Lionel Richie, Westlife and Madness to headline first York Festival

Singing superstar Lionel Richie, boy band Westlife and British music legends Madness will headline the first ever York Festival, it was revealed today.

The three-day music festival will be held at York Sports Club between Friday June 19th and Sunday June 21st 2020.

York Festival is presented by promoters Cuffe and Taylor who brought Britney Spears’ headline show to Scarborough in 2018 and staged Rod Stewart’s 2019 sell-out gig at York Racecourse.

Director Peter Taylor said:

• This is the very first York Festival so we wanted to make this a very special debut year.

  To have Lionel Richie, Westlife and Madness as headliners – alongside many other brilliant chart-topping artists – is a real coup.

  We feel this is the perfect line-up for the first year of what we hope will become a major annual event in this wonderful and historic city.
  

The three nights

Friday 19 June

Opening night headliners Madness, who have chalked up no fewer than 15 UK Top 10 singles and seven Top 10 albums, will be joined by indie chart-toppers Lightning Seeds, Craig Charles with his famous funk and soul club DJ set together with Leeds indie rockers Apollo Junction and York’s very own Violet Contours.

Saturday 20 June

Westlife headline on the Saturday night as part of their UK-wide Stadiums in the summer tour. The UK’s top selling album group of the 21st century will perform classic hits such as Swear It Again, Flying Without Wings and You Raise Me Up together with new songs from their forthcoming album Spectrum.

Joining Westlife on the night will be superstar pop group All Saints, Brit singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis Bextor, indie rock band Scouting for Girls and Take That’s Howard Donald, who will be spinning the discs for a very special DJ set.

Sunday 21 June

Sunday night headliner is none other than international superstar Lionel Richie. The four-time Grammy Award-winner will perform a hit-packed concert that covers his extensive and much-loved repertoire – from his hit-making days with the Commodores right up to the present day.

‘Brilliant for York’

Cuffe and Taylor are working closely with City of York Council and Make It York.

Welcoming the York Festival line-up, Sean Bullick, managing director of Make It York, said:

• York Festival will be a brilliant addition to the city’s already busy calendar of summer events for both residents and visitors to enjoy.

  Welcoming such music legends and chart-topping artists, as well as showcasing local talent, is another step forward for York’s cultural offer and we are delighted to help spread the word to audiences.
  

Nigel Durham, trustee of York Sports Club and chairman of York Cricket Club, said: they were delighted to be hosting the first York Festival

“With the festival being staged in the heart of the city, right here at York Sports Club, this really will capture the imagination and be a great thing for the city, residents, local businesses and visitors.”