 Photo Credit: Alex Hughes (alex_music_photos) The Maidenhead Festival team brought a vibrant mix of music and community entertainment to the 12th annual Maidenhead Town Show on Sunday 19th October with their Festival Stage Takeover — a day celebrating local talent and community collaboration. Held in partnership with Craft Coop, organisers of the much-loved Town Show, the event marked the next in a new programme of community initiatives from the Festival team. These events aim to continue promoting the arts and local engagement across the town following the announcement earlier this year that the annual two-day summer festival in Kidwells Park would not be returning in its traditional format. The Festival Stage ran from 10am to 4.30pm, opening with Town Crier Chris Brown and Taskmasters Little Alex Horne - Patron of Thames Valley Adventure Playground, the charity being supported at the event. Maidenhead MP Josh Reynolds was also present to officially launch the show. Programme highlights included:
Speaking after the event, Lisa Hunter, Maidenhead Festival Chairman, said: “The Festival Stage Takeover was all about keeping the creative heartbeat of Maidenhead alive — giving local performers a platform and bringing people together to celebrate the incredible talent we have right here in our community. It was a joy to collaborate with Craft Coop and see so many smiling faces throughout the day.” The Festival team plans to continue running smaller community-focused arts and entertainment events throughout the year, working with local partners to ensure that the spirit of Maidenhead Festival continues to thrive in new and engaging ways. The next event to look forward to is the Maidenhead Christmas Lights Switch-On on Saturday 22nd November so watch this space!
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 Teenage rock group Something Stupid stole the show at the 2025 Maidenhead Festival Battle of the Bands on Saturday, emerging as winners of the sold-out event at the United Reform Church Hall, West Street. The four-piece band – formed at Burnham Grammar School by 16-year-olds Logan Reid, Haydn Juliff and Oliver Gratrick, and 15-year-old Freddie Braithwaite – wowed the crowd and beat older, more experienced opposition to claim the coveted Battle of the Bands trophy. A Night of Outstanding Local Talent: also performing on the night were:
Each band played a 15-minute set before the audience cast their votes for their two favourite acts, with the band receiving the most votes declared the winner. The event was compered by local musician Tara Deane and proudly sponsored by Kirkwood Personal Estate Agents. Previous Battle of the Bands winners Courtlands Stories entertained the crowd while votes were counted. As part of their prize, Something Stupid will perform live at the Maidenhead Christmas Lights Switch-On in the town centre on Saturday 22 November. Vocalist and rhythm guitarist Haydn Juliff said: “There were some really great bands playing and we never expected to come first. We just love to play live in front of an audience, so winning was a real bonus for us.” Festival Chairman Lisa Hunter said: “It was an incredible evening of fantastic live music. All of the acts were exceptional but Something Stupid obviously also had something extra special as far as the audience vote was concerned. Battle of the Bands is an important platform for young and emerging acts to play live in front of an audience. It was an amazing showcase for the creativity and talent of our local music scene.” Lisa also thanked Kirkwood Personal Estate Agents for sponsoring the event and volunteers from Maidenhead Bridge Rotary Club for supporting the Festival team. The Festival’s next event will see us team up with the Maidenhead Town Show to run the musical entertainment at the popular town centre event on Sunday 19 October. Keep an eye on our website and social channels for more updates about upcoming events! Hundreds of people enjoyed an afternoon of outdoor live music in the relaxed setting of Maidenhead’ Waterside Quarter on Saturday. The event, Live & Local: Summer Sounds, was organised by Maidenhead Festival in collaboration with restaurants and businesses in the attractive area alongside York Stream in the town centre. It was the third in the Festival’s new programme of inclusive events in Maidenhead aimed at fostering development of the arts and promoting community spirit. Visitors enjoyed a mix of live music by a talented line-up of local performers, while relaxing in deckchairs provided along the riverside or eating outside the area’s restaurants and bars. A pop-up outdoor bar from Bardo Lounge and an ice cream stand from Cocoba Café kept everyone refreshed, while free children’s crafts ensured the youngest visitors were entertained. Free afternoon boat rides by the Friends of Maidenhead Waterways proved so popular they were quickly booked up all afternoon. Since deciding to end its annual two-day event in Kidwells Park, Festival organisers are now focussing on a series of smaller events to showcase the arts and live music. Saturday saw performances by an eclectic mix of artists including acoustic duo Vandy, 16-year-old singer-songwriter Arts by Noaa, and acoustic group Spinoff. Also on the programme were four-piece Annie, Ella, Dave and Joe Riverman, The Sepia Tone Folk Collective, solo vocalist Sophie, and vocal harmony a cappella group Avenue. Maidenhead Festival chairman Lisa Hunter was delighted with the event. She said: “It was a great success. We had a steady flow of people through all afternoon and into the early evening with lots of young families and people stopping to enjoy a drink or ice cream, relax and soak up the music. “The quality of the performers was outstanding and it was great to be able to showcase such talent to our community in such a lovely environment as the Riverside Quarter. Our thanks to all the businesses who partnered with us to put on Live and Local: Summer Sounds.” The next event in Maidenhead Festival’s new programme is a Battle of the Bands competition on Saturday, September 13, the winners of which will perform at the switch-on of this year’s Christmas lights in November. Entries are now being sought for the competition and full details can be found here.  