Wharfstock coming to Stone

Outdoor live music is being held in Stone to raise money for a brand new theatre and events space in the town.

‘Wharfstock’ is being staged by the Crown Wharf Theatre charity and takes place on Thursday 30 September at Westbridge Park. The event is being held on the Stone Food and Drink Festival site at the park, which gets under way the following day.

The Joule’s Brewery bar will be open for Wharfstock, food will be available from Griffin & Grey and Nui’s Kitchen, and three bands will be taking to the stage.

Electro-acoustic band Vinyl Overdrive will open the show with some modern pop, rock and everything in between. Hairy Eyeball (main image) will pay tribute to the era when the Titans of Glam Rock stalked the charts and The Lack of Commitments – the hard-working saviours of soul – will blast out some sweet soul and Motown classics.

All proceeds from the event will help the Crown Wharf Theatre charity move one step closer to opening the doors to Stone’s very own theatre and events space.

Harri Capernaros, Crown Wharf Theatre charity trustee, said: “Thank you to Stone Food and Drink Festival for letting us kick-start the big festival weekend at Westbridge Park. We’re looking forward to an amazing party and to raise funds as we work towards delivering a brand new theatre for Stone. There are only 400 Wharfstock tickets available, so grab yours soon if you want to enjoy some open-air live music with family and friends. A big thank you to all the bands who’re playing free of charge for us so we can raise as much money as possible for the theatre.”

The Crown Wharf Theatre is a charitable project set up by local people to bring a new theatre and events space to the town. Located by the canal at Crown Wharf, the outer shell has been built as a donation to the community from Joule’s Brewery, Crown Wharf Theatre’s main sponsor.

The charity is now raising funds to transform the building. Work started recently on the back-of-house areas thanks to a grant from the Town Hall Charities, and several large funding bids have been submitted to other organisations to help fund the auditorium work.

As well as funding bids, the Crown Wharf Theatre project relies on the support of local people and businesses. There’s been backing so far through donations, offers in kind, corporate sponsorships, founding partners, volunteering, sponsoring a seat and more.

Gates for the event open at 6pm, with the first band on stage at 6.30pm. Tickets are available at www.crownwharftheatre.org.uk and at www.stonefooddrink.org.uk. Tickets cost £15, with a group offer of six tickets for £60. And there’s a special ticket price of £10 for blue light employees (NHS, police and fire).

When completed, the octagonal 200-capacity venue will accommodate a wide range of events: from theatre, comedy, live music and dance to meetings, conferences, cinema and more.