Free music festival needs £10,000 to stay afloat

A free music festival that has been running for nearly 30 years has launched a crowdfunding campaign as it struggles to cover rising costs.

Keynsham Music Festival on the outskirts of Bristol was launched in 1997 and runs for a week every summer, staging acts of all genres.

Until now it has been funded by sponsorships and grants, but the organisers warn these no longer covers costs such as staging, security and insurance. They are seeking to raise £10,000.

Mike May, chairman of the festival's trustees, explained that since the pandemic, costs have risen by about 40%, while long-standing sponsors also find themselves struggling financially.

The volunteer-run festival is held in Keynsham Memorial Park, and as well as music, includes art and dance workshops, entertainers and comedy acts.

Mr May said it would be more than just entertainment that would be lost if the festival were to close.

In recent years, the organisers have hosted a two-hour mini-festival for people with dementia after realising the main festival could be too overwhelming.

Mr May said this event provided a "very safe and welcoming environment".

He added: "It's a very emotional event, because you can see people living with dementia come alive.

"[They] remember this song, they start dancing and they start enjoying it all."

The festival has a dedicated youth stage offering slots to local schools, colleges and youth groups.

Mr May said that, for many on this stage, it is the first time they have performed in public.

Organisers also offer 30 student volunteers a week's work experience behind the scene, in roles including stage and event management, and sound engineering.

Last year, it set up a special art project involving 10 vulnerable young people who had been excluded from school, in partnership with Bristol art collective Arcadia.

The resulting butterfly installation was showcased at Glastonbury Festival before being displayed at Keynsham.

"Those kind of aspects will all get lost if we don't have a festival, and they're the hidden things behind the scenes," Mr May said.

The crowdfunding campaign has so far raised just over £3,600 of its target.

Organisers are also holding fundraising events, and everal artists who had their first chance at performing at the festival have offered to play for free at the event in 2026.

Mr May said: "We've built this festival to be probably the largest such community festival in the whole of the South West.

"When you see all around you all of these other festivals going to the wall and finding it extremely difficult, we have been blessed to be able to continue, but this year, we're finding it very, very difficult."

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