Wiltshire’s Shindig Festival is set to go ahead as planned says organisers, despite a premises licence being submitted to the Wiltshire Council.

An announcement from the festival is in response to the festival’s licence being at risk due to concerns originally raised by a party regarding “disorder and public safety” at the festival.

Shindig has stated that “the public consultation ended on 6th May with an overwhelming number of supporters. None of the relevant authorities have engaged with the review application.”

The festival, set to take place 21-24 May, is headlined by the punk act Bob Vylan, who made headlines in 2025 during his performance at Glastonbury Festival.

The statement from Shindig reads: “Some of you may have seen reports regarding an application for a review of Shindig Festival’s premises licence.

We want to reassure you that Shindig is going ahead as planned, and Bob Vylan remains on the line up. We’re facing cencorship & standing our ground. We don’t want a precedent to be set whereby influential political lobbying groups can dictate who performs at our event or in the wider music industry. Shindig has a strong 12-year track record as a safe, professionally run independent festival.“

In an additional statement, Simon Clarke, festival director of Shindig, said: “We are facing censorship and standing our ground.  We don’t want a precedent to be set whereby influential political lobbying groups can dictate who performs at our event or in the wider music industry.
 
Safety has always been our absolute priority, and we are working closely with our production teams, advisers, the artist and relevant authorities to ensure robust measures are in place.

We want to thank everyone who continues to support independent festivals and the  Shindig community – it’s a lifeline in times like this.”

Musician Bob Vylan added: “We’re incredibly excited to be at Shindig this year and we look forward to sharing the same love, truth and energy that our live shows are known for. 

The threat to the festival’s licence is unwarranted and shameful but we are proud to take part in a festival with morals and ethics that places art, and freedom to express that art, at its forefront.”

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