Girls Aloud star and DJ boost Festival Too
Superstar DJ Judge Jules and member of pop royalty Nadine Coyle are among Festival Too highlights around Lynn this weekend.
Following a successful first weekend of 2019, Festival Too returns for its packed second week of free entertainment.
Tonight a whole lot of soul comes to Tuesday Market Place.
The evening starts with King’s Lynn’s own College of West Anglia Band, who will warm up the crowd ahead of nine-piece soul and blues review band, Highway Child, in a welcome return to Festival Too with their repertoire of soul classics.
Next up is RnB and UK Garage singer Romina Johnson, who topped the charts in 2000 with hit single “Movin’ Too Fast” with The Artful Dodger and follow-up single “My Forbidden Lover”.
She has also been singing with vintage disco outfit Odyssey since 2013.
British soul singer Diane Shaw takes to the stage next. With a career spanning 20 years, Diane has gained a large following from around the UK.
The ‘Back in the Day’ line-up is completed with Brit Award and double MOBO Award-winning artist, Shola Ama. Discovered at just 15 years old, Shola was signed to WEA on her 16th birthday before releasing singles “You’re the One I Love,” and “You Might Need Somebody” becoming one of the 90s’ biggest hits.
But the fun doesn’t end there. Compere for the evening, DJ Mark Purdy, who has been serving up music for 35 years, takes us to Alive Corn Exchange.
There he will host the ‘Back in the Day After Party’ playing soul, funk, disco, Motown and Northern Soul grooves, and dance floor fillers.
Tomorrow (Saturday, July 6), the morning starts with three Fringe sessions at St Nicholas’ Chapel.
Families can partake in dance classes themed around The Greatest Showman, Bollywood and Scrap Junk Dance – these sessions are free, but spaces must be booked via the website.
At 5pm The Bank House hosts the penultimate Fringe event. Hannah Maxwell, writer, performer, storyteller, podcaster and stand-up comedian, brings her show I Am, Dram which tells the story of the artist’s individual experience of an amateur dramatics society.
Heading back to Tuesday Market Place, The Springwood High School 90s Experience kick-starts the evening, followed by Battle of the Bands runners-up, Light Skies Darken and then local singer Tilly Pemberton, before rapidly rising, pop-funk power trio Superbird enter the stage, fusing genres like Prince, Bowie and Queen.
Then taking to the stage is Nadine Coyle, one fifth of one of the UK’s biggest-ever girl bands, Girls Aloud.
Aged 16, she reached the final of the Irish version of Popstars and joined the all-girl group Six. A year later she entered UK talent show Popstars: The Rivals and joined Girls Aloud. The group had 20 consecutive top 10 singles including Sound of the Underground, The Promise and Biology, amassing millions of sales.
Saturday night culminates with one of the dance scene’s best-known names for more than three decades; renowned DJ Judge Jules.
With complete creative free rein, Jules has curated every element of this live performance, featuring a full ten-piece band, with brass, percussion, and more.
Sunday sees three events so people can spend a full day in Lynn. At 11am, The King’s Lynn Town Guides return to Festival Too with their Family Friendly Historic Town Walk from Saturday Market Place to Tuesday Market Place.
To encourage kids to take part, there are family-friendly worksheets, suitable for children of all ages. The Town Guides make a small charge for their walks, but all of the guides are volunteers, while every penny raised will be given to Festival Too.
To guarantee a place, tickets can be booked in advance from the Tourist Information Centre on 01553 763044; or pay on the day.
At 2pm, at St Nicholas’ Chapel, is an afternoon of Britpop acoustic featuring The Bluetones frontman Mark Morriss plus Revival, Dead Reynolds, Goz Unplugged and Andrew Girling all performing acoustic sets featuring your favourite Britpop classics.
Tickets cost just £5 with all money raised going to Festival Too. Tickets can be bought via the website or on the day.
At 5pm, we head to Nip and Growler on High Street for ‘Essex Girl’, the second show from award-winning theatre maker and real-life Essex Girl, Maria Ferguson (Fat Girls Don’t Dance). This is a monologue about growing up surrounded by expectation, of inappropriate relationships, female friendship, secrets, desires and alcopops. Wonderfully funny and hard-hitting, it will resonate with a wide audience, or anyone who has got tipsy at a house party!
