Brass, Big Band & Broadway Tunes Draw Crowds at 2018 Prescot Festival

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brass, Big Band & Broadway Tunes Draw Crowds at 2018 Prescot Festival

The Prescot Festival is celebrating another successful year, with 1,600 through the doors for 10 days of arts and music.

To mark 100 years since the end of World War One, the festival aimed to secure 100 singers for a performance of Fauré’s celebrated Requiem—but over 120 performers from across the North West turned out for the occasion, making it the biggest ‘Come & Sing’ choir in the festival’s 13-year history.

Audiences were treated to an array of different genres and art forms, from poetry to painting, and from brass bands to big bands.

As well as Prescot debut acts such as Wingates Band, the programme saw the return of several festival favourites, including Swingshift Big Band, Haydock Male Voice Choir and Wirral-based musical theatre company BOST.

A blisteringly hot Sunday 24 June saw thousands in the town for the Prescot Carnival before the festival closed in the evening with a Proms-style finale featuring the Maghull Wind Orchestra, who turned 40 this year.

“Thank-you to everyone whose efforts made our fourteenth annual festival such a success,” said founder and artistic director Dr Robert Howard. “It’s only made possible because of the joyous and generous community spirit shown by our volunteers, performers, sponsors and audiences.”

The team are already busily preparing for next year’s festival, as well as events later this year, including a WWI remembrance concert on Friday 9 November, with special guests Parr Band.