Leamington's Feel Good Festival

Leamington Feel Good Festival presents a lively and creative day in memory of music champion Steve Boyer.

Preview by Pete Willow

Keith Donnelly. Lauren South, Wes Finch and Kevin Dempsey are among the many local celebrities sharing a day of music and creativity for Leamington’s annual Feel Good Festival.

The event has become a legacy of the late Steve Boyer, who was known as a tireless campaigner and organiser of music events in Warwickshire, including children’s workshops, charity busking events, and music cafes for those living with dementia. He had also formed and played for a host of local bands before his death by cancer in March 2023.

The one-day Festival takes place at the SYDNI Centre in Sydenham on Saturday 26 April, kicking off at 11am with the special performance by some of the young people who benefited from Steve’s support and mentoring.

Using five different locations within the community centre building, the programme continues with a wide choice of events covering acoustic music concerts, workshops and jam sessions, plus talks and exhibitions of art and photography, and performances of jazz, and poetry. It also includes a variety of activities for children.

Known across the national folk scene for their skilled musicianship, blended with madcap humour, Leamington and Rugby musicians, Donnelly and South are among the guests appearing in the main hall or – as it will be called – the Silly Hat Stage.

The daytime concert also features popular Coventry singer-songwriting duo, Yonderland, traditional Americana specialists, The Hoarse Whisperers, and acclaimed Coventry musician and innovator, Wes Finch. Early evening sees the return of Keith Donnelly, sharing the stage with guitar maestro Kevin Dempsey as a prelude to an evening of lively home-grown rock and roll from Mystery Train.

Elsewhere in the building, you’ll find workshops on slide guitar, art, singing, songwriting, poetry, and acoustic guitar techniques. Children’s events include a session of animal stories related by Steve Redshaw, a talented singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who had played many well-received folk club gigs as half of a duo with Steve Boyer, known simply as ‘Steve'.

There will be plenty of chances for visiting musicians to participate, with an Open Stage plus a series of jam sessions hosted by some well-known names on the local folk circuit.

Admission is by donation (children’s admission is free) and the Festival team has set up a fundraising page to transform children’s lives with musical instruments and experiences. Here’s the link: https://fundly.com/creative-experiences-for-children-in-memory-of-stephen-boyer

For more details of the event itself, visit the Festival’s Facebook page on https://tinyurl.com/ycymeeyt, and check out the full-time table of the day on https://tinyurl.com/39jzzxpk .