Meet Wild West Cider
The lead sponsor of Clevedon Live Music’s inaugural amplify! Music Festival
Award-winning Failand cider maker joins forces with Clevedon Live Music for the town’s first four-day live music festival
Clevedon Live Music is delighted to announce Wild West Cider as the lead sponsor of its inaugural amplify! festival, a new four-day celebration of live music taking place across Clevedon from 3–6 September 2026.
The new partnership brings together two organisations with a shared passion for music, community and creating memorable experiences — and marks an exciting new chapter in the growth of both Clevedon Live Music and Wild West Cider.
Based at Failand Farm, Failand, Wild West Cider is an award-winning independent producer whose story began with an unexpected change of direction.
Founder Matt Stephenson initially set out to produce natural, organic wine from their farm, planting a vineyard and orchard in 2017 and 2018. But in 2020, just as they were expecting their first significant crop, the farm was hit by the hardest May frost in 40 years, destroying the entire harvest.
With the vineyard unable to produce grapes and the orchards still too young to fruit, the future of the project was uncertain. Then an opportunity arose when a local landowner offered Matt access to surplus apples from a historic cider orchard in Abbots Leigh, once owned by Redvers Coates of Nailsea’s renowned Coates Cider.
The answer was simple.
“We decided, if we can’t make wine, we’ll make cider instead,” said Matt.
Together with son-in-law and Wild West director Sean, son John and neighbour Zoltan, Matt took on the huge task of hand-picking apples from the orchard floor. With support from Sam and Beccy Leach of Wilding Cider, who had moved into the cidery at Failand Farm to share its facilities, the first Wild West Cider was produced.
The wine vats were filled with cider and, during the lockdown year of 2020, Wild West Cider was born.
The first batch went on to win two Taste of the West Gold Awards, setting the tone for what has become a consistently award-winning range. Wild West Cider has continued to receive recognition for its products every year since, with its distinctive ciders often given playful, cowboy-inspired names including Rusty Buckle and The Seeker.
The business has continued to grow from its Failand base. In 2025, Wild West Cider produced around 12,000 litres of cider, with production expected to double this year. Following the return of a successful grape crop, the business also produced around 2,000 bottles of wine last year, with its products now enjoyed across the region in restaurants, pubs, farm shops and at food and drink festivals.
The farm has also evolved into a destination in its own right, with popular cider tours and tastings, upgraded barns available for business meetings and away days, and an expanding programme of events.
More recently, Wild West Cider has introduced live music at the farm, welcoming audiences to enjoy performances from well-known local musicians alongside locally produced cider — a move that has proved hugely popular and helped inspire the partnership with Clevedon Live Music.
For Matt, the connection with amplify! was a natural fit.
“I have always loved music and I’m learning to play the guitar myself, so this really felt like a perfect pairing,” he said.
“I know personally the positive impact music can have on wellbeing, and when I started discussions with the amplify! festival team, it was clear that we shared many of the same values.
“As we have also started to venture further into live music events at the farm, becoming involved with amplify! felt like a very natural next step.
“We’re incredibly excited about this new partnership and can’t wait to pull on our dancing shoes this September.”
amplify! organiser Maureen Ni Fiann added, “We were absolutely delighted when Wild West Cider came on board as sponsor of amplify! festival. There’s such a natural connection between us, with our shared love of music, community, nature and supporting local producers. We really admire the story behind Wild West Cider and the care they put into what they do.”
“For us, as a festival created and run by volunteers, their support has been a huge boost and has helped us bring our vision for amplify! to life. We’re incredibly grateful to have them alongside us and can’t wait to celebrate together in September!”
As lead sponsor, Wild West Cider will have a prominent presence throughout the festival. The team will be at Queen’s Square on Sat 5th Sept and at the Bandstand on Sunday 6th September giving festival goers the opportunity to sample its award-winning range, while a number of participating venues across Clevedon will also be serving Wild West Cider throughout the weekend.
The partnership reflects the ethos at the heart of amplify! — bringing together great live music, local businesses, producers and the wider community to create a vibrant new event for Clevedon.
amplify! festival takes place from 3–6 September 2026, with live music hosted across venues throughout Clevedon.
With Wild West Cider on board as lead sponsor, the inaugural festival promises to be a weekend of great music, local flavour and shared experiences — and the beginning of an exciting new partnership between two organisations committed to putting Clevedon and the surrounding area firmly on the cultural map.
To find out more about Wild West Cider and Wine visit www.wildwestcider.co.uk
