has played to crowds of over 100,000 and has performed at Glastonbury, BBC’s ‘Later with Jools Holland’ and also for the Queen. In true regal style, Raghu caught up with our Head of Communications, Tracy Lane, for a quick chat regarding all things music and of course Rhythms of the World!

(Photo credit Gomtesh Upadhye)

T: How would you describe your music to first time festival goers at this year’s Rhythms of the World festival?

R: Happy Music, you will go back smiling and brimming with energy at the end of our show! You might even learn enough Hindi and Kannada to survive in India (winks) That said, our official genre is Contemporary Indian folk Music, so you can expect a lot of melodious Indian folk with a twist that you will love!

T: Sounds Fantastic! What are you most looking forward to at Rhythms of the World yourself?

R: The last time we played at Rhythms of the World, it was by far, one of our best shows in the UK! We still remember the incredible audience and response we received. This time round, we are hoping to walk around the festival and spend some time and get as much of the Rhythms of the World experience as we can!

T: Which musicians have you learned from?

R: Every single musician I have played with, has transformed my music in very special ways. That is one of the reasons I love collaborations! Being a self-taught musician and singer, I have no formal training and the only way I get inspired is to compose more and also perform and to have great musicians interpret my musical ideas.

T: Who are you excited to see at this year’s Rhythms of the World?

R: More than any specific act, I am really looking forward to the vibe of the festival…I am really keen to experience the whole weekend!

T: Is there any advice you can give to someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?

R: Follow your heart and don’t worry about any of the rules! That’s the way I approach music and it’s the only way I know how. See you at the festival, can’t wait to come back to Hitchin!

Find out more about The Raghu Dixit Project

Be sure not to miss out on Raghu Dixit or any of the other 124 acts at this year’s festival. Tickets are available now!

We would like to extend a big thanks to Raghu Dixit for taking the time to speak with us and can’t wait for this amazing set at the festival.

Our Head of Communications Tracy Lane said: ‘This mobile phone app is something we’ve been keen to have for some years, but we’ve never had the technological know-how within the team to achieve it. We’re delighted that Peter Lloyd, one of the Communications Team volunteers stepped forward this year to take this project forward.’

Sticking with the technology theme, we are also encouraging people who attended last year’s festival to go online and spot themselves in the latest ROTW film. Our film, produced by local company and long term sponsors of ROTW, Film Infinity, features festival-goers from 2014 explaining why they love Rhythms of the World. If you appear in our film are please share the video via social media and to tag yourselves! #RhythmsPeople

Cath Cole who leads sponsorship said: ‘We’re really lucky that Film Infinity choose to support ROTW each year by producing a high quality film to showcase the festival. Last year we had an idea to feature as many festival-goers as possible and this is the result. We really hope people will share it online and enjoy their moment in the spotlight.’

You can download our amazing FREE iPhone app HERE

And watch our Rhythms of the World 2014 Film HERE 

Looking through just a few of the acts set to take to the stage, it is clear there is a massive musical melting pot on offer. Headlining the Arcadeclectic Stage are Ska punk squad Scum of Toytown. Local favourites hailing from Stevenage, the band came back together to record a full length album in 2014, 20 years after their fantastic debut album Strike.

Also featuring are poet Grant Meaby, folktronica from Stuart O’Conner, rockers The Fierce and the Dead and high-octane Ubermanoeuvre are all on the bill.

Ubermanoeuvre lead singer John Lumley said: “We are thrilled to be performing at Rhythms of the World – our music is all about mixing styles and genres into a chaotic energetic cocktail, and so getting the chance to share the stage with such a diverse range of performers is right up our street. Rhythms is going to be awesome!”

The Arcadeclectic area is one of six stages which are providing a platform for more than 125 acts from around the World and round the corner,  you can check who else is playing on our full line up  and read more about all of our fantastic Stages.

Tickets are on sale now!

We are delighted to announce Amber Run who add an up to the minute dimension to our crowded bill, with the Nottingham-based band a coming force on the music scene.

Joe Keogh, Will Jones, Tom Sperring, Felix Archer, and Henry Wyeth are in their third year together but after making an impact on the BBC Introducing stage at 2013’s Reading Festival they’ve been touring ferociously and released debut album 5am last month.

They serve up big-chorus, anthemic pop-rock which we are sure will go down well with a festival crowd.

We can also announce a second batch of free tickets for qualifying children and young people in Herts and Beds – a new venture at this year’s festival thanks to our partnership with with Luton-based children’s charity Happy Days – has now been released.

You can find out full details, and whether you are eligible to apply HERE

If you would like to get involved don’t miss our volunteer information evening in Luton next week, with further evenings in Stevenage and Letchworth. You can find full details HERE

We are looking for local people who would like to get involved in a great charity, learn valuable new skills, meet new people and be involved in a fantastic festival weekend of world music.

We are holding 4 recruitment evenings in Herts and Beds where you can meet and chat to existing volunteers, find out about all things Rhythms of the World and learn about the many, varied volunteer roles available.

