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Festival aims to help fund grassroots artists

Charlie Stubbsin Shrewsbury
News imageCharlie Stubbs / BBC There is a man with brown hair, brown stubble facial hair and a blue hoodie. In the background, there is a white and turquoise wall with a black gate. On the wall, there are promotional posters for Loop Fest.Charlie Stubbs / BBC
Jamie Smith is one of the founders of Shropshire music festival "Loopfest"

A new flagship venue will help give money to organisations to do creative projects, a music festival organiser said.

Jamie Smith, director of Shrewsbury's Loopfest, said any money raised from the event or the venue will go back into supporting grassroots artists and young people getting into the music industry.

The three-day, multi-venue festival starts on Friday and features mroe than 250 acts across 40 venues, including Shrewsbury Castle and The Quarry. It showcases local talent, established artists and offers family-friendly daytime activities.

The name Loopfest comes from the loop of the River Severn that marks out Shrewsbury town centre.

The team had had "six weeks and a £2,000 budget" to renovate the new venue, a former mini golf building in Castle Foregate, into a live music venue.

It would not have been possible without "an army of volunteers, Smith said.

"We had to strip out all of the golfing paraphernalia that was in there, there was graffiti on the walls, it was a bit of a mess really.

"It doesn't leave you much time at all, and it's right in middle of the main planning [for the event] so we've been working really hard to get this place up to scratch.

News imageCharlie Stubbs / BBC There is a black wall and a brown wooden floor. On the wall, there is the artwork of a blue snake with yellow lettering saying 'Loop'. There is also a yellow topped ridge attached to the wall.Charlie Stubbs / BBC
The event organiser had "six weeks" to renovate the venue on Castle Foregate

"When people buy a ticket, they are not just buying a ticket to go and enjoy two days of entertainment, they are buying into the development of the creative arts in town," Smith said.

He added it would allow them to put on experiences to young people "like DJ workshops."

"It's all about driving great music from Shropshire and beyond, helping people to expand and develop their capabilities."

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