New independent festival coming to Cambridgeshire as first acts announced

Where It All Began will take place for the first time in Cambridgeshire after a successful £180,000 crowdfunder

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A new grassroots festival in Cambridgeshire which raised an incredible £180,000 through a crowdfunder has announced its first raft of acts. Where It All Began generated the cash without corporate sponsorship, paid advertising, social media campaigns, or major financial backers.

Instead, the crowdfunder relied instead on word-of-mouth, an email campaign, and community. It launched without a line-up announcement or conventional marketing assets in a deliberate rejection of industry norms.

Now Where It All Began, which will take place at Grange Farm, Huntingdon, from June 18-21, has revealed the first acts taking to the stage. They include festival favourites Beans on Toast, the Skinner Brothers, Opus Kink, Carsick, Funke and the Two Tone Baby and more. A second wave of artists is set to follow in the coming weeks.

Where It All Began is led by the team behind Chai Wallahs – an independent, critically acclaimed festival venue that has spent more than 25 years championing grassroots music and culture.

True to the organisers’ ethos, the line-up champions independent and emerging talent alongside boundary-pushing creatives, rather than relying on heritage headliners or commercially driven booking strategies.

Organisers say Where It All Began is not built around headline acts, heritage names, or prestige pricing and that it explicitly rejects elitism and escalating ticket costs. Instead, it aims to reimagine festivals as shared cultural spaces: accessible, participatory, and community-owned.

“This is about platform, not prestige,” said Potter, co-founder of the festival. “We’re building something that reflects what’s actually happening in culture right now, not just what sells quickest.”

“This has been about graft, not budgets,” added founder Si Chai. “No sponsors. No corporate backing. No ad spend. Just belief in an idea, and a community willing to stand behind it.”

The festival will feature:

• Independent and grassroots music, with platforms for young and emerging artists;
• Street art, skate culture, comedy, activism, education and creative practice integrated across the site;
• Ethically sourced, well-made food from independent traders;
• A fully immersive, family-oriented collaborative programme designed for all ages;
• A bespoke wellness area, offering festival-goers space to properly unwind before getting stuck into the event;
• Elements of the wild, free hedonism synonymous with the UK’s festival heritage, and;
• Accessible pricing and inclusive spaces, designed to welcome all audiences.

For tickets and more information, click here.