Colne Town Council agrees their final decision for the future of the Blues Festival in Colne. Earlier in the year the organisers reviewed the Blues Festival in line with all the services they provide. They agreed that the Blues Festival needed to be changed to become more financially viable and sustainable while still having a music festival on August Bank Holiday for Colne. There was opposition to this decision. Following many carefully considered meetings, talks and negotiations, last night, Tuesday 16th November, Colne Town Council made a final decision about the future of the Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival.
At last night’s meeting it was proposed that ;-
1) Colne Town Council enter into an agreement with Peter Barton to provide artists (at his risk) for the Municipal Theatre (including the Mini Muni), Hippodrome and Little Theatre. The agreement to be based on the Town Council receiving 10% of the total Ticket sales.
2) Colne Blues Society be invited to provide the Fringe Programme for the 2022 Blues Festival.
3) Negotiations continue with the Colne Blues Society with a view to them programming the whole festival in 2023 onward, subject to Colne Blues Society becoming a fully constituted organisation.
4) The Town Clerk write to Pendle Borough Council to ask that they offer support to the Festival by covering the costs of any extra street cleansing required during the Festival and indemnifying Pendle Leisure Trust for any losses they may incur.
Cllr. Mary Thomas, Chairman of Colne Town Council said “The Councillors are happy to have reached a final agreement on the future of this cherished festival. Colne deserves a festival which supports the local community and attracts visitors to the area each summer. As this proposal has been chosen, this means the Council can help facilitate an event in the summer of 2022 which hopes to ‘tick all of the boxes’ and bring the town to life for all to enjoy. There will be some changes to the event organisation, which it is hoped will improve the festival’s financial security while continuing to bring a well-managed blues festival to Colne. We also hope to work alongside the Colne Blues Society on the fringe aspects of the festival, including the Roadhouse venues.”
Further planning is now underway, with news of ticket prices, venues and line ups expected to be announced in the forthcoming weeks. Details will be added to the festival’s website and social media.
Colne Town Council has organised and managed the event since 2017, when they took over the mantle from Pendle Leisure Trust. The Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival has brought wonderful blues music – in its myriad of forms – to Colne for over 30 years. The event is not only one of Europe’s ultimate contemporary blues festivals, but also a one-of-a-kind and much-loved festival for people of the local area. The 2019 festival, which attracted over 25,000 people to Colne, won the UK Blues Festival of The Year Award. The 2020 and 2021 events were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
https://www.bluesfestival.co.uk
https://colnetowncouncil.org.uk/