THE FIRST bands to perform at a revived town centre music festival will be announced over the coming weeks.
Barnsley Live has replaced the massively successful LIVE In Barnsley which saw hundreds of acts perform in venues across the town centre over five years before a shock announcement that 2017 was to be its last.
Since then, local music promoters and musicians got together and decided they had to fill the void left by the festival’s departure.
The Barnsley Live festival will be held on June 16 - but any bands wanting to perform better get a spurt on, as applications close on April 9.
The festival’s main sponsor is Barnsley College, and Creative Recovery will be the festival’s charity partner.
Matt Smith, 36, of the Barnsley Live team, said: “For me, it’s not just about having a sponsor or a charity to add credibility, or a name to posters, it’s more about a partnership. What better partnership could we have as a local music festival than Barnsley College? Barnsley College gives us not only the the next generation of local musical talent but the future of our wonderful town. I also believe that supporting a charity such as Creative Recovery will be not just on a monetary basis, but hopefully we can aid the team and help with the wonderful work they do too.”
Principal Chris Webb said: “We are excited to be the main sponsor of the Barnsley Live festival. This event gives talented local musicians a great opportunity to play at an event that boosts the whole town. We have many talented musicians amongst our students at Barnsley College and University Campus Barnsley and we hope to see some of them involved in the festival.”
Helen Boutle, 43, is lead artist with charity Creative Recovery.
She said: “We are thrilled to have been chosen as the charity for Barnsley Live. Music plays a central part in the Creative Recovery community, as a means of self-expression and a way in which we build connections with each other. It's great to be involved with a festival that will bring people together to celebrate some of the amazing talent in this area.”
Venues hosting acts include Digital, Opium, Project, Belvedere and Che Bar.
