Special lockdown version of Stocksbridge music festival online

Although the Valley Music Festival 2020 is a casualty of the pandemic, the organisers are determined to continue to support young people in the Stocksbridge area.
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On Saturday (June 13), the weekend of the postponed festival, they will present a Performing in Lockdown event to launch the Valley Music Festival Sponsorship Award Scheme for 2020-21.

Last year, festival audiences and partners helped raise more than £2,200 to provide music lessons for four young people and to support music making in local schools.

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The festival team are again planning to provide individual sponsorship awards to young musicians who live or attend a secondary or primary school in the S36 Stocksbridge and Penistone area.

Young award winner Flynn Rogers will be performing at the virtual eventYoung award winner Flynn Rogers will be performing at the virtual event
Young award winner Flynn Rogers will be performing at the virtual event

Festival director Hilary Osborn said: “Our 2019-20 Sponsorship Awards scheme has proved to be a great success and last year’s winners are making fantastic progress.

“The valley has an amazing history of community music making. With all the uncertainty this summer, we feel that it is even more important that we continue to support young people’s access to music teaching.”

The virtual concert will feature video performances from some of the 300 local musicians who would have been on stage.

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Performers will include Waldershelf Singers, Jim Darnill, No Identity, Peter Fearnley, and the Branching Out Dance group.

There are special video features from Bolsterstone Male Voice Choir and Deepcar St John’s Primary and last year’s Sponsorship Award winners Frances Holmes, Grace Hansonn and Flynn Rogers will all be performing.

The event will be hosted by Everly Pregnant Brothers singer Shaun Doane and will be available on the Valley Music Festival YouTube channel on Saturday from 2pm.

Bolsterstone Male Voice Choir secretary and festival committee member Rob Firth said: “It’s a great shame that our third annual festival has had to be postponed but this online event shows that there is great deal of spirit surrounding the festival and we look forward to being back next summer.”

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Full details of the Virtual Festival and awards scheme are on the Valley Music Festival Facebook page and their new website, MusicFestival.co.uk. A Just Giving page is being launched to support fundraising for promising local musicians.

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