INTERVIEW: How new live music event will 'babysit' for absent Lancaster Music Festival

An organiser of a four-day live music celebration set to stand in for Lancaster Music Festival this October has revealed more about plans for the event.

Tony Johnson, manager of Lancaster Business Improvement District (BID), said he and his team were "babysitting" for Lancaster Music Festival this year, after the event was put on hold.

Mr Johnson said he hoped the BID event - called Love Lancaster Live - could become as big as the festival itself, although he said it would be different in some ways.

Love Lancaster Live will run from Thursday October 9 to Sunday October 12, on the same weekend when LMF is usually held.

The team of volunteers who organise Lancaster Music Festival (LMF) announced in January that they were taking a break.

Lancaster BID, a company funded by city centre businesses, decided to step in to ensure Lancaster still had a city-wide music extravaganza that weekend.

LISTEN to Tony Johnson (below) talking about Love Lancaster Live

"The team at LMF do a sterling job year-in, year-out, an amazing job really, as a bunch of volunteers," said Mr Johnson, speaking on our weekly 'Beyond the Headlines' news show on Friday.

"We got an inkling, when they put on last year's festival, that they might have a year off.

"Ultimately, Lancaster Music Festival is such a massive event for Lancaster and the businesses, especially the hospitality sector. 

"We're babysitting a music celebration for Lancaster Music Festival. We're 100 per cent committed to it.

"If we get anywhere near in the vicinity of the success of Lancaster Music Festival, that will be a top result.

"A lot of it hopefully won't feel too much different."

The Lancaster BID team has a proven track record of organising events in the city, most notably the annual Lancaster Christmas Lights Switchon.

Mr Johnson said he hoped that Love Lancaster Live could be a similar scale to Lancaster Music Festival, which traditionally pulls huge crowds and last year ran around 500 events across multiple city venues.

"Within the pubs and venues, hopefully (it will be as big)," he said.

"We hope that all the pubs and venues will come along with us. It is such a huge thing. It's massive for Lancaster."

But Mr Johnson also said that Love Lancaster LIve wouldn't try to emulate everything that LMF does so well.

"LMF bring this diversity of music, they work with local schools and on a lot of workshops. Hand on heart, that's not something we're going to be able to deliver."

Below, the Dallas Road School choir performs at LMF 2024.

"But I think in the heart of the city, in the pubs and the venues, that's where it will feel very much like Lancaster Music Festival, I can guarantee you that.

"We have got the blessing and support from the guys at LMF.

"But I think it's fair to say (our artists) will be regional and not international.

"However I've also heard that one or two pubs have contacted international bands privately and have got them any way.

"I just want to make it clear there will be a music celebration in Lancaster at the same time of year that there always is.

"Keep in tune with us. As soon as we start developing more of a plan, the more people come along with us for the ride, the more it will develop organically into something as massive as Lancaster Music Festival."

Events announced already for Love Lancaster LIve include a 'Locals Live' outdoor music event on Sunday October 12 - a showcase of local artists on The Plinth in Market Square.

The popular Busk Stops and Juke-Box Shop Front gigs made popular by LMF, where acts pop up in unexpected places around the city, will also be part of Love Lancaster Live.

More announcements are due to be made later this week.

In January, the LMF team put out a statement saying: "We’ve made the difficult decision to put Lancaster Music Festival on hold.

"We’ve thought long and hard about it and weighed up current circumstances and factors and the time feels right to put the brakes on for a bit.

Below, The Uptown Monotones perform at Lancaster Music Festival.

"It’s likely no surprise to you that putting LMF together is a huge effort and faces more challenges and hurdles every year. This is especially true when it comes to funding, whether that’s applying, being successful or facing failed bids.

"Though we give our all to the festival, we are a small team, all of whom have other jobs and commitments.

"We know this news will be disappointing to you, but we hope you understand.

"We love this festival, and we want to make sure we can deliver it to the best of our abilities every time.

"For us, it’s always been about watching our city and our community come together, come alive, and celebrate music and talent, see our businesses thrive and have a great time laughing, singing, dancing.

"We don’t want to change or compromise that. Keep it local. Keep it diverse. Keep it without hierarchy. Keep it as free as we possibly can. Keep it for everyone. That’s always been the mission and that’s how we’d like it to stay.

"All being well, this is just a pause, a hit of the snooze button, and we’re back with you soon. That’s what we want, that’s what we hope.

"In the meanwhile though, we’re looking to the brilliant Love Lancaster BID team who have generously stepped forward to put on their own version of a music celebration later this year.

"They'll be working with venues to create Love Lancaster Live and as the team behind Dino Fest, Christmas events and more, we know they'll do a fantastic job - so give their social media a follow and keep an eye out for Love Lancaster Live!

"We’ll keep posting and updating you on what we have going on throughout this break and, of course, big up BID’s event – no radio silence here!"

Meanwhile, The Pub venue in Lancaster has announced its own China Street Beer and Music Festival for the weekend of Love Lancaster Live.

This will run from October 9-12 and has been billed as "18+ real ales, 12+ bands on three stages over three days".

Read more: Four-day live music extravaganza being planned after Lancaster festival takes a break - Beyond Radio

Lancaster Music Festival taking a break and will not be held in 2025 - Beyond Radio

Lancaster Music Festival hits the high notes - Beyond Radio