Shrewsbury is hosting a music festival featuring 300 acts at 40 venues over one weekend next month. Loopfest, the brainchild of musician and promoter Jamie Smith and David Gregg, who runs the Albert’s Shed group of music venues, is one of the biggest festivals of its kind in the UK and is running over three days from 2-4 May.
It will feature internationally renowned artists such as Miles Hunt from The Wonder Stuff, Britain’s biggest rap band, Goldie Lookin’ Chain and producer Mandidextrous. Also appearing on stages around the town will be emerging artists such as The Cheap Thrills from Liverpool, Girlband! from Nottingham and Shropshire bands Adult Play and Boom Boom Womb.
Jamie said: “We created Loopfest to bring people to the town to see a whole host of incredible artists in one place at one time. The festival is helping to increase people’s awareness of new music in the area.”
So far, it’s been a triumph! For example, Loopfest brought a big increase in the number of people visiting Shrewsbury town centre at last year’s event. Visitor numbers were up by an average of 36 percent compared to the same weekend the year before.
John Rostron, CEO of The Association of Independent Festivals, said: “‘Loopfest is a brilliant celebration of live music, creativity, and community spirit. We champion the innovation, dedication and hard work that goes into these types of multivenue urban festivals, and we’re thrilled to see such a diverse and exciting line up being brought to music lovers in Shropshire and the surrounding area. ”
Loopfest also wants to reinvest profits back into supporting the festival’s acts and has received £40,000 funding from Arts Council England to support the project and create a legacy.
CAPTION: Jamie Smith (front) with the Loopfest team of volunteers.
