Hexham Bluegrass Festival will bring music, workshops and opportunities to play Bluegrass to Hexham. It will involve amateurs, professionals, youth groups and venues in the town over a 3 day period. It will bring the town alive and help to establish Hexham as a centre for Bluegrass music in the North East. It will stimulate local business but all events will be free to the public. The festival builds on the success of the Bandstand Sessions which have run for the past 2 years every Sunday in the Summer and a pilot afternoon festival held last year.
What we'll deliver:
- 3 days of free music
- Paid employment for musicians and sound technicians
- Sound system Hire
- Audiences having a lovely time
Why it's a great idea:
The benefits of this festival will be: Providing a free festival accessible to all, showcasing music that is not normally available to lots of people. Establishing Hexham as a centre for Bluegrass Music in the North East. Building the Hexham bluegrass community. Providing paid employment for musicians and technicians Stimulating the local economy. Building a sense of community in the town by bringing people together in a public space. To provide volunteering opportunities.
Steps to get it done:
- Booking the bands
- Publicity
- Making a food Map of businesses in the town
In conjunction with the Bandstand sessions, which are free summer concerts showcasing local musicians, a pilot afternoon Bluegrass festival was held in 2022. Over 400 people came and 40 musicians performed, both amateur and professional. Evaluations done on the day demonstrated an appetite for a bigger festival this year. The bandstand sessions are funded by Hexham Town Council who will be making a contribution to the 2023 Bluegrass festival. The principles governing the Bandstand sessions are: that the music should be free, held in publicly accessible space( The Park in the centre of the town) and that the musicians should be paid. These principles also govern this festival.
