Warrington Festival announces lineup and special Viola Beach tribute

Warrington Festival have revealed that Starsailor are the latest band to be confirmed for this year’s line-up, they will headline on Saturday 17th September, following a tribute to Warrington band Viola Beach.

The gig is part of a series of events to celebrate sport, culture and entertainment across Warrington.

On Friday 16th September Go West, Nik Kershaw and special guests, T’Pau will come together for one concert on the opening night of Warrington Festival 2016.

The three legendary 80s stars are set to join forces for a truly incredible concert experience on Warrington’s Bank Park.

It will be Starsailor’s first outdoor headline event in Warrington and their first appearance in the town since they released their greatest hits album last year.

The band was formed at Wigan and Leigh Music College by music students James Walsh (vocals/guitar), James Stelfox (bass), and Ben Byrne (drums). Later saw the arrival of keyboardist Barry Westhead, who cemented their sound.

Starsailor’s initial run of success saw both their ‘Love is Here’ debut album and the 2003 follow-up ‘Silence is Easy’ hit number two in the charts and netted them a total of three million album sales before a hiatus in 2009.

Frontman, James Walsh, said: “It’s been over 15 years since the band first formed and the songs still mean something to people. They still sing the words passionately back at us at gig and we hear stories of how songs have sound tracked key moments in their lives.”

Starsailor – Photo Callum Baker

Since their reformation, the band has played on the main stage at the Isle of Wight festival, supported Manchester indie band, James and toured North America with Embrace.

Starsailor will headline the festival following a full day of performances from local artists in tribute to Warrington’s Viola Beach and their manager, who died in a car crash earlier this year.

Tickets go on sale on Monday 18 July at 9am, and are available from www.pyramidparrhall.com