THORNBURY’S first ever jazz festival is set to light up the stage later this spring.

Taking place on March 10 at the Armstrong Hall from 6pm to midnight, the show will feature the talents of Jessica Radcliffe and the Park Row Five, The Mark Randall Six, the Class Act Trio and the Thornbury Swing Band.

The showcase, organised by Gareth Williams, Barbara Ray and Tim Mann, is part of a series of events designed to fundraise for the Armstrong Hall re-development campaign, but the trio hope it could become a regular fixture on the town’s calendar.

“There is a lot of music and arts happening in Thornbury, for a small town there is a great deal happening,” said Mr Williams. 

“For the last five years we have had an annual jazz event in February, but this year, following on the success of the Rockhampton Folk Festival, we thought we would go and try for a full evening’s event and make it a festival in itself.

“We are hoping the experiment will be a success, and it will be the first of many Thornbury Jazz Festivals.

“We see a lot of people having fun when jazz comes to Thornbury and there is enough interest in Thornbury to make the effort.”

Ahead of the promotion of the event, the organisers set sixth form pupils at the Castle School the task of designing a poster that captured the essence of the event, while keeping it eye-catching and exciting for anyone to read.

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Eight arts pupils presented their designs last Monday, with designs by Ben Snow and Becky Campbell-Kemp both being named winners, ready to go into circulation.

“It was so difficult to choose from and such a high standard, said Ms Ray.

“The imagination and thoughtfulness that went into it was very impressive and made it very hard for us to choose.” 

Tickets for the festival are either £6 for the Swing Band, or £18 for all musical events on the night, and can be bought from Thornbury Town Hall or by calling 01454 412272.

Food and drink will be available at the festival, with a bar and tickets on sale for a sit-down meal, costing £5.