The annual Whitby Blues festival is a fantastic event for any music-lover who likes their festivals to come on a little slower and involve less in the way of mosh-pitting and head-banging.
Taking place each year at the popular seaside town’s iconic Spa Pavilion, the Whitby Blues Festival brings a whole host of the finest Blues artists from all over the world. When the start of October rolls around, it’s a great place to find yourself.
Previous festivals have seen a smorgasbord of internationally established bands take to the stage, including The Spellkasters, Grainne Duffy, Erja Lytinnen, The Stevie Nimmo Trio, Chantel McGregor, and even legendary sixties band, The Stray. For 2016, we had an equally strong line-up of seasoned professionals and emerging home grown artists, including:
- Climax Blues Band
- Paul Lamb & The King Snakes
- Kyla Brox
- Del Bromham’s Blues Devils
- Blue Swamp Band
- Mick Simpson
Crowds were enthralled, and there’s little doubt that the Whitby Blues Festival will continue to grow in popularity during upcoming years. In fact, tickets are already being sold for next year’s festival, which will take place on Saturday October 14th. If you’re interested, early bird tickets are coming in at a mere £23.
Naturally enough at this early date, the acts have not yet been announced for 2017, but we can confirm that the event will be returning to the Whitby Pavilion once again, and it’s this venue, in part, to which the festival owes much of its growing popularity. As a one-day event, you need to find somewhere that offers more than just great music to entice music-lovers from outside of the local area; this is no time to look for an empty field in the middle of nowhere.
Instead, the Whitby Pavilion offers stunning views across the North Sea, plus access to all of Whitby’s famous seaside charms. After the day of the festival, you can take in Whitby Harbour, Sandsend Beach, or walk the legendary 199 steps of the “Church Stairs”, which were built over 200 years ago. You can even visit Whitby Abbey, the location that helped give birth to the story of Dracula.
Boasting a stunning location and a strong line-up of top acts, the Whitby Blues Festival is a great Autumn event, as well as the perfect way to wind down after the more boisterous festivals that mark the British summer season.