Festival Too returns to Lynn’s Tuesday Market Place next month and some fantastic bands have been line up for its 39th year.
Big names at this year’s free festival include From The Jam, dance music icon Example, chart toppers Liberty X, singer-songwriter Newton Faulkner, rockers Feeder, ‘Dub Be Good To Me’ singer Lindy Layton, former Specials star Neville Staples and ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ stars D:REAM.
Festivities kick off with the traditional fireworks launch on Saturday, June 24, and music from The Rick Parfitt Jnr Band. Rick, the son of the late Rick Parfitt of Status Quo fame, has been wowing big crowds for more than 10 years.
The festival will remain on King Staithe Square on Sunday, June 25 for an afternoon of great local live music from Rock Choir, Sister Act, Georgia & Maddie Dawson, The Coots, Big Summer Blowout and Bear Club, before moving to the Tuesday Market Place for the remaining two weekends of entertainment.
Friday, June 30 sees the ‘Back in the Day’ evening hosted by DJ Mark Purdy with live music from The Soft Tone Needles, before Lindy Layton of Dubs international takes to the stage.
Singer songwriter and DJ Lindy rose to fame when she hit the UK singles chart in 1990, fronting the band Beats International alongside Norman Cook AKA Fatboy Slim. The single ‘Dub Be Good to Me’ was a worldwide smash hit, reaching number one in at least ten countries, including the UK.
The evening rounds off with the legendary Neville Staple and his band. Multi-award-winning front man from The Specials, Fun Boy Three and Special Beat, The Original Rude Boy will perform hits and classics from his career.
For those not ready to end the night, The Festival Too ‘Back in the Day After Party’ starts at The Dukes Head at 10.30pm with DJ Mark Purdy playing older dance floor fillers. Tickets are available for £7.50 from the Alive Corn Exchange.
On Saturday, July 1, the evening starts with a performance from College of West Anglia musicians, followed by a repeat visit from Festival Too’s youngest ever performer, DJ L.I.A.M.
Next on the line-up is D:Ream, who scored a number one with ‘Things Can Only Get Better’, as well as eight more top 40 hits. Following them it’s Liberty X, with original members Michelle Heaton, Kelli Young and Jessica Taylor.
The group released their debut album ‘Thinking It Over’ in the early 00s which featured their biggest single ‘Just a Little’, giving them international success. They released their second studio album Being Somebody a year later. Liberty X went on to achieve ten consecutive UK Top 20 singles, and various charting singles worldwide.
The evening draws to a close with crossover dance music icon, Example. Maintaining years of momentum with chart topping singles including Kickstarts and the anthem Changed the Way You Kissed Me, alongside career defining festival sets, sold out tours and multiple platinum records, the UK mainstay has crafted a career drenched in accolades.
On Friday, July 7, London-based Slender Pins start the evening with their pounding glam punk and soaring new wave energy.
Then the headliners are From The Jam with original bassist Bruce Foxton, whose thmping bass lines have entertained since the punk explosion of 1976. Bruce was recently voted by readers of NME as the seventh Most Influential Bass Player.
From the Jam play massive hits such as A Town Called Malice, Going Underground, Start!, That’s Entertainment and Down in the Tube Station at Midnight.
The Saturday, July 8 finale kicks off with Springwood High School Band followed by the Showcase winner before local legends and indie rockers The Extons take the stage with their fresh and fired-up Indie rock.
Then rock, pop, folk and soul star Newton Faulkner performs his hits, which include ‘Teardrop, ‘Gone in the Morning’ and the forever anthemic ‘Dream Catch Me’.
And the Festival Too finale headline act for 2023 is Premier League rockers Feeder. Since launching out of South Wales in 1992, they’ve maintained an enviable forward motion, releasing 10 studio albums and over 40 EPs and singles, accumulating 26 Top 40 chart hits including ‘Just the Way I’m Feeling’, ‘Come Back Around’ and ‘Buck Rogers’.