• Hitchin: Tuesday 5 May, 7-9pm, The Queen Mother Theatre, SG4 9SP
• Luton: Monday 18 May, 7-9pm, The Hat Factory, LU1 2EY
• Stevenage : Tuesday 26 May 7-9pm North Herts College, SG1 1LA
• Letchworth: Thursday 28 May 7-9pm North Herts College Goldsmith Centre, SG6 3GB

You can volunteer from just 4 hours either day of the festival weekend, to all year round roles in one of our 6 teams:

• Performance – liaising with high quality acts throughout the year and over the festival weekend
• Arts – all things artistic, decorating the festival & outreach art projects, as well as Family Area & Garden
• Event – helping with the event build and de-rig, preparing the festival site and ensuring that we have a safe festival
• Volunteers – recruiting and managing volunteers and ensuring that they are supported and appreciated
• Finance – securing sponsorship, advertising and traders, organising fundraising events and offering accountancy support
• Communications – marketing, PR, design, website, copywriting and social media

We hope to see you there. Check out our volunteer video and some of our current vacancies.

We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who attended our Brickfest fundraiser weekend for Rhythms Of The World, we raised an amazing £900. It was a hugely successful weekend and the fantastic live music, great food and good Ale was enjoyed by all.

We would also like to thank Kev Maher for organising, the incredible performers, our amazing volunteers and all at The Bricklayers Arms for making us all so welcome.

Check below to see if you were a winner of one of our fantastic raffle prizes! If you are one of our lucky winners you can collect from our monthly ROTW social evening at The Bricklayers Arms from 8pm this Friday 24 April or please email [email protected] to arrange receiving your prize.

A pair of tickets for ROTW   –  Jane – 686
£45 Voucher – The Wellbeing Centre  – Cath Cole  – 935
£35 Nu Hair Voucher –  Rob Hughes – 586
£25 Farleys Voucher – The Roges Fizz – 560
£20 Half Moon Voucher – Laura Jordan – 497
Tea and Cakes for 4 at The Copperbeech Art Gallery – Trish  – 771
Coffee and Cakes for 2 at Groundworks – Pete – 887
£15 voucher for Murphy’s Fish and Chips –  Big Tian –  623
Guitar Lesson from Owen Stephens (Or a signed pair of pants)  – Tayla – 363
Venture Photography Experience –  Gill – 802
Venture Photography Experience – Quentin – 844
Venture Photography Experience – Gillian – 265
Live Recording Session- London Studios – Trish –  774
£10 Voucher – Waterstones – Jos Leach – 909
4 Drinks at the Bar – Bricklayers – Quentin – 845
4 Drinks at the Bar – Bricklayers – Fey Furniss – 982
Rhythms of World T-shirt – Rowan – 734
Rhythms of World T-shirt – Lewis Panther – 966
Rhythms of World T-shirt – Mick Worth – 867
Rhythms of World T-shirt – Rob H – 422
Bottle of Wine – Tom – 402
Bottle of Wine – Jane – 690

Joining them are North-East London formed The Skints whose fusion of Ska, Reggae, Dub and Hip-Hop will bring pleasure to the ears and feet! Formed in 2005, The Skints have released three albums to date and can proudly state that they have gigged 150 times per year, not once, not twice but THREE times in a row. Festival-goers would be ‘Out Of Your Mind’ to miss them.

We are also delighted to welcome Coasts ‘the indie alternative 5 piece’ to this year’s event. Formed in 2011, Coasts have been on an unstoppable mission ever since. Their tracks include ‘Oceans’ and ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’ which was BBC’s Radio One Zane Lowe’s ‘Hottest Record’ in October 2014. With their Soundcloud plays already in the millions and an ever growing fan base, they look like they are going to set the crowd alight!

Tickets for Rhythms of the World are available NOW online and in local outlets.

With so much talent being bagged from ‘around the World and round the corner’ we are sure #ROTW2015 is going to make an impact in Herts like no other!

Read about our other Act announcements including headliner Neville Staple Band

Join us again this year for an incredible festival weekend of amazing live music from around the World and round the corner.

• Adults £15.
• Youth (5-17 years) £6.
• Under 5s FREE.

You can buy tickets securely online through our ticket partner here –  Gigantic

A postage and package fee will apply

Or you can buy them from a number of local outlets:

• Merricks, Hitchin
• Farley’s, Hitchin
• Club 85, Hitchin
• The Victoria Pub, Hitchin
• Merryfield, Hitchin
• Hitchin Town Centre Initiative, Hitchin
• The Old George Pub, Ickleford
• David’s Music, Letchworth
• Coda Music, Stevenage
• Bricklayers Arms Pub, Hitchin

Read the full ticket Terms and Conditions.

Pull up a pew and let the congregation begin! Reverend Michael Roden of St Mary’s Church in Hitchin will curate the St Mary’s Stage again this year, adding to the already massive community spirit and energy that can be found at the festival.

St Mary’s Stage has pews brought in from the local church to form an area for music, thought and debate with a ‘Topic of the day’. Rev Roden and his team will also organise a procession through the town before the celebrations kick off on Sunday morning with a church service right in the festival grounds.

If dancing to DJ beats is more your thing, you can head over to our Priory Park Stage to see some of the best DJs with sets from guest DJs including the world-renowned Jazzman Gerald from the influential London-based deep funk record label, Jazzman. We’ve also secured the services of Greg Boraman from the highly regarded Freestyle record label.

Another treat this year is an exclusive set from long-time Bluntbeats collaborator turntablist Prolifik, who will be travelling from Scotland to be back with the Bluntbeats family for a one off show. We are also proud to present the infamous DJ Andy Smith, the promoter of the ‘Jam Up Twists’ club nights. These diverse acts will be joined by local DJs and ROTW favourites like DJ Marcus G Hurley as well as a host of other DJs soon to be revealed.