Philip Sheppard

Westport Sound Festival, Malmesbury: 23-25 October 2026 Westport Sound is an experimental live music weekend festival located in the historic North Wiltshire market town of Malmesbury, and sited in the old western quarter of the town known as Westport, on the north bank of the River Avon, about 5 miles north of Junction 17 on the M4. In the footsteps of many great and wild ideas, the beginnings of Westport Sound came out of a monthly experimental music night curated by Richard Wiltshire, an avant-garde music aficionado & serial gig-goer, proposing an alternative music night to The Three Cups Inn. The landlady Janinka Diverio used to manage Keith Tippett and in the spirit of their shared friend, the visionary jazz pianist, the weekend Westport Sound was born. The Three Cups Inn is helmed by Janinka Diverio & Gary Walsh and is a revitalised local venue for live music of all genres, vegetarian food, wellness, languages and other events & workshops. It now boasts a recent CAMRA award for Wiltshire and has become a popular destination venue for national and international artists to include Ak'chamel, Jim Black, Peter Evans, Erwan Keravec, Paul Rogers, Larry Stabbins and Luis Vicente, to name but a few. Now in its third year the festival has already hosted such musical luminaries as Pat Thomas, Paul Dunmall, Rachel Musson, Sebastian Rochford, Adrian Utley, Larry Stabbins, Mark Sanders, Yeah You, Milkweed and The New Eves. The first two years were co-curated with Benny Dart. This year is set to continue in this high calibre vein with a line-up featuring new and more established acts such as Voka Gentle, Stick in the Wheel, Angharad Davies, Alexander Hawkins, Dali de Saint Paul, Graham Dunning and New Music pioneers and Keith Tippett collaborators Philip Sheppard, David Le Page and Paul Dunmall. Also appearing are: Mark Sanders & Phil Durrant, Matthew Grigg & Colin Webster, Diabolus (Musson/Sanders/Davis),Nika Ticciati & Beth Veasey, Joshua Arnold & Therine. In addition this year the Friday evening has been curated by Terror Management of Bristol and will feature Thorn Wych, Zheng Hao. 2026 will see the use of four spaces: The Hayloft, which is above The Three Cups Inn; Westport Music Studio, located nearby; The United Reformed Church, a few doors away from the main pub hub and, of course, the main bar itself, the proud home of Keith Tippett’s piano, on which many of his major works were composed. Westport Sound is a small DIY, volunteer-run grassroots operation and personally underwrite the event. The 2026 team is made up of volunteers: Richard Wiltshire, Janinka Diverio, Lucian Albury and Gary Walsh. Supported also by Chris Albury (formerly of Mind Your Own Music). The capacity of the festival is around 100, making this a small intimate event where artists and audience mingle. The weekend has a family feel to it and with the historic Abbey and high street just a few minutes' walk away this really is a social weekend. This is Wiltshire’s only experimental music festival. Where the ancient has trodden, new steps will be taken. Tickets available at https://www.westportsound.co.uk and https://www.three-cups.co.uk Direct ticket link: https://www.trybooking.com/uk/GGDK Facebook: https://facebook.com/westportsound Instagram: @westportsound (https://www.instagram.com/westportsound/)