Worcester Music Festival is an annual music festival held in more than 20 venues throughout the city centre of Worcester, England every September. 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 pubs, clubs, cafes, community buildings, boats, churches, record shops and street performances around or near the city centre with around 250 performances each year. 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 emerging artists.
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, and features acts that have appeared on the show being broadcast from the festival and the very popular SLAP Magazine. 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.
Bands The following artists performed at these previous festivals
2008
1147am And What Will Be Left Of Them? Angelcynn /Foxtail Soup /Ouja Anna Rice Babajack Black cat Bone Black Sheep BlueRADIO Brontosaurus Chorus Bruno Gallone BSN Calm Like A Riot Calming Claire Boswell Cmajor7 Cobweb Dilemmas Come Together Corda Crooked Empire Da Vinci Dan Greenaway Dandelion Killers Danse Macabre David Bristow Dissidence Doctor & The Duke Doctors Orders Drumlove Dudes Of Neptune Evangaline Expedestrian Fallen Angel Faullsgold Figures of Hate Fine and Shandy Flames of Our Neighbours Flo Rowland Flo Rowland FreewateR Fury Fusion Fusion Gamble Gamble George Cowley Experience Harlem Dandy Harry Payne Harry Payne Highway 5 HiJack Host Hot Wyred Jamie Knight Jasper Jazica Jess Allen John Perkins Johnny Kowalski Judy Pass Jules Benjamin The Fingers Kahuna Lou Richardson Lounge Potato Martyr De Mona Matt Woozey & Strange Rain Meg Muleskinner Blues Band Natalie Hall Neil Ivision & The Misers Open Savana Penny White Pippa Jennings Poor Bob Reprise Revolver Robin Welch Rupert & The Robbers Sam Eden Experience Scandal House Shellshock Shoot The Moon Shurikume Silver Tequila Skankbox Slidin’ Steve Smokestack Somers Traditional Folk Club Soul Syndicate Steve Maitland Stunt Dog Take The Fifth Ten Fifty Tenth Aggression Terror Mob The Abbot Of Reason The Abbot Of Unreason The Amateurs The Arquettes The Big Cats The Brazilians The Cape Of Good Hope The Dastards The Donns The Fingers The Fire Balls The Lexie Stobie Band The Ragged Crows The Royal Alberts The Worrisome Ankle Trout The Zo Show The Magoos Untitled Musical Project Velvet Trick Wake (from the Dastards Warmoth Warpath Weak 13 Will Dance For Chocolate WSRP Zanders Of Severn Zophie
2018 14 September
The Stiff Joints Skewwhiff The Fidgets The Miffs Howard James Kenny nth cave I The Lion Misanthropic Existence DEVILS Hump De Bump Bleeding Hearts Connor Maher Quartet Set em up Joe GagReflex 7Suns Lower Loveday Mice in a Matchbox The Other Dramas Born Zero The Desperados S K Y L Y T S Jack Monopoli Glitch Don Mac Liberty Artillery GOWST (formally Esteban) Trevino Slaxx Jack Blackman Elgar School of Music Folk Ensemble Horror On The High Seas Liar Liar Mark Stevenson Pre Sleep Monologue Niall McKenna The Pink Diamond Revue Parson City Anna Mason Shepherd’s Purse Dave Ryles and Barrie Scott Jake Of Diamonds Maefield Calming River Bitterroots 3WOD Institutes Don’t Mess with Katie Rebel Station Immy & The Boatman Hitchhiker Rod Willmott AnyPercent Copper Feel Andy Tyler and Ray Sanders The Cowleys Lycio Sean Jeffery Ruben Seabright Nobby von Wright Immy & The Boatman plus friends.
