13/06/2024
With the dust settling and the festival blues well and truly being felt, its time to say a few words!!
Wow, just wow!! Thank you all so much, its still too fresh to understand what a weekend Here for the Music Festival 2024 has been, but I’m going to try and do everyone justice.
Every year I wonder how we can improve things as we build this festival, but one thing is for sure; this festival family is a special group of people and they raise the bar themselves with so much energy across the weekend.
Of course the first thank you goes to Rick, the owner of the site, without whom we wouldn’t have this festival in the first place. Working together to continue to grow this project and the possibilities of a bigger crowd push us to see what the following year can bring.
Team Big Sheep!! You lot are amazing! Nothing is too much trouble and things have been so much smoother than the first couple of years that we all enjoy it more now too! Hannah, Danny, John leading from the front, but honestly there are too many key players to name them all. Just like last year, a special thank you to Michelle who kept all the facilities clean and stocked up across the weekend!!
To all at ! Thank you to the Pally Team that were able to see out the shifts they were down for, thanks to Ben and Lynn for doing plenty of running around across the few days before and the weekend itself. Special shoutouts to Ali and Rich!! An absolute pleasure to work with you over the festival as always.
My little For The Music Promotions Team for help with the merch, going above and beyond with campsite arrivals and pre and after party organisation!!
Robyn and Max- a special thank you for a long weekend of hard work!
Simon, Anna and your wonderful staff at CountryLife Brewery - beers, cider and lager thoroughly enjoyed by all. The Beer Fest was a great touch and worked well… That special brew was a hit (ta Brad). The 80th birthday celebrations for your mum was super special!!
Phil @ Saturn Sound System and Dean @ DK Sound And Light both raised your games again this year with sound being on point on both stages!!
A big shoutout to all food vendors!! Crepes, Pizza, Falafel Wraps, Burritos, Jerk Chicken, Hog Roast and that’s without mentioning the Food BAA with burgers and hot dogs!! Thank you all so much.
Andy and Grace, thank you for running the first-aid tent again this year and adding that reassurance to our festival family!!
To Stuart and Evie who took SOOOOO many great photos of the weekend!! Also Graeme and Andy who also got in on the act this year… SOOO many photos to keep a look out for.
Phil for your Woodcraft Workshop, Donna with Airbrush Tattoo and then all of our stall holders, Fi, Joe, North Devon Foodbank, Soobstuff. Pink Elephant Jewellery; thank you all so much for adding even more to our festival this year.
As we move into the music side of things, some extra special thank yous this time around.
Songwriter Sessions run by Ben, Myles and Warren. An increase in them this year and some great feedback from all the sessions!
To Aubrey, Warren and Joe for their added workshops, a new inclusion this year and one that will be adopted again for future years.
Our first ever Open Mic Stage went down a storm! George and Sam- take a bow!! Thank you so so much!! Some great discoveries were made across the weekend and again so much positive feedback from everyone that watched and took part.
Moving on now to the artists and bands on both our stages. YOU KEEP RAISING THE BAR!!!! I will admit I didn’t get to stand and watch every set all the way through, but I caught a bit of everyone and just WOW! The added extras so many put in, from surprise appearances to dancers, were just perfect!
Drum roll please……… THIS ONE IS FOR THE FESTIVAL FAMILY!!!!
Right from the off, you all showed just how amazing this group of people are that come to our festival. Jumping in as volunteers on Thursday when we got left short, or getting up early to ensure all musicians had an audience (despite the late nights)!! The love I got from everyone, the amount of compliments from first time visitors and those that travelled some huge distances, including from Sweden and Germany- just WOW! So many hugs, kisses, fist pumps and handshakes across the weekend, they all remind me of how lucky I am! Without your support and attendance this event doesn’t happen, its as simple as that!!!
Some unsung heroes now, Oliver Graystone from OG Studio for all of the artwork across the entire Festival build up. Alicia Tamlyn, for taking over our Instagram with less than a month to go and bringing it to life!! Can't wait to see what you can do with a full year with our socials!! An immense addition to the team
So…. We up for doing it all again next year?
I will be doing a separate charity post shortly!!