Great British R&B Festival 2023: 19 photos of people enjoying a bumper weekend of blues in Colne

The August Bank Holiday weekend was awash with revellers enjoying this year’s edition of the Great British R&B Festival.

Visitors were treated to a spectacular weekend of live music and family fun entertainment, organised by Colne Town Council and the Colne Blues Society.

More than 30 artists performed across two stages, the Pendle Hippodrome and The Exchange Project Stage, including sensational performances from headliners Aynsley Lister, Xander & The Peace Pirates and Elles Bailey.

Nathan Cutler, Colne Town Council's events officer, said: "Wow, what an incredible event. We didn't think we could top last year but we, alongside our fantastic artistic directors, Colne Blues Society and all our brilliant partners, have put on a festival which will go down long in the memory.

"People have turned out in their thousands once again and it has been amazing to see so many people in the town, enjoying live music and exploring all the brilliant local shops, restaurants, bars and eateries we are so proud to have here in Colne."

Simon Shackleton, festival coordinator at Colne Blues Society, added: "This is our first year programming the Great British R&B Festival and we have had the most awesome experience.

"It has been so rewarding seeing the venues full, people enjoying themselves and being able to welcome the most talented blues artists in the UK right here to Colne.

"The town has been packed all weekend and our Official Fringe venues have welcomed incredible numbers of people through their doors with visitors eager to check out some exceptional live music, and we are so proud to have been a part of it."

Those attending enjoyed wonderful live music across the full weekend, with teen sensation Toby Lee, multi-award winner Dom Martin, as well as blues legends Alice Armstrong and Emma Wilson also amongst the performers.

They were also joined in the main venues by some incredible local talent, including Fandjango, J-Bear and The Giants and The Imperials.

Sponsored by Barnfield Construction Ltd, the event also featured a fantastic line-up of family fun entertainment, including a wide variety of street food vendors, face painting and stalls, as well as performances from Elton Wrong and the Unicyclist Walkabout Entertainer, Blues Brothers Stilt Walkers, Musical Ruth on the magical mobile piano, the eye catching Mirror Men and the extremely popular LED Robot.