Thousands of people will hit the streets of Marsden this weekend to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Marsden Jazz Festival.
This year’s festival, which starts on Friday night and runs until Sunday, is expected to be the biggest and best.
Centred on Marsden Mechanics Hall, there will be a record 107 events across the village.
Festival producer Barney Stevenson said it was all systems go and added: “This year we’ll have our largest ever programme of events, some 10 more than last year which was a record breaker in itself.”
Pictures from last year below!
Barney spearheads the organisation which also includes a 14-strong committee. In all there will be around 60 volunteers – many of them students from Huddersfield University – making sure the various events go as smoothly as possible.
Barney said there was an estimated 10,000 people who attended last year – the population of Marsden is only 4,500 – and that figure could be exceeded this weekend.
“Counting numbers is not an exact science as people move around venues,” he said. “What we do is count attendances at each venue.”
Ever seen a ukulele flash mob? There was one last year!
This year there will be a pop-up marquee, Venue 25, outside the Mechanics Hall.
Seven free gigs will be held there including a ukulele ‘thrash-off’ between Thornhill Junior and Infants School and members of Marsden Ukelele Club, Mucipups on Saturday.
Jazz duo Lee Jones and Tim France and guitar-whizz Shane Latimer will also perform in it, while a street band battle will take place outside the same day.
It will feature Orkestra Del Sol, The Firm, Band Baja and Tongues of Fire.
On Sunday, Marsden’s community jazz band, Marsden Swing, internationally-renowned jazz guitarist Adrian Ingram and jazz quartet Andchuck will play.
Armitage Bridge’s The Monkey Club will also be staffing a bar in the venue throughout the weekend.
On Sunday, more free music will be on offer at the Marsden Park bandstand.
Watch last year's parade
Performers include Tongues of Fire and BLAST! Furness, 12-piece jazz and funk band Emergency Exit and the Doncaster Youth Jazz Orchestra.
Marsden-born saxophonist Tom Challenger and organist Kit Downes will present a free performance of Vyamanikal, their Aldeburgh Festival commission in St Bartholomew’s Church at 2.30pm the same day.
More free gigs will take place at the Marquee on the Bridge and Hanson Musical Instruments on Saturday and Sunday.
The festival will bring 140 hours of live music to 25 venues in the village, along with its annual Saturday street parade on Peel Street and an artisan market in Marsden Park.
People attending the festival will be able to take home a special memento – an anniversary CD.
Ten of the headline acts appearing at this year’s festival have donated tracks for the CD – including jazz legend Digby Fairweather, who also performed at the first Marsden Jazz Festival in 1992.
The CD features the ‘word art’ design being used in this year’s festival brochure which includes the names of artists who have appeared at the festival over the past 25 years in the shape of the number 25. The design is also available on a souvenir T-shirt.
