Thousands of visitors enjoyed a free weekend of live music and performances over the May bank holiday weekend as Burnley Live returned to the town for the second year running.
Featuring local musicians and performers over four days, the event saw a significant increase in footfall to the town centre compared to the same weekend in 2023. Popular local venues including The Loom, Big Window, The Inn on the Wharf, The Palazzo, The Swan, The Coal Yard, Penny Black, Hidden, The Electric Circus, Little White Horse, The Royal Dyche and Kestrel Suite hosted performances and events while The Main Stage on Ormerod Street, brought to Burnley Live by Bar Mojitos and Remedy Gin Bar showcased a series of bands and artists across the fun-filled weekend with music bustling through the streets, during the day through to the evening.
At Charter Walk, visitors enjoyed performances from Imperial Alliance Stormtroopers and Darth Vader, mesmerising tribal beats of Ta Tanka and soulful acoustic melodies of Lewis Brindle. Whilst over in Burnley Market, visitors enjoyed sets from a string quartet and took advantage of a range of delicious food offerings, as part of Burnley Live’s ‘Festival Food for a Fiver’ deal which saw selected traders in Burnley Market offering tasty market food for just £5. Burnley’s popular Artisan Market also returned for the weekend, showcasing the very best of Burnley’s local traders and crafters.
Burnley Live was delivered by Discover Burnley in collaboration with local venues Bar Mojitos and Remedy Gin Bar who organised the main live stage. It forms part of a series of events and activities organised by Burnley Business Improvement District (BID) on behalf of town centre businesses to boost footfall in Burnley and raise awareness of what the town has to offer.
Laura Diffey, Burnley BID Project Manager said: “We were delighted to see so many people at Burnley Live which has firmly established itself as a must-attend event in the town! It was an incredibly busy weekend with a fantastic atmosphere and with dozens of acts and venues taking part, it really does demonstrate the benefit of working collectively as a town. We’re now excited to build on this year’s success and look forward to making Burnley Live even bigger and better in the future.”
Remedy owner Madge Nawaz, who started Burnley Live in 2019, said “This year, we had more than 4,500 people attend the event with some bar owners saying this was their busiest weekend ever. This has always been the aim of Burnley Live – to bring more people into our town centre, to support venues, and, of course, to support our fantastic local artists.”
Adam Wolski-Brown, who runs Mojitos, said: “What a weekend! So much hard work goes into putting on an event like this, but when you see many people out there enjoying themselves, it really does make it all worthwhile.”
Debbie Hernon, Charter Walk Centre Manager said: “It was great to see everyone return to Burnley for what was an even bigger and better Burnley Live than last year! The atmosphere was incredible, and it was great to see venues across the town come together to showcase local talents. We can’t wait for next year!”
