REVERTING to its traditional three-day format, next year’s Worcester Music Festival will take place from Friday, August 30 to Sunday, September 1, organisers have confirmed.
It will be the first year the explosion of live, original music in venues across the city will stand alone as a fully independent festival and not be part of the wider Worcester Festival.
Committee chairman Ant Robbins said the completely free festival was now well established and the main focus for its sixth outing next summer was bringing more diversity to the mix.
“In 2012, we saw 400 amazing performances from bands and artists from across the county and beyond take place in 31 venues across the city, and the feedback was phenomenal,” he said. “This year, we want to build on that, exploring more genres and styles to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, and introduce more tools to help people navigate the festival and discover more about the acts involved, as well as the many free workshops we offer.
“This will be the first year we are not part of the wider Worcester Festival programme, and we’d like to take the opportunity to thank Worcester Live, which organises the main event, for all its invaluable support over the past five years and helping our festival evolve into what it is today.”
A taste of the talent on offer at Worcester Music Festival 2013 can be sampled this Saturday, December 1st during Worcester’s Christmas Victorian fayre, with an eclectic mix of local bands and artists lined up to perform acoustically from 2-6pm in Cathedral Plaza.
The top 25 entries in the WMF 2012 photography competition are also being displayed at The Hive library and learning centre in Sawmill Walk, The Butts, until Monday, December 10th.
Other events are also in the pipeline to build momentum for Worcester Music Festival 2013, including another Big Busk, a showcase of outdoor performances around the city centre in conjunction with Worcester BID, and fundraisers for the non-profit making festival, which is run by an enthusiastic group of volunteers, with all acts performing free of charge.
There are also plans to link up with more venues following new partnerships in 2012 with Velvet Nightclub in Angel Place, the Brewery Tap in Lowesmoor, O’ Neill’s in St Nicholas Street, Cathedral Plaza, The Crown Inn in Bransford Road and Diglis House Hotel in Severn Street.
Raising money for local charities through raffles and donations is also close to the festival’s heart, with the 2012 event raising £6,000 for New Hope children’s respite centre in Ronkswood, taking the total amount raised for charity over five years to nearly £25,000.
If you are interested in performing at Worcester Music Festival 2013, application forms will be available in the New Year at www.worcestermusicfestival.co.uk, with updates on Facebook and Twitter. If you are interested in the rewarding experience of becoming a volunteer for next year’s event, please email ant@worcestermusicfestival.co.uk.
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