Festival brings sounds of summer to Waterside Quarter

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.