FOLLOWING on from the success of last year’s event, Otley Music Festival is set to return for 2024 bigger and better than ever.
The festival will feature 60 acts from Friday, May 31 to Sunday, June 9.
A spokesperson for the festival said: "It remains primarily a celebration of Otley’s extraordinary musical talent and with an unprecedented 60 acts taking part we have been forced, once again, to spread the festival across a 10 day period.
"We are proud to run the festival in association with Otley Parish Church and, in keeping with the church’s ethos, ours is a community-based charity event – the organisers, helpers and the local musicians taking part are all giving their time and effort for free to maximise the amount we can give to good causes.
"All profits from the festival will be shared between Otley Parish Church’s Local to Global charity initiative, Otley Community Larder and Otley Food Bank. Last year we donated £2,100 to good causes and we’re hoping to do even better in 2024.
"Once again, the church have kindly agreed to let us use their beautiful venue for two showcase ticketed sessions on the evenings of Friday 7th June and Saturday 8th June (7pm start) and a “pay as you feel” session on the Saturday afternoon (11.30am start). Teas, coffees and cakes as well as bottled wine and beer will be available in the church on the Saturday afternoon and a licensed (cash only) bar serving wine, soft drinks and locally brewed hand-pulled beers in the evening.
"For 2024, we are delighted to welcome the Black Horse public house as an additional venue. The pub offers a superb range of food and drink as well as a large upstairs function room and covered stables, ensuring that the festival will remain free from weather disruption. The entire first weekend of the festival (31st May - 2nd June), comprising five sessions, will be held at the Black Horse. The final session and our Thursday open mic will take place at the Horse & Farrier public house on Bridge Street. If weather permits, these will be held outside in the pub’s beer garden, which is a wonderful space away from traffic noise. The pub has a well-stocked bar, including an excellent range of real ales.
"We are hugely indebted to Otley Parish Church, the management and staff at the Black Horse and Horse & Farrier and (of course!) the incredibly talented musicians who are giving so freely of their time in support of our event. We hope that you, the people of Otley, will support the musicians in their endeavours and help us to raise money for some extremely worthwhile good causes.
"Although three of the events are ticketed, our charity fundraising efforts rely primarily on donations and sponsorship. We have buckets to accept cash donations at every event. However, we can now also accept donations online via our fundraiser."
In addition to a line-up of top local musicians, some nationally acclaimed professional acts from further afield have been invited to headline the ticketed evening sessions. On Friday, May 31, the upstairs function room at the Black Horse will play host to the wonderful singer/songwriter George Boomsma and the folk duo Wychbury, ably supported by well known local acts The Silver Reserve and Andy Aitchison.
On the evening of Friday, June 7 the Parish Church will echo to the stunning sound of BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Singer of the Year (2019) Maddie Morris and Iona Lane. Then, on the evening of Saturday, June 8 the internationally acclaimed folk/Americana duo Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage and Yorkshire-based Katie Spencer (FATEA Female Artist of the Year 2023), will close out the church sessions.
Given Otley’s long tradition of folk and acoustic music, the festival includes a considerable amount of such music. However, for 2024 organisers have made a concerted effort to represent other genres of music as well and two of headline acts are rock bands. On the afternoon of Saturday, June 1, in the stables at the Black Horse, will be a gig by Luigi ana da Boys - a long established prog rock project from guitarist Duncan McFarlane.
On the afternoon of Sunday, June 2 the festival will feature a welcome return for local country, rockabilly and blues band Coaltrain, combining the fabulous musical talents of Dave Vermond, Johnny Hardcastle, Chris Swindells and Andy Thornton. Chris (CJ) Smith performs an acoustic set in Otley Parish Church on the afternoon of Saturday, June 8.
The festival will close on the afternoon/evening of Sunday, June 9 at the Horse & Farrier with a performance by Otley’s own rock “supergroup” Mr Love Pants, featuring several of the town’s finest musicians – Nick Wood, Rory McLeish and Jon Budworth. With Christopher Smith’s blues band One Foot in the Groove and local favourites The Hall Brothers and John Carey all on the same bill it will be a fitting finale to the festival.
For further details, tickets and to donate visit: otley-music-festival.co.uk
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