15 September
Swaktang The Humdrum Express Leg Puppy Nigel Clark (Dodgy) and compere for evening Jake Martin Criminal Mind Nasty Little Lonely Violet The Storyville Mob Vonhorn Kiss Me Killer The Collective Arcadia Roots Ivory Wave Yur Mum Inwards White Rhino SODEN Voodoo Stone Worcestershire Levellers Socket Grave Altar Johnny Kowalski and the Sexy Weirdos The Purple Shades Bloody English Colin Baggs Acoustic Guitarist Esuna Victoria Crivelli Flying Ant Day Polly Edwards Ross Angeles Twist Helix Dogs Of Santorini Stone Mountain Sinners Bryony Williams Plastic Scene The Atrocity Exhibit As Mamas I CAN I CAN’T Black Boxes Jess Silk Happy Bones Viv Bell and Huw Knight SLTR Free Galaxy Big Fat Shorty grownuplife Ellisha Green Bob Jones Vinny Peculiar The Contact High The Social Experiment Monkwood Green Deathly Pale Party Benjamin Dallow You Dirty Blue B.W.Pike The Arboretum Redwood Savannah (Savannahuk) Pablo Alto The Chase Dan Lewis B-Sydes Poorboys of Worcester The Boatman Hipflask Virgins Chloe Mogg Luke Wylde and the Japes Heartwork UnPunkt Blue Ridge Express The Jericho Racks Low Red Moon Tazmin Barnes Woo Town Hillbillies Bethany Roberts Wisenheimer Kringo Blue and Poppy Waterman Smith Jam Sessions – multi artists Worcester School of Rock and Performance Georgie and Dave Ajay Srivastav0 Vo Fletcher Emma Howett and Lisa Gavin Miller Rubella Moon Bromsgrove Rock School Every Thread Freya MacKinnon Bandeoke with Polkadot Robot Nobby von Wright REG Social Outcasts Chip Langley & The Kidgloves Belly Fusion Song and tune session Rock Choir Guerrilla Studio Chevy Chase Stole My Wife.
16 September
The Hungry Ghosts MeMeDetroit Ten Tombs Junior Weeb Navajo Ace Rival Karma Tyler Massey Trio The Desperados Coat of Many Redwood Goldblume Danny Starr Chip Langley & The Kidgloves Riché Shiraz Hempstock Sleephawk Hey Jester Dan Hartland Thunder and the Giants The Strays Terminal Rage Hannah Law Band Sean Harrington The Lost Notes Vicki Pingree Kate Lomas RVRMN Amit Dattani MoZie Faith Electric Raptor Dharma Bums Blushes Balaban and the Bald Illeagles Rosebud White Noise Cinema The Naughty Corner Ukulele Band Mitch Loveridge Dan Greenaway B Movie Heroes ORE Colossus Yeti Polly Edwards Juniper Nights Stone Mountain Sinners Aaron Douglas Paul Lennox Drumlove & friends with Ital sounds Deathly Pale Party The Collective Jenny Hallam Oli Barton & The Movement Grande Valise Mutante Madi Stimpson Trio Flex Jay & Eli Collective 43 The Jericho Racks Bird Brother Smokin Pilchards Immy & The Boatman Toad Pack & Pablo Bryn Teeling & The River Thieves VALA As Mamas Kringo Blue and Poppy Waterman Smith Neon Creatures (Louisa and Andy acoustic set) Big Fat Shorty Vince Ballard Leifur Jonsson The Fidgets House of Wolvxs Karyo VoxRox Choir Bring your vinyl eat and chill Play it again Dan Glitch White Rhino Howard James Kenny.
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 donations and collection buckets at the venues. To date, the festival has raised over £55,0000 for charities.
2008 Headway Worcester Trust Acorns children's hospice St Richards hospice Tudor house
2009 Worcester Talking Newspapers For The Blind Choice Hospital Radio
2010 Worcester Wheels Worcester Snoezelen
2011 Maggs Day Centre
2012 New Hope
2013 Worcester Deaf Children's Society Worcester Sight Concern
2014 Worcestershire Young Carers
2015 Worcestershire Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre
2016 Acorns Children's Hospice
2017 St Paul's Hostel
2018 Worcestershire Association of Carers
References
External links Official website