A night of music is set to be held to raise funds for next year’s Frome Festival.
Performing at the event, at 23 Bath St on Saturday 30th November at 7pm, is the frontman of Alberta Cross, Petter Ericson Stakee, who performed at this year’s Frome Festival.
“Swedish-born Petter will be playing an intimate solo set of his anthemic Americana-tinged songs, hot on the heels of his latest UK tour,” explained festival manager Sarah Swales.
“Alberta Cross has toured extensively across the globe as a headline act and has supported bands such as Oasis, Mumford & Sons, Johnny Marr and Neil Young. They have also appeared in the USA as musical guests on The Late Show with David Letterman and their tracks have featured on hit TV shows Sons of Anarchy and Californication.
“Up-and-coming local bands Something Moves and BroccoliBoy will also perform. All art of a new generation of vibrant and talented musicians calling Frome home, they are helping raise funds to support the costs of running the annual Frome Festival in July.
“Something Moves, the latest project from Chris Briden and friends Matt Ball and Al McNamara, blends influences reminiscent of Radiohead and Nick Drake, resulting in layered, textural and introspective music. As a primarily studio-based band, this offers a rare opportunity to catch them live.
“Chris has been a successful musician for many years, with distribution deals and festival slots. Raised in Dorset and spending most of his career in Manchester, Chris settled in Frome a few years ago, starting Something Moves as a solo lockdown recording project. Matt and Al then became part of the writing and creative process, further developing the sound.
“BroccoliBoy are a young indie pop trio known for their heartfelt and infectious melodies. Frontman Ted met bassist Eli when they were both working at the Cheese and Grain Bar, whilst drummer Rob has known Ted since they attended the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) in Guildford. They recently supported Entitled Sons on the main stage at the Cheese and Grain and are steadily gaining an enthusiastic following.”
BroccoliBoy’s bass player, Eli White, who was born and raised in Frome, said, “I have such fond memories of the Frome Festival from my childhood – The Food Feast especially. I have a very vivid memory of getting up on the stage when it was held in the town centre after all the music had finished and pretending that I was in one of the bands!”
“I am very thankful to have been brought up in Frome, as it is genuinely an amazing place to live. The opportunities for creatives of all ages here to share, learn and grow are immense. The Frome Festival is one of the main reasons for this, as it inspires so many people every year, without the festival we would lose such a big platform to showcase all of the amazing talent we hold in this town, so I believe it’s very important to do everything we can to keep it running for many more years to come.”
Petter from Alberta Cross said, “I love Frome Festival. It makes the town come alive! I also love the diversity of it with so many different cultural events and music gigs in the short time it runs. It is important for the town and will and should keep building.”
Frome Festival is a registered charity that must fundraise £35k per year to deliver the programme and with recent cuts to arts funding, organisers say the environment is increasingly difficult.
Sarah said, “We are offering tickets at £10 to make them accessible to everyone, but we urge people to donate what they can. Another way to support us is by becoming a Festival Friend for £20 per year, which provides priority booking during the festival and other perks.”
Organisers have thanked the performers for their help and urged people to buy their merch on the night. They were also very grateful to the venue, 23 Bath St who will be shutting their doors for the last time after the New Year due to the difficult economic climate.
Festival director, Adam Laughton said, “This event promises to be a superb night that will raise much needed funds for Frome Festival. We are very grateful for 23 Bath Street and all the musicians’ help in making this event possible. Come and enjoy this sensational line up and support our cause as we continue to plan for July 2025. Every penny makes a difference!”
Tickets cost £10 and can be purchased online at https://fromefestival.co.uk/product/fundraiser24/
