Musician · Festival Founder · Community Builder

Music is a superpower.
I've spent a lifetime living that truth.

Co-founder, The Big Chill · Founder, Cooking Vinyl · Conceptualist, Campfire Convention

Life's a Long Song. From a £1 campfire recording in Texas that sold a million copies, to a festival that grew from a Sunday social into a 35,000-capacity gathering, to 'This Is The Fire' — a community-powered album about to be born — The Campfire comes full circle.

Hear This Is the Fire My story
Pete Lawrence

What I do

Four threads, one life

Music, festivals and events, writing and community keep weaving back into each other — each one feeding the next.

Music

Cooking Vinyl, Chilled By Nature, and a new community-powered album, This Is The Fire.

Festivals

Co-founder of The Big Chill — from a Sunday social at Union Chapel to one of the UK's top festivals.

Community

Founder of Campfire Convention — an ad-free, member-led network, and our annual Campout gathering.

Writing & Ideas

Journalist, columnist, and the Trailblazers project — reimagining politics from the ground up.

Now

This Is The Fire

My first album in two decades is taking shape — songs of hope, written for community singing, rooted in a hymnal folk tradition. Designed for the campfire, the community hall, the school, even the football terraces.

Along the way, friends and heroes have stepped in: Oysterband's Sean Randle, Will Pound, Benji Kirkpatrick of Bellowhead, jazz pianist Al McSween, and Caravan's Geoffrey Richardson, who I'd admired since watching him at Reading Festival as a student.

Follow the album →
Pete Lawrence & Campfire Players — This Is The Fire

From the journey

Three decades, three projects, one common thread

The Texas Campfire Tapes album sleeve

1986 – 1990

Cooking Vinyl

A £1 field recording made on a walkman around a Texas campfire became Cooking Vinyl's breakout release — and sold close to a million copies.
The Big Chill festival

1994 – 2007

The Big Chill

Started as a Sunday social at Union Chapel, grew into a 35,000-strong festival — and gave early stages to Amy Winehouse, Bonobo and Lily Allen.
Campfire Convention

2016 – Now

Campfire Convention

A member-led, ad-free social network with Brian Eno as its first patron — and our annual Campout gathering.

In Others' Words

Words About Pete

"Pete Lawrence has a knack for being just a few key steps ahead of everyone else. When he started Cooking Vinyl, he didn't follow trends — he anticipated them."

Gerald Seligman Director of WOMEX, 2006–9

"Pete Lawrence is a legend. In addition to his not inconsiderable DJing and producer skills, he has a gift for bringing together lovely people."

Mr Scruff DJ

"Pete's ability to predict our cultural and media future were brilliantly manifested by the success of the Big Chill. It is a pleasure to recognise him as the inventor of such a major movement as the chill out scene. His cultural impact has crossed all international borders and is still in style worldwide. Over the years I've always looked to Pete for his profound knowledge of all things cool and elegant. His large fan base of tastemakers also reflects his quiet sense of integrity. Pete has always led the way, and many of us joyously follow him. He is a genuine visionary who has had a colossal impact on us all."

Erica Ruben Former Central Park Summer Stage Producer

"Pete is a natural born connector of people far and wide — never following, always leading from the alternative frontline."

Danny Rampling International DJ, founder of the UK club scene

"Pete and Katrina put their heart and soul into The Big Chill — an event that became part of the fabric of British life for many, many years."

Norman Jay DJ & broadcaster
Milos House, Paros

Paros, Greece

Milos House on Paros

A home from home above the Aegean.

Named after its neighbouring windmill, Milos House sits perfectly on top of a hill just outside the picturesque fishing village of Alyki on the south coast of Paros. You can see many surrounding islands — 360° views of Paros and Antiparos on a clear day.

The house is very spacious, flooded with natural sunlight, and set in a beautiful west-facing garden with eating and sitting areas to take full advantage of the views and legendary sunsets. Come and stay at Pete's house on the Cyclades island of Paros.

Visit Island Dreaming →

Latest writing

From the blog

1 September 2026

Late Summer Update: This Is The Fire

Ten years of Campout comes full circle at The Bridge, a joyous choir send-off, and the album moves toward mastering.

Read more →
21 June 2026

The Michelle Shocked Story

A newly surfaced photograph from Glastonbury 1987 — and the story of a campfire recording in Texas that changed two lives.

Read more →
May 2026

This Is The Fire — May album update

Guest musicians, a brass band nicknamed The Risings, and a reunion with Caravan's Geoffrey Richardson — the album is coming together.

Read more →
All writing →

Join us around the Campfire

Campfire Convention is a growing, unity-conscious community working towards a more loving, expansive world. Come to Campout, join the network online, or just get in touch.

Campout 2026 Get in touch