Watching Trees announces Joy Orbison and Scratchclart for inaugural edition

The new UK festival is a collaboration between Optimo and Ransom Note.

Taking place from 2-4 September, Watching Trees is being held to celebrate 25 years of Glasgow’s Optimo. The festival will feature two stages with the likes of Joy Orbison, Josey Rebelle, Scratchclart, Ivan Smagghe and a live set from Maximum Joy confirmed for the Backwoods Stage. Optimo (Espacio) will also play on this stage alongside Debonair, Ellie Stokes, Junglehussi and live performances from Fantastic Twins, C.A.R. and Pleasure Pool.

There’s also the Espacio Stage which is set to host Kiara Scuro, Josh Caffe, GLOK – the electronic project of Andy Bell – and Flug 8. Other acts announced for Watching Trees include Lupini, Heavenly Jukebox, Minotaur Shock, Komodo, Isa Gordon, Oceanic and Princess P.

“Our line-up is a joyful patchwork of artists close to us and some we’ve admired from afar,” Optimo shared in a statement. “We’ve ignored borders in music and followed our hearts. With limited funds this year – because we’re just 500 people – we’ve managed a line-up that feels immense to us. We’re eternally grateful to the artists who agreed to be part of this. We hope many of them will return year on year.”

The three day event will be held in the Awre District in The Forest of Dean with capacity limited to 500 attendees. Head to Watching Trees’ website for tickets.