Threshold is one of my annual festival highlights, whilst it doesn’t have the big names of festivals like Glastonbury or Liverpool Sound City, it does boast an incredible lineup of under-the-radar acts for whom if there were any justice would be household names, and a friendly atmosphere second to none.
A chap I got speaking to in Unit 51 last year summed it up for me. He lives nearby, a friend told him to go – he looked at the lineup, didn’t recognise any of the bands, so decided not to go. But when he realised how bored he was of mind-numbing Saturday night tv, he decided he’d nothing to lose by popping down to check it out, and he was blown away by music he heard.
Last year’s festival very nearly didn’t happen, when arts council funding was pulled. Fortunately, crowd funding came to the rescue and the event went ahead as planned, but there were nagging worries that it might have been the last outing of the festival.
So it was a welcome relief when the news came that this year’s festival is taking place on 13-14th April, as “Across the Threshold”.
It is meant to be a transitional year in which the festival switches from the old formula which was popular with audience but financially unsustainable, to something new, and we look forward to seeing just where it goes.
This year’s event is scaled back with less stages and 2 days instead of 3, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Last year was my favourite one ever, and I believe that’s largely down to the fact I was on the photography team, so instead of just going to see the bands I already knew or had heard about, I had to run around catching a bit of everything – and discovered a wealth of talent I wouldn’t have otherwise been aware of. This year, with 2 music stages (District and Unit 51) and 1 arts stage (Hobo Kiosk and Unit 51) it will be much easier to get a taste of all the delights the festival has to offer!
Tickets for the 2 days cost an incredibly reasonable £16.75 including booking fee from here.
If you’ve never been, why not give it a try?
Review next week!
