Tens of thousands head to Colne as The Great British R&B Festival returns in style

Over 30,000 people flocked to the Lancashire town of Colne to enjoy the return of The Great British R&B Festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Organisers of the event, Colne Town Council, set out to deliver the biggest and best festival yet and they did not disappoint, with a sensational weekend packed full of live music with 50 artists performing across three venues, Colne Muni, Mini Muni and Pendle Hippodrome, including some of the blues, rock, roots and folk industries most acclaimed singers.

King Pleasure and The Biscuit Boys, who performed in the first ever Great British R&B Festival in Colne, returned and put on a tremendous performance at Colne Muni, while the onlooking crowds also got to witness the likes of Lindisfarne, FM and Ian Siegal, as well as farewell performances from Connie Lush and The Animals and Friends.

Gina Langley, town clerk at Colne Town Council, said: “Wow what an event! Over 30,000 people attended The Great British R&B Festival over the weekend, it was absolutely brilliant.

“We can’t thank everyone enough for all their amazing support and hard work, and here at Colne Town Council we are proud to have put on an event to remember.”

Peter Barton, the event’s artistic director, commented: “We have had the most amazing 2022 Great British R&B festival.

“People have flocked to Colne in their thousands, everyone has had great fun and we can’t thank all the bands and artists enough for their world class performances across the weekend.”

Mary Thomas, chairman of Colne Town Council, added: “What an unbelievable festival we have had! Our little town has been packed, it has been great for our local businesses and we have been privileged to see so many brilliant artists performing in our venues from the blues, rock, roots and folk industries.”

Taking place for the first time since 2019 due to Covid-19 the event also included a full programme of family fun activities including five buskers tents, a giant LED robot, street food vendors, face painting, a funfair, acrobatic bouncy Blues Brother stilt walkers and much more.

The Official Fringe also took place over the Bank Holiday weekend with pubs and clubs around Colne showcasing a blend of the finest UK blues acts and local artists.

The event was also a huge success for local businesses, with people attending the event encouraged to #ShopLocal, including Colne Town Council handing out over 100 stickers to businesses across the town which were proudly displayed in their shop windows throughout the event.

Camping ticket sales were also at their highest of all time, while pre-event venue ticket sales surpassed those from 2019, which resulted in additional full festival tickets being released.

The event was sponsored by Barnfield Construction and Property Shop.

You can see more coverage from The 2022 Great British R&B Festival on the official Facebook page.