Heligan Homecoming Festival lineup confirmed, featuring top musicians, comedians and thinkers

A stellar lineup of big-name entertainers and some of the world’s foremost authors, academics and thinkers has been confirmed for the first Heligan Homecoming Festival.

Homecoming will feature performances from acclaimed musicians and Mercury Prize-nominees Seth Lakeman and Gwenno, top comedians Dawn French and Edward Rowe (well known in Cornwall as Kernow King) and fascinating conversations with guests including Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, leading chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and academic and author Merlin Sheldrake.

The ten-day festival will explore the themes of home and belonging and will take place in the picturesque and historical setting of the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall between June 13 and 22, 2025.

Each date will feature daytime performances and activities, including beaver tours, ocean-view yoga, foraging and farm walks and an evening headline performance, with separate tickets available for each.

Heligan’s famous Lost Suppers – which usually run monthly – will be available on most festival days with an adventurous and exciting menu featuring ingredients from the Heligan garden.

Laura Chesterfield, managing director of the Lost Gardens of Heligan, said: “We are incredibly excited to be unveiling the full lineup for our first Heligan Homecoming Festival and privileged that so many big names will be gathering at our gardens to celebrate the theme of home and belonging.

“Homecoming will be an enriching and lively experience that will inspire thought, laughter and dancing throughout.”

Dawn French is a writer and performer who is considered by many polls to be one of the UK’s greatest living comedians and most popular actors. Her most recent book, Because of You, became an instant best seller. Often described as warm, insightful, caring, and always hilarious; all of these qualities are reflected in Dawn’s works from her books and audiobooks, decades of experience on television, to her extensive experience with radio.

Dawn has starred in hit comedies such as The Vicar of Dibley and French and Saunders making her a household name for comedy fans around the world.

Gwenno is a Welsh-Cornish singer-songwriter due to release her fourth studio album, Utopia, on July 11 this year. Gwenno sings in the Cornish, Welsh and English languages and was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2022 for her acclaimed third record, the Cornish-language Tresor. Before becoming a solo artist, Gwenno was a member of the indie pop group The Pipettes and part of the cast for Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance.

Seth Lakeman was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2005 for Kitty Jay.  Multiple albums, tours and high-profile collaborations later, the acclaimed folk artist released his latest studio album The Granite Way on February 14 this year. This is a collection of songs recorded alongside a group of longtime collaborators of Seth’s, staying true to his roots and referring to ancient stories that inspired early West Country storytelling.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a multi-award-winning writer and broadcaster renowned for his commitment to sustainable, ethical food and environmental causes. Through his River Cottage TV series and books, Hugh has built a loyal following, inspiring impactful campaigns like Hugh’s Fish Fight, War on Waste, Britain’s Fat Fight, and War on Plastic. Hugh’s journey started with Channel 4’s River Cottage series, leading to the award-winning River Cottage Cookbook. Since then, he’s published thirteen books, including River Cottage Meat Book, River Cottage Veg Every Day, River Cottage Good Comfort and Much More Veg.

Edward Rowe is an actor, writer and director from Roche in mid-Cornwall. Edward starred in Mark Jenkin’s 2019 breakout feature and BAFTA-winning, Bait. He recently appeared in Mark’s follow up film, the acclaimed Enys Men. TV credits include House of the Dragon, The Witcher and Beyond Paradise and Radio 4’s Wosson Cornwall. Edward is a Cornish language speaker and Bard of the Gorsedh Kernow

Merlin Sheldrake is a fungal ecologist and author of Entangled Life, a million copy New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, and winner of the Royal Society Book Prize and the Wainwright Prize. Merlin is a research associate of the University of Oxford and the VU Amsterdam, the UK Policy Lead for the Fungi Foundation, a core member of the More-Than-Human Life Project, and Director of Impact for the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN).

Simon Armitage was born in West Yorkshire and is Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds. A recipient of numerous prizes and awards, he has published over twenty collections of poetry, writes extensively for television and radio, and is the author of two novels and three bestselling non-fiction books. His theatre works include The Last Days of Troy, performed at the Shakespeare’s Globe in London. From 2015 to 2019 he served as Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford, and in 2018 was awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry.  Simon Armitage is the UK Poet Laureate.

Tickets for the Heligan Homecoming Festival are now available. For more information, the full programme and to book tickets, see www.heliganhomecoming.co.uk.