New UK promoter SMS Event Production has announced the inaugural edition of Wide Skies & Butterflies, to take place next summer.

The brand new festival is to be held at Raynham Estate in Norfolk, UK, with a daily capacity of 12,500.

The two-stage festival will run from 5–7 August with live music on the main stage and a mix of comedians, drag artists and late-night DJs playing a second stage in a big top within a walled garden.

The event is being launched by SMS co-founders and directors Samira Williams, Mark Ward and Sam Booker. Tom Branston is the event director.

Collectively, the team has worked on events such as the Isle of Wight Festival, BST Hyde Park and tours by acts including Madonna, The Rolling Stones and Coldplay.

ORGANISERS TOLD SAID THAT WIDE SKIES & BUTTERFLIES WOULD BE A FAMILY CAMPING EVENT WITH “A 90S FEEL”

The organisers told North Norfolk News that Wide Skies & Butterflies would be a family camping event with “a 90s feel” as far as the musical program is concerned, which will be a mix of local and international artists. UK bands Cast, Levellers and Toploader have so far been confirmed.

SMS Event Production has signed a five-year agreement with ticketing services provider Event Genius that will see it become the festival’s sole ticketing, travel, access control and payments partner.

Booker says: “Starting a festival from scratch gives us a clean slate to create long-standing integrated partnerships. A five-year deal with Event Genius allows us to work together to shape the entire concept of the festival so that from the moment a customer buys a ticket to leaving the festival they have the best experience possible.”

Event Genius CCO Yonas Blay says: “We’ve put a lot of time and effort into developing a fully integrated end-to-end solution for festival fans and creators, and are therefore over the moon to be chosen by such a reputable team to be a key part of their new venture.”