Jah Maica postpone holiday to rescue Welcomefest

The organisers of Welcomefest were left reeling with shock when afternoon headliners The Rag-Tags pulled out at the last minute. Booking legend Bill Wright stepped in to save the day.

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Last updated: 9th Jun 2013

Reggae Band Jah Maica have come to the aid of Welcomefest, the town’s only open-air music
festival.

The festival was hit by a major problem yesterday when one of their star acts, the Rag-Tags, announced that they were pulling out of the Welcomefest line up, citing their recent change from a five-piece to a three-piece as the reason. This left the organisers with an unwelcome gap to fill in the day’s entertainment.

Fortunately Bill Wright, the booking legend who brought Hot Chocolate, Showaddywaddy, John Holt and The Sex Pistols to Huddersfield, heard of Welcomefest’s problems and offered to sort them out – even though he and the band had been planning a trip to the coast on the day of the festival.

“I knew that a lot of people were going to be disappointed if the festival wasn’t up to scratch and I decided I had to help,” said Bill. “I contacted the band and they felt the same way. They didn’t hesitate to cancel the trip we’d planned even though we’d all been looking forward to it. Now we’re looking forward to putting on some great music Caribbean-style at Lockwood Park.”

The festival organisers are expecting a big crowd to welcome Jah maica – all the tickets that were printed have sold out. But if you didn’t buy one, you won’t have to be disappointed you can still buy Etickets from Skiddle. And in view of the high demand for tickets, the festival organisers have decided to sell wristbands at the gate, if they have the capacity. Anyone wanting to go to the festival should buy tickets in advance to guarantee a place, but you may be able to pay at the gate on the day if some of the Etickets remain unsold by Saturday the 15th June.

Melinda Sharpe of the Welcome Centre said: “It’s fantastic to think that that so many people in the town are willing to put their hands in their pockets to support our charity. We’re grateful to Jah
maica for stepping in at the last minute to guarantee them a good show.”

Full details about the festival are available from the festival website: www.welcomefest.co.uk

Tickets are no longer available for this event