In an editorial published today (7th August 2008), Arts in Leicestershire calls for the expansion of the Summer Sundae Weekend into a major national live music festival. The editorial draws attention to the growth of live music in Leicester and the city's standing in the national league of live music destinations.

The full text of the editorial is...

The Summer Sundae Weekender is almost here, heralded by a busy schedule of official fringe gigs and unofficial shows at a variety of venues. Now that Leicester has been recognised by the Arts Council as being a major national centre of live music (5th in the country), more needs to be done to develop our late summer live music festival.

The Local Authorities, Leicestershire Promotions, The Arts Council and the private sector should put their weight behind growing this weekend into a major national event. We would go so far as to say that it could become in the same league as the Edinburgh Festival.

Several organisations in Leicestershire have, over recent years, complained that the public authorities do not do enough to sponsor and support Leicester's festivals. Leicester City Council has recognised the huge economic and community value of there being a programme of festivals throughout the year. These events bring large numbers of people into the city and this has known commercial advantages for the local economy, the benefits running into millions of pounds.

Now, with the opening, later this year, of the only new theatre to be completed in recent times in the whole of Europe, CURVE will add additional resources to the potential of music and entertainment in the city. The Comedy Festival is already a well established part of our annual programme and has enjoyed a national standing and reputation for a number of years.

We would like to see the Summer Sundae week and weekend develop into a fully fledged live music festival, planned, coordinated and sponsored by public bodies and the private sector and marketed nationally to bring large numbers of people into the city to enjoy not only the finest of our local bands, singers and orchestras but also acts of national status.

The Leicester Live Music Festival could become one of the most important and beneficial events in the city's calendar, enhancing our reputation as a destination for music-loving audiences and earning much needed revenue for our hard pressed venues and artists.
The link for the editorial page is Editorial Column Arts in Leicestershire

Editors Notes:

Arts in Leicestershire is the local platform for national band agency Get Your Band On (Rock Bands Management, Development and Promotion UK)

The Arts in Leicestershire web site is the leading site for information about music and arts in Leicester and Leicestershire. It is an independent, privately funded web site which has a growing number of visitors.

See the ArtsinLeicestershire.co.uk web site for listings of live music shows both today and over the weekend. Reports, reviews and coverage of the Summer Sundae Weekender and its fringe events will appear on the web site over the next few days.