Young performers lit up the town centre on Sunday June 1st as Maidenhead Festival continued its summer programme with an afternoon of music, dance, and community fun. The space outside Maidenhead Library on St Ives Road was transformed into a vibrant open-air theatre, drawing crowds of all ages to enjoy a free showcase of local talent. Students from Shining Star Performing Arts School wowed the audience with energetic performances of hits from the West End musicals Annie and Mean Girls. Following the performances, the Shining Star team invited children and adults to join in a dance workshop, teaching a fun routine to Revolting Children from Matilda the Musical. The chance to take part was a hit with young festival-goers and their families. Local singer-songwriter Sophie Natasha brought the afternoon to a close with a relaxed set of acoustic covers and original songs, rounding off an inspiring day of live music. Festival-goers also helped Rio Deli celebrate five successful years of running the library café. With vouchers for free hot drinks on offer, the benches outside the venue were packed with families soaking up the sunshine and enjoying the festival atmosphere. Maidenhead Festival chairman Lisa Hunter said: “It was wonderful to bring open-air music to the heart of the town centre and partner with Shining Star to showcase the abilities of so many talented young performers. Events like this really highlight the spirit of Maidenhead Festival — bringing people together to celebrate creativity and our local community.” This year marks a new direction for Maidenhead Festival. After retiring the two-day event in Kidwells Park last year, organisers are now focusing on smaller, more frequent community-based events designed to connect residents with local venues, businesses, and artists. Sunday’s performances followed the successful Maidenhead Festival SoundLab event held during half-term, which also brought live music to the town centre. Lisa added: “Our first two events have perfectly embodied what Maidenhead Festival is all about: promoting community spirit, connecting people, and celebrating creativity and grassroots arts in our town.” Next up in the programme is Live and Local: Summer Sounds — a vibrant showcase of acoustic musicians taking place in the Waterside Quarter on Saturday, August 16. Be sure to mark your calendars and join us for more great music and community spirit.  More than 145 people – from a 10-month-old baby to a 93-year-old war evacuee – discovered the joy of music this week as Maidenhead Festival launched our brand-new SoundLab event in the Nicholsons Shopping Centre. Running across three fun-filled days from Tuesday 27th to Thursday 29th May, SoundLab was a free, hands-on musical experience designed to unite the community through creativity, learning, and play. Marking the start of our exciting new format — moving away from the traditional two-day summer park event to more regular, community-led experiences — SoundLab set the tone for a season of inclusive and vibrant cultural activities across the town. In partnership with Dawkes Music, Pianoz, Berkshire Music Trust, The Power of Uke and Monkey Music, the event gave budding musicians of all ages the opportunity to try instruments, perform, and connect with local music educators. From trumpets and saxophones to pianos and ukuleles, participants immersed themselves in the world of sound. Tuesday’s sessions led by Dawkes Music drew brass and woodwind fans, while Wednesday welcomed a musical moment inspired by Channel 4’s hit show The Piano. Shoppers stopped in their tracks as pianists — aged from just 8 to an incredible 93 — showcased their skills, including local talent like Emily Martin (8), Theo Peretz (11), Esther Fernando (13), and Alfie O’Callaghan (10). One particularly moving moment came when a 14-year-old Iranian refugee, who has been teaching himself piano by practicing on his phone, sat down at the Steinway Baby Grand piano (kindly donated by Pianoz). He wowed everyone with his talent and musicality, drawing emotional applause from passersby. His performance was so powerful that the Maidenhead Festival team are now looking into ways to support him in pursuing his passion and talent. Watch this space for more news! Festival Chairman Lisa Hunter reflected: “It’s been phenomenal – the performances, the participation, the atmosphere. One highlight was 93-year-old Henry Harris, who shared how he learned to play piano after being evacuated in WWII. That’s the power of music – it stays with you for life.” Young children also got in on the fun, with Monkey Music offering interactive sessions for the under-5s, and Power of Uke’s Tabitha Beavan delivering two energetic ukulele workshops that had families strumming and singing along together. Berkshire Music Trust rounded off the week on Thursday, bringing not only traditional instruments but also the Cosmo Switch — a light-up accessible music controller designed to make musical play more inclusive for children and adults with additional needs. Lisa added: “It really is ticking every box – hands-on music for everyone, of every age and ability. It’s just a lovely way to launch the new Maidenhead Festival season and we can’t wait for what’s next.” Find out more about upcoming events and join us as Maidenhead Festival 2025 brings music, joy, and connection to every corner of our town. |
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