Mayor’s Fest to honour late Wolverhampton Council leader Ian Brookfield

Running across three days, the indoor charity music festival takes place on April 6 and 7 at two iconic music venues in the city, KK’s Steel Mill and The Giffard Arms.

English rock band Terrorvision will be headlining the event on the Saturday night along with The Hot Damn! and She Burns Red, with White Tyger and Kensei headlining the Sunday evening.

Mayor’s Fest continues to support the Mayor of Wolverhampton’s chosen charities, with this year’s mayor, Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre, throwing his support behind the festival.

He said: “I’m excited to see Mayor’s Fest return to the city. The organisers are kindly donating money received to my chosen charities for this year which are The Haven Wolverhampton, Give us a Break and Wings and Paws Animal Rescue.

“I’d encourage people to get their tickets for what looks set to be a great music festival.”

Mayor’s Fest came about after a conversation between its co-creators Doddy White and former Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Brookfield.

Doddy said: “It was important to us that local bands were given the chance to play in their hometown and bring focus to Wolverhampton and surrounding areas.

“With Ian, the former mayor at the time, the idea came to life; our aim was to work with the mayoral team to raise money for that year’s chosen mayoral charities.

"Over the past nine years, I’m proud that we have managed to raise over £30,000 for good causes.

“What initially started as a one-day event with six bands has evolved into a weekend festival with 36 acts scheduled and we’re able to host more internationally known bands. The event is completely run by volunteers and keeps growing year-on-year.”

Councillor Brookfield died last July, aged 57, after a brave battle with cancer.

Doddy added: “We were all devastated by the passing of our good friend Ian. He was one of the driving forces behind Mayor’s Fest and continued to support the event even when he was no longer mayor.

“I know this event was something really close to his heart, so in honour of him, we have decided to name the main stage at KK's Steel Mill as The Ian Brookfield Stage.”

Councillor Paula Brookfield, Councillor Brookfield's widow and Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet member for governance and equalities, said: “Mayor’s Fest meant so much to Ian and I know he would be very happy to be remembered in this way.

“The festival has garnered support from people not only locally but from all over the country and even further afield.

"It’s a chance for people to have a good time, meet up with friends or make new friends, and celebrate their love of rock music – all while raising money for a variety of good causes.

“Ian and I continued to support the event after our year in office and even sat on the door all night to help out.

“I will be going to Mayor’s Fest with our sons Paul and Tony – Paul is a guitarist himself and is particularly looking forward to this year’s festival.”

Tickets for Mayor’s Fest are available now, with day passes from £25 and a weekend pass from £38.50.

For more details, search ‘Mayor Fest 2024’ at ticketweb.uk