TWO major festivals will bring tens of thousands of music lovers to Southampton on one day this weekend.
Music in the City, the pop up festival bringing live music to a variety of weird and wonderful venues around Southampton, celebrates a decade with a huge range of diverse talent from the city and beyond.
Meanwhile new dance music event Docklands Festival will bring an all star line up of electronic music favourites to Hoglands Park.
Both events take place on Saturday September 28.
Now in its 11th year, Music in the City has been visited by 100,000 people in its history, including a total of 30,000 visits last year alone.
This year, the event boasts 170 performances at 22 venues with well over 1000 musicians playing throughout the day.
Expect everything from from rock to jazz, classical to Americana and folk to blues in some of the city’s best settings, including a host of fascinating locations like God’s House Tower, an incredible 700-year-old building currently nearing the completion of a seven year £3.1 million refurbishment project, Holy Rood Church from around the same era and some of the city’s historic wine vaults.
There will be stages by the walls at Westquay and in Guildhall Square, while music will emanate from a host of bars, restaurants and venues across the city centre.
Organiser James Baillie told the Daily Echo the event will be bigger and better than ever before.
He added: “We’re thrilled to include these incredible historic venues in our listings because that is what Music in the City has always been about, wonderful live music in unusual places.”
Music lovers should expect returning favourites like Hampshire samba reggae band Batala and jazz tinged, folk-pop performer. Nick Tann, as well as men’s barbershop singing chorus Ocean Harmony and ten piece soul and motown band The Soulcatchers.
All venues are free to enter and festival goers can use free heritage buses to transport them between venues.
Renowned Southampton DJs Ronnie Spiteri and Alan Fitzpatrick are to grace one of three stages at the Docklands Festival, which will also feature the likes of Pete Tong and Jaguar Skills.
Organisers say around 10,000 party-goers are expected at the event, which will feature a world class line-up of more than 50 top names in the genre.
Alongside top talent, Dirty Box Promotions also promise “awesome confetti explosions, giant speaker stacks, mind-altering visuals and bass you can feel in your chest.”
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