Organisers of 27 years bid farewell to long-standing Thorney Music Festival at Bedford Hall

The Thorney Live Music Festival has been a fixture at Bedford Hall in Thorney for 27 years.

One of our region’s most popular free music festivals has announced it will no longer be a fixture on the local live music calendar.

The Thorney Live Charity Music Festival - a stalwart local live music event and always highly anticipated day out - will not be pitching up at Bedford Hall over the late August Bank Holiday weekend.

The festival’s organisers, Judi and Andy Stuffins told the Peterborough Telegraph that, after 27 years of running the event, the time had come for to “pass it on to somebody else.”

Thorney RUFC chairman Duncan Davies has confirmed that Thorney Rugby Club will host the Thorney and Crowland Music Festival over the August Bank Holiday.

The festival has raised more than £80,000 for charity since the couple started it way back in the late 90s.

While many will lament the demise of Thorney Live Charity Music Festival, Judi calls attention to the fact all is not lost

“There will be a replacement,” she says, “and that will be down at the Rugby Club.”

The Chairman of Thorney Rugby Union Football Club, Duncan Davies, is more than happy to take up Judi and Andy’s baton.

He is very keen to assure fans of the long-standing festival that the rugby club’s gathering will effectively be a carbon copy of the Thorney Live event:

“We’re literally looking to do exactly the same, just at a different venue,” he said, adding: “If it’s not broke, you don’t fix it.”

To this end, the new Thorney and Crowland Music Festival will retain the same number of bands (five) appearing on the bill, and support the same number of charities (three) as its revered forerunner.

In addition, people will still be welcome to bring their own drinks along, plus the new event will take place on the same time and date as ever.

“It will be on the Sunday of the August Bank Holiday weekend,” Duncan confirms.

In fact, the only real difference will be that there will be on-site parking:

“People will be able to leave their car and come back and pick it up the next day.”

The all-new (but mostly the same) Thorney and Crowland Music Festival will kick off at 12pm on Sunday August 27 at Thorney RUFC.