Welliestock 2016 was launched in style at a party at The Vintage at the weekend. The packed party featured its own list of local musical acts including Filta, Alice and James, Crow Dawn and Named and Shamed as well as Street Heat Samba Band.
Organised by Huw Weston, Head of Music at Uffculme School, together with local musicians, Sally Hooper from Mad Dog in South Street and Rule 7‘s Donna Munson, Welliestock is now in its third year and will take place on Saturday 2 July in the grounds of Wellesley Park Primary School. The festival is supported by the M5 Audio company and Bright lighting company.
Previewing this year’s event Huw said, “Welliestock has become the biggest one day music event in the Wellington calendar. It showcases some of the fantastic talent we have in our town, as well as introducing talented acts from around the area. Even though the event has only run for two years, each festival has attracted over a thousand people and become a much talked-about and highly respected music event.
“Welliestock was started to give us as a community our own music event – one which we we can be proud of and which attracts some of the finest performers in the South West to inspire the next generation of musicians to pick up an instrument and learn to enjoy the magic of playing music.
“We don’t charge much for a day of entertainment because we want it to be affordable for families. I work towards allowing children in for free as I want kids to be able to enjoy a live music event, to see and hear top quality music in a live format on their doorstep.”
Previous Welliestocks have featured a wide range of music ranging from pop to dance to rock to folk to classical to jazz together with non musical entertainment – a hog roast, bouncy castles and stalls – making it a day out for the whole family.
Looking ahead to this year’s festival Huw said, “An incredible number of acts have already contacted us to perform. This makes us very proud indeed to know that we are able to present a music event that is both affordable and full of quality. Our aim for this year is to make a donation to the local primary schools to support music and music tuition.”
Tickets for Welliestock 2016 are available from Mad Dog on South Street , Wellington, from Monday 8 February. The lineup is as follows:
FILTA, Hundred Faces, Phoenix Club, Crow Dawn, Wellesley Park School Choir, Tiny Folds, MandySteveMusic, Wood Pryers, Rushwood & Co, Fly Yeti Fly, Street Heat, Time Travellers, Cavemouth, Alice and James, Street Heat, Blue Room Baboons and Named and Shamed.