WARRINGTON’S RivFest is back with their biggest music festival yet, a three-day weekender at Golden Square from August 6-8, featuring some of the hottest upcoming acts and festival mainstays performing over the weekend.
The charity festival, founded by The River Reeves Foundation, launched after River and his band Viola Beach along with their manager Craig Tarry tragically died in a car accident in Sweden in 2016. This year’s event is also a celebration of five years since their posthumous album reached #1 in the UK Albums chart. RivFest takes place in the 3,000 capacity Old Market Square in Warrington’s town centre.
Kicking off the festival on the Friday night is Hacienda legend Graeme Park, who will be throwing the ultimate launch party with tunes handpicked from his 30 year DJing career. After becoming one of the most renowned house DJs in the business and becoming a major part in the critically acclaimed Hacienda Classical shows alongside the Manchester Camerata Orchestra, Park spent the past year adapting to the lockdown by taking part in livestream events such as United We Stream GM, where his Hacienda House Party was broadcast to a global audience of millions. He’ll also be bringing along a couple of guest DJs for the evening for what will be a welcome return of the nightlife that we’ve all missed so dearly.
Saturday 7th sees a line up of some of the most hotly tipped new acts from across the country performing alongside the mighty Everything Everything. The twice Mercury Prize nominated band released their fifth studio album ‘RE-ANIMATOR’ in September 2020, and will be playing tracks from their entire back catalogue of alt-rock anthems. An unmissable live act, we’re delighted to have the quartet rounding off RivFest’s Saturday night.
Also joining Everything Everything are RivFest favourites Eliza & The Bear – indie festival powerhouses who previously appeared at the 2017 edition of the festival – and Liverpool based woozy dreampop act Pizzagirl, who just announced his second album ‘softcore mourn’, set for release on 16th July on Heist Or Hit Records. Brighton based indie math-pop act Orchards will get you dancing in the summer heat with tracks from their debut album ‘Lovecore’, as will Hebden Bridge quartet The Lounge Society, whose recent releases on Speedy Wunderground have secured them as one of the most highly anticipated new acts in the country at the moment.
Organisers are also delighted to welcome Lincoln trio The Rills, for whom RivFest will be one of their first festival appearances. Their punchy indie rock tunes grew them a colossal fanbase almost overnight and are promising an unmissable set. Also bringing the summer beach day vibes is Modern Sky’s Abbie Ozard, alongside the shoegazing indie pop crossover sounds of Hadda Be, whose debut album ‘Another Life’ is set for release on 30th April. And if that wasn’t enough, we’ll also be welcoming some of our favourite unsigned talent including Liverpool’s More In Luv, the ethereal sounds of Foxglove, and Manchester indie boys All Night Dining.
Sunday 8th sees RivFest showcase some of our favourite local talent from across the North West, headlined by the Glastonbury Emerging longlisted grunge-pop singer Abi Rose Kelly. Also appearing on the Sunday are indie rock acts The Zangwills, Saytr Play, Aligners and 32Tens, who are all sure to become firm festival favourites in years to come. Electro-pop band The A.V. Club and breezy indie pop singer Jessica Luise will be keeping the crowd warmed up through the early evening, alongside the chilled sounds of Solis and psych pop bops by Seagoth. Don’t miss Sienne or local legend Liam Hillyer who will be performing alongside new favourites Two Skies, Rivver, The Kendos and singer Kerry Feeney, who will be treating us to a stripped-down set of her r’n’b pop hits.
RivFest is one of the many fundraising outlets for The River Reeves Foundation, an arts charity which aims to provide bursaries and support for disadvantaged young people, helping them create successful futures within the performing and visual arts. Many of the local acts on this year’s line-up have previously been recipients of the RRF’s bursaries, and the festival aims to inspire even more young people from the area to pick up a musical instrument, paintbrush, or camera. Post-Covid, the charity has the ambition to award 50 bursaries of up to £500 each over the next 12 months. Previous acts to perform at RivFest have included Billy Bragg, Fickle Friends, The K’s, Maximo Park, Average Sex and The Lottery Winners.
Tickets go on sale this Friday 23rd April 2021 via Culture Warrington.
