Lancaster Music Festival Plays On

Lancaster Castle is one of the historic venues hosting Lancaster Music Festival again

Lancaster is tuning up for one of the country’s largest urban music festivals expected to attract more than 60,000 people this October.

Plans for the 12th Lancaster Music Festival, taking place from October 13-16, have just been announced and include more than 400 performances by more than 200 acts covering all musical tastes from classical to heavy rock and punk.

And unique to Lancaster Music Festival, which is partly funded by the Arts Council and Lancaster BID, is its venues and emphasis on community.

Festival director, Stuart Marshall, said: “Lancaster Music Festival is all about showcasing what goes on in Lancaster all year round whilst also bringing a diverse mix of regional, national and international acts to play in the city’s venues.

It’s very different from other music festivals as it’s all about the place and bringing together a diverse cross-section of the community.” and Locke, the new bar at Lancaster Railway Station; and a floating stage on Ram, a maintenance boat on Lancaster Canal!

Music will also be presented in city centre shops and banks, in more than 30 pubs, cafes and live music venues as well as on stages in the city’s squares, streets and historic buildings including Lancaster Castle and Lancaster Priory.

The Sugarhouse, Lancaster University’s city centre event venue, will host a main stage with ticketed events featuring top 10 album chart act, The Lottery Winners and other headliners to be announced soon.

Music of all genres can be enjoyed at Lancaster Music Festival

Lancaster’s pubs will be alive with the sounds of a variety of music at this year’s festival

There’ll be plenty of opportunities to dance at this year’s Lancaster Music Festival

Some 80% of the acts will be from Lancaster district in this city-wide celebration of the area’s musicians and venues.

Among the specially themed events will be recreations of what Lancaster Music Festival might have looked and sounded like 200 years ago in 1822 and in 1942, during World War Two, to tie in with Lancaster City Museum’s Hinge of Fate exhibition which opens in September.

Inclusivity is key to Lancaster Music Festival and this year, with the aim of increasing female representation at the event and in the music industry generally, More Music will run a Girls Can workshop, question & answer panel and performances.

One woman central to several festival events is BBC Folk Singer of the Year, Ríoghnach Connolly who will perform in a city centre shop and create a Sanctuary Singers group from refugees and asylum seekers, some of who will visit Dallas Road Primary School which is hosting its own minifestival.

Continuing the festival’s international flavour will be the Songs From Home programme – sounds from across the world - piano concerts performed at Lancaster Priory; Brazilian carnival sounds in Dalton Square; East Meets West performances at The Storey and the Craic Inn mobile stage will fill Sun Square with Celtic sounds.

Everyone can join in with participation events including dancing, drumming and singing workshops and there’s even a Tuneless Choir for those who think they’re not musical.

The full festival line-up will be announced in the official Festival Guide, which will be available from venues and other outlets in mid-September, and on the festival website from mid-August.

The festival, run by a not-for-profit community organisation, is more than 95% free to attend with only the headline stage and some other events being ticketed or pay as you feel.

Tickets and passes for all other festival events are available via the festival website: lancastermusicfestival.com