The festival set out as a fundraising event to rescue the decaying Towersey Village Memorial Hall – a building that commemorated the 14 men who had lost their lives in the First World War. In that first year (1965), it was a one-day village fete with morris dancing and a folk singing session in the pub barn. Its success can be measured by the money raised, the enjoyment of the day by the village residents and visitors, and by the fact that, in the following year, a three-day event was held. The festival attracts approximately 10,000 people each year although the 2004 event (26 to 30 August) attracted much higher numbers than ever before. This is partly due to that year being the festival's 40th anniversary. The 40th
Ruby festival ran from 26 to 30 August 2004 and featured appearances from Rory McLeod, Flook and Martin Simpson. The venues/ stages in which festival activities take place include The Big Club (formerly known as the Concert Tent); The Festival Dance House (FDH); The Festival Green (formerly known as The Market Square and the Arena); and Venue 65. Other features include The Den (for storytelling and spoken word), the craft tent and the craft market, Creative Quarter and dedicated areas for children (5-11yrs) and youth (11yrs+). Regular performers at Towersey include
Roy Bailey and
Les Barker. The latter made a live recording there in 1995 while Roy released Live at Towersey Festival 2015 during 2016. A Towersey Festival Patron, Roy performed at the very first festival, and his annual Monday afternoon concerts are greeted by capacity crowds.
The Unthanks and
John Spiers and Jon Boden had successful performances there in their early careers, while
Eliza Carthy played her first solo show at the festival. Eliza said: "Towersey gave me my first ever solo gig ... and one of the most memorable gigs of my life; a Chipolata 5 gig so full and rowdy that they had to take the sides of the marquee down." Discussing the festival's appeal and longevity, Roy Bailey stated: “Children play safely and many lifelong friendships have been developed here. People met here and got married here and generations of families return every year.” The festival's 50th anniversary in 2014 was headlined by
Richard Thompson. The anniversary was also marked by the publication of a book,
Towersey Festival: 50 Years In The Making which explored the 50-year history of the festival, from its inception to present day. Since 2015, the festival has been based at Thame Showground. 2019 saw the festival present an exhibition at Thame Museum entitled
Capturing Towersey: Festival Photographs By Phil Sofer - a collection of images shot at the festival by the official festival photographer, Phil Sofer. In April 2020 it was announced that the Towersey Festival would not go ahead in that year, due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic. The event was postponed until August Bank Holiday 2021. It was announced in May 2024 that that year's festival would be the last, after 60 years. A new "Found Festival" was established in 2025 by the same team that previously led Towersey, and runs annually with the 2026 headliners being
Stornoway and
This Is The Kit. ==Recent headliners==