Articles

Saturday 11th July 2015, Halstead Town Park

Music in the Park

Saturday 11th July 2015, Halstead Town Public Gardens saw the annual fund raising event for the Empire Theatre, Music in the Park, and what a night in proved to be in more ways than one. Firstly, it was the first time that the Empire Trust had run the event under the new chairmanship of Martin Laurence, since the departure of previous chair and organiser Martin Prince, it was an evening of warm weather and a party atmosphere which lead to one of the most successful shows the Theatre has produced, there were problems, but most these were overcome with the help of our sound crew, when the sound system basically blew up 20minutes before the start, but our sound crew lead by George Dunbar managed to employ a back up and keep the show on schedule, local singer, songwriter Ben Smith, from Sudbury, opened the show, Ben had just qualified from Uni on the Friday with a degree in music and sound and proved what a lot of talent there is in our area with a terrific performance. Then on stage came Undertow a classic rock band from Surrey, who have been gaining rave reviews on the club scene in and around London, and you could tell why, what a band...with a mix of current and classic rock music that really got the crowd on their feet, lead guitarist Dave Barlow said "what a fantastic event, for a small town to put on such a show, brilliant, and what terrific support".

    

Chris Livingston (Holmes & Hills) - Partner & Head of Personal Injury Team
with Katie, Charlotte, Susan and Katie

 The evening was then capped by the appearance of The Blues Brothers Experience, who with their "moves" and cavalcade of the hits featured in the cult movies, such as ‘She Caught The Katy’, ‘Think’, ‘Sweet Home Chicago’, ‘Gimme Some Lovin’, ‘Soul Man’, ‘Everybody Loves Somebody’ and many, many more… they gave a rousing performance which again got the crowd on their feet. Organiser and co-ordinator Mike George said " this year's show was a great success for us, to get 1100 people in the Park for the event was fantastic, the weather was kind to us, the music was terrific and the support was outstanding".

The event raised around £8000 which will be vital for the Theatre to be able to continue its refurbishment works, replace old and worn out kit and to continue to bring live events to the town, Mike George added "the support of Halstead, and surrounding areas, for this event is fantastic, we have to thank so many people, the outlets in Halstead who sold our tickets, Steves Hardware, Hardys Menswear, Lobbs Cycles, The Icing Shop and Whispers Wine Bar, all of which contributed, thanks go to Holmes & Hills for their help in sponsoring some of the event, to all the volunteers who gave their time and effort, freely and willingly, the sound crew, who despite problems worked tirelessly to provide the best quality they could, and to the bands for their efforts, but of course biggest thanks go to you the public for supporting the event, thank you!".

There are more fundraising events for the Theatre, on Sunday 2nd August the Family Fun Day at Courtaulds Sports Ground, is going to be a packed programme of arena events and some 50 stalls, 11am to 4pm (50p entry), give this your support and if you dig out your dancing shoes...come to our Fancy Dress Disco on August 15th at the Queens Hall, prizes for the best outfits and costumes. (£7.50).
If you have any comments about the Music in the Park event or want to join our mailing list please send to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

In the meantime thanks you to everyone once again and we shall see you at the Park next year!