TICKETS are selling well and are still available for a brand new music festival on the Island aiming to raise money for one of the best-loved local charities.
Warrior Fest IOW — an event that will feature seven popular Island bands in support of the Wight Brainy Bunch — will take place at Sandown Airport on Saturday.
The festival will feature The Ohmz, Hashtag, Close to Home, SAS, Special Brew, Spike Oatley and Foo Fighterz — all of whom are giving up their time for free to stage the event.
The Wight Brainy Bunch supports people living on the Island, affected by brain tumours.
The event’s organiser, Island-born Toby Sleight, a musician with the Foo Fighters tribute band, Foo Fighterz, said he hopes to raise £10,000 for a charity close to his heart.
So far, 500 tickets have been sold and, with restrictions on numbers lifted by the government, more revellers are permitted to attend.
The idea for the festival was inspired by the support the charity gave a close friend of his, who had been diagnosed with having an inoperable brain tumour eight months ago.
“Seeing the way she was, with the diagnosis, the fight with the chemo and radiotherapy, and the support the Wight Brainy Bunch gave her, just blew me away,” said Toby, 47.
“I wanted to try to give something back. The conversation with the guys in the band was let’s put together a gig and just raise money for the charity.
“I spoke to a few of the members of other bands on the Island and they all wanted to rally in and help.
“It started with an idea of doing a gig locally, which has become so big it has become this festival with other bands in. I can’t thank them enough for giving up their time and effort in wanting to do this.
“We want to raise not only money, but also awareness of the great work and the important role the charity has on the Island.”
After 16 months of lockdowns and restrictions during Covid, the entertainment industry has suddenly exploded back into life. There is a real appetite for people to go out and enjoy themselves again.
“We’re really looking forward to a full day of rock music — and getting back out again and playing live,” said Toby.
“It should be a good, fun, family event. We had a gig last weekend — the first one we’d played for a while, and people were up and dancing.
“We’re looking forward to getting hundreds of people up there enjoying the day.
“On the Island, we’ve got a really good music scene, with some really strong talent. It’s a pleasure to be there with those guys and playing alongside them in festivals.
“Importantly, we want to put local bands and artists up in front of a decent amount of people and for the punters to have a great time.
“We want to put on a good show for everybody. This is an event we want to hold annually.”
Gates open at 1pm, with the first band on at 2pm.
For more information about the festival and tickets, go to www.warriorfestiow.uk
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