Bath is getting ready to party for two days in May as an impressive line-up of stars prepares to entertain crowds at the Bath Festival Finale Weekend.
Bath Festivals and music promoters Orchard Live have announced that KT Tunstall, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Seth Lakeman will be among the big names appearing alongside headliners McFly, Scouting for Girls, Billy Ocean and UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Astro, on the Main Stage at the open-air festival on Bath Recreation Ground over the bank holiday weekend of 23 and 24 May.
The line-up
Chart-toppers McFly will top the bill on the Saturday night, having added Bath to their 2020 national tour dates and they will be supported by Scouting for Girls, who have built their reputation as a party band. Joining them on the Saturday will be Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, a favourite on the festival scene.
Also playing on Saturday are rising stars solo artists Lauran Hibberd and Josh Gray and a pair of London four-piece outfits Novacub. Dessie Magee with his band, winner of last year’s Bath Introduces competition, and Bath band Luna Lake will take to the the Big Top stage.
On Sunday 24 May legendary reggae band UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Astro headline. Ahead of them will be British soul singer Billy Ocean who will be performing some of his classics, such as Caribbean Queen and When the Going Gets Tough.
Acclaimed west country folk musician Seth Lakeman, who last played the Finale Weekend in 2018, will bring his band to the main stage for a high energy set.
Adding to the party atmosphere on the Sunday will be BLOCO B samba troupe from Bristol. The musicians and dancers take part in St Paul Carnival in Bristol, Notting Hill Carnival and the Rio Carnival itself. Honouring the musical traditions of this amazing music BLOCO B challenge you not to move and be moved
New York’s trio Fun Lovin’ Criminals, featuring frontman Huey Morgan, will bring their unique style and sense of fun to Bath Rec. Also on the line-up are solo artists Hannah Grace and Casey Lowry, Wiltshire based indie trio Port Erin and grunge influenced Life in Mono fronted by Sarah Clayton.
Huey Morgan of the Fun Lovin’ Criminals, who is also a BBC Radio 6 Music presenter, now lives in Bath with his family. He says he is really looking forward to playing to the Bath crowd: “My new hometown gets my first new hometown show! Can’t wait.”
The west country music scene will be well represented with some of the finest local acts appearing on the Main Stage and in The Big Top, which will feature a combination of local talent and rising stars from across the UK. For the first time at the Finale Weekend we’re going to hear from a young choir made up of students from schools across Bath.
The Feelgood Festival
The two-day Finale Weekend is the ideal introduction to the festival experience for the whole family. The festival takes place over the May bank holiday weekend and at the start of half term and you can buy tickets for one or two days. This beautiful green field site lies in the heart of historic Bath, just a ten-minute walk from the train and bus stations and park and ride bus stops. With the coloured banners fluttering in the breeze, the main stage set up and the various stalls selling all kinds of enticing food, you and your kids will be excited as soon as you arrive on site.
The Finale Weekend has a dedicated Kids Zone with equipment to play on and a team of professional entertainers to keep even the tiniest children happy. Older kids will enjoy the chance to check out the rising stars playing in the Big Top, enjoy the acts on the City Stage or interact with the street theatre performers on site – there are loads of opportunities for selfies! When it comes to food you’re spoilt for choice with a range of artisan food and drink catering for meat eaters, vegetarians and vegans. And thanks to Wessex Water’s Hydrozone refill points you’ll have free access to fresh, cold drinking water throughout the day. There will also be professionally run bars offering a range of drinks, including beer and cider plus you’re never far from a decent cup of coffee.
There will be a covered seating area where you can meet up with friends and enjoy your festival food.
Battle of the Bands
There will also be the chance for solo acts and bands to enter Bath Festivals’ annual Bath Introduces talent competition. Acts will battle it out in a series of heats to compete for slots playing the main stage during the Finale Weekend, with the winner receiving the prize of a day’s professional recording at the Real World Studios. Look out on social media (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @TBFFinale) for more announcements of acts playing more festival stages and details of how to enter Bath Introduces.
The Finale Weekend is supported by sponsors Bath Ales, Novia, Bath BID and Agriframes.
