'˜Waynestock' making a return

During his six years as a promoter, Wayne Poppleton booked tours for local bands across the country as well as putting on hundreds of gigs himself and assisting in the assembling and running of Clarence Park Music festival and the city’s annual battle of the bands.

He gave it up in 2010 but after losing his grandfather, Bryan Grice, to cancer last June Mr Poppleton decided to revive his own mini-festival, Waynestock, at The Black Mass Bar And Club on King Street, Wakefield with profits to be donated to Cancer Research.

With 20 acts across two stages, the bill features a combination of established national artists, national touring bands and reuniting bands. Headliners Aaron Buchanan And The Cult Classics have just won the Guy B Rock Show best album award. Buchanan is the former frontman of Heaven’s Basement, a previous Download Festival main stage act and international touring band.

Previously established local act Theory One are reuniting specifically to perform at the event tomorrow, Saturday June 2.

Mr Poppleton said: “I was getting a lot of questions from the Wakefield scene asking ‘When are you going to do another Waynestock?’ I said ‘I’m retired, I’m not doing it again, it’s too much hassle and I’ve got family commitments now’. Then my granddad died from cancer on June 2 last year. Because I always used to do Waynestock on or around my birthday it was quite prophetic that it should occur the day before my birthday. As a consequence I made a decision to do it again for Cancer Research. So Waynestock V will be on a year to the day that my granddad passed.”

Continuing the Heaven’s Basement connection, original lead singer Richie Hevanz will be performing at Waynestock V with his band, Fragile Things .”

Theory One were the inaugural winners of the battle of the bands competition that Mr Poppleton used to run. “Back in 2009 they decided to call it a day, completely out of the blue. As a consequence they never had a farewell gig. They decided to get back together for the first time in nine years as their farewell.”.

Tickets are available from https://wtpmusic.bigcartel.com/