BOUTIQUE BANGERS

A BOUTIQUE summer festival with a stellar line-up is to return to Tamworth. FIONNUALA BOURKE finds out what we can expect from the Statfold Barn Festival 2020,

HOSTED in Statfold Barn Railway in Tamworth, the boutique festival runs from Friday, August 14, until Sunday, August 16.

This three-day family festival, which returns for a second year, features 48 acts including The Hoosiers (pictured), Scouting For Girls, Gabrielle, Craig Charles, Lemar... while there’s also comedy, street food, children’s events and activities, plus camping.

The festival launched on one of the stormiest weekends of the summer of 2019, and while some of the UK’s favourite festivals were forced to cancel, organisers of the inaugural Statfold Barn Festival carried on with their plans to ensure the show went on despite the main stage having to be rebuilt as winds battered the site and rendered the initial platform too dangerous.

Revellers partied on through the downpours in true British summer spirit.

The determination and conviction to staging the event did not go unnoticed – the festival was shortlisted in the UK Festival Awards alongside the likes of Download, Camp Bestival and Tramlines.

A spokesman said: “It’s fantastic to be back for a second year. Some people thought we were foolish to go ahead last year, with the terrible weather which caused festivals across the UK to cancel, but we just couldn’t let people down.

“This year we’re back, bigger and better than ever before...It really is going to be one of the best events this summer.”

■ Tickets: statfoldbarnfestival.co.uk. Prices: From £27 for one day; £60 for a weekend; and from £90 for weekend and camping tickets.