Faringdon prepares for a rocking weekend

8:07pm Thursday 31st January 2008

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MUSIC lovers have been told to forget Glastonbury and pop down to Faringdon's first music festival instead.

Hush Festival is to play host to bands regularly heard on BBC Radio 1, as well as featured in music magazine NME.

Performing live will be Vincent Vincent and The Villains, The Alfonz as well as appearances from Dolls House and The Hamsters.

Talent from the surrounding area will also include performances from Emma Kennedy, folk-electro singer Gorgeous Moron and Matt Kilford, formerly of Faringdon band Belarus. Faringdon's festival in July has already attracted attention throughout the town, with 600 tickets being sold already and organiser Martin Phillips is hoping to sell at least 5,000.

Depending on how many tickets are sold, the event budget is believed to be anywhere between £200,000 and £1.2m.

Mr Phillips, who is also owner of the Portwell Bar in the Market Square, believes a festival of this type is long overdue in the town.

He said: "The local live music scene has exploded over the last few years, and it's about time we put on a showcase of our talent, sharing a big stage and supporting big names in front of thousands of people.

"It will allow our supportive and enthusiastic local live music fans to see some big names on our doorstep, and put Faringdon on the music map."

Mr Phillips added: "I believe we are extremely rich for musical talent in terms of the number of good quality local performers compared to the population of the town and surrounding villages."

The three-day event will be held from July 25 to 28 on the outskirts of the town. Camping facilities will be available for party-goers, offering the opportunity to experience the real festival atmosphere.

He said: "This is a commercial venture intended to make a healthy profit for the organisers and local businesses, but with the aim of making sufficient profit to donate significant sums to local charities and good causes."

Tickets are £30 and can be ordered by contacting PortwellBar@ aol.com.