Castle Rock Studios hosted a music festival in the private grounds of their Wilmslow Road studio at the weekend.
As a celebration of their first year in business, CRS created its own festival to showcase some of their clients on Saturday 29th June.
The event, which attracted nearly 300 people, featured fifteen rock and heavy metal bands, including five from the Wilmslow/Alderley Edge area, one from Bramhall, one from Macclesfield and four from Manchester.
Amongst the line up were No Mercy (a band that have toured for over 30 years), The Middens (that have been signed by SJM - who have presented tours for Adele, Take That, One Direction, Jessie J & The Killers), The Longsands (who have recently toured with The Jam & Ocean Colour Scene), Purge (runners up in Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Rising competition) and Spike Island (who are due to tour America and perform with REM in Athens USA).
Rolled Gold from Alderley Edge opened the event at 11.45am, performing their second ever gig, and the last band was Soma Dark a melodic metal band from Manchester who finished on stage at 10.15pm.
Wilmslow band The Lost 37 (formally Vacant lot) attracted an enthusiastic crowd of about 150 people who cheered them on at the front of the stage. Lewis Kennedy (drums), Adam Shaw (guitar), Jordi Garner (bass) and Bryn Howells (guitar and vocals) met at Wilmslow High School, have just finished taking their GCSE's and returned from a gig in Newcastle to perform at Castle Rock Studios.
Whilst those who attended the festival seem to have had a great time many local residents were affected by the loud noise and we received a number of complaints in our forum.
Ann Holding commented "The music doesn't have to be as loud as it was - with double glazing and all windows and doors closed I couldn't listen to my radio or hear my tv clearly. Felt sorry for those who live nearer the event - must have been deafening."
Karen Robinson added "I was so close to calling the police because that was just pure noise pollution! No need for it to be that loud at all! "
Managing Director John 'Stret' Stretford, said "As the event unfolded we had a sound engineer take readings all around the perimeter at two hour intervals, I can confirm no readings exceeded the council's stipulation on noise pollution."
The event was subsidised by Castle Rock to the tune of about £5000.
Stret explained "We decided to do it to celebrate our first year in business not to make money, we also decided to hold the event as we have been told on many occasions that bands would more than anything appreciate the opportunity to perform on a decent stage with an appreciative audience. It maybe the circles we move in but the feeling we got from residents was that a music event would be well received.
"If we were to do so it would need to at least break even, I would also like to see the bands paid for performing, none of the bands received any fee whatsoever including expenses, which is amazing when you think how far some of the bands had travelled (two came from Newcastle and one from Ireland).
"For this to happen it would need to be bigger (as in an increase in numbers attending) thus reducing the ticket price. Considerations could be a concert on a Friday night with just one band supporting a named band, Saturday starting later with say 3 or 4 bands performing from say 4pm before again a named band playing a concert. With Sunday being a family day with pop and picnics for example."
Stret added "To be honest my gut feeling is there is a lot of support for what we did and I am sure if asked they would support us doing it again but there are obviously those that did not appreciate the event and it caused some genuine distress and inconvenience of which we sincerely apologise for so it would only be right to seriously consider doing it again or not.
"We don't want to be 'noisy neighbours' but at the same time we don't want to shy away from our customers wishes or our promises to help them rehearse-record-perform."
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Some of the bands were quite good, some rubbish.
So i sat on my allotment and in my garden enjoying a free concert, i must admit though by tea time i was about done in with it.
Not to mention the effin and jeffin about 9 ish.
All in all it was quite good but thankfully it was only one day.
music sounded pretty good too
I really hope the owners make this a yearly event with local business's getting involved in stalls and making the day a family event, as its another reason to bring much welcomed custom and visitor numbers into the village to spend money.
Perhaps residents in the immediate vicinity were offered tickets and warned of the event. Here on the estate in Alderley Edge, we had no idea what to expect. Yes, I had seen a banner outside the studio, advertising a festival, but I don't think anyone expected the noise would start at 8.50 am. I acknowledge that the event was attended and enjoyed by 300 people and that they are passionately supportive of their favourite bands/ friends/ family, some of whom, evidently, were performing in public for the first time. The 1,500 people who attended the summer fete at Alderley Edge Cricket Club were apparently not tempted. With all due respect, it didn't really sound like the kind of event a family is likely to pick for a day out. And I am speaking as a parent who often took my young son to music festivals, large and small, here and in North America.
All I'm suggesting is, in future, (especially if the plan to extend the event to 3 days), a more appropriate location could be selected. One where local residents don't have to listen to music they don't enjoy. If you found a field somewhere, in a rural location, rather than a suburban community, then everyone would be happy.
And, finally, I really resent being described as an 'old duffer' just because I didn't enjoy having to listen to most of 'delights' the festival had to offer! At 47, and still a regular gig go-er (and someone who has enjoyed the muddy wonders of Glastonbury), I'm hardly that. I just think a bit of consideration for those who would rather not have to listen to 11 hours of rock and heavy metal on their Saturday afternoon would be a thoughtful way forward.
start later in the day... finish earlier... send your flyers further afield to tell people what's to happen; especially much earlier so that, if they choose, people can arrange to be away... site the stage differently, so that the music/noise goes mainly toward open fields... offer much cheaper tickets to people very nearby... offer a 'set' in the day, of music from the times of 'oldies', for oldies (Bruce Forsyth did Glastonbury!)... employ local 'kids' to work/serve/clean up...would that make it more acceptable?
P.S. Yes I heard it... not my music... so what... I mostly ignored it!
Well done CRS. A very good event that deserved to be better supported than it was. Sure it will build if you make it an annual event.