Alnwick Castle Alnwick reviews by real event-goers

Review of Madness

Fantastic location , very well organised, Madness were brilliant. We had excellent views of the acts. The weather was great and bar prices reasonable.

Review of Alnwick Castle

attended IL Divo / Supported By Michael Ball on 15 july 2018 in Block A1 . Whilst tickets said one can stand n dance , me and my partner did nt except for 2 mins when we were slapped down by Jill and Liam , security n liam who said he was a organiser in that section . Jill a lady with
glasses n a shorter lady who was rude n offensive . However mins later a woman who said she was working there n in fluenential

glasses n a shoryer lady

Review of Nile Rodgers & CHIC

Nile Rodgers and Chic were excellent. The venue was very good with Alnwick Castle in the background.

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

Tom Jones was very good however the same couldn't be said for the organisers. The overall set up was too crammed with the two main beer tents littered with many folding chairs in-between leaving hardly any space to get from one side to the other. Also most events I have been to have had the common sense to have more than one beer tap, and to constantly be pouring pints instead of waiting for orders which just slowed down the orders. This lead to a very hostile atmosphere within the beer tent with customers feeling very annoyed at waiting for staff to process their orders. When the event lost power it left a unsafe environment for people to try and navigate out of the venue due to the lack of lighting, high amount of people combined with uneven ground. This lead to people falling over and injuring themselves. I for one will not even think about attending another event at this location, and certainly wouldn't recommend it to any of my friends or work colleagues

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

Concert was abandoned after 40minutes of Tom being on stage due to equipment failure!

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

Shambles concert ended early due to generators not working. People were herded into a pen like cattle no room to move. Difficult to find your way out to use other facilities and difficult to find your way back. Queues of over a hour for food and drink purchases.

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

Tom Jones brilliant on stage for the 45 mins he was on. 45 mins late to appear due to power failure, 45 mins cut short due to...yes another power failure.
Support acts were good for 30 mins each but far too long between them from 4:00p.m. that we were there for. No other entertainment between acts - surely Smooth radio as hosts could have had some music on!!!
Not allowed to sit on chairs at the front of the field - really didn't expect to pay £50 per ticket to sit on the grass.
Bar ran out of draft beers at various times throughout the evening from 7:00p.m. onwards and £4.00 for a c**e sized can of cider was a damn disgrace!
Overall a rip-off event and EVERY single person should have their money refunded!!!

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

Bad experience, ran out of food after queuing for up to 1.5 hours, ran out of larger at 9pm after queuing for 1hour at the bar. venue too narrow resulting being right at the back. did not see anything. electric went off several times. then festival was abundant at 10.30pm.

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

Sad to report the most unorganised concert ever what a fiasco ! Cannot believe how dangerous it was. Sir Tom was great what we saw.

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

well where do I start!!! Looking forward to the concert as I had previously been to concerts at the pastures in front of the castle before. When I booked the tickets and printed them off , no where did it state on the ticket that no food or drink were permitted previous concerts you were encouraged to bring a picnic.There was a lack of vendors selling food and drink so there were long lengthy queues. The searching of bags etc before you were permitted in to the area was unnessary and it added to again lengthy queues. Gates were to close at 7pm I was just at the gate at this time and there was a very long que behind me and come 7pm these people were just let in with no searcing. The area where 7500 people could watch was too small, no provision was made for disabled to see the stage and there were no big screens to be able to see Tom or his guests. sound was not loud enough for people at the back to hear. 2 power cuts, a delayed start. On exiting no lighting was provided to guide people out over a well cow 'pooped' field. I, along with thousands of others were left frustrated and irritated that we only got to listen to Sir Tom for 45ish minutes!!!!! I feel sorry for Sir Tom Jones and along with the crowd, feel very let down by the whole fiasco of the evening. A complete waste of my hard earned cash.

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

Venue normally great, food vans and beer tents to close not enough room between to enjoy the show. No big screens , could'nt hear at the bac.

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

Unfortunately I have to say that it was hugely disappointing. It was an evening of waiting, first to get in as people were being checked to see if they had food or drink, then to try and buy a drink which was almost impossible, then waiting for sir Tom himself. Problems with the lights to begin with and then the fiasco with the light failure causing an abrupt end to the performance. Tom while on stage was good as always. I think it it a big mistake not to allow people to bring their own picnics. We were lucky it was a pleasant evening for had it been raining it would have been unbearable.as for the lights! Surely by now they should know what power they need!also the sound wasn't good. We couldn't hear everything that Tom said and some people came from the back to stand beside us as they said they could hardly hear at the back of the crowd. Such a shame when we were all so excited about Tom coming north.

