[Photos from Ilkley Live 2022]
Ilkley’s Garden Music festival returns on 8th for July for its third year and it’s bigger than ever. The number of acts has more than doubled since the festival in 2022.
Music will fill the streets of Ilkley again on the second Saturday in July as members of the community play and sing in gardens across town. The festival started in 2021 as a way to bring the community together after lock-down and was so popular that it has become an annual staple for the town.
The festival, which organisers believe to be the only one of its kind, is run by the community for community. Anyone can perform in their garden (or borrow one) and the program is published so that the public can walk from one garden to another to see music of their choice.
‘It has really taken off this year!’, says organiser Dan Hammond: ‘We have over 45 acts signed up which is a lot, even for a commercial festival. The range of music has expanded too with everything from rock to Rachmaninoff on a grand piano! So we hope to see an even bigger audience walking from place to place and soaking up the great atmosphere’.
‘The heart of the festival is the community. It is very much a do-it-yourself event and no money changes hands. People have improvised stages, offered their gardens, talked to venues to secure a place to play… It has been truly heartening!’
‘Another change this year is that the festival has an official charity: Outside The Box. Outside the Box runs a popular local café and brings a fresh approach to enabling adults and young people who have learning disabilities and other support needs to achieve more and have greater independence, choice and fulfilment in their lives. All commercial venues are generously donating and there will be a chance to for everyone to give on the day.’
Anyone who wants to play can just sign up at www.ilkleylive.com. The festival programme is also available on the same site at www.ilkleylive.com/programme.