This May bank holiday, Newcastle-under-Lyme will be celebrating 11 years of its Jazz and Blues Festival.
Over 70 live bands will descend on Newcastle on May 28 to May 30, to take over the town for the bank holiday weekend spectacular where leading acts such as Courtney Pine, Tipitina and Kent Duchaine will perform in an array of the town’s eclectic bars and pubs.
The weekend event aims to be bigger than ever, with the addition of a vinyl record fair, kid’s outdoor activities and face painting, a charity market and fun day, not to mention some of the biggest names Newcastle has seen perform live in its venues.
VIP Record Fairs will present traders from all over the UK. You are able to browse through vinyl and CD’s from prog Rock, Punk Rock and Hip Hop to soul, Jazz, Reggae and Doo Wop. There will be specialist stalls including the famous Beatles Roadshow. The stall is available to the public from 10am to 3pm each day.
As well as outdoor activities and fairground for the children, there will be outdoor entertainment brought to you by the Backyard Music Boys on the Saturday, and Chase Jazzmen on the Sunday.
There is a hand-picked a selection of local, national and even international artists and bands joining forces – and talent – to provide all with the best Jazz and Blues Festival yet.
Love Jazz? You’re in for a treat… The world famous Courtney Pine will perform an additional show on Wednesday May 25 at the award-winning New Vic Theatre. His latest project strips everything back for the most intimate show of his celebrated career as he takes to the stage playing bass clarinet accompanied only by fellow Mercury nominee and MOBO award-winning Pianist, Zoe Rahman.
In the 80’s Courtney was one of the first black British jazz artists to make a serious mark on the jazz scene. Today, he continues to break new ground with a string of highly acclaimed recordings and prestigious industry awards.
Fancy a change in genre? The ‘On the Fringe’ line-up features some of Staffordshire’s leading musicians covering various sub-genres to please all over the spring bank holiday. Some of the acts include; Stepping Lane, The King Pistols and Matrix Club Matrix.
Some of the 20 venues involved in this year’s event are The Old Brown Jug, Lymestone Vaults, Revolution, Bar Social, The Full Moon, The Blackfriar and Blakeys; some of which are offering free entry over the course of the Jazz and Blues weekend.
For more information, including the full line-ups and gig details please visit www.newcastlejazzandblues.co.uk