Tickets can be purchased from ticketmaster.co.uk and the Bath Festivals website: www.thebathfestival.org.uk/finale-weekend or Bath Box Office tel: 01225 463362.
KT TUNSTALL
Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall burst onto our collective consciousness in 2004 with her debut album Eye to the Telescope, which sold in excess of five million copies and was a global hit. Since then she has had six albums in the UK Top 20 and has toured worldwide. The multi-award winner – best female solo artist in the Brit awards, a Novello best song prize for her hit Suddenly I See – has also won acclaim for her live shows.
‘From the moment she strikes the first chord of her new album, KT sounds visceral, capturing the grit of her live shows.’ The I newspaper.
FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINALS
The world’s finest (and only) purveyors of cinematic hip hop, rock ‘n roll, blues-jazz, Latino soul vibes are a three piece established in New York City in 1993. Their hits include King of New York and Scooby Snacks and they’ve built a massive following for their high octane live shows.
SETH LAKEMAN
The Devonian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist last won the hearts and minds of Bath Festival Finale Weekend audiences back in 2018 where he played a solo spot before joining Robert Plant and his Sensational Shape Shifters. This year, the west country favourite returns to the Finale weekend on the Main Stage with his electrifying full band. His new album A Pilgrim’s Tale, inspired by the 400th anniversary of the historic Mayflower voyage, drops in February. There will also be a tour. He has played for numerous festival crowds, including Glastonbury.
LAURAN HIBBERD
The Isle of Wight raised indie/rock artist was picked as One to Watch by Radio 1’s Huw Stephens and played the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury last year. Her debut EP, Everything is Dogs, was released in September.
BLOCO B
BLOCO B, born out of Bristol’s Bloco dos Sujos (directed by Paul Baxter) in 2018, continues to teach, perform and celebrate Rio de Janeiro Carnival style samba under the new leadership of Terry Moore. Emphasis is on creating authentic versions of Rio samba tunes using rhythm, song, melody & dance. They blend percussion and drumming (bateria) with singers, cavaquinho players and dancers.
HANNAH GRACE
Hannah Grace, 24, has a voice that sounds as if it comes another era. Her voice encompasses the vastness of popular music history – jazz, gospel, blues and folk. She came to mainstream attention after her version of Praise You was a TV and radio staple in summer 2017. Hannah Grace comes from Bridgend in South Wales. Hozier took her on tour as his support, Lady Gaga tweeted a video of Hannah singing and Gabrielle Aplin, Hannah’s label mate is a frequent collaborator. Hannah Grace is currently working on her debut album.
JOSH GRAY
Josh Gray is a compelling emerging 21-year-old artist from Wicklow, Ireland. Gray’s artistry has been shaped by a lifelong love of music and performing. 2018 proved a formative year for Gray, as he self-released his debut single and picked up significant radio and streaming support. Fan support grew promptly too, with Josh’s music positioning him as a promising young pop sensation. Flawlessly crafted pop songs befitting of his musical influences (Bieber, Timberlake, Mendes to name a few) define Josh Gray’s sound. His ability to marry groovy melodic riffs to a signature high falsetto sound makes his tracks uniquely energetic.
CASEY LOWRY
Singer and guitarist, 22-year-old Casey Lowry grew up in Chesterfield before moving to London to pursue a career in music, He’s fast becoming one of the most talked-about and promising indie names in guitar pop. Pulling in crowds with his upbeat bops about misfortunes in love and rich odes to wanderlust, he’s made brilliant use of his support slots for Jack & Jack and LANY, as well as his own solo jaunt, to showcase his killer knack for live performance. He broke through with his debut single Trampoline, a winking nod to young love that clocked up over 500,000 streams and earned Casey a place on Radio 1’s playlist.
NOVACUB
Louise Bartle has been drumming since childhood. After cutting her teeth as a session player with stars like Selena Gomez and Eliza Doolittle, she landed the gig playing drums for Bloc Party in 2015. It was around that time that she began writing her own songs. Bloc Party guitarist Russell Lissack was impressed by Louise’s writing skills. Once off the road, Louise and Russell enlisted fellow Londoners, Iona Thomas and Tony Alda to form NOVACUB. NOVACUB is based in London and signed to Lab Records. Their debut single, I Still Need It was released last year.
