The Ipswich based multi-venue festival Brighten The Corners Festival today add a final wave of acts for their 2023 event, taking place on Friday 9th & Saturday 10th June in five venues throughout Ipswich town centre.
Leading the newest wave of additions to their inclusive and exciting lineup are buzzing indie duo Dolores Forever, rowdy newcomers Fat Dog, goth-pop specialists Heartworms, South London haiku-loving trio Honeyglaze, enigmatic songwriter Molly Payton and pop specialist Jessica Winter, as well as esteemed BBC 6 Music presenters Jamz Supernova and Tom Ravenscroft who’ll be heading up the event’s late-night electronic programme.
They join the already announced headliners 86TVs, the new project from The Maccabees’ Felix and Hugo White, and cult Brighton indie-pop heroes The Go! Team, as well as Gengahr, The Lounge Society, Pulled Apart By Horses, Rozi Plain, deathcrash, Coops, Nuha Ruby Ra, Moreish Idols, ALT BLK ERA and Kyoto Kyoto, alongside a selection of the finest talent in emerging music.
The festival will also be showcasing the 13 winners of their Apply To Play programme, handpicked by the team at Brighten The Corners. The winners will perform on their outdoor Cornhill stage sponsored by Suffolk New College in the town centre.
Amongst the winners are Ipswich-based indie rock 4 piece AFTERDRIVE who have gained a big local following since forming in 2022 and releasing their single ‘Stick Around’. They’ll be the last act on the Cornhill on the Saturday and hope to attract a big audience.
Joining them is Kyan, the raw new talent of poetic pop soul, Hailed by Nile Rodgers as ‘a Genius’ and a ‘Young Mozart’. The singer-songwriter from Cambridge recorded his debut album ‘Nothing Beyond’ at the famous Abbey Road studios in London.
When asked about the success of the Apply To play programme, programmer for the festival Macrus Neal says “We have been overwhelmed by the submissions for our apply to play programme. With over 200 applications it was a very difficult task to choose the final 13, but also a real indication of the quality of acts we have in our region! We are really looking forward to this showcase of local talent on our Cornhill stage over the two day festival.”
The multi-venue event, formerly known as Sound City Ipswich, saw editions in 2019 and 2021 and has brought artists such as Yard Act, Working Men’s Club, The Murder Capital, Novelist and others to the town.
The team behind the festival also run live music venues The Smokehouse and The Baths and are set to open St Stephen’s Church as a venue and cafe bar in spring 2023. This continues the festival’s dedication to community and arts revitalisation in the town as part of their mission alongside the main event – as detailed by NME. These three venues will be used for the festival in addition to the Corn Exchange and a stage on the Corn Hill, all within Ipswich’s easily accessible town centre.
Speaking ahead of the final lineup announcement, Head of Programming Marcus Neal explained: “We are really excited to release these final line-up additions for our two day festival. The new names add to the diversity of the programme with the likes of multi-instrumentalist cktrl, the unpredictable chaos of Fat Dog and gothic post-punk from Heartworms amongst others. Alongside this we are delighted to announce our late night programme curated by locally grown broadcaster and DJ Tom Ravenscroft. Tom has selected jazz infused electronica from Maria Chiara Argiro, Optimo Music’s intoxicating Pleasure Pool and influential BBC 6 Music colleague Jamz Supernova has been invited to round off the Friday night. Tom himself will close out the festival with a late night DJ set on Saturday.”
