HAVE A CIGAR
Some progressive greats are on the bill of a brand-new classic rock festival in Peterborough this summer.
Saluting thescene’ssupporting crew
“A lot of festivals are stuck in the middle of nowhere,” says Tony Castle,one of the three main organisers behind this August’s inaugural Nene Valley Rock Festival.“But Peterborough is reasonably central, on the main road and railinfrastructure.”
Such practical considerations are clearly important to Castle and his colleagues Trevor Cotterell and Andrew Little. They’ve snagged some major prog talent too. As well as classic rockers and blues bands, the event’s 63-strong bill features Colosseum, Curved Air, Lifesigns, Arthur Brown, John Hackett and Hayley Griffiths.
The idea is for the Nene Park-based event to have“the boutique feel of a club atmosphere in a festival setting”. The three stages will be protected from the elements by marquees, with zero clashes between the two main stages.
Castle also proudly says the site will offer“luxurystyle”toilets to festival comers, the cap for which has been set at just 1,ooo. “That way,”says Cotterell, “you don’t feel you’re just looking at ants on a screen miles away in the distance.”
NVRF is a clearly a passion project for these three men. Cotterell and Castle are both retired, while Little is the COO of a law firm. Prog may not be the sole genre at t
