It began in 2001 when Sid Ambrose, later the festival's artistic director, hit upon the idea of a local counterculture-based, family-friendly event whilst working with the Stewartry Music Initiative.

This was due in large part to the surrounding area featuring various locations used in the cult British horror film The Wicker Man (1973), starring Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward.

Ambrose took the idea to local farmer Jamie Gilroy and they arranged for the festival to take place within a natural amphitheatre of 120 acres (0.49 km2) of prime Galloway grazing land at East Kirkcarswell Farm, Dundrennan.

The festival would climax on the Saturday at midnight with the burning of a giant 30 ft (9.1 m) wicker man, built by local craftsmen Trevor Leat and Alex Rigg.

The 2015 festival, which had a capacity of 18,000,[1] took place six months after the unexpected death of Jamie Gilroy, and his widow and daughter later announced it would take a hiatus for the following year.