DavFest music festival returned to Daventry and District Sports Club grounds: ‘The crowd was buzzing’

Music lovers gathered to enjoy Daventry’s much-anticipated festival packed with fun for all the family

Co-founders, Darren James and Scott Wilkinson, from Lockdown Events Ltd, together with Phil Moss, site supervisor and runner, returned with a successful second edition of Davfest with more live music and activities on Saturday (July 29) at Daventry Sports Club in Western Avenue.

The team raised more than £800 for one of the largest British charities and specialist health care providers, the Macmillan Cancer Support charity.

Scott Wilkinson, 44, one of the DavFest’s organisers, said: “The crowd was buzzing. A massive thank you to people from Daventry and everyone who attended. We had people coming from all over the country to our festival. Thank you to the family, friends, and volunteers who came down to put it all together.”

The one-day festival featured a main stage and hosted bars, food vendors, arts and crafts stalls, face painting and hair braiding stalls, and other activities.

The team raised £883.30 for the Macmillan Cancer Support charity on the day, which supports people with cancer to live their lives as fully as they can.

Daventry locals and nationally known tribute bands performing the music of James, the Foo Fighters, Madness and many more, were showcased.

“The festival went amazing. The people really came together. The vibe there was absolutely fantastic. I managed to take some time this year and actually sit back and relax and watch a few of the activities going on,” said Scott.

The event started at 11am and finished around 10pm with the after party taking over until late.

“We did it to get some energy back into the town. I love the place. I saw so many happy faces and families and friends enjoying themselves. We don’t know the official number yet but there were certainly more people this year than last year.

“You could just feel the atmosphere on Saturday when the sun came out in the afternoon. There were loads of happy people around having fun. It was like an electric energy there. It is really hard to explain it. It felt like a massive and well-established festival,” said Scott.

This year's festival featured joint headliners The Faux Fighters and a James tribute act, performed by Laid. Daventry locals, Charlie Tarry And The Outlaws, performed one of the opening acts alongside other original bands.

“The set-up and the bands were brilliant. A huge thank you to the guys from Juice Sound for the spectacular setup they had. The bar done by Chaser absolutely smashed it, they were brilliant in how they delivered their service,” said Scott.

Other tribute acts included Madness and Elvis, as well as the return of Suzy Hopwood, performing a tribute act to Madonna.

“It’s grown so nicely,” said Scott.

Visit DavFest’s Facebook page for more details, pictures, and videos of the artists, crowds, and activities that took place at the festival.