More blues planned for second festival

Newark Blues Festival is set to return for a second year. The event will take place from September 10 to 13, staged with the help of main partner, the Liz Hobbs Group of Newark. There will be plenty of live music and workshops.

Organiser Darren Pointing said: “We will be following a similar format to last year but will possibly be extending to include further events in the castle grounds during Sunday.

“We will also be increasing the involvement of local schools with workshops being staged in schools in the lead up to the festival as well as those staged in the castle grounds on the Saturday.

“We are going to stage a show for two nights at the Palace Theatre, Newark. This will be produced in conjunction with local teaching studio Music Workshop and will tell the history of blues and rock music with live band performances throughout.

“Pupils from local schools will perform in the show and will be coached in workshops, both in and out of school, in the months leading up to the festival.

“We are hoping to keep the main stage up on Sunday to put on a series of local bands during the afternoon.”

Darren said the committee was in the process of confirming the bands for the main Blues At The Castle event on the Saturday night.

He said: “The event will feature four top UK acts including Virgil And The Accelerators, who are creating a real buzz at the moment, and Aynsley Lister, the only British artist to be featured in Classic Rock Magazine’s top ten contemporary blues artists, alongside the likes of The White Stripes and John Mayer.

“We’re also adding an extra free event on the Saturday afternoon showcasing female artists, which will be headlined by Chantel McGregor, possibly the best female UK blues guitarist around.”