Bridgnorth teenagers raise £500 by staging festival

Bridgnorth musicians Tom Barras, 15, and Louis Briggs, 14, together known as Guitar Cubed, staged Future Fest in Bridgnorth over the weekend.

The pair had previously hit the headlines when they broke the world record for the longest continual busk at this year's Big Busk charity event held in Shrewsbury.

Their latest event raised money for Cameron's Fund and Recharge Telford, a charity which supports young people in the area.

Louis said: "We wanted to give young musicians the opportunity to play in front of an audience and we certainly achieved that.

"We had eight acts ranging in age from nine to 19 and they played a whole range of music from jazz to rock and pop."

Jazz saxophonist Louis Meehan, 12, from Much Wenlock kicked off the event with Tom joining him on drums for some of the numbers.

Louis was followed by an acoustic live-lounge session provided by Emily and Vicky both from Bridgnorth who were followed by Jack Tench from Broseley.

Two special guests joined the Guitar Cubed on the day – Puff the Dragon from Cameron's Fund and Steph PJ from Recharge. Steph PJ performed an acoustic set including a song she had specially written for the event.

Tom said: "Steph's performance brought the place to a standstill it was so emotional, we are now trying to get it properly recorded so that everyone can hear what she can do."

In the evening the festival's youngest performers Skull and Microphones took to the stage.

The rock trio of nine to 11-year- old girls were followed by a short impromptu set from new young rock band Vessel in their first ever performance.

Guitar Cubed rounded off the evening, but before that Newport drum and guitar duo Raizedupp ripped through a mix of songs.

The event's finale was provided by the record breakers who led the whole audience in a sing-along of Hey Jude with Louis Meehan joining them on saxophone.

Event organiser Tom, said that festival had provided a great way to showcase the talent of some of the area's youngest musicians, who may not feature at other shows.

The record breaker also said that the event had given the bands a chance to play with other musicians, helping to develop their skills.

He said: "We proved how good some of our local young musicians are.

"To me it's really important to play with lots of different people and it was fantastic that throughout the day many of the acts invited other performers on to the stage to play with them.

Tom's fellow band member, Louis, said they had been thrilled to have raised money for the chosen charities.

He also offered his thanks to those who attended the festival and their hosts for making the day a success.

He said "The day was about giving young performers the opportunity to show what they could do and we achieved that.

"We are delighted that we also raised £500 for the two charities.

"We really want to thank all those who came along who performed and who donate, and also the Falcon Hotel for providing a fantastic venue." Tom confirmed that they are now keen to make Future Fest a regular fixture on Bridgnorth's music calendar.

He said: "It was such a success we are already planning next year's event; we have spoken to a couple of people, we can't say too much at the moment but if things fall into place it could become one of the best youth music events in the region if not the country."