WATCHET Music Festival is back for 2018 – and the 500 early bird tickets sold out within the first 12 hours of sales opening.
Organisers said that by this week they had already sold over 20 per cent of the whole 4,000 ticket allocation.
“It’s gone mad – we knew people missed it this year but we are totally overwhelmed by the response. It far exceeds our expectations,” said Jackie Bale, who organises the festival with her husband Mark.
The pair, who are part of Watchet Live Community Interest Company (CIC), have not even announced a single band yet.
“It’s a lovely feeling that people put their trust in us – we won’t let them down,” said Jackie.
The festival will be held at its usual site, Parsonage Farm, and preparations are now well underway with getting the bands signed, and the infrastructure was all booked.
The festival will return for its 11th year, after Jackie and Mark took a break (or “restival” as it said on the festival website) in 2017.
“We always planned to have a break after our tenth year – it’s 360 days of planning and we both have full-time jobs, so we needed a fallow year and the field did too,” said Jackie.
“It did feel strange, and we had many comments from people that they missed it. It’s very nice that people have bought tickets for next year so quickly.
“We are passionate about the festival. It attracts over 2,000 people into the area as well as locals, and is a good boost for tourism,” she said.
Next year’s event will have three stages and over 60 live acts, planning to bring a wide range of high calibre musical acts not normally found performing in West Somerset, at an affordable entrance price, she said.
The festival originally started with some live music to help boost the town carnival, but it all took off so much a few years ago that Jackie and Mark, who are part of the CIC, now focus purely on this.
Other members of the CIC also work with them at festival time, and Watchet Live CIC will receive the prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services later this month at a presentation in Watchet by the Lord Lieutenant of Somerset.
This is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise outstanding work done in their communities.