Steyning Live Lounge celebrates tenth anniversary

Steyning Live Lounge will once again be a key element in the Steyning Festival.
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Festival spokesman Nigel Hartley said: “When John Peel invited local musician, David Clancy and his band to take part in not one but two of his famous recording sessions he could not have known the legacy he would create.

“Peel was the musical champion of new and unknown acts. He believed they had talent to be nurtured and offered to a wider public.

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“David, now living in Steyning, does much the same in his turn.

“It all started in 2006 when David and his band were performing at a party. Supporting them was a young act, related to the party’s hosts, but because of their ages they were having difficulty finding cheap rehearsal spaces and venues where they were allowed to perform.

“David decided to change all that and two years later more than 40 local acts were performing at a free community music festival. Steyning Live Lounge was born.

“That first performance in the wonderful setting of the Rifle Range attracted vast crowds – something like 3,000 over the ten hours that the eclectic mix of music lasted.

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“The Steyning Festival was then a year old and some of the acts on the bill that day appear in the Festival this year too as Live Lounge celebrates its tenth anniversary with a more modest three hours.

“David Clancy and fellow musician, Tim Kerr, are justly proud of the hothouse for nurturing new talent that it has become.”

David said: “It has developed into a friendly, lively monthly meeting place for musicians of all ages.”

Tim Kerr said: “The festival celebrates local culture in all its many wonderful forms, and Live Lounge is all about music, performing, companionship and creativity. They make a perfect pair! Over the years hundreds of artists have performed at our monthly events; the great majority of them live within a five-mile radius of the famous old Clock Tower in Steyning High Street.”

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David said: “The formula is simple; bring young and old together in a comfortable, friendly setting and let them enjoy each other’s music. Sometimes, the simple things in life are best. The more experienced performers often say how much they love watching the younger talent.”

And the legacy is built to last.

Tim added: “Strong friendships have been founded among SLL performers, including two young men who write and perform together; they’re now semi-professional and were kind enough when interviewed for a TV programme to acknowledge the role that Steyning Live Lounge played in their early careers.”

The Steyning Festival opens on Saturday, May 26. For tickets and more information see www.steyningfestival.co.uk.

The Steyning Live Lounge tenth anniversary gig is on Friday, June 1, in the Festival Big Top.

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Doors open at 6.30pm. The event is free but you need a ticket, available from Steyning Bookshop or online.

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