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

No problem with skiddle what's so ever.
Not a very good experience at the venue I'm afraid. On top of the ticket prices we had to pay £3 to park in an unlit field. The crowd was penned in like a herd of cattle. We had to wait 1.5hrs to get served at the bar. There were only 4 food vans to choose from and considering you weren't allowed to bring in food or drink, there wasn't a lot of choice and was over priced.
The warm up bands were good but not gwhat you'd expect for a warm up band to Tom Jones. Tom was 30-40 mins late due to a power failure. When he did come on he was amazing, although the acoustics weren't the best. 50 mins later the music went off again and Tom walked off the stage. 5 mins later the band started packing up. Then an announcement that due to a local power failure, that was the end of the concert. Incedently, The castle lights and local lights were still shining brightly. No apologies from Tom or Tom even trying to entertain the crowd.
I'm very disappointed that I spent all that money and travelled over 150 miles to see him for 50 minutes. I will be seeking a refund.

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

Please treat this email as a formal complaint .

My principal complaint relates to the power problems experienced throughout the concert which led to Tom Jones walking offstage at Alnwick some 50 minutes into his act. This was and is wholly unacceptable. Why was there no backup generator? Was this concert done on the cheap? From where I stand - it certainly seems so.

Important but less serious (to me) areas of complaint include:
• poor site layout exacerbated by where the food and drink concessions were sited
• long queues for refreshments because of inadequate provision
• no lighting provided during exit in the dark - exacerbated by pedestrians and cars using the same exit
• inconsistent security searches at entrances evidenced by so many bringing in their own alcohol

Overall this concert reflects badly on all those associated with organising and running the event - including the Duke of Northumberland.

The Barcodes for the tickets we purchased are:
• 74305800481877
• 24105898671877

I expect a full refund and look forward to hearing from you shortly

Peter Purdom
07833 230775

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

Fantastic music. Beautiful setting. However issues with sound system meant concert was closed early. Sir Tom was amazing but wish we could have seen more!

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

Poorly organised , layout of concert very very poor,security and stewarding non existent .the events manager obviously put money before quality

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

This event was an absolute disgrace, £50 per ticket, family had driven 7hrs from South Wales for one of the biggest names in music Sir Tom Jones. The set up and layout was a joke, everyone squashing into a narrow space, we weren't even at the back and we couldn't see or hear, there were no big screens, queues for overpriced warm beer at the understaffed stalls were ridiculous! Lack of loos, disabled access didn't exist. the list could go on and on. The final straw was when the power failed for the second time and we were left in total darkness . Tom Jones had been on stage for 40 minutes. Refunds/ compensation should be automatically given without any effort, hassle or fight. After this event I can't imagine the Alnwick castle annual concert ever recovering.
I am reviewing the music as poor purely because I couldn't hear anything.

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

Worst music event I have ever attended. This is a unique venue - part of its charm was that fans could bring their own picnic. This was stopped for this event and all that was available was overpriced takeaway food and drinks in plastic cups. The venue was huge, but everyone was crammed into an area too small to accommodate everybody properly. The sound quality was poor, the compere was poor. Performances were delayed due to power cuts and Tom Jones's lack-luster performance was cut-short due to a further power cut. Stewarding was pathetic - fans were left to leave the venue in the dark. across a cow field with no assistance. It was dangerous. I shall never attend another event organised by "Loose Cannon" events

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

Dreadful - poor organisation from the outset. Having been to other concerts at Alnwick Castle, the decision buy Loose Cannon Management to ban bringing in your own food and drink was dreadful and spoilt the event. The on site caterers and drink sellers were typically overpriced and the queue waiting time was about 40 minutes, then the bar staff couldn't cope. The car parking staff were poor and allowed cars and pedestrians to cross over each other particularly when it was dark. Then of course there was the power failure - blamed by Loose Cannon on a "local "power failure, but when all the other lights, including street lights were on away from the stage, the fault was obviously their own for not having enough back up generators etc. Would I go to another event organised by Loose Cannon Management - no way. We should be given full refunds for the concert.

Review of Tom Jones Live in Concert

I'm sure you are aware by now of the shambles this eagerly awaited gig turned out to be as a result of completely useless organisation by Loose Cannon Event Management. Tom Jones was fantastic for the 45 minutes or so he managed to perform starting late and then having to abandon his performance as a result of power failures. Apart from this very obvious issue the whole layout of the venue was poor at best, dangerous at worst. Poor quality refreshment vans too close to stage with queues of at least 30 minutes each time, lack of seating/standing with stage visibility and therefore poor sound/vision, no lighting on exit across uneven, cowpat strewn fields, generally a very poor atmosphere with most people moaning and groaning from the start. Such a shame as the venue is fantastic and unusually the weather was absolutely perfect (I have attended most of the previous concerts at Alnwick Castle). The banning of picnics was a huge mistake and the general sense was of 'being ripped off'. I expect a refund for my 2 tickets purchased.