John Bonham festival to extend to two days for next year's celebration - The Redditch Standard

John Bonham festival to extend to two days for next year's celebration

Redditch Editorial 15th Nov, 2018   0

THE hugely successful John Bonham Celebration concert is to be extended to cover both Friday night and Saturday next year.

This inaugural event this year raised an astounding £21,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust and already there are bands queuing up to take part in the 2019 version.

“We had a lot of people who wanted to play last year but we couldn’t fit them in or the dates didn’t match,” said organiser Ros Sidaway of the John Bonham Memorial Friends group.

“We’re talking to a couple of bands now and then we’ll extend out from there.”




The John Bonham A Celebration gig on September 22 featured a stellar line-up of Rock/Blues artists and special guests, all with a connection to John and the Bonham family.

It climaxed with an epic performance from John’s sister Debbie, an established Blues and Rock vocalist, fresh back from a US tour and featured a cascade of video messages of support from the likes of Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey, Paul Rodgers, Mick Fleetwood and John’s son Jason who was away on tour.


Next year’s concert will again be a fundraiser for the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity close to the family’s heart.

“We are over the moon with the amount of money raised through this year’s event,” said Ros.

“We are so grateful to all the music artists, technical crews, and event stewards who gave their time and expertise to make the day so successful.

“And a big thank you to all the event sponsors, advertisers, bar and food traders whose financial contributions helped to cover the costs of staging the event.”

The monies will help to fund vital services for young people before, during and after cancer treatment across the West Midlands.

Next year’s event is planned for Friday and Saturday, September 20-21 with ticket prices pegged at £30.

“We are aiming to make it a bigger, better and longer event in 2019, with more for everyone!” added Ros.

Anyone who is interested in getting involved with organising, stewarding, sponsoring, advertising or donating their services shouls contact Ros on 07887 525107.

John Bonham Memorial T-shirts and souvenir programmes may still be purchased via www.JohnBonhamMemorial.com or from Vintage Trax Records in Headless Cross, Redditch.

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