Interview: CityLove's organiser on why Preston is long overdue a dance festival

Saturday 6th August will see the City of Preston get its very first dance music festival.

Set in a unique location between an ancient church and the city's University Campus, CityLove aims to cement Preston's reputation for dance music by showcasing a staggering array of local talent across four stages.

Here festival organiser Ste Nalty tells us a little more about what to expect...

How did the idea for the festival come about?
The outdoor space being used for the festival site is incredible. Somewhere I have wanted to host an event for a long time. The area between the church and the atrium is steeped in clubbing nostalgia - for over a decade those steps are where thousands of party people congregated after Preston's (and the student union's) most legendary clubnight - Feel. Once the last tune had been played, this is where clubbers would natter and decide on which after-party to head to! It’s location with a history which is very special to a great many dance music lovers, students and prestonians alike, so how fitting that the city's first dance music festival is to be held here!  Co-promoter Jack Barron and I have been working on the festival idea for almost a year now. Suprisingly there is no event of this kind already happening in the city. Some would say CityLove is long overdue.

What do you think Citylove will mean to music lovers in Preston?
The world! Ha but truthfully, the feedback we have had for the festival has been staggering... we have been inundated with offers from people expressing their desire to get involved or help out any way they can. Music lovers across the city couldn't be more excited to just come and dance! The fact they now can do this without travelling to a neigbouring metropolis is extremely important for the progression of our city. Moreover, through monitoring of our ticket sales we can see that people are travelling from all over the North West and further to the event. We are confident that CityLove will have a substantial impact on Preston's music scene.

Tell us about the venue and the different arenas…
We have four arenas running throughout the day, with three of those being outdoors. For No Reason, Beats of Rage and Drop are three of Preston's flagship underground parties which are hosting areas alongside the CityLove Main Stage. Once the sun goes down the party moves indoors, with the up and coming and already notorious We Play… House brand taking over the venue and the super cool northern based label Illusion Recordings tearing it up in the Club. Preston FM are giving the festival full support and you can find them providing the tunes all day long in Source. Expect anything from House to Rare Groove, Techno to Disco, Soul to Garage and Dubstep to Funk to Electro. Something for everyone!

There’s a lot of Preston talent in the line-up?
Preston has many producers and DJs with great potential, a few exciting young record labels and several quality dance radio show hosts. Alongside inviting national / international artists to perform, CityLove is committed to giving local artists an outlet to hone and showcase their sound and hopefully an opportunity to create inroads further into the music industry.

How many are you hoping for over the course of the day?
The festival is on course for a daytime attendance in the region of 1000, and more as the event goes inside after dark. We are working closely with the authorities and there are already big expansion plans in the pipeline for 2012. 

Anything else you want to add?
Please find us on facebook: www.facebook.com/citylovefest

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Tickets are no longer available for this event

Originally published: 11th Jul 2011