Thousands enjoy spectacular weekend of festivals
ORGANISERS of Macclesfield Festival say they are taking time to consider their next move after this year’s event.
Thousands of people braved the poor weather on Saturday to see headline acts Soul II Soul and former M People singer Heather Small take to the stage.
Back for its third year at Macclesfield Rugby Club, on Priory Lane, the festival may not be returning in 2020 as they discuss taking a year off.
Andy Kleek, the man behind the one-day event, said: “We’re just consider
ing in the next 24 hours whether to do another one. It just takes so much out of us and it’s not a moneymaking thing.
“We are at the point where we are thinking should we take a year out.
“We are doing this for the local community but we need the support from them to keep it going. The more support we get the more likely we are to do it again.”
Organisers are due to make a decision on Wednesday, July 24, on what they will do next year.
Artists - including DeTronic, the Winachi Tribe, Ashley Sherlock - performed across seven stages, providing entertainment for 11 hours on Saturday, July 20.
There were also dance tents, local market stalls and a kid’s stage, ensuring all ages were catered for.
With the 2018 event seeing more than 7,500 turn out, the torrential rain seems to have had an impact on attendance but Andy said those who braved the weather were rewarded.
Andy said: “All in all it was a great festival, it’s just the Great British weather is the only issue really.
“Later on it was sunny and it was absolutely fine. The weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the 5,000 people who came out.”
Also on last weekend was Blue Dot, held at Jodrell Bank, where New Order, Jarvis Cocker and Kraftwerk performed at the four-day festival.
IT’S now 50 years since man’s greatest leap into the unknown as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon.
It was Jodrell Bank that first captured pictures of that momentous day, and this historic spot - now home to Bluedot Festival - is the perfect location for the celebrations.
The four-day festival is now in its fourth edition, with revellers enjoying one of the nation’s most unique settings as music, science and space discovery collide.
The site, declared a Unesco World Heritage Site earlier this year in recognition of its history of astronomical research and discovery, has evolved from ‘The Transmissions’ to becoming a staple in the UK festival calendar.
The likes of Anna Calvi, GoGo Penguin and John Grant entertain crowds on the final day alongside comedians Ivo Graham, John Robins and Katie Pritchard who provide the laughs on a packed Contact Stage.
Away from the stages, the insightful programme of science, technology and arts prove popular with large queues commonplace across the afternoon.
As the sun sets and the rain begins to fall, final headliners New Order take to the Lovell stage with a huge crowd snaking around the field.
Legendary Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis grew up just a few miles down the road in Macclesfield - after his untimely death, Joy Division dissolved and later regrouped as New Order.
Tonight, they’re embracing their past in his honour, with a setlist that delivers the hits and spans both bands’ careers.
They celebrated the 40th anniversary of Joy Division’s iconic debut Unknown Pleasures last month, and an image of the seminal album artwork had been bounced off the moon earlier in the festival as part of the 50th anniversary of the lunar landings.
She’s Lost Control and Transmission, both from that record, delight an audience that spans half a century in age.
The high resolution visuals and iconic setting helps to create a special atmosphere with the crowd lapping up their nearby hometown heroes.
“Nice to be playing near our hometown,” Bernard Sumner tells the euphoric crowd. “I can’t wait for a gig in Salford. Salford rules.”
Two stellar tracks - Singularity and Restless - from latest studio album Music Complete launch proceedings, a reminder that the band aren’t resting on their laurels.
Your Silent Face lands with poignancy, but it’s the more lively Tutti Frutti and an epic version of groovy modern dance classic Plastic that gets the crowd moving.
The five-piece then take it up a notch as they rip through New Order’s glittering hit parade with synth classics Bizarre Love Triangle and True Faith.
A blistering and surging version of Blue Monday sends the crowd into raptures - this could well be the highlight of the weekend.
Temptation marks a huge sing-a-long as a giant disco ball above the stage and projections onto the awe-inspiring Lovell telescope add to the stunning visual spectacle.
The band leave the stage but return for a two-song encore with an understated tribute to Curtis in Atmosphere as grainy imagery of the late singer appears.
A exhilarating version of Love Will Tear Us Apart concludes the spell-binding set in what is a fitting finale to the weekend.