A brand new music and arts festival is launching in York this week.
By The Blue Bridge is a new three-day festival of music and art on the Arts Barge in York. Curated by local musicians Kai West, from York bands Bull and Hyde Family Jam, and Rowan Evans, from Rowan & Friends, the event will have a focus on folk and experimental music.
By The Blue Bridge will take place from Friday 16 to Sunday 18 May.
Moored on the Foss Basin, the Arts Barge is one of York’s most unique live entertainment venues. The By The Blue Bridge festival will open an exciting season of events at the Barge for 2025.
The festival will kick off on the Friday evening with a late-night-talk-show style of entertainment with guest musicians.
Hosted by Edinburgh Fringe’s thespian barbarian Sir Dickie Benson, it will feature short performances and interviews with musical acts Pascallion, ish, Jarmouse, Gabbie Lord, Si Paton and The Wreckliners.
The fun will continue on Saturday with a range of different free workshops, including Water Poetry with Becca Drake, Digital Plotting with Des Clarke and a Sound Workshop with a collective from the Hague.
Eclectic music from acts like Sinead Una, Rowan & Friends, Captain Starlet, Gaia Blandina, Slagroom, Des Clarke, Gabriella Hunzinger and The Rattlers, is set to follow.
The theme for the Sunday is ‘folky and weird’ – and this is best exemplified by headliners Milkweed who blend guitar, banjo and vocals with cut and paste tape extracts.
It will also feature a ‘reverse headline’ from local legends, Bull in a stripped-back format, who will be joined by Oli, We Are Hannah, Mugwort, Kirk, Big Rain in The Morning and The Caterpillars.
There’ll also be an open mic from 12-2pm.
Tickets for By The Blue Bridge are £8 (£8.80 inc booking fee) for any one of the days, or for all three days its £15 (£16.50). Don’t miss out on this exciting new music and arts festival for York, and book your tickets here.
The Arts Barge will also be the venue for a ‘Short Fringe’ week of theatre events – details to be announced, so watch this space.
Find out more about the Arts Barge at their website.