Worcester Music Festival

Worcester Music Festival is an annual music festival held around Worcester venues throughout the city centre during the last weekend of August. It was founded in 2008 by Chris Bennion as a platform to encourage live, local and original music in Worcester and the surrounding areas and is staged in over 30 pubs, clubs, cafes, community buildings, boats, churches, record shops and street performances around or near the city centre with almost 300 artists taking part each year.^[1] Recently acts have applied from further afield such as Egypt, Russia, Romania and America, however the organisers look at each application carefully as the festival is first and foremost about promoting upcoming musicians.

With more than 20 different promoters now involved in the festival, ensuring that every genre of music is covered and every music fan is catered for, the festival is also closely linked to BBC Hereford & Worcester, with a stage arranged by Andrew Marston from the BBC Introducing show,^[2] and features acts that have appeared on the show being broadcast from the festival and the very popular SLAP Magazine.^[3] The festival is a non-profit making event run by an enthusiastic team of 20 volunteers, largely local musicians or people associated with the Worcester music scene. Not only does it provide a showcase for local musical talent of all genres, but it provides education and professional development opportunities through a variety of workshops and clinics.

The festival also has a history of being the place where new bands and projects have been formed, as musicians and artists have networked over the years. All Worcester Music Festival gigs and workshops are free to attend.

Charities

Each year the Festival supports different local charities selected from a list of nominations. Money for the nominated charities is raised by way of a raffle, donations, collection buckets at the venues and merchandising sales and has amounted to over £30,000 over the last 6 years.

2008

• Headway Worcester Trust : http://www.headwayworcestertrust.com/
• Acorns children's hospice : http://www.acorns.org.uk/
• St Richards hospice :http://www.strichards.org.uk/
• Tudor house :http://www.tudorhouse.org.uk/

2009

• Worcester Talking Newspapers For The Blind
• Choice Hospital Radio :http://www.choiceradio2.org.uk/

2010

• Worcester Wheels :http://www.worcestervolunteercentre.org.uk/community_transport
• Worcester Snoezelen :http://www.worcestersnoezelen.org.uk/

2011

• Maggs Day Centre :http://www.maggsdaycentre.co.uk/

2012

• New Hope :http://www.newhopeworcester.co.uk

2013

• Worcester Deaf Children's Society:http://www.worcdcs.org/
• Worcester Sight Concern: http://www.sightconcern.co.uk/

2014

• Worcestershire Young Carers: http://yss.org.uk/young-carers/

2015

• Worcestershire Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre: http://www.wmrsasc.org.uk/

References

External links

• http://www.worcestermusicfestival.co.uk/

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