Wakefield music festival gets grant for solar stage

Wakefield Live, which will host its second event in September, was awarded the cash by Wakefield Council.

The stage is fully solar powered, meaning it arrives charged using solar panels and replaces a traditional diesel fuelled power generator, and will run all the electrical musical equipment, including the PA, amps and sound desk.

The festival will take place Saturday, September 23 in the city centre. It will be a free community-driven festival hosting more than 50 live performances and events over the day, including anything from music to comedy to exhibitions.

The outdoor stage will include a showcase of local talent of all varieties.

Varun Govil, is part of the Wakefield Live team, said: “Wakefield Live is brought to you by the people who organised Long Division.

"Like LD we aim to bring audiences new and old into the city centre to be a part of a fantastic day.

"The event is free entry. We do this to aim to make the day more accessible by removing the cost barrier.”

Eleanor Beever, another member of the team, said: “This year we aim to make Wakefield Live bigger and better, we’d like to get as many local venues involved as possible, all filled with exciting activity.

"We’re also aiming to programme plenty to keep families entertained. All while ensuring it’s accessible and engaging.”

Organisers said Wakefield Live aims to introduce audiences to new and exciting content that may not have been accessible before.

One way they said they are going about that is to make sure the day is free to attend, improving access for people where cost is a barrier.

It aims to connect local venues to musicians, performers, comedians, actors, facilitators, promoters and artists.

The solar stage was also made possible by Long Division's sustainability fund, which was built by setting aside 5 per cent from every event ticket sold since 2022.

Long Division held its final festival last month.

Arab Strap, The Lovely Eggs, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, The Orielles, bdrmm and The Research headlined.