Saturday saw the second day of Rivfest18 fill the towns Cultural Quarter with a rich and diverse musical festival with over 50 bands performing.
In a new and unique way this year’s annual celebration of the life of River Reeves and his fellow bandmates and manager of Viola Beach, the River Reeves Foundation once again put on a true feast of music for the people of Warrington.
Taking place simultaneously over 11 venues and following on from Fridays superb concert at the Parr Hall, the festival brought together over 50 bands who entertained music lovers throughout the day.
Headlining at the Parr Hall were the Brighton Indie-pop band, Fickle Friends performed numbers from their album ‘ You are someone else.”
They were brilliantly supported by Mo Jamil, Warrington’s own winner of The Voice who was joined on stage by friend and fellow The Voice star, Max Vickers.
Manchester band Saytr Play were magnificent and energetically blasted out some great songs.
Joe Hill headlined on the Viola Beach stage at Friars Court. Himself a previous recipient of a River Reeves Foundation scholarship award, Joe’s career is a fine example of the success of the River Reeves Foundation’s work.
Mike Grainger, music tutor at Priestly College said of the singer: ”Joe is the perfect example of what the foundation is all about.”
At the Volstead, Warrington three piece combo, Scratch, topped the bill with their energetic acoustic style.
Other venues – The Lounge, The Old Town House, The Auction Rooms, The Acoustic Café, Hernando’s Hideaway, 9 Gallon and Hop Co all showcased bands and acts too numerous to mention individually.
Rainbow Fields, a family based fun day, was set up in Queens Gardens and offered a Tea in the Park café, live music, big screen entertainment, stalls, crafts and lots more.
Rivfest exists to provide a platform for emerging artists and to provide support for talented young musicians looking to take the first steps in their own musical and artistic careers. Each year the River Reeves Charitable foundation awards scholarships of up to £500 to enable struggling or disadvantaged young artists to “create alternate futures”, a phrase coined by Coldplay’s Chris Martin during their 2016 Glastonbury headline set which paid tribute to Viola Beach.
Proceeds from Rivfest 18 will go to the “Future in Mind” bus project in partnership with Arriva North-West, providing mental health support in local schools.
The River Reeves Foundation
Parr hall
Mo Jamil
Scratch
