Thousands Turn Out for Lymelight Festival Weekend in Newcastle-under-Lyme

Thousands of people packed into Newcastle-under-Lyme town centre across the late May Bank Holiday weekend as Lymelight Festival returned for what organisers are calling one of the event’s biggest and most successful years to date.

Delivered by Newcastle-under-Lyme BID and supported by Valcato Entertainment and 6 Towns Radio, the free grassroots music and culture festival transformed the town centre across Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th May, with more than 60 live acts performing across three outdoor stages alongside fringe performances in local independent venues.

Now in its 13th year, Lymelight once again brought together live music, street food, markets, books, workshops and family friendly activity, creating a festival atmosphere throughout the town centre from midday through to late evening across the weekend.

Music took place across the Guildhall Stage, Ironmarket Stage and 6 Towns Radio Acoustic Stage, whilst venues including The Rigger, Artisan Tap and The Crossways hosted additional evening performances as part of the wider fringe programme.

Alongside the music, visitors enjoyed Castle Artisan Market, pop-up activity from Drop City Books and creative workshops at the Lancaster Building delivered in partnership with ArtsKeele.

Charl Pearce, BID Manager at Newcastle-under-Lyme BID, said: “Lymelight has always been about creating a completely free festival experience where people can move through the town, discover new music and spend time enjoying everything Newcastle-under-Lyme has to offer.  This year we were blessed with fantastic weather and the atmosphere across the whole weekend was incredible.  The response from the public, artists, venues and businesses has been overwhelmingly positive.

"What’s particularly special about Lymelight is the diversity across the programme. Across the stages and venues we had acoustic acts, indie, alternative, rock, rap, electronic music and more all sitting alongside markets, workshops, books, food and family activity. It creates a town-wide festival atmosphere and encourages people to explore different spaces across Newcastle.”

Nigel Davies, Co-Chair of Newcastle-under-Lyme BID, said: "Lymelight continues to grow year on year and has become one of the standout events in Newcastle-under-Lyme’s calendar.  The festival showcases the strength of the local music scene while also demonstrating the wider impact cultural events hosted by the BID with support from stage sponsors NSGC, Heywoods Property and Keele University can have on the town centre economy, footfall and visitor experience.

"It was fantastic to see the town so busy throughout the weekend, with such a positive atmosphere and so many businesses benefiting from the increased activity.”

Festival attendee John Easom praised the event, saying: “Excellent organisation with a great variety of stalls and food outlets. Excellent stages and sound featuring very good artists, fresh and veterans alike. Well done staff and volunteers who made this one of the best ever.”

We at 6 Towns Radio were lucky to be hosting the acoustic stage this year, Lee Brookes (A&E with Lee and Friday Breakfast) said: “6 Towns Radio has the community at its heart and any opportunity to support and showcase local musicians is taken with both hands.

"Lymelight festival is the perfect event for this, and as the last weekend showed, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke-on-Trent have some of the best new and emerging artists in the country.

"It was an honour to host the 6 Towns Radio acoustic stage alongside Keele University. The quality of acts across the weekend was amazing, highlighted by the large audiences that every performer drew.”

Footfall monitoring indicates the impact of the festival on the town centre was significant, with visitor numbers up 87% on a typical Saturday and 117% on a typical Sunday.

The figures demonstrate the role events such as Lymelight play in driving additional visitors into Newcastle-under-Lyme, increasing dwell time and supporting town centre businesses, hospitality venues and independent traders throughout the weekend.

Lymelight Festival is just one of a wide range of events funded and organised by Newcastle-under-Lyme BID. From live music festivals and Castle Classics to food and drink events, markets and seasonal celebrations, the programme is designed to bring people into Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The next BID event is the new Castle Pre-Loved Market on Sunday 7th June, followed by Castle Food & Drink Fest on Sunday 5th July. 

To stay up to date with upcoming events and town centre activities, follow @newcastlebid on social media.