Photographer Gaz De Vere gets to meet some amazing people in his line of work. Here he celebrates the massive effort to create the Southend City Festival at Southend Airport which will see artists travelling from 11 countries to perform in Southend. See www.facebook.com/gazdevere.

 

Opinion

By Gaz De Vere

After a site visit to Southend Airport for the upcoming Southend City Festival (set to take place September 2 to 4) it looks like it is going to be a big event.


I had my reservations about it at first but this is now shaping up to be an incredible three day festival to celebrate our new City status. 
Organised and run by people in Southend, with Essex lads Damon Albarn and Jamie Cullum performing, and it is a non-profit venture with tickets only £20 on Friday and Saturday and £10 on Sunday, which will just about cover the costs of putting the event on.


Each of the three concerts promises to be a night to remember and to show off what we as a City can do when we put our minds to it. 
With acts flying in from 11 countries, it will attract 10,000 visitors across the three days and will be mindful and respectful of local residents, with a hard curfew of 10.30pm. 

 

Echo: Southend City Festival - Sam Duckworth, from Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, and councillor Carole Mulroney at Southend AirportSouthend City Festival - Sam Duckworth, from Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, and councillor Carole Mulroney at Southend Airport


The line up includes Africa Express, a musical collaboration which features the likes of Jamie Cullum, Moonchild Sanelly, Georgia, Songhoy Blues, Wayne Snow, Damon Albarn and many more.


Africa Express brings together musicians from different cultures, genres and generations to break down boundaries and celebrate music. 
They will perform “Songs in the Key of Essex” and will be celebrating our county’s musical heritage in a series of one-off collaborations. Just imagine Damon Albarn and Jamie Cullum performing in an aircraft hangar at Southend Airport, it will be an event not to be missed!


Also featuring will be drum and bass artists Fabio and Grooverider and the volunteer run Music Man Project will be there to entertain the crowd. They are an award-winning music education and performance service for people with learning disabilities. 


There will be more big names will be announced in the coming weeks.
This is about positivity. It’s less than a month to go. Let’s get behind this.