It’s kicking off in style as 17 days of cultural mayhem begins as the renowned English folk band; The Demon Barbers headline the opening night of the 3rd annual Whitley Bay Under The Dome Festival.
The band’s exciting fusion of traditional folk material blended with modern bass and drum sounds can be seen at the Whitley Bay Playhouse on July 18thwhere they will be demonstrating why they were recently voted the ‘Best Live Act’ at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
This year, the Under The Dome Festival promises to be bigger and better than ever with performances from a diverse range of artists and an eclectic mixture of events.
Amongst this year’s performers are Coast Road, The Caffreys, Northern Steel Orchestra and Megson. Events include salsa dancing, Punch and Judy, the Radio Northumberland punk rock night and arts and crafts exhibitions.
As well as the Demon Barbers, other headlining acts include North East comedian and musician Brendan Healy who will do a festival revue and radio presenter Ian MacMillan who will present a cartoon history of Whitley Bay with renowned cartoonist Tony Husband. The festival will close with a magical show by entertainer Chris Cross.
The events are taking place in a number of locations including the Playhouse, the Spanish City Plaza and a 14m diameter inflatable dome as Festival Coordinator Gerry Beldon explains.
“Sadly this year due to refurbishments we are unable to use the iconic white dome of the old Spanish City fairground. We feel it’s important to keep the memory of the Dome alive and that’s why we’ve brought in the inflatable. It’s a great venue and big enough for most of the acts we’ve brought to Whitley Bay. It will certainly be a great sight next to its older sister on the seafront.
“Long term, the festival’s aim is to put Whitley Bay on the cultural map. I hope that it will create opportunities for local developing artists to showcase their talent and be a great venue and occasion for cultural performance and exhibitions. This year it will be bigger and better than ever and we’re all looking forward to entertaining the North East public during the festival.”
The festival runs from 18th July to 2nd August and tickets for the events are available via the web page https://under-the-dome.org