Countdown to Lancaster Music Festival 2016 Starts Now!

Over 40 venues will be hosting more than 400 separate events between 13th and 17th October. A staggering 700-hours plus of music from folk to funk, classical to punk and all genres in between.

Festival Coordinator, Ben Ruth says, “I must be starting to sound like a stuck record as every year I tell people the festival will be the biggest and best yet and this year is no exception. We’re really excited about the sheer size and quality of the line-up we’ve put together with the help of all the venues”.

Innovations this year include a series of workshops for adults at the Storey Institute and for children at Lancashire Boys and Girls Club.

Venues range in size from Atticus Bookshop on King Street to the main stage at Lancaster Castle and the vast majority of events will be free to enter. Entrance to the Castle will cost £1 per visit (under 12’s free) and this year there will be a limited number of weekend passes available which allow unlimited entry for a mere £5. Full details can be found on the Festival website (www.lancastermusicfestival.com).

As with previous years, the Festival will also be bringing music to a number of city centre squares. Market Square, Sun Square, Dalton Square and the Judges Lodgings will be reverberating to the sound of music at various times during the weekend.

Outdoor Events Coordinator, Lucy Reynolds says, “The concerts in the Squares are for everyone, including children of all ages with an emphasis on people who are too young to go to the pub gigs.”

Last year it was estimated that the festival added an extra £1.7 million to the local economy and it was not just venues that benefited. Chip shops ran out of chips, pie shops ran out of pies (presumably a high number of visitors from Wigan) and there was barely a hotel bed available in the city for the weekend. Hotels are already putting up the ‘No Vacancies’ signs again this year so Lancaster Cricket Club have once again stepped in to offer camping facilities (both tent and hard standing) for the authentic festival-in-a-field experience.

Full details of all the events and venues together with in-depth articles on the headlining acts can be found in the official festival guide which will be on sale at all venues and from the Visitor Information Centre from mid-September priced at just £1