50,000 flock to Lancaster Music Festival at the weekend

Over 50,000 people came to Lancaster Music Festival at the weekend for its biggest event yet.
Lancaster Music Festival 2021. Picture by Jodie Bawden Photography.Lancaster Music Festival 2021. Picture by Jodie Bawden Photography.
Lancaster Music Festival 2021. Picture by Jodie Bawden Photography.

Music and dance from all around the world filled the streets of Lancaster as the festival made it's triumphant return.

There were 35 venues, six stages programmed by LMF, 14 busk stops, two shop-front juke boxes and two secret venues, 20 workshops and participatory events, three musical theatre shows and an art exhibition.

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More than 230 acts played 420 separate performances with over 1,000 people taking part.

Lancaster Music Festival 2021. The Fourth Colour performing at The Merchants. Picture by Zoe Demery.Lancaster Music Festival 2021. The Fourth Colour performing at The Merchants. Picture by Zoe Demery.
Lancaster Music Festival 2021. The Fourth Colour performing at The Merchants. Picture by Zoe Demery.

Organisers are still crunching the numbers but early indications are that there were well in excess of 50,000 visitors to the festival over the weekend.

Lancaster BID’s footfall cameras confirmed that footfall around the city centre was the highest it has been since the music festival in 2017.

Stuart Marshall, festival director said: "What an amazing weekend. It was wonderful to see so many people coming out to support the festival and we’d like to think that everyone felt safe with the Covid measures we put in place.

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"We have so many people to thank, the venues, funders and sponsors, the amazing acts who all put on such a great show, the sound techs and volunteers and of course everyone who turned out to support the festival over the weekend.

Lancaster Music Festival 2021. Picture by Jodie Bawden Photography.Lancaster Music Festival 2021. Picture by Jodie Bawden Photography.
Lancaster Music Festival 2021. Picture by Jodie Bawden Photography.

"My personal highlights are the things that I was involved with – the wonderful Songs From Home performances in a candlelit Lancaster Priory, headlined by Rioghnach Connolly; Secret LMF that saw performances in the Cottage Museum and the bell-ringing chamber of the Priory and the Bollywood Pandits in Sun Square accompanied by the LMF Bollywood dance troupe who learnt three dances in just four weeks, which was magical to watch”.

Lucy Reynolds, outdoor Events and volunteer director said: "The buzz in the city this weekend was unbelievable. Everyone involved played music, smiled, worked and danced with happy hearts. It was a beautiful example of how well things work when everyone pulls together for the same goal."

The Art of Music art exhibition, curated by King Street Arts in partnership with the music festival, continues at King Street Arts and in the Storey Gallery until Monday October 25.

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