In pictures: Rochdale Feel Good Festival

The Coral shine bright as Rochdale festival gets crowds feeling good

More than 11,000 people packed Rochdale town centre for the annual celebration of music, food and family entertainment that is Rochdale Feel Good Festival.

The town centre was filled with an array of entertainment for the 12th year of the Rochdale Borough Council organised event. Despite being hit by heavy rain and winds during the daytime, the sky cleared by late afternoon and large crowds gathered.

At lunchtime the main stage (sponsored by The Flying Horse Hotel and hosted by DJ Dave Sweetmore) was opened with lots of fun and laughs by CBeebies favourite Mr Bloom and his band. They were followed by euphoric singer/songwriter Megan Dixon Hood. ‘Feel Good – Battle of the Bands’ winner, country rock four-piece, Between The Vines, got a great reception, as did Northern soul maestros The Northern SoulTrain, fronted by David John Jaggs.

Setting the scene for the headliners, The Hoosiers played for nearly an hour, performing all their crowd pleasing hits. Headliners, The Coral walked on stage to a rapturous reception from around 6,500 festival fans, opening their set with - ‘Jaqueline.’ The band played as many of their best known hits and album favourites as they could squeeze into their 65-minute set, before bringing the night to a close with their classic ‘Dreaming Of You.’

The festival’s food and drink village proved popular, and the town’s indoor venues were busy, with over 25 live performances from lunchtime through to the early hours of the morning.

The event was funded by the council together with sponsorship from local businesses, including O2 Rochdale, The Flying Horse Hotel, Hopwood Hall College, Premier Kia, The Royal Toby Hotel, Recycle for Greater Manchester, Link4Life and Metrolink.