Agency by William Gibson 
There is free entry to 86 high quality musical performances, over two days and in a spread of 24 venues – confined to about 1,250 yards distance at the extremes – at Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival over the weekend.
The festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday and a team of volunteers at Congleton Live has been busy with preparations and booked 86 performances that will be held across 24 venues and in one instance, some streets across Congleton.
The festival kicks off with a band-led umbrella parade to excite the children (and a surprising number of adults) at 1.15pm on Saturday from Little Street, along Bridge Street (the pedestrianised route) onto High Street and then onwards to the community garden and the physic garden
From 2pm on Saturday there will be 44 gigs across town with the last batch starting at 9.30pm, while Sunday sees a further 42 gigs, with the last one starting at 11pm.
All gigs are free entry, mostly due to the support of “magnificent” venues and sponsors.
Official venues will each be represented in the programme booklet that covers the weekend, and listed on the festival’s website at congletonjazzandblues.co.uk/venues, with links to their online sites.
Music-lovers can expect to see most of their favourites plus many new ones, including Malpractice, Bring on the Swing, Chris Bevington Organisation, the Jim Kirkpatrick Band, Sheena Shine, Robin Bibi Band and many more. Details of all gigs will also be published on the organiser’s website and social media platforms.
For this festival, and for Congleton Unplugged in March, there will be an improved bus service to and from Congleton Station. On regular weekends, the service runs on Saturday from 10am to 4pm and costs £1.50. Thanks to support from Congleton Town Council, which has allocated cash from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to the festival, Congleton Live has been able to negotiate an extension to the weekend bus service for the next two music festivals. The service will be extended to 8pm on the Saturdays, and Sunday has been added to the schedule, from 10am to 8pm. There will be no passenger charge during the extended hours that have been agreed, useful to music-lovers from surrounding towns.
Another new initiative is an open-mic session in the physic garden followed by the Kotu Drummers and workshop. These will take place on Saturday from 2pm, and details can be found in the programme booklets.
The event is made possible through the efforts of a “devoted” team of volunteers, 24 “enthusiastic” venue owners and managers who are interested in raising the profile of Congleton, plus “generous” sponsors and benefactors who should all take pride for enabling this event, said organisers.
The 24 official venues are the biggest investors in the festival as they pay for all the performances, as well as employing extra service staff to enhance the customer experience.
They also pay for the printing of what is possibly the best programme booklet across all similar festivals in the UK.
Music lovers can show their support for the venues and sponsors by buying some food or drink, as well as sharing “the joy and camaraderie brought on by music and great company”.
Mark Bailey, chair of Congleton Live, said: “We are very grateful to Congleton Town Council, which has so tangibly supported us.
“We are also grateful to bus provider Hollinshead Coaches for working with us so agreeably to extend services. We hope this will be a useful help to our valued patrons from surrounding towns, allowing them to extend their enjoyment of free music in the most convivial atmosphere across Congleton’s terrific official venues.”
The “Chronicle” recently published an appreciation of the unique artwork associated with Congleton’s music festivals and the festival will update that piece with an outline of this year’s centrepiece from AD Profile Design.
Daz, the creator, has represented the covered seat in the physic garden within which the ubiquitous bear is generating musical soundwaves. The artwork is on the programme booklet cover page as well as merchandise and other platforms.
Mr Bailey said: “Festival-goers should connect with our website or social media platforms as there will be updates on these initiatives as well as some inevitable performer changes. Patrons are asked to look for updates at facebook.com/congojazzblues or instagram.com/congojazzblues as well as congletonjazzandblues.co.uk.”
Congleton Live CIC is a community interest company, whose volunteers organise Congleton’s Unplugged and Jazz and Blues music festivals.
Mr Bailey said: “We truly appreciate the loyal support of the participating venues who carry most of the cost and risk for enabling the festival weekends.
“Of course, sponsors and other supporters are equally important to us. They all excel with other contributions, most especially for keeping us going. Next year, 2025, will be the 15th year that we stand on their willing and supportive shoulders. Thank you, all.”
He added: “We expect that the holiday spirit, good weather, and a joyful party atmosphere among our excellent patrons will combine to give us another landmark weekend.”
Congleton Live is supported by Congleton Town Council, the Inclosure Trust and Town Trust as well as a collection of local businesses that includes AD Profile Design Works, Beartown Brewery, CMQ (Congleton Market Quarter) CMJ Embroidery, Eze Talk, Hammond McNulty and Mark’s Events.
