Riverside Festival reaches that landmark age of 18 this summer and my hasn’t it grown! From early days as a jazz picnic for friends the Festival now attracts thousands to its idyllic riverside setting on Charlbury’s Mill Field and yet, astonishingly, it is still completely free to enter.
…and gets engaged!
Riverside is famed for showcasing Oxfordshire’s music talent and this year has invited the thriving independent record stores Rapture (in Witney) and Truck (in Oxford) to run the second stage. Both stores are magnets for local musicians, offering them a place to meet and perform. According to Truck Store’s Carl Smithson, the independent chain (which also boasts a store in Evesham) has wanted to have a greater involvement in local music festivals for some time: ‘Riverside is the perfect fit and gives us the opportunity to bring some of our favourite acts from the diverse vibrant Oxford music scene to a festival that we all love.’
