Shrewsbury Fields Forever boss: It'll be back

The Shrewsbury Fields Forever festival will return in a "bigger and better" format next year, organisers have promised.

The inaugural event on Saturday and Sunday saw acts such as Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe and indie stars The Charlatans entertaining a crowd of about 4,000 people over the two days.

Organiser Dene Edwards, of Meole, Shrewsbury, said preliminary preparations for a 2012 festival were taking place.

"We have already started thinking about next year and we have got some very special surprises lined up," he said.

Mr Edwards said he was pleased with the public response to Shrewsbury Fields Forever. He hopes to establish it as an annual event in Shropshire's live music calendar.

"Every year, it will get bigger and better, that is the way with these events," he said.

For the first year, it was pretty large scale in terms of the line up and coverage. The feedback from the industry is definitely positive." This year's two-day festival saw international music stars such as Pendulum mix with groups from the county.

Mr Edwards said the mixture offered some of Shropshire's up-and-coming acts a memorable experience. "It was so great for local acts like The Taste and The Making to play on the same stage as some of their childhood heroes," he said.

Other acts to perform included The Sunshine Underground, Kissy Sell Out and Krafty Kuts. Mr Edwards said his own background helped to inspire him to set up Shrewsbury Fields Forever.

"I'm from Meole – I come from Shrewsbury and I'm born and bred in Shrewsbury. I've always had to travel a long way to see acts, so it is great to have it here."

Mr Edwards added one challenge for the organisers had been booking bands as many were heading out on autumn tours.