DESSIE MAGEE
Brighton based folk/rock singer-songwriter Dessie Magee, hails from Belfast, where his career began within the heavy underground music scene. With a diverse musical background, Dessie’s music has recently taken a softer approach, drawing influences from the likes of Hozier, Ben Howard, Nathaniel Rateliff and Fink, though not leaving his heavy roots behind. Dessie has sold out headline shows in Brighton, London and Northern Ireland. His debut single Maze was picked as BBC Radio 1’s Track of The Day, The Unsigned Guide’s Track Of The Month which spent over a month in the top five of the French charts and racked up over 100,000 video views. Dessie was the winner of Bath Introduces in 2019.
LUNA LAKE
This four piece indie band from Bath are popular regulars on the live circuit, playing gigs in their home city, Bristol and London as well as at Glastonbury in 2019. The line-up consists of Bren Dowling, Toby Goldsmith, Cassidy Jones and Flynn Tovey-Ashforth. Luna Lake’s music has been described as engaging, thoughtful and clever, as well as incredibly catchy.
LIFE IN MONO
Life In Mono have been refining their sound, a blend of 90’s grunge, heavy rock topped with a stunning vocal. Life In Mono’s sound combines thrashy guitars reminiscent of Placebo’s early records, the darkness of Mazzy Star and lyrical sophistication of PJ Harvey. With their debut album scheduled for 2020 Life In Mono adhere to the Jack White approach of analogue, old guitars, vintage amps and home-made guitar pedals, creating a wild, live energy. Fronted by Sarah Clayton, theirs isn’t a story of being chewed up and spat out by the music industry, drug addiction and expensive rehab. This is the story of a girl making sense of her world through her music, of 27 years and five hazy hospital admissions, a voice of unwavering talent and a story of resilience.
PORT ERIN
Port Erin are an alt-indie trio from Wiltshire. Their prolific recorded output, inspired by trailblazing icons such as Morphine, Talk Talk and Julian Cope, has been championed by the likes of Clash Music, The Guardian, The Times and BBC Radio 6 Music. Since their formation in 2007 they’ve toured extensively – headlining at venues such as O2 Academy (Bristol), Komedia (Bath), CCA (Glagsow), The 100 Club (London) and in Luxembourg, Denmark and Italy. They’ve supported Robert Plant, The Soft Moon, Syd Arthur, Liima and Penelope Isles, and have played at major UK festivals and international showcase events including Liverpool Sound City, Glastonbury and FOCUS Wales. Renowned for their venue-filling cinematic sound, penetrating lyrics and genre-fusing musical style, Port Erin’s new album is due for release in 2020.
PREVIOUS FINALE WEEKENDS
The first Bath Festivals’ Finale Weekend was in 2018, in a partnership of Bath Festivals and award-winning Orchard Live music promoters and designed to appeal to a wide range of audiences. The line-up over 2018 and 2019 provided a mixture of current chart-toppers and heritage acts, including Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Paloma Faith, Robert Plant, Midge Ure, Mabel, Clean Bandit, Van Morrison and Corinne Bailey-Rae. The 2020 programme continues that theme of providing an open-air festival experience to a wide range of people in a unique setting.
see:
Previous Finale weekend – Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Alison Moyet and Paloma Faith
Previous Finale weekend – Midge Ure, Imelda May and Robert Plant
Previous Finale weekend – Clean Bandit, Mabel, Van Morrison, Corinne Bailey Rae
TICKET PRICES:
Saturday Adult: £50
Saturday Junior (Under 16): £25
Sunday Adult: £50
Sunday Junior (Under 16): £25
Weekend Adult: £90
Weekend Junior (Under 16): £50
Saturday Adult VIP: £100
Saturday Junior VIP (Under 16): £50
Sunday Adult VIP: £100
Sunday Junior VIP (Under 16): £50
Weekend Adult VIP: £180
Weekend Junior VIP (Under 16): £90
People buying from Ticketmaster have the option of splitting their purchase across three payments via Klarna.