24-hour Lancaster music party to feature '˜longest drone' record attempt

There will be upwards of 50 performances at The Apothecary in Penny Street between 5pm on Thursday October 12 and midnight on Monday October 16.

But from 4pm on Friday, More Music will be hosting a 24 hour music project.

Raising money for their work with Lancaster and District Homeless Action Service, the Morecambe-based charity will present 24 hours of non-stop music and fun, including a world record attempt to make the longest drone.

Everyone is invited to attend and “hold a constant note on any instrument for an hour”.

Every pound that is donated is doubled through their Arts Council England Catalyst programme. The party begins with street music and big singing in Dalton Square and then moves inside The Apothecary in Lancaster for a night of live bands, experimental moments and video streaming from across the globe.

As dawn breaks there will be yoga, chanting and music making with children before going back outside for Chinese drumming and dragon dancing, a children’s ceilidh, choirs, Boogie Bill’s sing-along and a finale of “Thank You for the Music”.

For information about how to join the 24 Hour Music Party and how to sponsor a musician visit More Music’s website: www.moremusic.org.uk/24hour.

Live music on the Friday night and into Saturday comes from Black Pony, Paddy Garrigan and the Stroller Priests, The Balkanics, Guns of Navarone, Kollega, Dronningen and Frenchy and Friends.

There will also be live streaming from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Brazil at 4am, sunrise chanting at 7am on Saturday, “hip-hop to wake up” at 8am.

SALSA, FOLK, MUSICAL THEATRE, FLASHMOB AND A SILENT DISCO

The Melodrome Stage will once again take over Sun Square in Lancaster for this year’s music festival.

There will be live music on Saturday between 12pm and 5pm with Rory McLeod, Greenheart, Treebeard, Price of My Pig and Manfredis taking to the stage.

On Sunday, Two Apiece, Balkanics, Atomic Brass, EZXP and Get Carter will complete the line up.

Market Square will feature 20 performances over the weekend, starting on Friday at 1pm with Bev Whelan and Eoin Feely, and ending on Sunday at 4.30pm with Cumbrian Gaita.

There will be folk, Celtic, salsa dancing, musical theatre, a dance performance, flashmob and a silent disco over the course of the weekend. Performances will also take place in Williamson Park between Friday and Sunday, with musicians from Brazil, Blackpool, New York, Sweden and London.

Shuttle buses will run from the city centre to the park, as well as other outlying venues.

IMPRESSIVE LINE-UP AT CITY PUB

Manchester’s Rawkus! Events bring a significant line up to The Bobbin for the music festival.

Heavy rockers Loathe, a five piece band from Liverpool, headline the Friday night, London-based punk troubadour Louise Distras headlines Saturday, and Manchester pop/reggae outfit Jeremiah Ferrari close proceedings on Sunday.

Music starts at 6pm on Friday and 3pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Other acts performing at The Bobbin across the weekend include Death Remains, The Hostiles, Pete Bentham and the Dinner Ladies, Northwest Tonight, Carpe, Divide & Conker, Mr Shiraz, Fighting Bears, Illerstate and This Is Turin.

Entry is free throughout.

FRINGE EVENTS AND UNLIKELY HAPPENINGS

A Chinese dragon parade, kids ceilidh, and a “mass choral sing” will all take place in Dalton Square on the Saturday of the music festival between 11am and 2pm.

On Sunday afternoon you will also be able to catch some brass acts including Bombarda Brass, Lancaster City Brass and ULMS Big Band. In St Nic’s Arcade, Haffner Orchestra will perform with conductor from 3pm on Saturday, while on Sunday it’s all about the vocals, with Cats Chorus, ULMS Choir and Lancaster Priory Choir performing between 1.30pm and 3.40pm.

If you want to escape the hustle and bustle for a while, why not take a stroll along the Lancaster Canal between the White Cross and the Water Witch, where you will be serenaded by musicians performing either from barges or on the canalside.

For more information on other events see Giltrap, Cowboys and Prodigy medleys