A Seventies mod music legend, dance music favourites and some top indie acts are all confirmed for this year’s Festival Too event.
The 39th annual year of free music and entertainment promises a wide range of musical stars and performers across the town.
It begins on Saturday June 24 on King Staithe Square with music from the Rick Parfitt Jnr Band.
The son of the late Rick Parfitt of Status Quo fame, he grew up surrounded by music, and his performance ability is a result of years of being able to watch some of the best front men in the world rock big stages!
The festival will remain on King Staithe Square on Sunday 25th for an afternoon of great local live music from Rock Choir, Sister Act, Georgia & Maddie Dawson, The Coots, Big Summer Blowout and Bear Club before moving to the Tuesday Market Place for the remaining two weekends of entertainment.
On Friday 30th June the first weekend on The Square starts with a Back In The Day night hosted by DJ Mark Purdy with live music from The Soft Tone Needles, before Lindy Layton of Dubs international (above) takes to the stage. Singer Songwriter and DJ Lindy rose to fame came when she hit the UK Single’s Chart in 1990, fronting the band Beats International alongside Norman Cook AKA Fatboy Slim. The single “Dub Be Good to Me” was a worldwide smash hit, reaching No 1 in at least ten countries, including the UK.
The evening rounds off with the legendary Neville Staple and his band. Multi-award-winning front man from The Specials, Fun Boy Three and Special Beat, also known as The Original Rude Boy is celebrating over 40 years of his super music career, and the eginning of the 2-Tone movement. He continues to carry the flag for The Specials and Fun Boy Three, with honour and pride, performing hits and classics from his career.
For those not ready to end the night, The Festival Too ‘Back in the Day After Party’ starts at The Dukes Head from 10.30pm with DJ Mark Purdy playing dance floor fillers from ‘Back in the Day’. If you love all those classics, then this night is for you! There will be a limited run of ‘Back in the Day Afterparty’ tickets at the amazing price of just £7.50. Tickets are available at Alive Corn Exchange.
On Saturday 1st July the evening starts with a performance from musicians from the College of West Anglia, followed by a repeat visit from Festival Too’s youngest ever performer, DJ L.I.A.M.
Next on the line-up is D:Ream best known for the number one hit Things Can Only Get Better.
Liberty X also take to the stage with original members Michelle Heaton, Kelli Young and Jessica Taylor.
The group released their debut album, Thinking It Over, in the early 200s which featured their biggest single Just a Little, which gave them international success. They went on to achieve ten consecutive UK Top 20 singles, and various charting singles worldwide.
The evening draws to a close with crossover dance music icon, Example. Maintaining years of momentum with chart topping singles including Kickstarts and the anthem, Changed the Way You Kissed Me, alongside career defining festival sets, sold out tours and multiple platinum records.
On Friday 7th July, entertainment in the The Square kicks off with London based, Slender Pins who are a band with an undeniable message of hope: the end of the world is nigh so you may as well dance. The band have released a stream of songs which have seen wide support from the grassroots music press and BBC Introducing mixing glam punk and new wave energy.
They will be followed by headliners From The Jam with original Jam bassist Bruce Foxton.
In The City was the album and single that launched the band into the big time and Bruce was recently voted by the NME as the 7th Most Influential Bass Player, which shows the high regard he is held in by fans, musicians, and the music press alike.
From the Jam are the closest you will ever get to hearing some of the Jam’s greatest songs performed live including A Town Called Malice, Going Underground, Start!, and That’s Entertainment.
Saturday 8th July is the Festival Too 22 finale. The evening kicks off with Springwood High School Band followed by the Festival Too Showcase winner before local legends and indie rockers, The Extons perform their fresh and fired-up Indie rock packed with memorable guitar riffs and anthemic choruses.
The Extons have supported The Sherlocks, Vant, Lisbon and noughties indie veterans The Pigeon Detectives and have seen consistent plays on national radio.
Also on stage will be Newton Faulkner who is known for his percussive style of guitar playing. In 2007 Faulkner’s debut studio album Hand Built by Robots was certified double platinum in the United Kingdom.
His acclaimed catalogue takes in rock, pop, folk, soul and beyond through his hit singles, “Teardrop”, “Gone in the Morning” and the forever anthemic “Dream Catch Me”
This leads into the final night headliners Feeder. Almost thirty years into their journey together in Feeder, Grant and Taka have survived tragedy and every conceivable passing trend, to stand proud as Premier League rockers in their mature phase.
Since launching out of South Wales in 1992, they’ve released 10 studio albums and over 40 EP’s or singles accumulating 26 Top 40 chart singles including Just the Way I’m Feeling, Come Back Around and the high octane, Buck Rogers.
One of the few flat-out rock bands still firing in the face of a predominantly synth-pop world, they secured new heights of popularity around the world with 2017’s ‘Best Of’.
After following up two years later with their tenth album, ‘Tallullah’, which garnered another British Top five hit.
