HELD in beautiful forest locations across the country, Forest Live is a major live music series managed by Forestry England.

With everything required for a great night out, the concerts are renowned for their relaxed atmosphere and spectacular forest backdrops.

Income generated from ticket sales helps look after the nation’s forests sustainably, for people to enjoy and wildlife to thrive.

Forest Live 2023 takes place between 8-18 June and introduces forests to new audiences in unique, natural woodland arenas around the country. Over 2m people have attended a Forest Live gig in the last 22 years, experiencing great music and supporting the nation’s forests when buying a ticket.

Going to a concert helps Forestry England create beautiful places for people to enjoy, run important conservation projects and keep growing trees. Last year they planted some 6.8m trees, caring for the nation’s 1,500 woods and forests sustainably and welcoming 363m visits annually.

Forest Live in this region takes place in Delamere Forest, near Northwich, Cheshire and this year’s headline acts are:

Madness + special guest Hollie Cook and support The Hawkmen – Thursday 15 June;

Drawing on their musical roots in pop and ska, Madness are responsible for some of the most credible pop compositions of their generation with the ability to write songs that sparkle with the spirit of British life.

Creating their trademark ‘nutty’ sound, they have a huge haul of hits such as One Step Beyond, My Girl, Baggy Trousers, Embarrassment, It Must Be Love, House Of Fun, Driving In My Car, Our House and Wings Of A Dove. 

Special guest Hollie Cook will also perform on the night. 

Tom Grennan + special guest Matilda Mann and support Liv Dawson –  Friday 16 June;

Chester and District Standard: Tom Grennan Tom Grennan (Image: Forest Live)

Tom Grennan is stepping into an exhilarating new creative chapter in 2023, looking ahead to his forthcoming studio album, What Ifs & Maybes and his first headline UK arena and Forest Live tour dates.

The chart-topping BRIT Award-nominated star has already had four UK Top 10 singles. Two of his platinum-selling anthems Little Bit Of Love and By Your Side scored in the most played songs of 2021 and his breakthrough UK No 1 album Evering Road spent over a year in the charts.

This August saw Grennan release another smash hit, writing and collaborating with KSI for Not Over Yet. Such success has propelled him to an international standing with sold-out tours of North America and Australia and to festival headliners status including Boardmasters, Isle of Wight and a capacity crowd homecoming show for the Bedford-born singer-songwriter.

Special guest Matilda Mann and support Liv Dawson will also be performing on the night.

Jack Savoretti + special guest Natalie Imbruglia – Saturday 17 June;

Chester and District Standard: Jack Savoretti Jack Savoretti (Image: Supplied)

Since his initial breakthrough in 2006, a succession of albums has built the Anglo-Italian singer-songwriter an impressive career. Written in Scars (2014) and Sleep No More (2016) confirmed his growing popularity with gold-selling status. These were followed by No 1 albums Singing To Strangers (2019) and Europiana (2021). A number of his songs have featured in TV and film such as Grey’s Anatomy, The Vampire Diaries and One Tree Hill. Jack Savoretti last appeared as part of Forest Live in 2019.

Commenting on the dates Jack said: “I love performing at these wonderful woodland locations, they are like no other live arenas. I look forward to sharing all the new music we have been releasing with you in these incredible settings.”

Natalie Imbruglia recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of her acclaimed debut album Left Of The Middle featuring the worldwide smash hit Torn, a song that touched so many people and continues to resonate as a top-streamed single from the nineties.

Richard Ashcroft + special guests Cast and support Seb Lowe – Sunday 18 June

Chester and District Standard: Richard Ashcroft Richard Ashcroft (Image: Forest Live)

Richard Ashcroft has enjoyed an illustrious career as lead singer and songwriter of alt-rock band The Verve and as a highly acclaimed solo artist. His music industry accolades include the prestigious Ivor Novello Awards: Songwriter of the Year (1998) and Outstanding Contribution to British Music (2019). His latest recording, Acoustic Hymns Vol.1, is a salute to key tracks from his repertoire such as A Song For Lovers and Break The Night With Colour as well as Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Drugs Don’t Work and Lucky Man from The Verve’s seminal album Urban Hymns.

Brit-pop favourites and very special guests Cast will also be performing on the night. Support comes from Seb Lowe.

For further info/tickets: www.forestryengland.uk/music