Nantwich Jazz, Blues and Music Festival celebrates its 28th year

Every Easter, the historic market town of Nantwich becomes one of the busiest live music destinations in the North West. The Nantwich Jazz, Blues and Music Festival has just completed its 28th year, and its organisers thanked visitors, venues and sponsors for making it, in their words, "an absolute blast over Easter weekend".

This year's festival ran from Thursday 2 to Easter Monday 6 April, with Nantwich Civic Hall hosting the headline concerts and pubs, bars and halls across the town centre staging dozens more gigs. The bill featured King King and Rebecca Downes, The Stumble, Rebecca Ferguson with the Tom Seals Band, the James Taylor Quartet, Nearly Dan, and Bruce Foxton and His All-Star Band.

The festival's story began with one man's idea. It is the brainchild of the late Phillip Martin, proprietor of The Crown Hotel in Nantwich. After a visit to Howth in Ireland in 1996, where a music festival brought together the town's many pubs and bars, he saw the potential for something similar in Nantwich, and the event was founded that same year.

Phil Martin died in 2017, but his legacy has remained firmly in the family. His daughter and son-in-law, Abbigail and Alex Ellwood, have continued the festival, with Abbi taking on the role of organising it each year since 2018.

Its format remains a big part of the appeal. Ticketed headline concerts sit alongside a wristband that gives access to performances in venues around the town, and many gigs are free, so visitors can drift from pub to pub sampling jazz, blues, funk, soul and swing from established names and emerging artists alike.

The economic boost is significant too. Tens of thousands of music lovers were expected in the town over the long weekend, filling its independent shops, restaurants and hotels. Nantwich is also easy to reach, with the railway station on the Crewe to Chester line.

For a festival that began as a publican's inspiration nearly three decades ago, it has become one of Cheshire's best-loved cultural events, and plans for next Easter will be eagerly awaited.

Find out more and sign up for news of the next festival at nantwichjazz.com.