28th - 30th July 2023

Building on the success of the first one day festival in 2022, the second Hexham Bluegrass Festival was held on the 28th , 29th and 30th July 2023. 22 bands and individual artists performed on the two stages over the weekend with further bands at the Friday Hoedown, Saturday evening gig at the Tannery and other fringe events. Learning was at the centre of our festival with youth bluegrass workshops, a panel discussion on ‘Women in Bluegrass’ featuring members of Blue Lass, and a clogdance workshop was run by ‘Step this Way’
The festival was hugely successful! The weather was kind, large crowds attended (800 were estimated over the whole weekend) with many people encountering bluegrass and old time music for the first time. People said how much they had enjoyed the festival and how well it was run. The main festival was free to the public with funds raised through grants, donations, an online crowd-
funding page and several fund-raising events.

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Here's some pictures from the main stage. Clockwise from the top: Assembly Lane, Nice Like That, Rain of Animals, The Often Herd, Festival Audience, Jaywalkers. All Images Boomchang Records/Cookin' in the Kitchen